MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY ────────────────── NGUYEN LE XUAN DOANH HOW DOES CHANNEL INTEGRATION QUALITY ENRICH CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES WITH OMNICHANNEL RETAILERS? AN EXAMINATION OF MEDIATING AND MODERATING MECHANISMS MASTER BY RESEARCH THESIS Ho Chi Minh City – 2019 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY ────────────────── NGUYEN LE XUAN DOANH HOW DOES CHANNEL INTEGRATION QUALITY ENRICH CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES WITH OMNICHANNEL RETAILERS? AN EXAMINATION OF MEDIATING AND MODERATING MECHANISMS Specialization: Commercial Business Specialization code: 8340121 MASTER BY RESEARCH THESIS SUPERVISOR: Dr. LE NHAT HANH Ho Chi Minh City - 2019 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I, Nguyen Le Xuan Doanh, declare that the Master by Research thesis entitled “How does channel integration quality enrich customer experiences with omnichannel retailers? An examination of mediating and moderating mechanisms” has been composed solely by myself, with the enduring support, instruction, and insight from my supervisor Dr. Le Nhat Hanh. Except where states otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own.
Signed: Nguyen Le Xuan Doanh Date: LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Le Nhat Hanh, for her enduring support, instruction, and insight. She helped direct my interests towards relevant topics and methodological innovations in retailing, and made my experience as a master by research student truly memorable. Besides, I am grateful to all of my teachers at School of International Business - Marketing, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City for their help and support throughout my studies.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS SECOND TITLE PAGE DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ABSTRACT CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION. Research background and statement of the problem. Subject and scope of research .6 CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT. Channel integration quality with omnichannel retailers.
Customer experience with omnichannel retailers. Prior relevant studies. Research framework and hypothesis development. Stimulus-Organism–Response (SOR) framework .21 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The influences of channel integration quality (CIQ) on customer experience. The mediating mechanism: CIQ – customer empowerment – the customer experience. The moderating effect of internet usage. The influence of the customer experience on patronage intention .29 CHAPTER 03: RESEARCH METHOD.
Sample and data collection. Data analysis method .41 CHAPTER 04: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS. Assessment of measurement model. Test for common method bias.
Assessment of structural model. FIMIX analysis for data heterogeneity .52 CHAPTER 05: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION. Discussion of results .56 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Limitations and futher research .58 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS REFERENCES APPENDICES LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SOR: Stimulus-Organism-Response CIQ: Channel integration quality (CSC: Channel-service configuration, BCSC: Breadth of channel-service choice, TCSC: Transparency of channel-service configuration, InI: Integrated interactions, CC: Content consistency, PC: Process consistency) CCI: Cross-channel integration HCM: Ho Chi Minh PLS-SEM: Partial least squares structural equation modeling CMB: Common method bias VIF: Variance inflation factor SRMR: Standardized root mean square residual FIMIX-PLS: Finite mixture PLS HTMT: Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio AVE: Average variance extracted LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 2.
Definitions and examples of the sub-dimensions of CIQ……………. Sample demographic characteristics……………………………………. Scale accuracy analysis…………………………………………………. Scale accuracy analysis: Discriminant validity assessment…………….
Test for common method bias (CMB)…………………………………. Inner VIF value…………………………………………………………. Significance testing results of the structural model path coefficients…. Significance testing results of the total indirect effects…………………50 Table 4.
FIMIX-PLS results for the relative segment sizes and retention criteria.52 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2. Research model of Lee et al. Research model of Zhang et al. Research model of McLean et al.
Research model of Shen et al. Research model of Li et al. Research framework and hypotheses…………………………………. Research model in Stage I………………………………………………42 Figure 4.
Research model in Stage II……………………………………………. Analysis results…………………………………………………………51 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Title Thesis title: “How does channel integration quality enrich customer experiences with omnichannel retailers? An examination of mediating and moderating mechanisms”. Presented by: Nguyen Le Xuan Doanh Supervisor: Dr.
Le Nhat Hanh Submitted to: University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City 2. Abstract While omnichannel has been a bloated retail buzzword for years, little is known about the dynamic mechanism of forming customer experience and the subsequent patronage behavior in the context of omnichannel retailers. Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework, this thesis fills this important research gap by examining the effects of channel integration quality (CIQ) on customer experience through the mediating role of customer empowerment as well as the moderating role of internet usage, which in turn results in patronage intention. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with two-stage approach is employed to empirically test the research framework with 312 customers of the omnichannel retailers in Vietnam.
The findings reveals that two dimensions of CIQ (i., channel-service configuration and integrated interactions) significantly affect customer experience, which in turn leads to patronage intention. Moreover, customer empowerment complementarily mediates the impacts of CIQ dimensions on customer experience, while internet usage strengthens the positive relationships between customer experience and its precursors. This thesis was concluded with the meaningful practical implications for omnichannel retailers to optimize their channel management that delivers a seamless shopping experience to their customers. Keywords: Omnichannel retailers; Channel integration quality; Customer experience; Customer empowerment.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Research background and statement of the problem Over the last few years, retailing has advanced dramatically, while technological advancement has enabled retailers to connect and conduct transactions with their customers through various channels such as websites, mobile apps, social media, and so on. The way retailers interact with their customers has also been reshaped completely. For instance, with artificial intelligence, it is predicted that 90% of traditional human retail interactions will be replaced by online shopbots; meanwhile, virtual and augmented reality will allow customers to see and touch merchandise virtually (Pilkington, 2019).
With multiple channels and interactive touchpoints during customer shopping journeys, it is crucial for retailers to apply omnichannel strategies to serve customers with seamless switching among all available channels and across every touchpoint (Shen et al. According to Walk-Morris (2019), about 67% of U. retailers consider the omnichannel strategy to be a top priority, as it helps them capture the contemporary showrooming and webrooming shopping trends of customers while maintaining competitive advantages (Graham, 2017; Radial, 2016; Lee et al. A recent report by IDC Retail Insights indicates that retailers have gained an increase in 15–35% in average transaction size and 5–10% in loyal customer profitability by using the omnichannel strategy (Winkler, 2019).
In Vietnam, according to We Are Social’s report, the number of internet users has reached 64 million, equivalent to 67% of the population. Meanwhile, the rate of owning internet access devices among Vietnamese consumers has increased (i., 72% of the Vietnamese adult population use smartphone, 43% use laptop or desktop computer, and 13% use tablet) (Kemp, 2018). Along with these rapid development, omnichannel retailing has recently emerged as a new trend in Vietnam (Anh Hoa, 2017). According to a study conducted by Sapo – an omnichannel retailing platform operating in Vietnam, 97% of retail store owners applied omnichannel strategy to their business in 2018 (Tuyet An, 2019).
Omnichannel approach is also considered LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2 as a new weapon to help Vietnamese retailers maintain and expand market share (Vietnamnet, 2017). Omnichannel retailers refer to those businesses using the retailing business model which operates in a number of channels and touchpoints with synergetic management that excludes natural borders among channels (Lee et al., 2019; Verhoef et al., 2015; Zhang et al. Creating a well-integrated and unified customer experience at anytime, anywhere, through any channel is the ultimate aim of omnichannel retailers (Frazer and Stiehler, 2014; Jocevski et al. Historically, the concept of customer experience has been studied in different contexts of retailing, from physical-store retailing (Bäckström and Johansson, 2017; Jones et al., 2010; Sachdeva and Goel, 2015; Terblanche, 2018) to e-retailing (Martin et al., 2015; Pandey and Chawla, 2018; Rose et al., 2012), m-retailing (McLean et al., 2018; Tseng and Yazdanifard, 2015), and even multichannel retailing (Blázquez, 2014; Lemon and Verhoef, 2016).
However, in the context of omnichannel retailers, the seamless customer experience in which customers cognitively and affectively respond to an omnichannel retailer (McLean et al., 2018) continues to be a challenge for both practitioners and academia. Nearly 80% of retailers admit their lack of success in offering customers a unified experience across channels (Periscope, 2016). According to a recent survey conducted by TNS, 61% of U. customers have difficultly switching from one channel to another when interacting with omnichannel retailers (Dreyer, 2014); while 87% of global customers think that brands need to put more effort into delivering a seamless experience (Zendesk, 2013).
With respect to the academic side, research on the omnichannel experience remains scant and the mechanisms that underpin the seamless customer experience are not fully understood (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). To our best knowledge, the few existing studies attempt to conceptualize and describe the omnichannel experience have been qualitative and exploratory in nature (Cook, 2014; Frazer and Stiehler, 2014; Melero et al., 2016; Parise et al., 2016; Peltola et al. Thus, much uncertainty still exists about the LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 3 formation of the omnichannel customer experience as well as subsequent behavioral outcomes such as patronage intention. Channel integration quality (CIQ hereafter) is regarded as a key factor determining the ability of omnichannel retailers to manage customer relationships across channels and deliver customers with a seamless purchasing experience throughout their shopping journey (c., Lee et al.
According to Sousa and Voss (2006), CIQ is comprised of two components: channel-service configuration and integrated interactions. The former refers to the wide range and flexible combination of various online and offline channel services, while the later describes the consistency and uniformity of both content and process attributes through different channels provided by omnichannel retailers. In recent years, a number of novel service combinations and functional attributes with regard to CIQ have been implemented by omnichannel retailers. For instance, big-box omnichannel retailers like Walmart and Target have been successful in launching the “buy online, pick up in-store” or “click and collect” service (Walk-Morris, 2019b).
Moreover, in order to excluding the natural boundaries between channels and providing customers with a seamless experience, many of the in-store technologies (e., in-store interactive digital kiosks, interactive fitting rooms, price-checkers) as well as the robust mobile app features (e., scan-and-go, push notifications for in-store, online promotions) have been invested in by omnichannel retailers (Grant, 2018; Jocevski et al., 2019; Sopadjieva et al. Tesco’s Scan Pay Go app allows customers to scan and pay for their purchase by using their smartphones without visiting the store cashier, while the Amazon Go offers shoppers a brick-and-mortar shopping experience without the checkout line (Reuters, 2018; Wood, 2018). In Vietnam, VinMart and Co.opmart are vanguard retailers in scan-and-go technology, which helps customers save time when shopping by offering a prompt payment option (Dantri, 2019; Hai Kim, 2019). With these tremendous efforts to improve CIQ, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of CIQ on enhancing the seamless customer experience in the context of omnichannel retailers.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4 Customer empowerment refers to the level of control over where, when and how to shop and to get delivery that customers receive during their shopping journey (Zhang et al. According to Prentice et al. (2016), the internet and advanced technologies increasingly provide business firms with the opportunity to empower customers at their fingertips. Indeed, a number of customers today are avid users of touchpoints (Sopadjieva et al.