The Role of Channel Integration in Customers' Perceptions Transfer from Offline Channel to Online Channel Service Quality

Abstract

The advancement of internet technology revolutionized the online shopping environment and offered more options to cus- tomers in their purchase process, providing them with better products and services and providing opportunities for business firms to open an additional channel to grow. Based on previous inconsistent results regarding the construct of the different channels, the current study proposes Channel Integration as a moderator. Some authors also attribute these insignificant results to a lack of channel integra- tion. While the number of channels increases, the issue of synergies and coordination among channels also increases. The current study investigates the connection between offline service quality and Online Service Quality (ONSQ). Additionally, the moderation of channel integration between of??line service quality and ONSQ justifies inconsistent results in multichannel literature. Data was collected from358 customers of various online fashion industry ??irms in Pakistan. The study results indicate the significant association between offline ser- vice quality and ONSQ. The construct of channel integration moderates the relationship between of??line service quality and ONSQ. Hence, the higher the perceived integration between the multiple channels ofthe firm, the better is the transfer ofcustomer perceptions fromone channel to another. Therefore, multichannel firms should acknowledge the role of channel integration in shaping behavioral intentions in multiple channel interaction. Several other variables can be tested to check their moderating effect on customer's perception transfer.