Will Alibaba’s additional financial service contribute to sellers’ satisfaction and loyalty during the pandemic? Evidence from Taobao sellers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has shown dramatic growth in recent decades, and sellers on e-commerce platforms have also been affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. By collecting data from 313 Taobao sellers, we investigated the relationships among e-commerce platform additional financial service quality, sellers’ satisfaction, and loyalty to the platform, as well as the moderating roles of sellers’ financial pressure during the pandemic and perceived COVID-19 government financial support in the satisfaction-loyalty relationship. Our results show that better financial service quality enhances sellers’ satisfaction with the platform, which in turn translates into platform loyalty. We also evidence the moderating effects of COVID-related financial pressure and sellers’ perception of COVID-related government financial relief policy on the satisfaction-loyalty relationship. Our research makes potential contributions to the e-commerce field and provides timely guidance for e-commerce practice in the pandemic period.