CHAPTER II:

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

I. Introduction

This chapter displays the related literature and studies attained by the researcher
through in-depth analysis. These documents will present the terms, theories, and
factors that will further demonstrate the chosen research topic.

II. Definition of Terms

a) E-commerce Industry

Technologies have developed for several years and are still evolving up to
present times. The rapid growth of technology had a huge impact on the
business world especially after the Internet was introduced. Today, the concept
of “e-commerce” or electronic commerce highly contributed to the economic
world. It provided a great advantage, especially in the business sector.

A research study by (C.Nisha and G. Sangeeta, 2012) defined e-

commerce as the use of electronic communications and digital information
processing technology in business transactions to create, transform, and redefine
relationships for value creation between or among organizations, between
organizations and individuals. In the business world, it became a key to create
connections between the seller and customers or the target market.

Similarly, one early work by (Schneider, 2011) states that e-commerce is

the most recent emergence of internet use that is steadily taking root in the
commercial and corporate business worlds. E-commerce covers a wide range of
business types, ranging from retail services to overall wholesaler and bulk. They
could be selling material goods, conducting auctions, or general service delivery
along the internet channel. It provides new business opportunities especially in
today’s new normal.

E-commerce became a part of business innovation. It provides great

possibilities for the consumers to have an exchange of money needed for the
goods or services without or with minimal encounters of challenges related to
time and distance barriers in business.

E-Commerce Facilitators

According to (Amin, Kansana, Majid, 2016), the e-commerce facilitators

include the internet, payment gateways, analytics, social media, etc.

(1) Internet:
The emergence and development of the internet allowed e-commerce to grow.
The Internet has become an essential tool for activities like shopping, learning,
communicating, etc. The digital platforms are giving solutions to reduce waste
with opportunities to have connections with customers.

(2) Payment Gateways:

An e-commerce application service provider called “payment gateway” provides
authorization of credit card payments for e-businesses. The different payment
routes are the lifeblood of online businesses. The need for payment gateways is
essential for the sustainable future of e-commerce.

(3) Analytics:
The scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better
decisions is called analytics. It provides help for businesses relative to gathering,
organizing, analyzing, and reporting about customer’s behavior.
 (4) Social Media:
Social media allows people to communicate and share information on the
internet through websites and computer programs. It also provides opportunities
for businesses to promote and offer their products and services online.

Additionally, e-commerce provides benefits and convenience of selling goods to the

customers. It also provides good opportunities for promoting and advertising business
products online. Another research examined by (Bridges & Florsheim, 2008) explained
that marketers who offer shopping on a web-based basis usually try to provide an
online-based environment that is comfortable, safe, and fun, and also suitable to handle
buyers' functional goals.

b) Courier Company

The customer (either internal or external) wants the needed product

to be delivered in the right place, time, and in the right quantity. For this
purpose, a broadly defined area of logistics focuses on transport (Coyle et
al., 2010). Established roles and responsibilities provide consistency,
cohesion, and expectations for those who perform the job and manage the
operation of the facility. Roles & Responsibilities allow the different groups
to collaborate efficiently, enabling the full integration of the company and
institution. Courier firms often have obligations and duties. To please
clients, they need to do that. These are some of the roles and duties of a
courier service:

The updated review by (Vargas,2017) discloses that delivery

service is one of the most important tasks of online purchase related to
logistics, its performance directly influences the level of satisfaction. We
aim to research what online webshops and e-commerce businesses can
or should do to have a positive impact on the customer satisfaction level.
 The research showed that the delivery process in online purchases plays
a significant role in customer satisfaction and in the decision making of
whether or not one should purchase goods from a webshop. Rudansky-
Kloppers (2014) and Jiradilok et al. (2014) state that the factor of
technology affects customer satisfaction through the delivery systems,
while Karim (2013) compares the growth of online shopping and the
internet users with their main satisfaction levels regarding their shopping
habits.

The Platform as a service is a complete cloud creation and

deployment environment with tools that allow you to deliver everything
from simple cloud-based apps to cloud-enabled advanced business apps.
On a pay-as-you-go basis, you buy the services you need from a cloud
service provider and access them over a secure Internet connection. One
of the most critical documents on any website is a confidentiality policy. It
outlines the perspectives and practices of your organization on the
knowledge obtained from tourists. Although a privacy policy is legally a
legal document, considerable effort should be taken to craft a document
that is both concise and easy to understand, it is not appropriate to
obscure secret clauses in reams of text.

c) Quality Customer Satisfaction

According to (Crosby, 1979), Quality is an exclusive and indistinctive

construction. A research study by Parasuraman (1985,1988), The
perception of service quality is the product of the consumer's comparison
between the actual performance and the procedure performed. Customer
satisfaction that improves customer loyalty ultimately contributes to
profitability for the business. These are some qualities of a courier service:
● Reliability is doing responsibilities without failing and accomplishing
the promised service precisely and reliably. Every customer
expects a reliable service performance at all times. For example,
you ordered something and it was delivered on time, with no
damage and with the right quantity.

● Interpersonal skills- are vital to the development of human

relationships, Interpersonal communication is the means through
which relationships are initiated, negotiated, maintained, and ended
(Burleson, Metts, & Kirch, 2000; Miczo, Segrin, & Allspach, 2001).
For example, you care about other people's time so when they
order something you should deliver it at the same time because
each day is important to certain people.

● Ability to Use Positive Language- Positive language is the art of

using words and phrases to communicate a positive, supportive
tone to your employees, customers, and anyone else you meet.
Using positive language is important for building rapport with
others. It makes a huge impact on the way you are perceived as a
manager or coworker (Peggy Carlaw, 2010)

● Responsiveness- is the ability to offer timely services to support

clients. Holding clients waiting for no obvious cause produces
unnecessary negative expectations of the level of service. The
capacity of the service provider to recover rapidly with
professionalism will generate very positive perceptions of quality in
the event of a service failure or interruption. On a delayed flight,
serving complimentary drinks will turn a potentially bad customer
experience into one that is favorably remembered.
 ● Able to meet deadlines- As per (Robert Half, 2019), you should not
miss your goal just because you forgot it. You should know what
your target is and you should not do it in a very short time. It is
important to set time to accomplish tasks. Make sure you're clear
on exactly what you need to deliver before beginning a mission.
Ensure that you have all the knowledge and services required.

d) Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction

Loyalty and satisfaction from customers exhibit a positive impact on

the company. When the customer is satisfied, they spread the satisfying
and pleasant treatment they have experienced with other people
(Cacioppo, 2000). Through word of mouth, consumers would like to seek
the same level of satisfaction. Hence, every individual has a different
range of expectations. Their contentment with products and services might
be affected by some of these factors:

● Order Condition

According to Mentzer et al. (2001), Bienstock et al. (1997), and

Rinehart et al. (1989), order condition addresses the damage levels
of the products due to handling throughout the transportation or
delivery process.

Upon the arrival of products, the typical reaction of the customer is

to look for damages. As stated by Demo et al. (2018), "a damaged
product will lose its intrinsic value since customers will not be able
to use it and it may need to undergo some after-sales services
which included reverse logistics." This type of condition creates a
 negative impression on the quality of offered service. It lessens the
competence level of the company logistically.

To achieve an excellent order condition, online retailers must

strengthen the packaging materials, especially for fragile items.
Couriers must be informed about the package they are going to
ship. They do not have any rights to open or check the items inside
the packaging. They should be aware of the proper methods to
handle products to maintain their good condition until they reach
their destination (Bienstock et al. 1997).

● Order Visibility

Order visibility is a crucial part of supply chain management that

allows the customer to track the ordered items according to their
right pathway. Order visibility is not just the on-time delivery of
products but also the proper handling of the delayed and
incomplete orders (Chopra, 2003). A customer must know where
the parcels are while in transit (Chopra and Meindl, 2014; Heaney,
2013).

Loss of packages and delayed shipment are the common problems

of customers. Some sellers who provide wrong or inaccurate
information about the buyer confuses the couriers to deliver the
items to the exact owner. It delays the package, and sometimes it
never reaches the customer's destination.

Courier service companies implemented policies regarding the loss

of parcels and misinformation about the buyers. If the couriers allow
customers to track their parcels, they can acquire customer
satisfaction and commitment (Li and Suomi, 2009).
● Service Variety

Service variety has been defined by Ambe (2014) as “a series of

service choices provided by a company that can attract customers
from other providers.” It contemplates being one of the overall
supply chain management and one of the leading factors that
inspire online consumers to buy via the internet (Gunasekaran et al.
2004) (Chua et al., 2006).

Through the demand of customers, companies can measure what

variety of products they are going to offer. Customers are more
likely to be satisfied when it reaches their expectations. Offering
appropriate products and services can increase the profit margin of
the company.

● Service Availability

Service availability is the possibility of readiness to serve the

customer when orders are received (Chopra and Meindl, 2014). It
refers to the capability to offer goods or services to fulfill and satisfy
the demand of the customers (Gunasekaran et al., 2004).

As a service company, couriers must be reliable to make their

customers feel confident by responding accurately to their demand
(Li and Suomi, 2009).

● Returnability of Parcels
 Returnability means returning the received dissatisfying item
through courier service companies. Couriers provide returns of the
wrong items sent (Chopra, 2003).

According to Castro and Matarrollo (2010), sensitive products such

as electronic gadgets required specific and professional care. The
courier service company needs to return such sensitive products
and communicate with the seller to recover the damaged parcels or
wrongly dispatched items.

III. Theories

From January 1996, all courier companies applied for the required licenses to
perform services. Courier transport is systematically and consistently delivered. An
exchange of information occurred through telephone notification, text message, e-mail,
website, or even by applications (Ramana et al., 2013).

Around the world, courier companies operate similarly, regardless of what

transport they offer. They track all the shipments in an automated way. They check the
possible pick-up hours, place of shipment, and services in a given area. Through
smaller cities, couriers usually pass through once a day. It is difficult for them to get
back. If a given day they have passed the shipment's area, they pick up the shipment
the next day. Distribution center functioning has a proper setup and is perfectly
synchronized. At the same time, shipments are sorted and loaded to the return
transport. The role of every distribution center to scan parcels and information from the
database is necessary.

Courier service is a type of delivery service that falls under the theory of human
service delivery. This theory explains an understanding of how people work within
systems to deliver services. These four components will help courier companies to build
the best structure for the best services.
● Intangibility
Services are intangible, for they cannot be touched nor handled. They
exist as events shared between parties. People delivering these services can
create an impression with other people. Couriers must interact positively and
effectively with their customers.

● Variability
The quality of offered services may vary depending on the situation.
Securing consistent services can gain feedback from customers. It can help
courier companies to understand the ways to improve their service.

● Limits
The fundamental limit on the service that any organization can provide is
the number of people that it has in its workforce. A courier has a wide range of
areas to deliver shipments. Increasing people can help to improve the quality or
quantity of service.

● Ideology
To provide a better service to consumers, a company must communicate
its mission. Workers become motivated if they have internal ideologies about the
vision and mission of their service.

Research of the Attribution Theory is primarily developed from Weiner, Frieze,

and Kukla’s (1971) work. It is important to note that the Attribution theory has been
mostly used in dissatisfaction/ complaining behavior models than in satisfaction models
per se. According to this model, consumers are regarded as rational processors of the
information who seek out reasons to explain why a purchase outcome, for example,
dissatisfaction, has occurred (Folkes, 1984). This model argues that when the delivery
of a service does not match customers’ prior expectations or other standards,
customers engage in an attributional process to make sense of what has occurred
(Bitner, 1990).

More specifically, this model assumes that consumers tend to look for causes for
product successes or failures and usually attribute these successes or failures using a
three-dimensional schema (Folkes, 1989; Oliver & DeSarbo, 1988; Pearce & Moscardo,
1984; Weiner et al 1971): Locus of Causality (internal or external): This means that the
purchase outcome, for example, is the cause of dissatisfaction and can be attributed
either to the consumer (internal) or to the marketer or something in the environment or
situation (external). Stability (stable/ permanent or unstable/ temporary): Stable causes
are thought not to vary over time, while unstable causes are thought to fluctuate and
vary over time. Controllability (volitional/ controllable or nonvolitional/uncontrollable):
Both consumers and firms can either have volitional control over an outcome or be
under certain controllable constraints. It is argued that under some conditions, for
example, when several consumers find themselves in agreement about the cause of
their dissatisfaction, when the same establishment repeats their mistake over and over
again (consistency), and when only this establishment commits error (distinctiveness of
the behavior is high), external attribution process takes place. On the other hand, when
the agreement is low, consistency is low and distinctiveness is low, consumers are
assumed to relate their negative reactions (dissatisfaction) to themselves (i.e., just
having an "off" day) (Pearce & Moscardo, 1984).

IV. Synthesis

The research entitled, “Customer Satisfaction Towards J&T Express in Alfonso,

Cavite” discusses the important factors that contribute to the improvement of customer
satisfaction. This study aims to assess the degree of customer satisfaction towards J&T
Express in Alfonso, Cavite.
 Customer satisfaction is achieved when a customer achieves overall
contentment with the product or service experience. It is essential for customer retention
and loyalty. There are many factors affecting customer satisfaction. Knowing these
factors will help to improve the satisfaction of customers in a courier service business.

This study can be used as a guide for the customers before choosing J&T
Express as their courier service. Furthermore, this study can be used as a feedback
mechanism of courier services, especially the J&T Express. The study will also
recommend a plan of action to improve the satisfaction of customers towards courier
services.