Satisfaction and Loyalty in E-Commerce: The Moderating Role of Nationality

Abstract

The market for online shopping is becoming more important as there are more than two billion internet users worldwide. In Europe the online sales is forecast to grow at the rate of ten percent per year. In response to this trend, e-tailers are going global and they are tailoring their marketing efforts in various countries as per the local cultures. This research investigates the varying impact of three important drivers (E-business design, satisfaction, and trust) of E-Loyalty in three countries (Germany, France, and the Netherlands.) We find that satisfaction has a significant and positive impact on both trust, and E-Loyalty in all the three countries. This unvarying impact of satisfaction across the three countries is powerful and emphasizes the need for organizations to commit to customer satisfaction in all the countries where they operate. However, the impact of trust on E-Loyalty is stronger for German customers than for French and Dutch customers. E-business design (information design, navigation design, and visual design) also has a positive and unvarying impact on E-Loyalty across all the three countries. Limitations of this research and directions for future research are provided.