The Impacts Of Retail E-Commerce Platform Operational Mode Innovation On Merchant Performance And Customer Value

As one of the most active and developing new business forms and new driving forces in the current digital economy,e-commerce has gradually become the main channel of consumers’ consumption and the key driving force of economic growth.Retail e-commerce is one of the most popular online activities worldwide because it is more in line with e-commerce users’ expectations for service quality and product guarantee,as opposed to other forms of retail activities.Hence,e-commerce practitioners are increasingly leveraging retail e-commerce platforms for brand endorsement.Noteworthy,the operation modes of retail e-commerce platforms in China are characterized by diversification.Through continuous innovation of the operation modes,each platform meets the demand and requests of its target users for the quality and cost performance of products and services.As a complex ecosystem,a retail e-commerce platform involves key stakeholders including settled merchants,customers,and technical service providers(e.g.,software development,warehousing and logistics,express delivery,payment,and finance,etc.).The operation mode innovation of retail e-commerce platforms is usually in the form of cross-channel strategy innovation and marketing strategy innovation.Such innovation of the platform requires the deep participation of merchants and customers to be realized.Hence,it is of certain practical significance to explore the impact of platform operation mode innovation on merchant performance and customer value,and to provide reference and basis for the development and practice of retail e-commerce market in China.Existing literature on cross-channel strategy reveals that most of the forms of crosschannel integration investigated involve relatively independent entities,such as the offline and online parts that operated separately prior to channel integration.In addition to online-offline channel integration,the cross-channel strategy initiated by retail e-commerce platforms is another important form of channel integration.Particularly,the integrated objects are all online channels,operating on the same platform and having the same order fulfillment process.Such a cross-channel strategy often requires the participation of a large number of merchants,and its impact on the performance of merchants is worth discussing.Moreover,e-commerce platforms draw lessons from the proven effective marketing strategies in traditional retail activities,such as referral programs and loyalty programs.Prior literature has acknowledged the impact of traditional retail marketing strategies(e.g.,offline incentive programs)on customer behavior.However,in the context of retail e-commerce,it remains unclear whether the impacts of such incentive programs will change? What are some new insights into the impact of loyalty programs on customers,given the difference between online and offline shopping behavior,and the free trial settings of e-commerce membership programs? Thus,it is worth re-examining whether these marketing strategies are still effective in the current research context.Drawing on the literature on cross-channel strategy and customer incentive programs,this dissertation investigates the impact of retail e-commerce platform’s operational mode innovation on merchants’ sales performance and customer value at the strategic level and operational level,respectively.To address the research problem,we collected a large sample of real operation data from Vipshop.For our empirical strategy,we adopt several mainstream econometric methods and models(i.e.,propensity score matching method,difference-indifferences model,and Heckman selection model).The first study(Chapter 3)examines the impacts of participation in the strategic transformation from flash sale mode to mixed sales mode of “flash sale + online flagship store”through launching an online flagship store on merchants’ sales performance.The findings show that,at the strategic level,it is beneficial and effective for merchants to participate in the strategic transformation of e-commerce platform from flash sale mode to a mixed sales mode of “flash sale + online flagship store”,which can increase the overall sales revenue and the number of customers,and hence help the e-commerce platform achieve the purpose of seeking strategic transformation.Moreover,the cross-channel strategy will mainly focus on synergies effects.For merchants selling high-seasonal products,launching the flagship store can also increase the sales revenue and the number of customers at the flash sale deals level.In addition,there are downsides to launching flagship stores,which can lead to higher product return rate of merchants selling high-seasonal products.The second study(Chapter 4)explores the impacts of participation in online referral incentive programs on customer value,and the moderating roles of commission value and social commerce features.The results suggest that,at the operational level,participating in an online referral incentive program will enhance customer value.Furthermore,the commission and enhanced social attributes will amplify the positive impacts of participation in online referral incentive programs on customer value.The third study(Chapter 5)investigates the short-term and long-term effects of participation in online loyalty programs on customer value and the moderating effect of free trials.Similarly,at the operational level,participating in an online customer loyalty program will improve customer value.In addition,the provision of free trials will weaken the positive impact of participation in online loyalty programs on customer value.Together,this dissertation contributes to the literature of e-commerce business mode and cross-channel strategy,enriches the understanding of flash sale,online flagship store,and the impacts of their mixed mode on sales performance.Moreover,this dissertation advances the literature on strategic transformation by examining the important results of strategic transformation of a large international retail e-commerce platform(i.e.,Vipshop).Furthermore,it enriches the relevant literature on social commerce and referral incentive program by conducting empirical research on the impacts of participation in online referral incentive programs on customer value in the context of social commerce.In addition,it supplements the literature on customer loyalty programs by examining online characteristics and impact timelines with empirical analysis.This dissertation provides practical insights and the scientific basis for innovating operation mode of the retail e-commerce business platform(e.g.,strategic choice,service strategy,marketing strategy,etc.).First,retail e-commerce platforms should pay attention to the movements of their potential competitors in the larger market segments and remain open to imitate and absorb the advantages of others’ successfully proven business modes or strategies.Second,to make timely adjustments after transformation,e-commerce platforms and merchants should evaluate their sales performance and post-sales performance in various aspects.Retail e-commerce platforms have to provide more customized guidance and service support in terms of the design of return policies and technologies to improve customer satisfaction.Third,social commerce is an important channel to reach potential consumers.E-commerce platforms can constantly enhance the social attributes of the platform,actively promote online referral incentive programs,and make it a breakthrough point to expand social commerce business.Last,online customer loyalty programs(e.g.,paid membership programs)are effective in both the short and long term.A free trial can be used as a benefit for new users,and it may be more effective than promoting it to existing customers.