Service process configurations in electronic retailing: A taxonomic analysis of electronic food retailers

We developed a taxonomy of service processes in electronic retailing using data from 255 electronic food retailers. The taxonomy is comprised of eight service process configurations. Analysis of publicly available data on on-line customer ratings for 52 retailers in the study sample shows that the ordering of the configurations in the taxonomy on a continuum of low to high flexibility is associated positively with (i) customer satisfaction with web site aesthetics, web site navigation, product selection, product information, customer support, and ease of return, and (ii) customer loyalty.