"E-commerce has grown to become one of the most commonly used shopping channels by customers and firms, especially in the retail sector. However, e-commerce faces critical challenges, such as high product return rates and struggles to optimize the effectiveness of marketing mix. My dissertation uses two essays to tackle the above two challenges in an effort to enhance the performance of e-commerce. Essay 1, via two studies, examines the antecedents and consequences of product returns in e-commerce from the perspectives of channel coordination (coordinating mobile channels and traditional online channels) and customer learning. Study 1, analyzing two large-scale transaction-level datasets from two companies in different categories indicates that the use of the mobile channel can lessen e-commerce return rates, especially for highly promoted products, but increase the return rates of high-priced products, compared to traditional online channel use. Study 2 finds that for product categories requiring much (little) learning from customers, return experiences reduce (enhance) customers' future purchases. As a result, this essay offers actionable channel coordination strategies to firms by analyzing why people return their online purchases and what roles the channels play in driving returns. In this process, we offer answers to questions such as what products ought to be presented on what channels, to manage returns more efficiently. More importantly, this essay also brings attention to managers that they need to understand the nature of returns objectively; namely, returns can be good or bad and that they are better off in applying the corresponding strategies to cope with their returns. Essay 2 aims to enhance marketing efforts' effectiveness by leveraging online customer reviews (OCRs) in e-commerce. Drawing on anchor and adjustment theory, and using two studies via differing research methods, we propose that the relationships between OCRs and marketing efforts are dynamic and non-linear, which helps capture the complexity of consumers' decision making. Study 1 develops an information-varying effect model to depict the dynamic and non-linear relationships between OCR volume and a company's 4Ps marketing efforts in influencing product sales. Study 2 uncovers why the impacts of companies' marketing efforts vary over levels of OCRs using a lab experiment. Briefly, the findings show that the impact of a price discount is positive, with a diminishing trend as OCR volume increases, to the extent that at medium and high volumes of OCR, discounts no longer impact customer confidence, which ultimately drives purchase intentions. In conclusion, essay 2 provides the most holistic insight into how a wide range of marketing tactics can impact sales in the presence of customer reviews. These results demonstrate not only significant contingencies on the effectiveness of marketing efforts on consumer spending but a comprehension of why the influences of marketing efforts are reduced as OCR availability increases. Neither of these aspects have been captured in prior research on OCRs. The consequence is that managers should not develop strategies based on static models but should dynamically update marketing allocations as more OCR information becomes available."--Pages ii-iii.
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