Elsevier

Knowledge-Based Systems

Volume 37, January 2013, Pages 48-61
Knowledge-Based Systems

A new hybrid MCDM model combining DANP with VIKOR to improve e-store business

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knosys.2012.06.017Get rights and content

Abstract

Many consumers today buy products and services from e-stores. Because e-store managers are responsible for allocating different resources, it is essential that they understand consumers’ shopping behaviour to provide the best possible value for visitors to their websites. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to focus on assessing and improving strategies to reduce the gaps in customer satisfaction caused by interdependence and feedback problems among dimensions and criteria to achieve the aspiration level. We propose a new hybrid Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) model, combining the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), DEMATEL-based Analytic Network Process (DANP), and VIšekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (VIKOR) methods to solve these problems. Then, three real cases are used to illustrate how the proposed new hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model improves e-store business. These results can provide e-store managers with a knowledge-based understanding of how to create marketing strategies that reduce the performance gaps of dimensions and criteria to satisfy consumers’ needs and encourage customers to purchase more.

Introduction

It has become increasingly common for consumers to buy products and services from e-stores because these types of stores provide them with a convenient and fast shopping environment and high-quality products and services, saving them time and money. E-stores have become an important retailing channel, and many such stores have been established and are experiencing a continuous increase in sales. Therefore, this article focuses on the assessment, improvement, and setting of strategies to better meet customer needs. These needs are met by reducing performance gaps introduced by interdependence and feedback problems among dimensions and criteria, allowing the aspiration level to be achieved and promoting customer satisfaction to bring people real happiness. It is essential for e-store managers to know how to manage business and marketing strategies because the success of the store depends on excellent management and accurate marketing strategies.

Electronic commerce (EC) is defined as the process of buying, selling, or exchanging products, services, advertisements, and information via electronic communication technologies (the Internet and www, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), smartphones, and tablet computers). Those technologies facilitate the manufacturing of products and the provision of services to satisfy the wants and needs of consumers [4], [51], [66]. EC includes e-stores, and because shopping is a complex behaviour composed of rational choices, amusement, and social communication [87], [90], understanding consumers’ wants and needs is critical for the stores’ successful management and development [27], [90]. This understanding particularly applies to e-stores, in which consumers’ shopping behaviour may be different from that in traditional brick-and-mortar stores [71], [91]. Therefore, e-store management issues are a hot topic because such stores seek to extend their consideration sets and improve consumers’ welfare, and the quality and quantity of individually customised interfaces can facilitate a better, more efficient purchase decision-making process [62], [88].

Previous EC researchers have focused on the consumers’ motivations [30], [71], the shopping behaviour [39], [81], the intelligent agents [43], [86], the satisfaction-loyalty relationship [5], [15], [63], and the risk [10]. This research has focused on how to manage e-stores and create marketing strategies. Previous relation methods have focused on influence [38], assessment [13], ranking [37], [92], selection [18], [36], [47], [49], [60], [72], and improvement [14], [21], [46], [48], [50], [51], [59], [83], [85]. Thus, this study seeks a new hybrid Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) model combining the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique to build an influential relationship among dimensions and criteria, DEMATEL-based ANP (DANP) to find the influential weights, and VIšekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (VIKOR) methods to assess performance, not only in ranking and selection but also in improving and creating e-store marketing strategies to reduce gaps in each dimension and criterion to promote the e-store environment and satisfy customers’ needs. These processes can not only help e-store managers to understand customers’ wants and needs, they can also assist them in improving their products and service to reduce performance gaps in customer satisfaction by building an effective e-store marketing strategy.

An empirical study of three e-stores — Yahoo, PChome, and Books aims to demonstrate the proposed new hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model for ranking and improvement. Because this study focuses on the effects of certain influential relationships among dimension and criteria in an e-store business and the creation of marketing strategies for the e-store manager, this study surveyed three e-stores to determine the best strategies for improving an e-store. From the survey results, we found that prioritising the customers’ needs and giving them perfect post-purchase service can affect customers’ purchase decisions, information searches, and evaluation of alternatives. Therefore, initial marketing strategies can include advertisements and light products to meet the customers’ needs. Then, the e-store can create high-quality post-sales service programmes, offer fast delivery of products, provide complete packaging, communicate after the purchase, offer guarantees, and implement liberal returns policies to improve post-purchase service.

The remainder of this paper is organised as follows: Section 2 reviews the consumer decision-making process and evaluation framework, including e-store business criteria and performance. Section 3 provides a brief introduction of the DEMATEL technique, the DANP influential weights and the VIKOR method used to establish a new hybrid MCDM model to resolve problems of interdependence and feedback. An empirical study of Yahoo, PChome, and Books is presented in Section 4 to demonstrate the proposed model and, finally, conclusions and remarks are presented in Section 5.

Section snippets

Review of consumers’ decision-making process and evaluation framework

An e-store markets and sells products or services offered by a company [54]. E-stores are becoming critically important to online retailers, and they have become important parts of retailer strategy [30]. Therefore, knowing the needs of customers and how to meet those needs is important. E-stores are a highly visible, well-received, and popular type of e-commerce [20], [26] that sells products and services online [8], [67]. E-stores are part of the e-commerce and retail channel, which includes

Building a new hybrid MCDM model for e-store management

This research uses the DEMATEL technique and combines a DANP with a VIKOR method to establish a new hybrid MCDM model to address the problems of interdependence and feedback among certain criteria and reduce the performance gap in each dimension and criterion. The DEMATEL technique is used to build an influential network relations map (INRM), and the DEMATEL-based Analytic Network Process (DANP) is expected to obtain the influential weights using the basic concept of Analytic Network Process

Empirical case study of real e-stores

Because e-store commerce is growing fast, and the Internet is not limited by national boundaries, the competitive business environment makes it essential for e-store managers to know how to manage their e-stores and attract more consumers to browse, purchase, and repurchase. Previous papers seldom address e-store management and marketing strategy problems.

We used two different questionnaires in this research. The first questionnaire for influential relationships among criteria was distributed

Conclusion and remarks

This study can help e-store managers to reflect on the improvement of marketing strategies, service re-engineering, and management redesign. The influential weight questionnaire from experts and the performance questionnaires from 1,018 e-store consumers are more relevant than other traditional evaluation techniques in the real world.

E-stores can offer products and services at a reduced cost at any time and in any place, making good e-store management essential in the business field. This

References (95)

  • J. Ganesh et al.

    Online shopper motivations, and e-store attributes: an examination of online patronage behavior and shopper typologies

    Journal of Retailing

    (2010)
  • Y.H. Hung et al.

    Knowledge management adoption and assessment for SMEs by a novel MCDM approach

    Decision Support Systems

    (2011)
  • D.J.F. Jeng et al.

    Social influence on the use of clinical decision support systems: revisiting the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology by the fuzzy DEMATEL technique

    Computers and Industrial Engineering

    (2012)
  • D.J. Kim et al.

    A multidimensional trust formation model in B-to-C e-commerce: a conceptual framework and content analyses of academia/practitioner perspectives

    Decision Support Systems

    (2005)
  • W.-Y. Liang et al.

    The evaluation of intelligent agent performance — an example of B2C e-commerce negotiation

    Computer Standards & Interfaces

    (2012)
  • C.C. Lin et al.

    The critical factors impact on online customer satisfaction

    Procedia Computer Science

    (2011)
  • C.L. Lin et al.

    Evaluating vehicle telematics system by using a novel MCDM techniques with dependence and feedback

    Expert Systems with Applications

    (2010)
  • J. Liou et al.

    Reply to comment on using a modified grey relation method for improving airline service quality

    Tourism Management

    (2012)
  • J.J.H. Liou

    Developing an integrated model for the selection of strategic alliance partners in the airline industry

    Knowledge-Based Systems

    (2012)
  • J.J.H. Liou et al.

    A hybrid ANP model in fuzzy environments for strategic alliance partner selection in the airline industry

    Applied Soft Computing

    (2011)
  • C.H. Liu et al.

    Improving tourism policy implementation – the use of hybrid MCDM models

    Tourism Management

    (2012)
  • S. Opricovic et al.

    Compromise solution by MCDM methods: a comparative analysis of VIKOR and TOPSIS

    European Journal of Operational Research

    (2004)
  • R.A. Shang et al.

    Extrinsic versus intrinsic motivations for consumers to shop on-line

    Information & Management

    (2005)
  • Y.C. Shen et al.

    Combined DEMATEL techniques with novel MCDM for the organic light emitting diode technology selection

    Expert Systems with Applications

    (2011)
  • D.M. Szymanski et al.

    e-Satisfaction: an initial examination

    Journal of Retailing

    (2000)
  • P.L. To et al.

    Shopping motivations on internet: a study based on utilitarian and hedonic value

    Technovation

    (2007)
  • G.H. Tzeng et al.

    Multicriteria selection for a restaurant location in Taipei

    International Journal of Hospitality Management

    (2002)
  • Y.L. Wang et al.

    Brand marketing for creating brand value based on a MCDM model combining DEMATEL with ANP and VIKOR methods

    Expert Systems with Applications

    (2012)
  • J.H. Wu et al.

    Development of a tool for selecting mobile shopping site: a customer perspective

    Electronic Commerce Research and Applications

    (2006)
  • R. Yan et al.

    Channel integration and profit sharing in the dynamics of multi-channel firms

    Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

    (2010)
  • J.L. Yang et al.

    An integrated MCDM technique combined with DEMATEL for a novel cluster-weighted with ANP method

    Expert Systems with Applications

    (2011)
  • C. Albert

    Service loyalty: the effects of service quality and the mediating role of customer satisfaction

    European Journal of Marketing

    (2002)
  • S. Ažman et al.

    Asymmetric and nonlinear impact of attribute-level performance on overall customer satisfaction in the context of car servicing of four European automotive brands in Slovenia

    Organizacija

    (2012)
  • W.O. Bearden et al.

    Selected determinants of consumer satisfaction and complaint reports

    Journal of Marketing Research

    (1983)
  • D.J. Cahill

    The managerial implications of the learning organization: a new tool for internal marketing

    Journal of Services Marketing

    (1995)
  • A. Carini, V. Sehgal, P.F.Evans, D. Roberge, European Online Retail Forecast, 2010–2015. February 28, 2011....
  • E.C. Chang, Y.F. Tseng, Research note: e-store image, perceived value and perceived risk. Journal of Business Research,...
  • H.H. Chang et al.

    The impact of online store environment cues on purchase intention: trust and perceived risk as a mediator

    Online Information Review

    (2008)
  • S.C. Chen et al.

    Interpreting dimensions of consumer trust in e-commerce

    Information Technology and Management

    (2003)
  • Y.C. Chen et al.

    Fuzzy MCDM approach for selecting the best environment-watershed plan

    Applied Soft Computing

    (2011)
  • Z. Chen et al.

    A conceptual model of perceived customer value in e-commerce: a preliminary investigation

    Psychology and Marketing

    (2003)
  • J.S. Chiou et al.

    Antecedents of internet retailing loyalty: differences between heavy versus light shoppers

    Journal of Business and Psychology

    (2009)
  • W.Y. Chiu, G.H. Tzeng, H.L. Li, Improving the e-store business model for satisfying customers’ needs using a hybrid...
  • Chloe, European online shopping to grow by 12% a year: predictions. February 28, 2012...
  • K.S. Chon

    The role of destination image in tourism: a review and discussion

    Tourism Review

    (1990)
  • A. Ellinger et al.

    The influence of supply chain management competency on customer satisfaction and shareholder value

    Supply Chain Management: An International Journal

    (2012)
  • S. Elliott

    Electronic Commerce: B2c Strategies and Models

    (2002)
  • Cited by (240)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text