ارائه آنلاین ارزش مشتری: تجزیه و تحلیل شیوه ها، برنامه های کاربردی و عملکرد

An expanding array of technologies exist that can enable retailers to add value to product/service offerings online. Yet for many firms, determining which applications to employ can be perplexing. This study examines dimensions of service orientation among market leaders and measures performance results of adopting selected customer service applications. Findings suggest that while a majority of retailers use the Internet to enhance company image, greater pay-offs come from offering more online services, particularly those that may be used by customers in the acquisition process (e.g., e-mail and online ordering) and for post-purchase support.

Within the past decade, the retail sector has become an increasingly competitive and dynamic business environment (Darian et al., 2001). Today's customers have more choices than in the past. The World Wide Web has produced a revolution in retailing (Griffith and Krampf, 1998), with the emergence of new competitive formats (e.g., e-Bay) and new competitors due to low entry barriers. A plethora of research exists on competitive advantages that result from incorporating the use of digital technologies in the firm's marketing mix (e.g., Rayport and Sviokla, 1995; Olivia, 1997; Griffith and Krampf, 1998; Walsh and Godfrey, 2000; Piccoli et al., 2001; Zaino, 2002). Strategically, this new environment provides opportunities for retailers to increase business performance by using Internet technologies to increase the perceived value of their offerings.1 The desired outcome is enhanced customer satisfaction—a positive outlook on received performance as compared to that expected. Since perceived value influences customer satisfaction and, ultimately, customer retention and retail loyalty (e.g., Bolton and Drew, 1991; Innis and La Londe, 1994; Kolesar and Galbraith, 2000; Piron, 2001), it is of high strategic importance to most retailers (Gale, 1994). Further, the extant literature on customer loyalty can be appropriately applied to online retail service offerings (Kolesar and Galbraith, 2000).

E-business applications support all parts of an organization's value chain, including promotion, procurement, production, recruiting, and customer service. Most firms recognize that a key to achieving long-term success is coordinating efforts to achieve and manage customer satisfaction. For firms that emphasize a customer service orientation, the Internet offers opportunities to reduce the costs associated with providing customer service while simultaneously bettering relationships with customers (Day and Hubbard, 2003; Lee, 2001; Surjadjaja et al., 2003; Zeithaml, 2002). As use of the Internet has flourished among business and consumer markets, many firms have looked online to provide value-enhancing services to customers. In so doing, this study found that despite espousing dedication to customers and providing them with satisfying exchanges, the most important Internet application was using the Internet to find information about new sources of supply. In fact, three of the top five applications (shown in Table 4) are research-related. Ostensibly, it could be argued that the search for new suppliers stems from their desire to provide customers with new and unique or better-priced product offerings. Alternatively, it may be that for retailers, the medium is viewed as more of a research tool than a tool for serving customers.