The Last Mile in an Electronic Commerce Business Model - Service Expectations of Austrian Online Shoppers

Many existing research approaches on business models in e-commerce are on a high and aggregated level. Furthermore, there are few empirical insights into the appropriateness of chosen e-commerce business models. The paper at hand focuses on the empirical analysis of the last mile issue in b2c ecommerce. For this purpose a research framework for e-commerce business models is presented that serves as a basis for empirical analyses as well as for managerial decisions. The framework takes strategic decisions and conditions of an e-commerce business model into account. Based on this framework the specific issue of last mile logistics is empirically analyzed. Relevant action alternatives for physical distribution are investigated according to their appropriateness from consumers’ point of view. The empirical study has been carried out on behalf of 180 face-to-face interviews. Results indicate that the product category has a strong impact on customers’ expectations on an electronic retailer’s last mile logistics service whereas the customers’ flexibility in terms of time and location obviously does not influence their requirements for logistical services.