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Relationship between the quality of the online after-sale service and customer loyalty

Karimli, Leyla (2018) Relationship between the quality of the online after-sale service and customer loyalty.

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Abstract:Introduction: Since the internet has become the primary source for information, online customers should not be only considered as shoppers, but also as information seekers. Customers can experience a problem with a product or a service and evaluate how the problem handled by the company. While receiving service, the perceived service quality can affect customer emotions and their level of satisfaction, also influence the purchase intention and willingness to recommend the product or the brand to others, as an act of behavioural loyalty. Most studies in customer loyalty related to service are examined in service industries, rather than after-sale service in tangible product domain. Purpose: This research aims to understand the relationship between perceived service quality and customer loyalty through the positive emotion and service satisfaction in the domain of after-sale online service of the tangible product. Therefore, the research question of this paper is: How does the quality of the after-sale service provided through the website for domestic technology product affect customer loyalty? Methodology: In order to test the hypotheses and answer the research quantitative research is used as a main data collection method. As a data collection method, an online survey is used and in total 250 respondents participated. Five hypotheses are proposed and tested. Moreover, qualitative research as the secondary method in data collection is used. Due to the lack of literature review related to online after-sale service, exploratory interviews are conducted with three experts. Conclusion: Looking at the regression analysis, the positive relationship between the all three perceived service quality characteristics, which are ease of navigation, and perceived needed time to reach the desired result, have a positive relationship with positive emotion, while ease of navigation has the highest effect. Further, positive emotion has a positive relationship with service satisfaction, and service satisfaction has a positive relationship with customer loyalty. Therefore, the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty can be considered same in online after-sale service for a product as well as in service industries. In the interviews, it is learned that usage of online service is increasing, and users visit the online after-sale pages in the pre-sale stage, which adds extra insight into the topic and further research.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:01 general works, 05 communication studies, 70 social sciences in general
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/74991
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