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Linking Order Fulfillment Performance to Referrals in Online Retailing: An Empirical Analysis
Author(s) -
Griffis Stanley E.,
Rao Shashank,
Goldsby Thomas J.,
Voorhees Clay M.,
Iyengar Deepak
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of business logistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.611
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 2158-1592
pISSN - 0735-3766
DOI - 10.1111/jbl.12002
Subject(s) - business , order (exchange) , marketing , order fulfillment , empirical research , supply chain , finance , statistics , mathematics
Referral management for online retailers is a strategically important activity, as referrals offer a highly cost‐effective method of customer acquisition. In fact, online customers mention referrals as the second‐most common reason for choosing to shop at a particular retailer, second only to search engine suggestions. However, while online retailers are able to improve their visibility on search engines through focused keyword insertions, they are often unable to pinpoint the drivers of referral behavior among their customers. The current research examines the relationship between two key dimensions of online retailing: order fulfillment cycle times and referral behavior. Employing a theory of customer appraisal and empirically testing the ensuing model using structural equation modeling, we find that excellent order fulfillment is instrumental in generating referrals for the online retailer, even after factoring in product quality.