Enhancing e-platform business by customer service systems: a multi-methodological case study on Ali Wangwang instant message’s impacts on TaoBao

Ya-Jun Cai, Yingjia Wang and Juzhi Zhang ()
Additional contact information
Ya-Jun Cai: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Yingjia Wang: The University of Manchester
Juzhi Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China

Annals of Operations Research, 2020, vol. 291, issue 1, No 4, 59-81

Abstract: Abstract E-commerce is very popular nowadays and e-platforms like TaoBao are crucially important. Ali Wangwang, as a subsidiary of TaoBao, is providing important functions to the e-customer services. Motivated by the importance of the e-customer service in managing customer relations and enhancing sales, this paper aims to investigate how to enhance e-platform business operations by improving e-customer service systems. Specifically, we adopt a multi-methodological case study approach to examine Ali Wangwang instant message (an e-customer service) and explore its impacts on the e-platform TaoBao. Our empirical research via surveys shows that Ali Wangwang plays an important role in customers’ online purchase decision making; moreover, the response time and communication efficiency are the two critical factors that need to be improved for Ali Wangwang. Based on our empirical findings, we then develop an analytical model to study the optimal response time and communication convenience level of an e-platform seller under both the exogenous and endogenous price cases. Finally, we propose three recommendations, including facilitating the communication channel, improving existing functions and developing new functions, and enhancing operations by setting appropriate response time and communication convenience level, for the e-platform to improve its e-customer service systems. We believe this paper will help the e-platform provide better customer service, which will further help build a successful e-commerce business.

Keywords: E-commerce; Case study; Customer service system; Ali Wangwang; TaoBao (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10479-018-2979-8 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:annopr:v:291:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10479-018-2979-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/10479

DOI: 10.1007/s10479-018-2979-8

Access Statistics for this article

Annals of Operations Research is currently edited by Endre Boros

More articles in Annals of Operations Research from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().