Unhiding Nexus Between Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Complaints, and Loyalty in Online Shopping Environment in Pakistan

Abstract

Due to the recent development in online shopping, the e-commerce business has experienced significant growth. However, in developing nations such as Pakistan, the concept of e-commerce is yet in its early stages, and there are several roadblocks to users using this platform. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the nexus between service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction (CS), customer complaints, and loyalty in the online shopping environment by integrating the SQ model with the American Customer Service Index (ACSI) model. A conceptual framework was created and evaluated using data obtained through a structured questionnaire (n = 296) from e-commerce users. In Smart-PLS v3, the author used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the study hypotheses. As per the study findings, reliability, responsiveness, trust, WD, and personalization are significant determinants of SQ. Meanwhile, in an e-commerce context, SQ is positively associated with CS, which leads to a reduction in customer complaints and an increase in customer loyalty. The results provide a birds-eye view to the managers to direct their spending scientifically to the variables that have the most significant influence on SQ and CS. It will assist current and prospective e-commerce retailers in gaining a thorough grasp of CS, complaints, and loyalty in their industry. Furthermore, the theoretical and practical contributions were discussed in this study.