IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/elmark/v27y2017i4d10.1007_s12525-016-0240-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do product returns hurt relational outcomes? some evidence from online retailing

Author

Listed:
  • Gianfranco Walsh

    (Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

  • Daniel Brylla

    (Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

Abstract

Customer product returns are a key challenge for online retailers. Previous research primarily focused on causes of returns and possible interventions to reduce customers’ product returns and concomitant costs for online retailers. However, little is known about the effect of product returns on key relational outcomes. Drawing on relationship marketing theory, we test a model that relates product returns to three relationship marketing outcomes—customer satisfaction, trust, and positive word-of-mouth. A field study based on online panel data from customers of eight large online retailers demonstrates that product returns negatively affect customer satisfaction with the retailer, customer trust, and word-of-mouth. The findings extend previous research by revealing that product returns can detrimentally affect relationships with customers. Implications for e-commerce research and management are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Gianfranco Walsh & Daniel Brylla, 2017. "Do product returns hurt relational outcomes? some evidence from online retailing," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 27(4), pages 329-339, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:elmark:v:27:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s12525-016-0240-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s12525-016-0240-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12525-016-0240-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12525-016-0240-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dongmin Kim & Izak Benbasat, 2006. "The Effects of Trust-Assuring Arguments on Consumer Trust in Internet Stores: Application of Toulmin's Model of Argumentation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 286-300, September.
    2. Gefen, David, 2000. "E-commerce: the role of familiarity and trust," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 725-737, December.
    3. Santiago Gallino & Antonio Moreno, 2014. "Integration of Online and Offline Channels in Retail: The Impact of Sharing Reliable Inventory Availability Information," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(6), pages 1434-1451, June.
    4. Johanna Gummerus & Veronica Liljander & Emil Weman & Minna Pihlström, 2012. "Customer engagement in a Facebook brand community," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(9), pages 857-877, August.
    5. Blut, Markus & Beatty, Sharon E. & Evanschitzky, Heiner & Brock, Christian, 2014. "The Impact of Service Characteristics on the Switching Costs–Customer Loyalty Link," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 275-290.
    6. Wenyan Zhou & Oliver Hinz, 2016. "Determining profit-optimizing return policies – a two-step approach on data from taobao.com," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 26(2), pages 103-114, May.
    7. Fuller, Christie M. & Simmering, Marcia J. & Atinc, Guclu & Atinc, Yasemin & Babin, Barry J., 2016. "Common methods variance detection in business research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 3192-3198.
    8. Ramanathan, Ramakrishnan, 2011. "An empirical analysis on the influence of risk on relationships between handling of product returns and customer loyalty in E-commerce," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(2), pages 255-261, April.
    9. Minnema, Alec & Bijmolt, Tammo H.A. & Gensler, Sonja & Wiesel, Thorsten, 2016. "To Keep or Not to Keep: Effects of Online Customer Reviews on Product Returns," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 253-267.
    10. Dan J. Kim & Donald L. Ferrin & H. Raghav Rao, 2009. "Trust and Satisfaction, Two Stepping Stones for Successful E-Commerce Relationships: A Longitudinal Exploration," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 237-257, June.
    11. Walsh, Gianfranco & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten & Sassenberg, Kai & Bornemann, Daniel, 2010. "Does relationship quality matter in e-services? A comparison of online and offline retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 130-142.
    12. Babin, Barry J. & Darden, William R., 1996. "Good and bad shopping vibes: Spending and patronage satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 201-206, March.
    13. Harris, Lloyd C., 2008. "Fraudulent Return Proclivity: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(4), pages 461-476.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Martínez-López, Francisco J. & Feng, Changyuan & Li, Yangchun & López-López, David, 2022. "Using instant refunds to improve online return experiences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. E. Mitchell Church & Richelle Oakley DaSouza & Olajumoke A. Awe, 2024. "Examining the Antecedents of Return Policy Leniency in eCommerce," Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations (JECO), IGI Global, vol. 22(1), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Chen, Hao-Wei, 2023. "Improving supply quality through the store-initiated returns in wholesale supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    4. Rainer Alt, 2017. "Electronic markets on transaction costs," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 27(4), pages 297-301, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martínez-López, Francisco J. & Feng, Changyuan & Li, Yangchun & López-López, David, 2022. "Using instant refunds to improve online return experiences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Lauren Skinner Beitelspacher & Thomas L. Baker & Adam Rapp & Dhruv Grewal, 2018. "Understanding the long-term implications of retailer returns in business-to-business relationships," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 252-272, March.
    3. Leonie Kuen & Fiona Schürmann & Daniel Westmattelmann & Sophie Hartwig & Shay Tzafrir & Gerhard Schewe, 2023. "Trust transfer effects and associated risks in telemedicine adoption," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Ladhari, Riadh & Leclerc, André, 2013. "Building loyalty with online financial services customers: Is there a gender difference?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 560-569.
    5. Malhotra, Neeru & Sahadev, Sunil & Purani, Keyoor, 2017. "Psychological contract violation and customer intention to reuse online retailers: Exploring mediating and moderating mechanisms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 17-28.
    6. Zhangxi Lin & Andrew B. Whinston & Shaokun Fan, 2015. "Harnessing Internet finance with innovative cyber credit management," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 1-24, December.
    7. McClure, Clair & Seock, Yoo-Kyoung, 2020. "The role of involvement: Investigating the effect of brand's social media pages on consumer purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    8. Wajeeha Aslam & Annas Hussain & Kashif Farhat & Imtiaz Arif, 2020. "Underlying Factors Influencing Consumers’ Trust and Loyalty in E-commerce," Business Perspectives and Research, , vol. 8(2), pages 186-204, July.
    9. Li, Hao & Jiang, Jinhu & Wu, Mingjie, 2014. "The effects of trust assurances on consumers’ initial online trust: A two-stage decision-making process perspective," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 395-405.
    10. Toufaily, Elissar & Souiden, Nizar & Ladhari, Riadh, 2013. "Consumer trust toward retail websites: Comparison between pure click and click-and-brick retailers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 538-548.
    11. Choi, Miju & Law, Rob & Heo, Cindy Yoonjoung, 2016. "Shopping destinations and trust – Tourist attitudes: Scale development and validation," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 490-501.
    12. Amita Goyal Chin & Mark A. Harris & Robert Brookshire, 2022. "An Empirical Investigation of Intent to Adopt Mobile Payment Systems Using a Trust-based Extended Valence Framework," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 329-347, February.
    13. Benedikt Berger & Martin Adam & Alexander Rühr & Alexander Benlian, 2021. "Watch Me Improve—Algorithm Aversion and Demonstrating the Ability to Learn," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 63(1), pages 55-68, February.
    14. Duong, Quang Huy & Zhou, Li & Meng, Meng & Nguyen, Truong Van & Ieromonachou, Petros & Nguyen, Duy Tiep, 2022. "Understanding product returns: A systematic literature review using machine learning and bibliometric analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    15. Marzieh Soleimani, 2022. "Buyers' trust and mistrust in e-commerce platforms: a synthesizing literature review," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 57-78, March.
    16. Xu, Xun & Jackson, Jonathan E., 2019. "Investigating the influential factors of return channel loyalty in omni-channel retailing," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 118-132.
    17. Gianfranco Walsh & Michael Möhring, 2017. "Effectiveness of product return-prevention instruments: Empirical evidence," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 27(4), pages 341-350, November.
    18. Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Waller, David & Thaichon, Park & Ting, Hiram & Lim, Xin-Jean, 2020. "Price image and the sugrophobia effect on luxury retail purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    19. Verhagen, T., 2008. "Investigating the impact of C2C electronic marketplace quality on trust," Serie Research Memoranda 0008, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    20. Yin Ma & Athapol Ruangkanjanases & Shih-Chih Chen, 2019. "Investigating the Impact of Critical Factors on Continuance Intention towards Cross-Border Shopping Websites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Product returns; Customer satisfaction; Word-of-mouth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:elmark:v:27:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s12525-016-0240-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.