The Signaling Effect of E-Tailer’s Reputation And Return Policies

Abstract

The factors under research in this study pertain to consumer’s perception of return policy fairness, return difficulty, signaling effect of e-tailer’s reputation on return policy fairness and return difficulty. Signaling effect of the e-tailer’s reputation on product and service quality. Finally, the effect of product and service quality on purchase intention is assessed. Data collection method employed for this study involved an online survey form the collected data was analyzed using PLS SEM. The hypothesis of signaling effect of reputation turned out to be true for both product and service quality. The effect of quality on purchase intention was also found to be positive. The effect of perceived return policy fairness on purchase intention was found to insignificant unless perceived trust was acting as a mediator. The research also studied the tangible and intangible factors and their effect on consumer future buying intention. Literature review revealed ‘return difficulty’ as an inhibiting factor to purchase intention and e-tailer reputation although this study did not find that effect to be true and hence the relationship needs more study and scrutiny for a more established effect. This study would help e-commerce businesses and managers to understand how different factors effect businesses reputation and consumer behavior and devise strategies accordingly. This study was conducted for a single e-tailer “daraz.pk” so it’s likely that the results might variate for other e-sellers and this study would provide a good starting point for further studies specially in the south Asian context.