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The impact of cross border E-tailer's return policy on consumer's purchase intention

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  • Shao, Bingjia
  • Cheng, Zhendong
  • Wan, Lijuan
  • Yue, Jie

Abstract

Based on the signaling theory, cue utilization theory and halo effect theory, this paper establishes a theoretical model of the impact of return policy leniency on consumer purchase intention in the context of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC). The model is verified by the experimental data. Moreover, the mediating role of perceived quality and perceived risk and the moderating effects of port of shipment and product traceability code are significant. The results show that in the CBEC scenario, when the online retailers adopt a lenient return policy, the consumers have higher perceived quality and lower perceived risk, which in turn leads to a higher intention to purchase; When a consumer purchases the product which ships from domestic bonded warehouse or a product without a product traceability code present, the effect of the leniency of return policy on perceived quality and perceived risk is stronger.

Suggested Citation

  • Shao, Bingjia & Cheng, Zhendong & Wan, Lijuan & Yue, Jie, 2021. "The impact of cross border E-tailer's return policy on consumer's purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:59:y:2021:i:c:s0969698920313758
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102367
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    6. Al-Adwan, Ahmad Samed & Al-Debei, Mutaz M. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2022. "E-commerce in high uncertainty avoidance cultures: The driving forces of repurchase and word-of-mouth intentions," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. Zhao, Ying & Guan, Zhi-min & Zhang, Jun, 2023. "Return freight strategies and selling formats in e-commerce supply chain: The perspective of consumer fairness concerns and online shopping returns," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Xu, Ying & Niu, Nan & Zhao, Zixiang, 2023. "Dissecting the mixed effects of human-customer service chatbot interaction on customer satisfaction: An explanation from temporal and conversational cues," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Serravalle, Francesca & Vannucci, Virginia & Pantano, Eleonora, 2022. "“Take it or leave it?†: Evidence on cultural differences affecting return behaviour for Gen Z," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Zhang, Xumei & Zha, Xiaoyu & Dan, Bin & Liu, Yi & Sui, Ronghua, 2024. "Logistics mode selection and information sharing in a cross-border e-commerce supply chain with competition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 314(1), pages 136-151.

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