Service guarantees in an e-commerce platform: proposition of a framework based on customers' expectations, negative experiences and behavioural responses

Purpose Companies' relationship with their customers through e-commerce platforms has increased considerably in the past few years, bringing new challenges concerning service guarantees (SG). This study aims to propose a framework of the relations between customers' expectations on SG, their negative experiences and their attitudes and behavioural intentions towards an e-commerce platform. Design/methodology/approach The research had a qualitative and descriptive approach. Testimonials from clients of an online e-commerce platform were obtained through interviews via videoconference and non-participant observation on a complaints website in Brazil. The testimonies were analysed through content analysis. Findings The customer expectations regarding the SG offered by the e-commerce platform are congruent with the five categories of the theory that support this research. Customer testimonials on the complaints site show that their negative experiences with the e-commerce platform generated negative emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses towards the company. A framework was proposed, including customers' expectations regarding SG, their negative experiences and their repercussions on clients' attitudes and behavioural intentions. Originality/value This article is the only that contemplates customers' expectations about SG in an e-commerce platform, relating them to attitudes and behavioural intentions. Thus, its framework demonstrates the relationships between customer expectations about SGs, their negative experiences and attitudinal and behavioural repercussions. This article brings academic and managerial contributions for companies and managers of e-commerce platforms. It contributes to clients and consumer protection associations by revealing problems they face with SG on e-commerce platforms. This research can be used by those responsible for elaborating laws and public policies to regulate and inspect the relationships between e-commerce platforms and their customers.

DIGITAL MARKETING IN CRISIS TIME

The crisis can affect an organization for many reasons, including changes that occur in the market, technology, competition or even a pandemic currently experienced. With this, it is necessary to find solutions so that it is possible to work around the situation and continue operating in the market. This article aims to analyze what are the digital marketing strategies adopted by organizations in different crisis situations, including the Covid-19 pandemic. For this purpose, an integrative review of articles published in the Web of Science, Scopus, SPELL and SciELO databases was carried out. The results show that several strategies in the digital environment are capable of collaborating with the challenges that organizations face with globalization, such as investing in their websites, acting on their social media with content and campaigns, applications, virtual assistants, advertising and others. A research framework was created with the aim of synthesizing the findings of this integrative review. Organizations from different sectors can mirror these strategies to deal with the crisis they face or even join them so that they are not hit by unexpected adversities, resulting in loss of space or even their withdrawal from the market.