JED, Vol 15, No.1, April 2013, pp 91-120 | DOI: 10.33301/2013.15.01.05
Customer Satisfaction with Online Group-Buying Services
Vu Huy Thong; Tran Mai Trang
Abstract:Given the essential role of customers to the success of any business,
particularly newly-established ones, it is crucial for Hanoi’s online
group-buying (OGB) companies to make constant efforts to keep their
customers satisfied. This research aims at investigating customer
satisfaction in the context of Hanoi’s OGB through both quantitative and
qualitative methods including an online customer survey with 150 OGB
customers, in-depth interviews with 20 customers, and participant
observation of five OGB websites. The research results show that the key factors affecting OGB customer
satisfaction include product price, merchandise variety, information
quality, product quality, and delivery. Also, despite the high
likelihood of customers’ repurchasing and recommending to others,
Hanoi’s OGB business has not yet met customer satisfaction, particularly
in terms of the information quality, supplier’s reputation, product
quality and delivery. The root causes of this situation include the
incomplete legal framework and ineffective management at macro-level;
the poor quality management and business ethics of OGB companies; and
the limited OGB customers’ awareness of their rights and
responsibilities.
Keywords:Online group-buying, customer satisfaction, macro-management, Hanoi, business ethics.