Effect of multichannel service delivery quality on customers’ continued engagement intention

Abstract

PurposeDrawing on the extant multichannel service quality literature and customer needs regarding the experiential value of online and offline shopping, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among multichannel service delivery quality (MSDQ), customer experiences, continued engagement intentions and customer involvement.Design/methodology/approachA research model with five hypotheses was proposed. Data were collected from 911 Taiwanese consumers who had a minimum of two years of multichannel shopping experience. The consumers were asked to complete a survey about their experience with MSDQ. Structural equation modelling was adopted to analyse the data.FindingsThe results of the analysis suggest that MSDQ positively impacts customer experiences, which in turn influence their continued engagement intentions. Furthermore, the analysis found that customer involvement positively moderates the effects of MSDQ on customer experiences.Research limitations/implicationsThis study adopts the customer experience view to examine the effect of a holistic MSDQ design (including information transparency and accessibility and channel integration) on continued engagement intentions. By integrating a different conceptual lens, this study investigates the relationships among multichannel service quality, customer experiences and customer involvement, which adds alternative insights to the existing findings.Practical implicationsManagers must provide approaches to enhance the customer experiential values of utilitarianism, aesthetic appeal and playfulness; facilitate the information flow to be transparent and easily accessible; and provide different degrees of service based on customers’ experiences with their multichannel services to satisfy all consumers’ shopping needs.Originality/valueThe literature has focussed primarily on service providers’ technology capabilities and resources to design multichannel delivery systems. However, this study develops an MSDQ model and investigates its effects on customers’ experiences and continued engagement intentions.