Successful loyalty in e-complaints: FsQCA and structural equation modeling analyses

Abstract

An increasing number of consumers shift their buying activities from physical stores to retail websites. The reasons for this change are lower prices, time savings and a wider selection of products and services available on websites (Brunner et al., 2014). At the end of 2014, more than 3 billion people used Internet. In Europe 565 million people already use the Internet (79% of the population), and 47% make online purchases (Ecommerce Europe, 2014). Despite efforts by B2C e-commerce firms to offer high-quality services, providing a failure-free service proves almost impossible. Depending on how firms handle service recovery, results may vary massively: from losing an angry customer to retaining a satisfied who may still be willing to purchase again in the future.