Logistics service quality and buyer–customer relationships: the moderating role of technology in B2B and B2C contexts

Abstract

Logistics service quality (LSQ) concentrates on the results of the company's performance in the process of bringing merchandise and information from the company's warehouse to customers' home. There is neither consensus about its dimensions nor on how it might be influenced by technological solutions. The present article aims at identifying the main antecedents of LSQ, examining the influence of technology and its effects in terms of customer commitment and loyalty in B2B and B2C contexts. As a result, similar patterns are observed in the relationships of LSQ–commitment–loyalty with mixed evidence about the moderating role of information technology.

Keywords:

• logistics service quality
• B2B
• B2C
• customers
• commitment
• loyalty
• technology

Acknowledgement

This research has been financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Project ref.: SEJ2007-66054/ECON).