Title: Scale development of customer satisfaction with complaint handling and service recovery in an e-commerce setting

Authors: Parveen Kumari; Satinder Kumar; Maher N. Itani

Addresses: School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, 147002, India ' School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, 147002, India ' Operations and Supply Chain Management, College of Business Administration, Ajman University, Ajman, P.O. Box 346, UAE

Abstract: This study explores the dimensionality of customer satisfaction with complaint handling in the service failure and recovery context. It provides evidence of construct validity for a new multi-item measure of e-commerce customer satisfaction. Items for this measure were developed by reviewing the complaint handling and service recovery literature. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a 5-factor structure to this measure: 1) recovery and return; 2) employee dealing and timely response; 3) complaint solution; 4) payment and security; and 5) website-related information. The structural equation also demonstrated predicted validity for the e-commerce customer satisfaction dimensions to complaint handling and service recovery as each of these five factors was verified to have a positive relationship with overall complainant satisfaction. The study concluded that online businesses should develop service recovery strategies that encompass monetary rewards in the context of a solution to the complaint.

Keywords: E-commerce; complaint handling; complaint resolution; customer satisfaction; compensation; response time; recovery and replace; employee dealing; website security.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2021.116722

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2021 Vol.14 No.3, pp.383 - 407

Received: 11 Apr 2021
Accepted: 14 Apr 2021
Published online: 30 Jul 2021 *

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