Failure to deliver? Linking online order fulfillment glitches with future purchase behavior
研究在线零售中订单履行延迟对忠诚客户后续购买行为的影响，发现故障后客户订单频率和规模下降、焦虑上升，强调履行承诺的重要性。
Abstract This study investigates operations failures in online retailing. Specifically, it examines the relationship between an operations glitch (order fulfillment delay) and subsequent shopping behavior for previously loyal customers in an online retailing environment. Using archival data from a moderate‐sized online retailer of printed material, this study employs expectancy disconfirmation and distributive justice theories to empirically show that adverse post‐glitch reactions are seen in several dimensions of customer shopping behavior – order frequency and order size decrease, while customer anxiety level increases. The study thus demonstrates that online retailers need to deliver on order fulfillment promises, since a failure to live up to these promises can be detrimental. This study is unique in that, unlike previous studies on order fulfillment in online retailing investigating the tie between fulfillment success and future behavior, we examine the repercussions of order fulfillment failures upon future purchase behavior.