Impact of Net-Based Customer Service on Firm Profits and Consumer Welfare

The importance of the net-based customer service in delivering supplementary after-sale services associated with product has been well documented. The strategic advantages of a well-implemented the net-based customer service are enhanced customer loyalty and higher lock-in of customers, and the resulting reduction in competition and the consequent increase in profits. However, not all customers utilize such the net-based customer service. This is partly due to the e-commerce divide, and partly due to privacy and security concerns of the customer for sharing personal information with firms. The limited level of customer adoption of the net-based customer service affects the firm profits and the customers' welfare. We use a game-theoretic model in which we model the net-based customer service system as a mechanism to enhance customers' loyalty. We find that an increase in adoption of the net-based customer service by the customer base is not always desirable for firms. and that customers who utilize such services are better off only when the overall adoption is limited.