Critically assessing the factors contributing toward e‐logistics customer satisfaction by considering mediating role of information technology: A case study of Thailand food sector

• Published date: 01 May 2020
• Author: Andi Luhur Prianto,Kovit Wongsurawat,Arifeen Yama
• Date: 01 May 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/wfp2.12015

World Food Policy. 2020;6:7–22. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/wfp2

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© 2020 Policy Studies Organization

DOI: 10.1002/wfp2.12015

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Critically assessing the factors contributing toward

e-logistics customer satisfaction by considering

mediating role of information technology: A case

study of Thailand food sector

AndiLuhur Prianto1,2

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KovitWongsurawat3,4

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ArifeenYama5

1Doctoral Program of Political

Islam – Political Science, Universitas

Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta,

Indonesia

2Faculty of Social and Political Science,

Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar,

Makassar, Indonesia

3School of Law, Assumption University,

Bangkok, Thailand

4Office of the Royal Society, Bangkok,

Thailand

5Center of Excellence for Muslim Studies,

Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn

University, Bangkok, Thailand

Correspondence

Arifeen Yama, Center of Excellence for

Muslim Studies, Institute of Asian Studies,

Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,

Thailand.

Email: arifeen.y@chula.ac.th

Abstract

The study aimed to critically evaluate the factors contrib-

uting toward customer satisfaction in e-logistics . The me-

diating role of information technology (IT) was analyzed

considering the case of Thailand's food sector. The research

was quantitative and the primary data were accumulated on

the basis of the survey questionnaire as a research instru-

ment. The sample comprised of 488 participants belonging

to the food industry of Thailand. The data were analyzed

using SEM modeling on Smart PLS. It was found that ef-

fective payment methods, higher business safety, and faster

order fulfillment affected customer satisfaction in the con-

text of e-logistics significantly. It was also found that IT

mediated the relationship of effective payment methods,

business safety, and faster order fulfillment with customer

satisfaction partially, significantly, and positively. This re-

search was limited to the geographical bounds of Thailand

and its food sector only. Therefore, this research has certain

future research directions.

KEYWORDS

customer satisfaction, e-logistics, food sector, information technology,

Thailand

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LUHUR PRIANTO eTAL.

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INTRODUCTION

Information technology (IT) and the advancements in technological systems have been seen as a game

changer in every field of life especially in business. It has become easy for the customer to shop online

and get the goods delivered at their doorsteps. It is also easy for the customer to pay using online banking

or latest card systems (Zhang & Wang,2011). Electronic commerce has become a commonly used plat-

form for shopping in developed countries (Rungsrisawat, Sriyakul, & Jermsittiparsert,2019). However, it

is not a new concept in the developing nations but e-commerce companies face many issues due to many

factors such as high transit time, distribution cost, ineffective payment methods. E-commerce businesses

largely depend on logistics and supply chain management (Laudon & Traver, 2016).

The distribution cost plays an important role in the supply chain as the product price often depends

on the distribution cost rather than the production cost. Distribution cost are observed increasing the

overall cost and the company then increases the price of the product to cover the profit that they were

losing from the increase in the distribution cost (Hou, Chaudhry, Chen, & Hu,2017). This problem

is mostly seen in developing countries where fuel prices are continuously fluctuating. Road taxes and

other such fluctuating taxes are also the factors that affect the distribution cost. Aside from this, time

in transit is another important logistic factor that affects customer satisfaction. Transit time is actually

the time between the order that has been placed by the customer to the time that the order has been

delivered to the customer. Every customer who has placed an order wants it to be delivered as soon as

possible (Hu, Zhang, & Lim,2016).

However, there are certain factors that affect the transit time and customers receive their order late

which lead to dissatisfaction. Strikes, often called by transporters, lead to delay in the transportation

of the goods. Such strikes do not take place everywhere in the world but they are uncertain and can be

called out anytime which leaves no space for the businesses to find an alternate or inform customers

regarding the issue (Agigi, Niemann, & Kotzé, 2016). Another issue is that the outsourced company or

the delivery person faces difficulty in finding the address of the customer where the product needs to

be delivered. The final end customer who is receiving the product does not blame the delivery person

or the company that has been outsourced for the delivery but the customer creates a negative image of

the company from which they had ordered that product. In addition, the payment method comes up as

the third factor after distribution cost and transit time. Electronic payment is considered as the most

convenient method for payment (Scerri & Agarwal,2016). The whole world especially the technolog-

ically aware people from the developing countries regard this as one of the most suitable innovations

that has brought much ease in their lives.

Besides, IT plays a significant role, especially in the payment process. The electronic payment or

e-payment includes all the new payments methods for purchasing that particular product or service

online. Prepaid cards, debit cards, electronic cash, and electronic checks are a few of the commonly

used e-payment methods (Chaudhry, Farash, Naqvi, & Sher,2016). These methods provide satis-

faction to the customers as they do not have to use cash pay for things that they have ordered. These

methods have also made it easier to order any product irrespective of geographic boundaries. There

were times when customers were limited to shop from a specific region as it was difficult to pay

the amount.

However, as with every ease, there comes a few issues as well. Security is one of the major

issues with e-payments. This is particularly a big problem for the developing countries especially

where the crime rates are higher. Cyber crimes are all about such crimes where the user ID and

the password are hacked. This is considered as a prominent disadvantage of online banking. Even

though several advancements have been done by banks and companies to combat this issue, still