Journal of Business logistics, Vol. 28, no. 2, 2007 ... - Global Initiatives

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110 hult, boyer, and ketchen, Jr.FIGURE 1OPERATIONAL LOGISTICS STRATEGIES FOR EXTENDING THE SUPPLY CHAINStore-basedOrder FulfillmentDistribution CenterLowLowIndirectSemiExtendedStrategyDe-CoupledStrategyDeliveryDeliveryCostCustomerConvenienceDirectFullyExtendedStrategyCentralizedExtendedStrategyHighHighLowLowPickingEfficiencyCapitalInvestmentHighHighHypothesis DevelopmentAs shown in Figure 2, using the logic established by Vorhies and Morgan (2003), we posit linkagesamong quality, operational logistics strategy, and customers’ repurchase intentions. To specifyand test the relationships outlined in Figure 2, we draw on the insights of Doty, Glick, and Huber(1993) and Venkatraman (1990) who suggest that when fit among multiple variables is consideredsimultaneously (as in the holistic study of the relationship between quality characteristics and operationallogistics strategy types) and links to criterion variables are assessed (i.e., repurchase intentions),fit should be conceptualized and assessed via profile deviation analysis (cf. Vorhies and Morgan2003). Profile deviation analysis views fit as the degree to which a particular case (a customer,in our study) matches an “ideal” profile (an optimal standing within a dataset) (Venkatraman 1990;Zajac, Kraatz, and Bresser 2000).34
Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2007 111FIGURE 2A MODEL OF CUSTOMERS’ BEHAVIORAL REPURCHASE INTENTIONSQuality Profile Characteristics• Service Quality• Product Quality• eBusiness QualityLogistics Strategies• Semi Extended Strategy• Fully Extended Strategy• De-Coupled Strategy• Centralized Extended StrategyQuality Profile Fitwith Strategic TypeDeviation from an idealquality profile that producessuperior performance byarranging resources in waysthat enable logistics strategyimplementation.Customers’BehavioralRepurchaseIntentionsThe expectation that product-, service-, and eBusiness-quality have a linkage with repurchaseintentions among online grocery firms can be traced to the theoretical grounding offered by theNordic School of Service Management (NSSM) (Grönroos 1982, 1984; Grönroos and Gummesson1985). The NSSM perspective lends itself well to online business encounters (such as online groceryshopping) signified by a considerable product component (Grönroos 1990). What happens in theseonline encounters will have a critical impact on the perceived service, product, and eBusiness qualitiesas well as customers’ future behavioral intentions. Customers’ behavioral repurchase intentions“can be viewed as indicators that signal whether customers will remain with or defect from the company”(Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman 1996, p. 33).35Based on the NSSM school of thought, customers evaluate the online business encounter alongtwo dimensions, a technical and a functional dimension (e.g., Grönroos 1984). Related to the technicaldimension, what customers receive in their interactions with the firm is important to theirevaluation (e.g., Zeithaml 1988). This is often thought of as the quality of the product delivered (i.e.,the technical quality). It is what the customer is left with when the production process and onlineinteractions are over. Additionally, product quality has been found to have an impact on customer’sbehavioral intentions (Normann 1984).However, the technical dimension will not account for a consumer’s total evaluation of the onlinegrocery encounter. Customers will also be influenced by the way in which the product – the outcomeor end result of the encounter – is delivered to them. As such, customers are influenced by how theyreceive the products. This portion of the online grocery encounter is referred to as functional qualitywithin the NSSM framework. It incorporates the more subjective service and eBusiness qualities associatedwith the encounter (cf. Grönroos 1982, 1990). Based on the NSSM school of thought (e.g.,Grönroos 1990) coupled with subsequent research on service and eBusiness qualities, both quality
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