WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND CONSUMER PERCEPTION ON RESOLVING PRODUCT WARRANTIES ONLINE

Abstract

Objective. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the intention to use a new warranty application and the ease of warranty management, on the one side, and worklife balance, on the other side on a sample of Romanian consumers. Material and methods. Work-Life Balance Questionnaire (WLB) was used to assess the worklife balance concept. The intention to use a new warranty application and the ease of warranty management were tested using one single Likert question for each concept, assessing the degree of warranty management easiness and warranty application intention to use respectively. Consumer behavior was also assessed with self-developed descriptive items. In total, 448 respondents were included in this research. The data were statistically analyzed using Pearson correlation and descriptive statistics. Results. Results have shown a positive correlation between the intention to use a new warranty application and ease of warranty management (r = .24, p < .01), and between the intention to use a new application for warranty and life-work balance (r = .10, p < .05). Behavioral drivers explain the obtained results. Conclusions. This study contributes to the understanding of the relationship that the work-life balance presents in relation to the consumer's perception regarding the resolution of product guarantees in the online system. Keywords: work-life balance, online applications, consumer psychology, digitization.