The role of physical distribution services as determinants of product returns in Internet retailing

Pressure continues to build on Internet retailers to squeeze out inefficiencies from their day-to-day operations. One major source of such inefficiencies is product returns. Indeed, product returns in Internet retailing have been shown to be, on average, as high as 22% of sales. Yet, most retailers accept them as a necessary cost of doing business. This is not surprising since many retailers do not have a clear understanding of the causes of product returns. While it is known that return policies of retailers, along with product attributes, are two important factors related to product return incidents, little is known about which aspects of the online retail transaction make such a purchase more return-prone. In the current study, we seek to address this issue. We use a large data set of customer purchases and returns to identify how process attributes in physical distribution service (PDS) influence product returns. The first attribute involves perceptions of scarcity conditions in inventory availability among consumers when retailers reveal to consumers information on inventory levels for the products that they intend to buy. Our results show that orders in which items are sold when these conditions are revealed to shoppers have a higher likelihood of being returned than orders in which these conditions are not revealed. While prior research has argued that inventory scarcity perceptions have an effect on purchases, our findings suggest that they are also related to the likelihood of these purchases being returned. The second attribute involves the reliability in the delivery of orders to consumers. We find that the likelihood of orders being returned depends on the consistency between retailer promises of timeliness in the delivery of orders and the actual delivery performance of the orders. Moreover, we find that the effect that consistency in the delivery has in the likelihood of returns, is stronger for orders that involve promises for expedited delivery than for orders with less expeditious promises. That is, although the occurrence of returns depends on the delays in the delivery of orders to consumers relative to the initial promises made by the retailers, this effect is more notable for orders that involve promises of fast delivery.     

购房者认知价值对“小产权房”购买行为的影响——以武汉市为例

研究目的：揭示购房者认知价值对“小产权房”购买行为的影响，测度购房者认知价值各类因子对“小产权房”购买行为的影响方向和程度。研究方法：文献资料法、问卷调查法、因子分析法、结构方程模型法。研究结论：1．“小产权房”购房者认知价值因子可分为功能服务、购买成本、持有风险、心理诉求。2．功能服务、购买成本、心理诉求对“小产权房”购买行为动机层面有正向影响，其中功能服务的影响程度最大；购买成本、功能服务对“小产权房”购买行为决策层面有正向影响，持有风险对“小产权房”购买行为决策层面有负向影响，其中购买成本的影响程度最大。     

Unlimited shelf space in Internet supply chains: Treasure trove or wasteland?

Internet retailing offers merchants limitless shelf space. This has led experts to highlight the existence of a “long tail” of offerings on the web and assert that the future of online business is “selling less of more.” However, it is difficult for Internet retailers of physical goods to sell a large scope of products without having to handle potentially large amounts of product returns from customers. This is due to the fact that customers can and do get overwhelmed by excessive product variety and often make erroneous purchasing decisions. We shed light on this issue through an assessment of theoretical predictions based on data from sales and returns of almost 7000 products in a particular product category. While retailers can benefit from expanding the scope of their inventories to generate Internet sales, the success of this strategy will depend on the control of unjustified product returns by consumers and the management of recurrent execution errors and product fit failures in transactions with customers. Furthermore, from our results, the gains that this strategy will bring to retailers will be bound by the amount of time products have been available on the Internet retailer's site, as well as by other attributes such as product price and size.     

Exploring supply management status,internal collaboration and operating performance

An important internal link in the supply chain is between supply managers and their internal customers. These individuals must collaborate to determine purchase specifications, develop sourcing strategies, ensure supplier performance, and maintain effective supplier relationships. Using power and social networking as the theoretical lenses, we develop and test a conceptual model examining the supply management function’s status, supply manager’s networking behavior, collaboration with the internal customer, and operating performance (lower cost, better quality, faster delivery, and consistent delivery). We also examine the mediating effect of collaboration and networking behavior on the positive effect of status and operating performance. Data gathered in an online survey of supply management professionals are examined using path analysis. Results show that without including the mediators, supply management status is directly related to all four operating performance measures. It is also positively related to collaboration with the internal customer and networking behavior. Contrary to expectations, the supply manager’s networking behavior is not related to collaboration with the internal customer. Collaboration is positively related to all four operating performance measures. However, the supply manager’s networking behavior is only related to one operating performance measure, better quality. Mediation analysis shows that supply management status has a direct effect on faster delivery performance beyond what is explained by collaboration and the supply manager’s networking behavior. The findings suggest that organizations should look for ways to elevate the status of the supply management function to improve internal collaboration and operating performance.     

Customization of the online purchase process in electronic retailing and customer satisfaction: An online field study

This paper investigates the customization of the online purchase process in electronic retailing. We conceptualize customization relevant to the two constituent sub-processes in the online purchase process: (i) decision customization—the customization of the information content delivered to customers to help them in the decision-making sub-process; and (ii) transaction customization—the customization of the purchase transaction sub-process for each customer. We draw on and synthesize the theoretical perspectives of Website Usability, Technology Acceptance Model, and Transaction Costs, to triangulate and deduce hypotheses linking customization of the online purchase process in electronic retailing and customer satisfaction. The hypotheses are tested by analyzing: (i) primary data on customization of the online purchase process collected from an online field study involving a direct observation and content analysis of the websites of 422 retailers; and (ii) secondary data on customer satisfaction with the online purchase process for the same set of 422 electronic retailers collected from a publicly available data source. The research method used for the empirical analysis is Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA). The results indicate that decision customization that provides choice assistance by way of personalized product recommendations is positively associated with customer satisfaction with the decision-making sub-process; and transaction customization, oriented towards making the transaction sub-process personal, convenient, and interactive is positively associated with customer satisfaction with the purchase transaction sub-process. Additionally, the results indicate that both decision customization and transaction customization are associated with overall customer satisfaction with the online purchase process of electronic retailers. The contributions, managerial implications, and limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Sustainable product disposal: Consumer redistributing behaviors versus hoarding and throwing away

Business strategies involving sustainable product disposal have focused mostly on technical aspects but neglected to adequately incorporate the nature of consumers' behavior. The current study addresses this void. We study consumer product disposal behavior and subsequently offer insights to businesses on how to incorporate consumer input into their strategic decision making in the light of opportunities to mitigate environmental impacts. Consumers' redistributing of unwanted but still useful products to others by reselling, passing along, or donating, rather than hoarding or throwing away, contributes to product lifetime extension and waste management. We study factors influencing product redistribution and explore profile of consumers who engage in various disposal behaviors. Findings from two online surveys, on mobile phones and sunglasses, reveal that specific waste attitudes, that is, waste minimization and waste aversion, rather than general environmental concern, are key determinants of product redistribution choice. Product cost is positively related to reselling and giving behaviors. Furthermore, product quality and product self-image congruency significantly reduce the odds of throwing away. The method of product redistribution is also influenced by consumers' demographic characteristics including age, education level, and income. This paper advances extant literature on product disposal from the perspective of the consumer and provides input into development of business strategies that incorporate consumers' sustainable disposal behaviors. We also offer input to policy makers on how to curb or delay waste and pollution.     

购房者认知价值对“小产权房”购买行为的影响——以武汉市为例

研究目的:揭示购房者认知价值对小产权房购买行为的影响,测度购房者认知价值各类因子对小产权房购买行为的影响方向和程度。研究方法:文献资料法、问卷调查法、因子分析法、结构方程模型法。研究结论:1.小产权房购房者认知价值因子可分为功能服务、购买成本、持有风险、心理诉求。2.功能服务、购买成本、心理诉求对小产权房购买行为动机层面有正向影响,其中功能服务的影响程度最大;购买成本、功能服务对小产权房购买行为决策层面有正向影响,持有风险对小产权房购买行为决策层面有负向影响,其中购买成本的影响程度最大。     

Creating consumer durable retailer customer loyalty through order fulfillment service operations

Manufacturers now find themselves in the position of finding new ways to remain competitive in the era of retail power. The onus rests on the manufacturer's ability to implement operational strategies that help the retailer achieve its objectives. Specifically, manufacturers that establish successful order fulfillment service can affect retailer loyalty. The overarching goal of this research, therefore, is to examine the importance to operations managers of understanding the order fulfillment needs and expectations of their retail customers and to establish the value-added role that operations management plays in developing retailer loyalty. Empirical evidence is provided on the relationships between relational order fulfillment service, operational order fulfillment service, satisfaction, affective commitment, purchase behavior, and loyalty. Such evidence not only focuses on the strategic importance of the OM discipline in manufacturer–retailer relationships, but also extends previous OM theory by taking a more complex view of the loyalty phenomenon.     

我国钢铁企业的成本压力解析

本文通过对我国各类型钢铁企业的内外环境分析,揭示了我国钢铁企业由于能源瓶颈、同行业内部竞争、下游企业、政府行为等引起的竞争压力和成本压力,并且试图通过采购流程再造、扩大生产规模、改变产品结构、企业经营战略等措施缓解、分散这种成本压力,使我国钢铁企业在国际市场上更具竞争力。     

Creating value through returns management: Exploring the marketing–operations interface

Managing the return flow of product is increasingly recognized as a strategically important activity that involves decisions and actions within and across firms. We focus specifically on returns management at the marketing-operations interface, by utilizing the conceptualization of customer value and its related drivers. In order to explore the phenomenon of returns management across a multi-disciplinary, managerial spectrum, a qualitative research methodology relying on individual managers’ perceptions was chosen to generate depth of understanding given the limited current understanding of the research topic under consideration. Our results suggest that functional integration at the marketing-operations interface can lead to better alignment of corporate resources and thus create higher levels of customer value. We also found the external business environment to impact how and why a firm creates customer value through the returns management process. Overall, our results suggest that when returns management is recognized as a matter of a firm's competitiveness, the joint role of operations and marketing is imperative to success.     

The role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms: case-study evidence from Western New York

This paper investigates the role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms in an economically declining region of the United States (Western New York). The outreach initiatives of a specific University at Buffalo (UB) programme are described. Particular attention is given to the activities of UB's Centre for Industrial Effectiveness (CIE), an outreach unit with a mandate to improve the product and/or process development efforts of local manufacturing firms. Our data suggest positive returns on investment for firms that have sought technical support under CIE programmes. A key finding is that CIE's services typically entail the transmission of well-established procedures rather than radically new ways of doing things. A further finding is that firms that have used CIE to develop improved products have experienced stronger investment returns than their counterparts that have focused upon process development (although the returns are positive in both instances). More broadly, our data suggest positive correlations between levels of project investment and a variety of commercial outcomes, including sales growth, job-retention, and unit-cost reduction. The implications of these results for regional economic development policy are discussed. The paper also reviews some of the weaknesses that curtail the effectiveness of university-based centres such as CIE.     

How much do online consumers really value free product returns? Evidence from eBay

Consumer return rates have been steadily rising in recent years, resulting in growing costs for retailers who must manage the returns process and the disposition of returned products. This cost pressure is driven in part by extremely generous return policies, such as giving consumers a full refund upon return. Interestingly, this common retail practice of full refunds is inconsistent with the recommendations of many analytical models of returns, which nearly always show that a partial refund is optimal. Such inconsistencies between theory and practice might arise when the decision drivers included in the analytical models do not match the decision drivers in practice. It might also be the case that retailers are overly optimistic about the value that consumers assign to a full refund, and thus assume that the value of such a policy outweighs its costs. In this paper, we use data collected from eBay, where identical products are sold with different return policies, to investigate these open questions in the literature. We analyze both the return policy drivers from the retailer's perspective and the return policy value from the consumer's perspective. Our results suggest that the value of a full refund policy to consumers may not be as large as one might expect, and it also exhibits a large heterogeneity across buyers with different levels of online purchase experience. In addition, we provide empirical evidence for what has long been suspected by online retailers – that a non-refundable forward shipping charge quickly erodes any value that consumers assign to return policies. The generality of our results is limited by the fact that eBay differs from traditional retail contexts in many respects, including the fact that eBay buyers may not be representative of the general buyer population. However, our study of how eBay consumers value free returns provides new insights into an understudied area, and it can serve as a starting point for future studies of the value of return policies in other retail contexts.     

Understanding relationship quality and online purchase intention in e-tourism: A qualitative application

This study explores the formation of relationship quality and online purchase intention in the service context of tourism, and a model is also introduced. This study tries to conceptualize a model based on a mediating mechanism of relationship quality that may be applied to understand online purchase intention in tourism. Learning the critical role of relationship quality in e-tourism can guide tour service providers to design different strategies for different online customers, and consequently achieve high customer online purchase to tourist service and product. In the proposed model of this study, the perceived incentive, perceived service quality, perceived ease of purchasing and perceived usefulness influence customer online purchase intention indirectly via the mediation of relationship quality. Additionally, five propositions are derived accordingly based on the proposed model and literature review. Finally, discussion, limitation and future research are also provided.     

物流设计对采购成本影响的思考

在现代企业的经营管理中,采购物流管理是当前企业管理的重要方向。合理的物流设计可以起到降低企业采购成本的作用。就目前而言,如何进行物流设计降低采购成本是当前企业物流关注的焦点,因此,研究物流设计对采购成本的影响具有十分重要的现实意义。文中以物流设计为切入点,在分析物流设计影响采购成本的因素的基础上,重点探索了优化物流设计降低采购成本的策略,旨在说明物流设计对采购成本的重要性,以期为物流设计提供参考。     

消费者跨渠道搭便车意愿的驱动因素分析

在多渠道环境下,消费者利用一家离线零售商来搜集信息或评估产品,然后转换到另一家在线零售商来实现其购买决策。通过实证方法分析可能会引起消费者在购买决策过程中转换渠道的驱动因素。其中,推动作用包括消费者使用多种渠道的自我效能;拉动作用,即竞争对手的在线零售商的吸引力,两者对搭便车意愿都具有正面影响。然而,系泊作用,即零售商锁定,对跨渠道搭便车意愿具有负面影响。     

供应链成本控制的影响因素及优化途径研究

随着经济一体化的发展,企业实施供应链成本控制具有重要现实意义。文章通过对物料采购成本、订单管理成本、库存持有成本、信息管理成本、运输成本以及牛鞭效应等影响供应链成本控制因素分析,提出了供应链成本控制的五种优化途径。     

在线商家的退货管理

随着中国电子商务不断发展，商品退货问题日益凸显。加强和改善退货管理，将帮助在线商家吸引和稳定客源，提高在市场中的竞争力。文章建立在线商家利润最大化的模型，比较在线商家管理退货物流的不同模式，给出将退货物流外包的条件：再对舍有退货政策的利润函数进行优化，结合企业实践经验，探讨退货比率等参数对退货政策的影响，为中国在线商家的退货管理提出建议。     

A goal orientation model of feedback-seeking behavior

Why do individuals differ in their feedback-seeking behavior, and how do these differences impact their task performance? The current article addresses these questions by developing a theoretical model using the individual difference of goal orientation (an orientation toward developing or demonstrating one's ability) as a central influence in the feedback-seeking process. Goal orientation is proposed to influence how individuals cognitively process the cost and value of feedback-seeking opportunities. These cognitions are then proposed to influence the choices made for six dimensions of feedback-seeking behavior—the frequency, type, source, method, timing, and sign preference. The argument is then made that assessment of multiple dimensions of feedback seeking, compared to the customary frequency assessment, should enhance our ability to explain the relationship of feedback-seeking behavior with outcomes such as task performance. Finally, the theoretical model is discussed as a platform for future research and as a source of guidance for the management of feedback-seeking behavior.     

园林绿化工程建设项目的成本控制——以嘉和城C1C2地块为例

在工程项目实施阶段，一些项目管理者只注重现场管理，而忽视工程成本和利润管理，背离了项目管理的成本核心。项目管理的成本目标是：合理使用人力、物力、财力，降低成本，增加收入，使项目取得最佳的经济效益。就此，文章阐述了园林工程成本控制的原则和有效途径。     

加强物资采购管理 降低综合采购成本

当前,现代物流业飞速发展,在新的形势下如何加强物资采购全过程管理,最大限度地降低综合采购成本,已成为煤炭物资流通企业关心的工作重点。文章从采购计划管理、供应商管理、采购方式和采购渠道管理等方面阐述了降低煤炭企业物资采购综合成本的方式方法,并对降低采购成本的具体措施进行了分析。