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Walden University

College of Management and Technology

This is to certify that the doctoral study by

Mohammad Mousavi

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,

and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made.

Review Committee Dr. Patsy Kasen, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty

Dr. Jamiel Vadell, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty

Dr. Cheryl Lentz, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty

The Office of the Provost

Walden University 2019

Abstract

Managing Customer Complaints in Online Auction Markets

Mohammad Mousavi

MBA, University of Phoenix, 2013

BBA, Azad University, 2002

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Business Administration

Walden University

October 2019

Abstract

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies managers in the online

auction industry used to manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction.

The targeted population consisted of 4 managers of online auction companies in the

southwestern region of the United States. The conceptual framework for the study was

Argyris and Schön’s double-loop learning theory. Data were collected via semistructured

interviews with business managers, observation of company operations and behaviors,

review of documentation, and member-checking activities. Data analysis consisted of text

interpretation of data and notes using coding techniques. Data analysis resulted in 5

themes: business orientation, customer purview, complaints handling, coping strategies,

and learning abilities. The implications of this study for positive social change include

facilitating the growth of online markets and increasing lower-cost purchasing

opportunities for consumers with limited access to conventional marketplaces.

Managing Customer Complaints in Online Auction Markets

Mohammad Mousavi

MBA, University of Phoenix, 2013

BBA, Azad University, 2002

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Business Administration

Walden University

October 2019

ProQuest Number:

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Dedication

I dedicate this research study to my beloved parents and brothers, and my sister,

Mozhgan Mousavi, and my lovely niece, Dorsa Mousavi, whose inspiration, support, and

encouragement have helped me to finish the course. This achievement is as much theirs

as it is mine.

Acknowledgments

First, I would like to thank Dr. Patsy Kasen for giving me the strength and

courage to complete this study. Second, I also acknowledge and extend gratitude to my

second committee member, Dr. Jamiel Vadell, and University Research Reviewer Dr.

Cheryl Lentz. I sincerely appreciate all the invaluable feedback and guidance provided

throughout this process. Finally, I would like to thank the research participants for

sharing their expertise and contributing to the expansion of the literature on managing

complaints in the online auction industry.

Table of Contents

List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... v

List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... vi

Section 1: Foundation of the Study ..................................................................................... 1

Background of the Problem ........................................................................................... 1

Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 2

Purpose Statement ......................................................................................................... 3

Nature of the Study ........................................................................................................ 3

Research Question ......................................................................................................... 6

Interview Questions ....................................................................................................... 6

Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................. 7

Operational Definitions ................................................................................................. 8

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations ............................................................... 9

Assumptions ............................................................................................................ 9

Limitations ............................................................................................................. 10

Delimitations ......................................................................................................... 11

Significance of the Study ............................................................................................. 11

Contribution to Business Practice ......................................................................... 12

Implications for Social Change ................................................................................... 13

Review of the Professional and Academic Literature ................................................. 13

Double-Loop Learning .......................................................................................... 16

Dynamic Capabilities and Absorptive Capacity .................................................... 37

The Co-Evolutionary Framework .......................................................................... 51

Situated Learning Models ...................................................................................... 58

Self-Efficacy Theory ............................................................................................. 66

Community of Practice .......................................................................................... 71

The Categorization-Elaboration Model ................................................................. 75

Transition ..................................................................................................................... 84

Section 2: The Project ....................................................................................................... 86

Role of the Researcher ................................................................................................. 87

Participants .................................................................................................................. 89

Research Method and Design ...................................................................................... 91

Research Method ................................................................................................... 92

Research Design .................................................................................................... 94

Population and Sampling ............................................................................................. 99

Ethical Research ........................................................................................................ 101

Data Collection Instruments ...................................................................................... 103

Data Collection Technique ........................................................................................ 106

Data Organization Technique .................................................................................... 109

Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 112

Reliability and Validity ............................................................................................. 117

Dependability ...................................................................................................... 118

Credibility ............................................................................................................ 119

Confirmability ..................................................................................................... 121

iii

Transferability ..................................................................................................... 124

Transition and Summary ........................................................................................... 124

Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change ................ 126

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 126

Presentation of the Findings ...................................................................................... 127

Theme 1: Business Orientation ........................................................................... 133

Theme 2: Customer Purview ............................................................................... 138

Theme 3: Complaints Handling ........................................................................... 145

Theme 4: Coping Strategies ................................................................................ 150

Theme 5: Learning Abilities ................................................................................ 153

Applications to Professional Practice ........................................................................ 160

Implications for Social Change ................................................................................. 163

Recommendations for Action .................................................................................... 165

Recommendations for Further Research ................................................................... 169

Reflections ................................................................................................................. 174

Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 175

References ....................................................................................................................... 179

Appendix A: Letter of Cooperation ................................................................................. 221

Appendix B: Invitation Letter ......................................................................................... 222

Appendix C: Interview Protocol ...................................................................................... 224

Appendix D: Interview Questions ................................................................................... 226

Appendix E: Agreement Document ................................................................................ 227

Appendix F: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 1: Business

Orientation ........................................................................................................... 229

Appendix G: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 2: Customer

Purview ................................................................................................................ 231

Appendix H: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 3: Complaints

Handling .............................................................................................................. 232

Appendix I: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 4: Coping

Strategies. ............................................................................................................ 234

Appendix J: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 5: Learning

Abilities ............................................................................................................... 237

List of Tables

Table 1. Frequency of (Normalized) Codes Sorted by Theme and Participant ............... 129

List of Figures

Figure 1. Map overview (left-to-right alignment) of themes and codes used in the study in

conjunction with concepts from the conceptual framework. ................................... 130

Figure 2. Map overview (hierarchical, right-to-left arrangement) of themes and codes

used in the study in conjunction with concepts from the conceptual framework. ... 131

Figure 3. Code co-occurrence table. The top 5% codes are red-colored; codes in the

bracket top 5-10% are in yellow; codes in the bracket top 10-20% are in blue. ..... 132

Figure 4. The codes used for Theme 1 (Business Orientation) and the relationship

between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme. ............. 134

Figure 5. The codes used for Theme 2 (Customer Purview) and the relationship between

them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme. ............................ 139

Figure 6. The codes used for Theme 3 (Complaints Handling) and the relationship

between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme. ............. 146

Figure 7. The codes used for Theme 4 (Coping Strategies) and the relationship between

them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme. ............................ 151

Figure 8. The codes used for Theme 5 (Learning Abilities) and the relationship between

them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme. ............................ 154

Section 1: Foundation of the Study

The electronic shopping and mail-order business is more than a $500 billion

industry segment in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). Customers

increasingly buy goods online and rely on a high level of service quality when vendors

deliver the ordered goods to them (Tadelis, 2016). Online vendors deal with a variety of

customer complaints and have to resolve them adequately as complaints affect their

business performance and profitability.

In this multiple case study, I examined strategies vendors employ to deal with a

variety of customer complaints that relate to customer behavior and customer satisfaction.

Online vendors may use strategies to increase customer satisfaction and decrease the

number of customer complaints. The literature review consists of an in-depth discussion

of various strategies online vendors may apply. The problem statement, the research

question, the concomitant purpose statement, and the rationale for choosing the

qualitative research method are part of this section.

Background of the Problem

Online vendors need to pay attention to resolving customer complaints, as these

complaints may affect the sales online vendors generate in online auction markets

impacting the profitability of their businesses. Buyers often complain of online vendors

(a) not delivering ordered goods and services appropriately, (b) not responding to other

complaints about the quality of goods, or (c) not delivering the goods (Snijders, Bober, &

Matzat, 2017). Buyers also complain because purchased goods are not up to their

expectations (Nguyen, De Leeuw, & Dullaert, 2018). Online vendors try to decrease the

number of complaints and increase customer satisfaction by various means, such as

technology enablement of operations, the functioning of the auction website, the bidding

behavior of buyers and sellers, reputation of the online auction, and the trust between

buyers and vendors in these online auctions (Chen, Lu, & Tu, 2017). These factors relate

to customer complaints studied at online auctions such as eBay, one of the largest online

auctions in the world (Chamba, Arruarte, & Elorriaga, 2016; Prashar, Vijay, & Parsad,

2015; Yan, Zheng, Wang, Song, & Zhang, 2015).

In this study, I investigated the effective strategies vendors used to reduce

complaints and improve customer satisfaction. Online vendors compete fiercely in the

online auction markets. They have to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and

customer demands to make a profitable return (Tadelis, 2016).

Problem Statement

The online auction market grew significantly less than the traditional electronic

shopping and mail-order business during 2012–2016, the latter of which increased to

$469 billion in the United States by 9% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). Customer

complaints are a significant concern for online vendors because complaints may erode

customers' trust, which results in dissatisfied customers filing complaints and a reduction

in sales and profitability (Hui, Saeedi, Shen, & Sundaresan, 2016; Mamun, 2015). The

general business problem was that online vendors need to find ways to deal with an

increasing amount of customer complaints and determine appropriate responses, as

otherwise, they will experience a decrease in their sales and profitability. The specific

business problem was that some managers of vendors in online auction markets lack

effective strategies to manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective

strategies managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer

complaints to improve customer satisfaction. The targeted population included managers

of six companies in Los Angeles, California, who successfully implemented effective

strategies to manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction. These

vendors sold their products in online auction markets such as eBay.

The implications of this study for positive social change include facilitating the

growth of online markets and increasing opportunities to buy and sell goods and services

among those who have limited access to conventional marketplaces and brick-and-mortar

stores. Online markets also benefit consumers and the economy as a whole by lowering

the cost of goods and improving services for consumers with market participants

profiting from efficiency gains from the use of and access to electronic transactions.

Nature of the Study

Research methodologies can have a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research

nature (Mason, 2017; Venkatesh, Brown, & Sullivan, 2017; Yin, 2018). Morse (2015)

used qualitative methods to generate a rich description of phenomena under study.

Qualitative methods met the needs of this study because I provided a thick description of

the strategies managers of online vendors use to manage customer complaints in this

study. Applying constructs and assessing quantitative data were not part of this study

because many more variables would exist than those captured data points. I focused on

the experiences, behaviors, beliefs, and values of managers related to the phenomena

under study which centered on managing customer complaints to improve customer

satisfaction successfully.

Ravitch and Carl (2015) used quantitative methods to test hypotheses and

relationships among variables. This study did not pertain to testing any hypotheses nor

any relationship among variables. Therefore, a quantitative research method did not meet

the needs for this study. Lee, Lee, and Bong (2014) and Yin (2018) stated that using the

mixed method must combine qualitative and quantitative methods when hard data is

available to measure and validate constructs or when a succession of either of these

methods is necessary. Constructs to measure successful strategies for managing

complaints to improve customer satisfaction have not been the subject of much academic

research. Most of the research on online auctions concerns the way these auctions work

and depend on hard data to assess the mechanism of the auction and the behavior of

auction participants (sellers and buyers) as explored by Muthitacharoen and Tams (2017).

In this study, I did not focus on the mechanisms of an auction, but on the managerial

aspects of applying the appropriate effective strategies to manage customer complaints to

improve customer satisfaction for which the variables to formulate and test hypotheses

were not available in the academic literature as indicated by Yan et al. (2015). Extending

this research by conducting a succession of two qualitative research methods or designing

a succession of a qualitative and quantitative research study did not meet the needs of this

study because of time limits conducting the research. The research method was of a

purely qualitative nature for studying strategies managers of vendors in online auction

markets used to manage complaints to improve outcomes to improve customer

satisfaction. Therefore, using the mixed method did not meet my needs.

The four qualitative study designs suitable for this research included:

phenomenological, ethnographic, narrative, and case designs. Goulding (2005) used a

phenomenological design to build the essence from lived experiences based on

interpretations and meanings without an explicit theoretical orientation primarily based

on interview data. Goulding described that the goal of phenomenological research is to

capture a deeper and larger understanding of immediate experiences by conducting

interviews and reading participants’ narratives which result in extracting significant

statements, the formulation of meanings, and finding meaningful themes to create an

essential structure on the explanation of behavior. This study contained multiple

interviews from more than one source and included other data, such as observations,

documents, and artifacts, to develop a detailed analysis and description of multiple cases

of a phenomenon. Therefore, a phenomenological design did not meet the needs for this

research. Goulding used ethnographic designs to study cultures to look for rounded, and

holistic explanations by working with participants in their natural settings. Even though

familiarity with the organizational culture of the companies would be useful, becoming a

member of the culture to collect data did not take place due to time constraints.

The focus of this research study was not on organizational culture from an

embedded perspective. For these reasons, an ethnographic design was not applicable to

this study. Buchanan and Dawson (2007) and Guetterman (2015) used a narrative design

to describe the phenomena under study using participants’ storytelling in chronological

sequence with a sample size as few as one. Narrative designs were not suitable for this

study due to sample size and reliance on interview data as a primary source. Mason

(2017) used case study designs to study what, how, and why research questions. This

research concerned a what research question to identify and explore the strategies

managers of online vendors used to manage customer complaints successfully. Hence,

the case study design was suitable for this study.

Research Question

The research question for this study was: What effective strategies do managers of

vendors in online auction markets use to manage customer complaints to improve

customer satisfaction?

Interview Questions

The interview questions were:

1. How would you describe your experience from the start up to this date at

the eBay platform for conducting your business that relates to complaints

and customer satisfaction?

2. What type(s) of complaints do you receive most frequently?

3. What specific strategies or approaches have you used and were effective

to address these complaints?

4. On a typical day, what do you do to manage these complaints? Please

make sure you can recall specific details you did, what, when, where, how,

for whom.

5. What do you intend to accomplish by managing these complaints?

6. How, if at all, are you changing your approaches and strategies to manage

customer complaints?

7. How have these complaints influenced your behavior dealing with eBay

and/or your customers?

8. How do you assess the effectiveness of your strategies for handling

customers’ complaints?

9. What other issues, subjects of interests, comments, or suggestions have we

not discussed regarding your strategies for complaint management?

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework for this study was double-loop learning theory to

research managerial and behavioral phenomena in online auction market companies.

Argyris and Schön (1978) postulated the double-loop learning theory and clarified how

organizational learning is a process of detecting and correcting errors. The central

concept in double-loop learning theory is the action-based strategies managers use to

change habits and attitudes of organizational actors. These strategies have consequences

for the interactions between managers, the outcomes of which illustrate a degree of

organizational learning and effectiveness of the organization (Argyris & Schön, 1978).

Single-loop learning occurs when managers handle each incident or event based on

established procedures or policies. Double-loop learning refers to the processes where

managers question existing underlying organizational policies and processes to achieve

objectives in a different fashion which are long-term by orientation (Baskerville,

Spagnoletti, & Kim, 2014; Villar, Alegre, & Pla-Barber, 2014).

Double-loop learning was applicable to this study because this theory provided a

useful theoretical lens for identifying and exploring the strategies and actions online

vendors used to manage complaints to improve customer satisfaction effectively.

Effectively managing complaints might have required to question the status quo in the

organization fundamentally and to organize work and procedures differently. In this

manner, online vendors would prefer to improve their processes significantly than

perform business activities as they would use to do them previously.

Operational Definitions

Bidding behavior: In this study, bidding behavior relates to general, aggregated

behavior across the phases of the auction, rather than behavior confined to a specific

phase of the auction (Cui, Lai, & Liu, 2008).

Complaints: Complaints are expressions of dissatisfaction stemming from a

feeling of having been wronged (Snijders et al., 2017). Customers who have complaints

can express dissatisfaction with a company’s customer service or allege a company has

defrauded them. Complaints concern problems regarding (a) delivery, (b) the ordered

good, (c) refund or compensation, (d) communication with the vendor, and (e) issues with

bidding behavior and auction outcomes (Scott, Gregg, & Choi, 2015).

Consumer behavior: This term consists of actions of consumers directed to the

outcome of the online auction and includes behavior demonstrated by consumers who file

complaints and reconsider their reactions based on the responses of online vendors to

these complaints (Cui et al., 2008).

Dutch internet auction: An auction where the auctioneer determines the starting

figure and quotes prices at descending intervals until the last bidder becomes successful

with the highest bid (Adam, Eidels, Lux, & Teubner, 2017).

Facilitating factors: These are factors that facilitate online auctions and affect

consumer behavior and the auction outcome (Cui et al., 2008).

Intermediary factors: These factors (including complaints) relate to other

variables by influencing the competitiveness and success of auction operations (Cui et al.,

2008).

Online auction: An auction held via the internet, specifically a Dutch Internet

auction (Cui et al., 2008). In this study, the online platform eBay is applicable which is a

multi-unit auction where consumers pay the same price per item and bidders do not only

bid on prices but also on the quantity they want to buy.

Seller factors: These factors relate to auction settings and the seller’s reputation in

online auctions (Cui et al., 2008). Auction settings usually refer to product characteristics

(such as the product picture and description), starting price, bid increments, auction

duration and auction time (Cui et al., 2008).

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Assumptions

Assumptions are facts, statements, or suppositions that the researcher holds as

accurate or truthful without having the ability to validate them (Birley & Moreland, 2014;

Englander, 2016). Additionally, the credibility of the assumptions the researcher believes

are applicable and which relate to the theory or conceptual framework (Johnston, 2014).

My main assumption was that the choice of the research design (the exploratory

case study) was appropriate to explain those phenomena related to managers of online

auctions who dealt with handling complaints to improve customer satisfaction. My

second assumption was that participants in this study answered to the interview questions

truthfully. It was a reasonable assumption because in this study interviewees were not

urged to release any trade secrets or facts that can damage their competitive advantage.

Another assumption was that participants would find the results of this study useful for

their business practices when they review the intermediary findings for verification and

feedback purposes.

Limitations

Horga, Kaur, and Peterson (2014) defined limitations as shortcomings of a study

over which a researcher does not have control. Limitations may become evident when the

research is in progress. Alternatively, limitations surface and emerge when the researcher

completes the analysis and interpretation (Ravitch & Carl, 2015).

Exploring strategies related to managers of vendors in online auction markets

managing customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction, the identification, and

verification of these strategies had their basis in the conducted interviews and other

available documentation. This study did not consist of experiments to assess collected

data and did not pertain to applying quantitative research methods. Consequently, the

findings of this study were not as generalizable in the same way as when the study were a

quantitative research. Another limitation of this case study concerned the available

information that was available based on the documentation related to participants who

were willing to provide and share in the interviews. The sample size of online auction

market companies in Los Angeles, California, might not have represented the total

population of companies in online auctions.

Delimitations

Delimitations are those attributes and constraints of the study that define the scope

and applicability of the research (Birley & Moreland, 2014; Marshall & Rossman, 2016).

This study contained collected interview data and documents about strategies managers

use to manage customer complaints. The delimitation relates to the geographically

defined area, Los Angeles, California, as interviews and collected documentation related

only to online auction market companies in this geographic area. Even though online

auction markets operate in a global or national setting, local regulations and culture might

affect the subject matter of this study concerning strategies for managing customer

complaints.

Significance of the Study

Online vendors of auction companies that sell products in online auction markets

face a variety of customer complaints ranging from nondelivery of goods to defective

products. Online vendors must understand why these complaints occur, what causes the

complaints, and how to avoid and reduce them. Online vendors should be able to identify,

select, and apply those strategies and actions in their organizations and manage these

complaints to improve customer satisfaction. Online vendors depend on reducing the

number of complaints for the success of their business, as complaints inhibit customers

from participating in the auction process. Vendors of online auction markets may be able

to reduce potential conflicts and resolutions between customers and themselves by using

appropriate strategies to reduce costs and increase profitability.

Contribution to Business Practice

Findings of this study may be useful for online vendors in understanding what

they can do to manage and handle complaints. Vendors may learn how to decrease

nonpositive feedback from buyers, decrease customer disputes, and increase seller ratings

on the auction platform website or reputation platforms. As a result of deploying the right

strategies to manage complaints, vendors may improve customer satisfaction and enhance

customer experiences to buy goods in their online markets. These strategies may lead to

increased sales and vendors may spend less time and resources managing and resolving

complaints.

The outcome of this study may illustrate to business practitioners and leaders how

to change management practices by identifying, designing, and implementing new

processes and procedures in organizations when adapting to external circumstances is

required to stay competitive. These management practices incorporate the extent to which

individuals, teams, and management learn how to react to internal and external stimuli to

make changes in their service operations. Especially in online auctions, vendors rely on a

high quality of service with very low levels of complaints which require vendors to

review management practices (Tadelis, 2016).

Implications for Social Change

The results of this study may lead to social change by facilitating the growth of

online auction markets consumers and auction participants accept well because

complaints may deter the use and further acceptance of these markets. Expanding online

markets can bring about positive social change in two ways. First, online markets lower

the cost of products and services to consumers by enabling information technologies and

(disruptive) innovation (Camisón & Villar-López, 2014). Online markets make it easier

for consumers to do comparison shopping, increasing competitiveness for producers and

services providers. Online vendors do not have the overhead of having brick-and-mortar

stores or a large sales force.

Increased competition and the cost savings from electronic online sales

transactions lower the cost of products and services for consumers. Second, expansion of

online markets can provide access to products and services to consumers who otherwise

have limited access. Poor neighborhoods and remote rural areas have a limited choice of

stores and vendors. Also, people who have physical disabilities may have difficulties in

traveling to stores. Online markets break down these physical barriers by providing

equally convenient access to any consumer.

Review of the Professional and Academic Literature

This section contains a more in-depth and critical analysis of the conceptual

framework of double-loop learning as introduced in the previous section. In this section, I

elaborate on the merits and the extent to which this theory applies to managers of vendors

in online auction markets for managing customer complaints to improve customer

satisfaction. This review concerns supporting and contrasting theories about double-loop

learning to explain (dis)similar theories that managers of online vendors might use

otherwise. This introductory section consists of preliminary remarks about the strategy

for searching the literature and the formulation of its purpose. Succeeding subsections

include supporting theories to double-loop learning. These are (a) organizational learning,

(b) learning organizations, (c) the co-evolutionary framework, and (d) community of

practice. Contrasting theories are: (a) dynamic capabilities, (b) absorptive capacity, (c)

situated learning models, (d) self-efficacy theory, and (e) the categorization-elaboration

model (CEM).

The systematic integrated literature review (SILR) methodology for searching

literature is useful for identifying the essential components of published literature reviews

by using keywords in multiple databases (Takai, Yamamoto‐Mitani, Abe, & Suzuki,

2015). I sorted articles by themes and concepts on organizational learning as a result of

(a) using the keywords organizational learning, learning organizations, online auctions,

complaints, single-loop learning, double-loop learning, triple-loop learning, competitive

advantage, qualitative research, case study, community of practice, small-business

development, leadership, collaboration, innovation, or a combination of keywords and

related terms in multiple academic databases and repositories of Walden University; and

(b) finding literature related to major authors in organizational learning, learning

organizations and collaboration, such as Argyris, Schön, Van Knippenberg, Van Ginkel,

Homan, Volberda, Van Den Bosch, Heij, and Cui.

The primary databases I used include SAGE Publications, ScienceDirect,

ProQuest, Emerald Management Journals, EBSCOhost, US Census, ProQuest Central,

and ProQuest Dissertations. I searched these databases to find resource material for this

research topic that consisted of journal articles, dissertations, and case studies, focusing

on peer-reviewed journal articles. The leading journals for finding peer-reviewed articles

were Management & Organization Studies. Academy of Management Journal,

Administrative Science Quarterly, Communications of the ACM, MIS Quarterly, and

Harvard Business Review. Additionally, I searched for articles and related information

using Google Scholar by applying combinations of keywords, author names,

supplemented by search selections by date. This subsection contains 125 peer-reviewed

sources and seven seminal publications, of which 114 peer-reviewed and six seminal

sources originate from 2014 or earlier. Of all these sources, 91.7% are from 2014 or later.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies

managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer complaints to

improve customer satisfaction. I used the literature review to identify relevant and salient

literature regarding the topic of this study. This literature review is the foundation to

answer the research question. For this purpose, I conducted a review of scholarly and

peer-reviewed journal articles, other seminal literature, and dissertations. The literature

review consists of an overview and an analysis of the literature related to the conceptual

framework of this study in the areas of (a) individual and team learning, (b) learning in

and between organizations, (c) the capabilities of an organization, and (d) collaboration.

The research question and topic closely link to these theoretical perspectives.

Based on this literature research, various theoretical perspectives were chosen

closely linked to the research question and topic, such as double-loop learning and

theories related to organizational learning, learning organizations, and collaboration. I

sorted and reviewed these articles accordingly in themes as illustrated by the naming of

the subsections in this review. These theories were used to synthesize and analyze

concepts and their suitable applicability in the context of this doctoral study.

Double-Loop Learning

In this subsection, I introduce the concept of double-loop learning (DLL) and

provide a review of the literature on this concept to answer the research question.

Participants in organizations contribute to the attainment of goals in an enterprise. These

participants perform job-related tasks by leveraging their knowledge and expertise to

processes and procedures that managers control based on preset objectives (Argyris &

Schön, 1978). These processes and procedures become standard, and participants to these

become used to them or can improve their efforts in attaining the objectives related to

these tasks. People acquire tacit and explicit knowledge implementing routines and learn

accordingly (Pilemalm, Andersson, & Yousefi Mojir, 2014). When the environment

changes, participants in organizations should flexibly change routines and acquire new

knowledge to initiate a course of change and take appropriate action. Most of the time,

improving the way stakeholders, managers and employees, perform their daily jobs is not

the solution (Argyris & Schön, 1978).

Going beyond day-to-day routines, thinking about new ways to perform jobs and

set-up new processes, and assessing and re-formulating organizational goals require other

modes of organizational learning. The detection and correction of errors is related to

organizational learning (OL), whereby the discrepancy between what members in an

organizational context aspire to achieve and what they actually achieve results in an error

(Argyris & Schön, 1978). Organizational learning is founded on the theory of action that

distinguishes between what people say they value and desire (their espoused theory) and

what they do regarding their theory-in-use (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Kim, MacDonald, &

Andersen, 2013).

Argyris and Schön (1978) argued organizational learning should not be conceived

of as a self-productive process, but they emphasized members of an organization are not

merely a storage bin of past rational experiences. Argyris and Schön suggested an

organization's knowledge exists through integrations of its member's knowledge to

produce performance change. A subsequent section contains a discussion of Heorhiadi,

La Venture, and Conbere (2014) who described double-loop learning as transformative

learning and its relationship to the learning organization (LO). As such, organizational

learning is a cognitive system that members of an organization develop and share.

Organizational learning can achieve results along at least two dimensions, and these

dimensions have a variety of names. Commonly these dimensions are called single- and

double-loop learning (Argyris & Schön, 1978).

Single-loop learning (SLL) concerns action-oriented, routine, and incremental

tasks and decision-making processes, occurring within existing mental models, norms,

policies and underlying assumptions (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Lee, 2014). Single-loop

learning is more of a repeated attempt at the same problem without a variation of an

applied method or ever questioning the goal or objective (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Jaaron

& Backhouse, 2017). According to Jaaron and Backhouse (2017), when members of an

organization focus on SLL-related strategies to improve tasks and performance, they find

solutions based on existing behaviors and attitudes which are the norm. Jaaron and

Backhouse (2017) conducted their mixed method research study in 2015 which

concerned two service organisations in the United Kingdom.

These services organizations were an adult social care department in north Wales

and a mortgage operations departement of a large banking and financial institution in

Edinburgh. The authors chose these organizations using an extreme case sampling

technique by making sure through confirming patterns that the phenomena to conduct

their studies were highly available. The study contained questionnaires for 55 and 200

employees respectively with 21 items with seven dimensions measuring the learning

organization which complemented interviews with 14 participants in total (six for the

adult social care department and eight for the financial services institution). The results of

this study by Jaaron and Backhouse indicated that employees and managers likely did not

confront senior management or suggest learning opportunities outside established themes,

routines and proven ways of doing things as discussed by Senge (1990).

The more complex, dynamic, turbulent, and threatening the organization’s

environment, the more double-loop learning becomes necessary (Lee, 2014). Lee

conducted a qualitative study in a South-Korean hospital with 134 participants filling out

questionnaires to study the relationship between person-job fit, self-efficacy, and

individual performance. The results indicated that despite the urge to change norms,

policies, and routines, management would continue to adhere to single-loop learning and

related problem-solving patterns (Lee, 2014). The implications of the study concerned

those efforts which enhance learning on one dimension may limit success on the other

since single- and double-loop organizational learning competes for the same limited

organizational resources.

Double-loop learning is a strategic, flexible organizational learning methodology

for managing change and promoting continuous learning in an organization (Argyris &

Schön, 1978). The potential of double-loop learning is to let employees collaborate by

integrating each individual's learning with that of the organization as investigated by Lee

(2014). Argyris and Schön (1978) postulated that action-oriented learning based on

technical rationality and reflective practice is the basis for double-loop learning to

happen. For double-loop learning to happen, an individual’s extant mental models should

be confronted and questioned as Pérez-Bennett, Davidsen, and López (2014) did by using

a case-based simulation game using 72 MBA students in Latin America.

Pérez-Bennett et al. (2014) demonstrated that double-loop learning is an

organizational approach necessary to overcome obstacles for improvement efforts and to

induce organizational stakeholders thinking beyond their traditional comfort zones.

Managers stimulate double-loop learning to empower employees and other stakeholders

to come up with new ideas, solutions, and decision-making processes to alter the way

how they do things constructively (Pérez-Bennett et al., 2014). The implementation of

double-loop learning unfreezes the organization or processes and bring them to an

altogether different stage as they were in before. Organizational stakeholders successfully

implementing double-loop learning put the organization at a higher and effective

organizational performance level (Argyris & Schön, 1978).

Single-loop learning and double-loop learning may exhibit reciprocal disrupting

effects since single-loop involves changes with action-oriented, routine, and incremental

tasks and decision-making processes (Lee, 2014). Second-order learning challenges the

very frameworks and assumptions that underly such actions and routines (Argyris &

Schön, 1978). Two dimensions of learning are indeed more or less incompatible, and

organizations may have to face trade-offs in learning (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Jaaron &

Backhouse, 2017).

Changes in organizations may only take one organizational learning path. Hence,

stakeholders in organizations can only learn either in an evolutionary or revolutionary

way for changes to take effect. Organizational learning relates to organizational

stakeholders who can only deliver fundamental improvements requiring double-loop

learning to effectuate sustaining competitive advantage when traditional improvements

efforts to calibrate organizational performance fail (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Jaaron &

Backhouse, 2017).

The practice of unlearning seems to be essential for achieving resilient

performance improvement actions in organizations and is only connected to double-loop

learning (Hislop, Bosley, Coombs, & Holland, 2014). Hence, double-loop learning has a

more significant effect on organizational performance than practicing single-loop

learning. Organizations generally do not practice double-loop learning to generate and

implement necessary improvement and changes contrary to conventional wisdom in

organizations which would result in ineffective and unprofitable operations as found by

Hislop et al. (2014) who assessed the organizational literature on unlearning. As a result,

organizations rarely succeed in going through operational changes that do not conform to

their core values and beliefs.

Double-loop learning conforms to knowledge acquisition when organizations

achieve their redetermined goals and predefined best performance (Argyris & Schön,

1978). When organizations refine and reformulate their mission, vision, and value

statements, triple-loop learning (TLL) results in redefined organizational processes,

management, and work trade-offs. Triple-loop learning pertains to continual reflection on

the learning process, the contexts within which learning occurs, and the assumptions and

values motivating the learning and influencing its outcomes (Lozano, 2014). Triple-loop

learning entails developing new processes, or methodologies, to reconsider and adjust

mental models and facilitates responses and changes concerning the environment

(Reynolds, 2014).

Managers find difficulties in changing performance and inducing improvements

in organizations because adaptations in organizations require a refinement of statements

related to the core believes and values of the organization (Unger-Aviram & Erez, 2016).

Acquiring new knowledge and rigid attitudes might hinder the organization's adaptation

ability to change conditions concerning processes and embedded dynamic capabilities.

Unger-Aviram and Erez applied an experimental design with repeated-measures in three

groups with 120 students who took an undergraduate university course on leadership in

Israel in 2015. Unlearning is the process in organizational learning related to identifying

and discarding or clearing out obsolete beliefs and old routines that do not meet current

challenges or objectives (Hislop et al., 2014). Unlearning implies organizational

stakeholders challenge the current organization set-up, routines, and understanding.

Hislop et al. found significant relationships between unlearning and the practice of

double-loop learning which requires unlearning efforts and transformation of attitudes,

beliefs and thought.

An enterprise’s competitive advantage depends heavily on the ability of its human

resources to leverage their tacit skills and to identify and deploy strategies they use to

improve performance or perform the tasks in a different albeit more effective way.

According to Argote and Guo (2016), managers of companies use dynamic capabilities to

adapt, integrate, and reconfigure their resources and competencies in response to changes

and challenges in their environments forcing firms to respond and avert courses of

actions. These capabilities include learning abilities and collaboration efforts of people

involved in an enterprise. The result of these abilities and efforts is people disseminating

information, generating, sharing and mobilizing ideas to promote and institute change in

organizations. Accordingly, scholars categorize the extent to which people learn and the

concomitant effects of SLL, DLL or TLL typology.

Organizational learning is the descriptive stream and deals mostly with the

learning processes in the organization and how people learn. Argyris and Schön (1978)

dealt with organizational learning in the perspective and context of social psychology.

Members of a learning organization view the organization as a social system with

embedded processes for (a) continually generating, retaining and leveraging individual

and collective learning to improve performance of the organizational system in ways

relevant to stakeholders; and (b) by monitoring and improving performance (Santa,

2015). Organizational learning is a precursor for the level of required change to alter

organizational conditions to effectuate outcomes meeting organizational challenges and

sustaining a company's sustainable advantage. The effectiveness of these outcomes

depends on the extent to which organizational managers and stakeholders learn and

adapt.

Organizational learning consists of behavioral learning and cognitive learning

which are significant ways how people within organizations learn and adapt their

behavior based on existing or prevailing interpretations (Senge, 1990). By contrast,

cognitive learning refers to the continuous review and modification of ways of working

for performance improvements (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Jaaron & Backhouse, 2017).

Senge (1990) suggested two types of learning: (a) adaptive learning whereby individuals

gain knowledge through small-scale adjustment of past decisions; and (b) generative

learning whereby individuals gain knowledge through challenging, questioning, and

repudiating decision while making assumptions. Senge (1990) claimed double-loop

learning requires factors as systemic thinking, a shared vision and team learning

(collaboration) without which a shared context does not exist as found by Al-Raqadi,

Abdul Rahim, Masrom, and Al-Riyami (2015). The latter authors used a learning

organisation questionnaire in 2013 among dockyard employees in five organizations in

Oman with a total sample size of 420 participants. The participants were highly educated

and included administrators, logisticians, technicians, engineers and managers between 5

and 30 years of experience.

Externalization of tacit knowledge is necessary for true organizational learning to

occur; otherwise, business leaders and employees continue the status quo which mostly is

typical for single-loop learning behaviors (Pilemalm et al., 2014). Double-loop learning

only takes place when people can learn from their (conflicting) learning experience, and

consciously create a community of practice. Pilemalm et al. conducted a survey of the

Swedish Rescue Services organization which comprises of state and municipal

departmental units by employing an exploratory multiple case study design which

involved studying documents, holding interviews, participant observations, and

workshops. The number of participants were at least two per case.

At the organizational level, the routines, procedures, and policies of the

organization as defense mechanisms against double-loop change are not clearly

understood (Argyris & Schön, 1978). Individuals engage in defense mechanisms in order

to not change their behavior and avert actions which might improve the profitability and

other goals in an organization. How double-loop learning takes place or what kind of

mechanisms makes learning efforts advance from the individual level to the

organizational level is not often clear (Rauffet, Cunha, & Bernard, 2014).

The next topic to address is what learning typifies and encompasses to analyze

how double-loop learning takes place in practice. Rauffet et al. (2014) studied an

industrial setting at a global automotive supplier Valeo by conducting interviews with 30

participants assessing their competences roadmaps which management and employees

use to transfer management practices and capabilities in their organizations.

Organizational learning is a tool and results from organizational change and development

to attain a competitive advantage through the exchange of knowledge and collaboration

to determine an organization's future (Senge, 1990).

Lozano (2014) reviewed a typology of learning across SLL, DLL, and TLL

involving the following learning modes: (a) adaptive learning being a reactive form of

learning involving the search for direct solutions to immediate problems; (b) anticipatory

learning focusing on avoiding future problems by identifying potential events and

searching for the best ways to prepare for them; and (c) action learning seeking ways to

resolve real problems or tasks through experimentation and applying experiences.

Individuals, teams, and organizations learn at various levels and intensities. These

learning models define the way how individuals acquire knowledge and the extent to

which they create and refine their mental mindset to work together in teams and

organization (Senge, 1990).

Rauffet et al. (2014) connected double-loop learning with attempts that

organizational stakeholders take to improve organizational set-ups and processes in their

current states without altering these. Also, stakeholders do not refrain and feel

empowered to alter these states by trial-and-error. As such, stakeholders do not have to

take recourse to unfreeze organizational set-ups to improve conditions and results

dramatically (Rauffet et al., 2014).

Various modalities of learning exist. Passive learning primarily occurs through

attaining skills through schooling to accomplish immediate tasks (Lozano, 2014). The

focus is on a particular current task requiring attention (Lozano, 2014). Forecasting

learning concerns with an increasing skill set to prepare for future tasks, events, or

problems without the need for a rationale or interference of other tasks or problems

(Lozano, 2014). This type of learning is mentally abstract oriented. Coaching learning

refers to increasing skills through training to accommodate for immediate or future tasks

through real-life practical problem solving which represents a more ‘hands-on' approach

without the need for a rationale or interference of other tasks or problems (Lozano, 2014).

People using proactive learning question and investigate immediate assumptions,

policies and mental models to find the causes and fundaments of problems and challenges

without the need to take future situations or mental models into account based on mental

abstractions (Lozano, 2014). Backcasting learning aims at challenging mental models by

comparing future ideal scenarios with current ones. People can plan and implement

changes in organizations accordingly (Lozano, 2014). This learning process also uses

mental abstractions.

Experiential learning is comparative to proactive learning, but people use real-life

problem-solving abilities and a hands-on approach to challenge mental models (Lozano,

2014). Discerning learning involves not only questioning concepts and mental models

but also developing new processes and methodologies which individuals can implement

or apply in the future. Managers may deploy reconstructionist strategy propositions that

can result in both a low cost and differentiated operation to attain a competitive

advantage by the use of mental abstractions as suggested by Lozano (2014) and

Mauborgne and Kim (2017).

Finally, inquisitive learning is about developing new processes and

methodologies by the use of real-life problem-solving skills which challenges current

mental models and re-frames current mindsets (Lozano, 2014). People who want to be

involved in changing the mission and vision of a company want to induce change and

achieve results which do not relate particularly to adaptive processes. Triple-loop

learning goes beyond adaptive approaches. The latter approach may only help to change

(business) processes within a narrow scope. These learning process typologies are to

delineate much further actual phenomena in situational settings which goes beyond the

assessment of single-loop, double-loop, or triple-loop learning only (Hwang & Wang,

2016; McClory, Read, & Labib, 2017; Simonin, 2017a, b). The processes as defined

above refine how organizational stakeholders learn and what processes contribute to the

level of learning, change and improvement efforts.

Organizational learning can play a role in determining what specific strategies and

goals managers of a company assert concerning the direction of the company.

Organizational learning or learning organizational efforts cannot replace strategic

planning efforts. Strategic planning is an organizational management activity tied to

strategic thinking used to focus energy and resources, set priorities, strengthen operations,

ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals,

establish agreement around intended outcomes, and assess and adjust the organization’s

direction to a changing environment (Bryson, 2018; Wolf & Floyd, 2017).

As the effects of strategic planning on an organization’s performance are still

unclear, especially in rapidly changing operating environments, strategic planning

remains an approach to achieve strategic goals, plan performance, monitor budgeting

efforts, and align operational activities to corporate strategy (Haines, 2016). The benefits

of strategic planning are that it sets overall strategic goals for stakeholders, managers, and

employees, and provides an overview of direction where healthcare organizations need to

focus on within a planning horizon of 12 months. Strategic planning is a decision-making

activity about how individuals attain goals by using various management techniques such

as discussed in this section to act and respond in a competitive environment (Bryson,

2018).

In this context, the gap in the present academic literature is how managers use

organizational learning and learning organization efforts to make decisions effectively.

Changing the way that one does things can be difficult. Even more difficult is changing

the way that a company does things. One example of deploying strategic planning is

business process re-engineering (BPR) as discussed by Nadarajah and Kadir (2016) that

managers can apply to any service function or any environment. Business process re-

engineering is the process of rethinking how and why people do things or act in a certain

way. Nadarajah and Kadir used a close-ended survey in a qualitative study using the

Likert scale with 274 executive managers of organizations across Malaysia. Intelligently

done, business process re-engineering can lead to dramatic improvements. Strategic and

operational issues should be understood at the activity level to improve business

processes which focus on customer satisfaction.

The central function of business process re-engineering is to manage and improve

processes (Haddad et al., 2016). The latter authors used a single case study design to

deploy BPR for the social responsible department of Caja Santandereana de Subsio

Familiar which is a nonprofit organization in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Improving

processes can also be a time-consuming, painful, and costly process. Learning

organizational efforts would improve business process re-engineering initiatives

(Nadarajah & Kadir, 2016).

Since 2000, some authors suggested various methodologies, concepts, and

frameworks in order to explain how individuals learn, acquire knowledge, and create new

behaviors to adapt the organization by disseminating information (Haddad et al., 2016;

Liepė & Sakalas, 2015; Senge, 1990). Given the abundance of literature on single-loop,

double-loop, and triple-loop learning, Liepė and Sakalas emphasized that academics do

not accept any particular model of organizational learning and categorize various learning

models into nondeutero (SLL and DLL) and deutero (TLL) learning types. This

categorization is a static way of describing what happens in organizations in terms of

culture, team and group dynamics which oversimplifies learning situations. For instance,

individuals in organizations who adhere to nondeutero learning associated with plan-do-

act quality cycles deliver only small changes and improvements (Taylor et al., 2014).

Thomson, Mickovski, and Orr (2014) demonstrated the applicability of double-

loop learning in flood risk management to seek new knowledge to come up with new

decision-based frameworks by questioning present systems and considering evidence-

based practices. The study concerned a mixed research study consisting of a

questionnaire survey with 22 Scottish local authorities participating and undisclosed

stakeholder interviews. Attempts to induce double-loop learning failed due to the absence

of required (project management) skills, engineering mindsets, apathy, the absence of

reporting, and expert knowledge.

In practice, management, employees, and other stakeholders use and apply the

double-loop learning paradigm in many situations, settings, industries, and

entrepreneurial learning (Secundo, Schiuma, & Passiante, 2017). Pérez-Bennett et al.

(2014) assessed the use of simulators and its impact on the ability of participants to

advance learning in management education. In these settings, students question their

mental models and preconceived ideas, the result of which will trigger the students to

reset their imagination and offset their preconceptions. Pérez-Bennett et al. observed an

improved learning experience among their student-participants. Students experience

enhanced learning when they devise new or alternative strategies to overcome complex

problems or meet challenges through inducing deeper thought processes.

In the same manner, Reddick, Chatfield, and Ojo (2017) researched a local U.S.

government’s department whose managers intended to improve the interactions between

the local government and its citizens through interactions of its associated Facebook

portal. The study was of a single case study design for the City of San Antonio Solid

Waste Management Department in Texas and focused on analyzing Facebook-generated

documentation. Reddick et al. (2017) concluded that the managers failed to enter into a

double-loop learning mentality because they focused on only promoting the

government’s agenda on recycling policies without asking the public what they needed

and as a result failed to change the public’s behavior.

In supply chain management, Ramish and Aslam (2016) used double-loop and

triple-loop learning methods to propose key performance indicators that industry leaders

can apply. Drupsteen and Guldenmund (2014) reviewed the literature related to safety

incidents in organizations and the processes involved in preventing disasters, accidents,

and other unwanted situations. Preventing incidents involves stakeholders to detect

incidents and infer meanings and the importance of the occurrence of these and the

conditions of learning. An important factor in double-loop learning is the identification of

incident causes.

For double-loop learning to occur, people should share the lessons learned to

change work practices in an environment of organizational trust. The sharing and

diffusion of knowledge through an organization require other processes which go beyond

the detection and identification of incidents and their direct causes based on a literature

review of safety and the prevention of unwanted events in organizations (Drupsteen &

Guldenmund, 2014). According to Argyris and Schön (1978), learning agents in

organizations assist individuals in attaching and embedding the lessons learned in

appropriate ways in the appropriate organizational setting. The less-known understood

factors in double-loop learning processes are knowledge sharing in organizations, the

dissemination of knowledge, and the roles of people (Drupsteen & Guldenmund, 2014).

According to Argyris and Schön (1978), the organization as an entity holds

knowledge which should be captured by learning systems and changes in work practices

to correct any mismatches between intentions and desired results. In this sense,

individuals in a learning organization apply formal and informal knowledge to develop

their skill and further the capability of an organization (Senge, 1990). Single-loop and

double-loop learning also take place in project management. In this field of management,

lessons learned from previous project management efforts are essential for organizations

to engage in new projects.

For this purpose, McClory et al. (2017) discussed the roles of knowledge

management and organizational learning systems for lessons-learned processes by

evaluating an online qualitative survey on successes, failures, and near-misses when

conducting projects and the role of the project manager in those processes to mitigate

risk. Project managers use databases and other management systems to store project-

related information to assess project management performance. McClory et al. collected

their data anonymously from practicing project managers mostly working in the UK and

members of professional project management organizations, such as the Project

Management Institute (PMI). The participants had professional qualifications for working

in project management (office) environments.

Out of 350 participants targeted, 66 decided to participate in a 30-minutes

qualitative on-line survey. The majority of participants (30%) had between 16 and 25

years experience in project management. The purpose of the study concerned how triple-

loop learning could improve project management regarding project planning, execution,

and successful outcomes by introducing company goals and culture necessary to

stimulate learning about learning that could take place in a program management office

(PMO). The framework of a capability maturity model had its application in assessing

unpredictable, repeatable, defined, managed and optimized processes. The learning in

project organizations concerned the willingness and readiness of project stakeholders to

learn, act, and think out of the box when tackling various encounters when conducting a

project. These PMOs have the role of monitoring projects, defining learning plans, and

updating organizational goals (McClory et al., 2017).

The outcome of McClory et al.’s (2017) study was that many organizations lacked

qualified project management staff and management did not apply a standard project

management methodology. Double-loop learning processes resulted in making changes in

project management policies in organizations, re-assessing project outcomes, and

updating project processes and parameters. Fillion, Koffi, and Ekionea (2015) referred to

triple-loop learning as processes which are transformative where creativity matters. In

McClory et al. this learning happened by questioning and adapting the organization’s

cultural values and goals by reporting project management issues and changing the

attitude of project management sponsorship at the board level.

Liepė and Sakalas (2015) emphasized that individuals apply the learning

organization concept benefit by enabling and expanding its capacity to shape the future.

For this to happen, individuals in organizations have to change the way they think and

interact with others for an organizational change and learning to take place (Senge,

1992). Senge proposed a five-factor framework concerning the factors needed to enable

learning in organizations: (a) systems thinking to further integrative approaches, (b)

personal mastery for skills development and continuous, (c) mental models with

assumptions about the world individuals live in, (d) a shared mental model to engage the

vision and aspirations individuals have, and (e) team learning to achieve tangible results.

As such, the concept of the learning organization consists of many paradigms, concepts

from various disciplines (psychology, organizational development, management science,

strategy, production management, sociology and cultural anthropology) which may not

have usage for employing a definite approach empirically for delivering practical results

(Haddad et al., 2016; Liepė & Sakalas, 2015; Senge, 1990).

Using a case study design, Orsato, Barakat, and De Campos (2017) investigated

the use of organizational learning in companies to adapt to challenges. Their research

concluded that single-loop learning and double-loop learning are not adequate to bring

about desired changes in organizations. This study was of a single case study design in

the electricity distribution and concerned EDP Bandeirante in Brazil. The study consisted

of a total number of 6 interviews with participants having a variety of positions in R&D,

EDP institute, sustainability, operations and customer service (call center); energy risk

and planning; and meteorology.

Furthermore, Orsato et al. (2017) coded other documentation to find common

themes. Of particular concern was the institutionalist approach of organizations to change

the direction of a company which depended on perceptions and capabilities of

management constrained by external social, cultural, political and economic structures

and processes. Orsato et al. noted that there is a gap in the research on how organizational

learning occurs in practice and what the decision-making processes are. For

organizational learning to happen, knowledge acquisition, information distribution and

interpretation, and organizational memory are prerequisites. Therefore, organizational

learning depends on (a) routines of organizational behavior for adjusting organizations to

a next stage based on anticipations, (b) organizational knowledge to be present to make

rapid change necessary, and (c) learning by observing how other organizations change or

based on other information (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Loxano, 2014; Orsato et al., 2017).

Vinther, Jensen, Hjel-Mager, Lyhne, and Nøhr (2017) observed feedback learning

loops in organizations are necessary to create a shared vision and understanding. The

study was of a single case study design on adverse event reporting in a Danish nursing

home. Nine participants (six staff members, the nursing home manager, a representative

for the municipality, and the local risk manager) were part of the interviews. Vinther et

al. noted adverse events (external or internal to the organization) could facilitate people in

organizations in initiating systemic change with appropriate goal settings. Vinther et al.

studied the implementation of Senge’s (1990) learning organizational tools for assessing

learning potential in the healthcare sector. As found by Vinther et al., double-loop

learning is necessary to attain a level of learning requiring the involvement and

participation of people concerned. Vinther et al. concluded that this learning would only

occur in bottom-up approaches of management practices and change.

Berta et al. (2015) remarked that organizational learning entails small-scale

adaptations to organizational processes and work routines which relates to organizational

performance. These routines influence people’s behavior and changing work routines.

Organizational learning does not exhibit those decisions and behaviors which do not

pertain to changes, as noted by Berta et al. Organizational learning does not capture

everything that people learn, know, or experience (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Berta et al.,

2015, Senge, 1990).

The literature on online auctions consists of predominantly quantitative studies

and an occasional mixed method study and has a focus on the optimization of online

outcomes where complaints are a mediating effect on these outcomes, such as in Cui et

al. (2008). Cui et al. postulated a conceptual framework and tried to clarify how customer

complaints could determine the overall auction setting and to predict online outcomes

based on three concepts: (a) facilitating, intermediary, or seller factors, (b) consumer

behavior, and (c) auction outcomes. These factors - from the vendor, buyer and bidder

perspectives - determine the effects of technology properties, service facilities, auction

mechanisms, auction setting, sellers’ attributes, bidders’ attributes and social influence on

consumer behavior in online auctions. The varieties of consumer behavior displayed,

including technology adoption, entry decision, bidding behavior, and bidding strategy, in

turn, can also be used to explain auction outcomes.

These frameworks do not describe or use the concepts of single- or double-loop

learning. Neither do they describe or try to explain the role of customer complaints in

establishing customer satisfaction (Cui et al., 2008). Buyers and vendors of companies

that trade in online auction markets make decisions to optimize online auction outcomes.

Customer complaints are an integral part of the decision-making process. Although Cui et

al. and Lai and Liu’s (2008) conceptual framework provides the context to investigate the

role of customer complaints, and to explain the extent of the applicability of the three

concepts, the authors did not explain the roles of complaints. Buyers complained when

goods bought did not match their perceptions of how vendors market their products (Cui

et al.). Buyers adjust their buying intentions when they become aware that the auction

fulfillment process is not satisfactory because of many complaints on review boards.

Vendors see lower amounts of completed auction outcomes when there is an abundant

amount of complaints and inadequate regress (Cui et al., 2008).

Dynamic Capabilities and Absorptive Capacity

In this subsection, I introduce the concepts of dynamic capabilities and absorptive

capacity (AC) and provide a review of the literature on these concepts. In the previous

section, the topics of single-loop learning and double-loop learning were reviewed and

treated the extent to which organizations and stakeholders adapt depending on the needs

and urgencies managers and their employees envisage or can effectuate. As concerns the

characteristics of single-loop learning, double-loop learning, or triple-loop learning, the

object of investigation should be about the requirements or conditions to bring about

transitions or shifts between single-loop, double-loop, and triple-loop learning regarding

necessary resources and changes in mindset in the organizations and individuals (Haddad

et al., 2016; Liepė & Sakalas, 2015; Senge, 1990).

Dynamic capabilities are the ability of an organization and its management to

integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competencies to respond effectively

to changing environments (Teece, 2014). Organizational processes can only be used

having dynamic capabilities which are a result of an organization's effort based on past

resources to create knowledge and transform them in routines and become more valuable

over time, inimitable, and nonsubstitutable (Helfat & Peteraf, 2015). Also, companies

may use intellectual and tangible assets to generate cash flows, to increase the efficiency

and effectiveness in their organizations, and attain competitive advantage (Yallwe &

Buscemi, 2014). Organizations should hold organizational learning capabilities as a

reflection of having a variety of intangible assets. Dynamic capabilities are a source of

absorptive capacity and a focus to create situation-specific new knowledge (Argote &

Guo, 2016).

According to Gao, Yeoh, Wong, and Scheepers (2017), the gain and release of

resources in terms of routines relate to dynamic capabilities. Specifically, dynamic

innovation capabilities have an inverted U-shaped relationship when applied to

breakthrough innovation (Huang, Lai, & Huang, 2015). For companies to adapt or

respond to new commercial or organizational challenges, people have to contend with

organizational inertia and change present and established routines to find new and

different dynamic capabilities (Lord, 2015). Lord used an electronic survey with 168

participants from 191 US colleges/universities in an electronic survey to qualitatively

assess an open-mindedness construct to assess critical inquiry and the ability of

individuals and groups in organizations to reflect which is a measure for double-loop

learning. Organizational inertia is a factor to prevent individuals and managers

specifically to shift to double-loop learning and triple-loop learning stages.

The discussion on dynamic capabilities relate predominantly to four related but

distinct components related to the internal environment of a company: (a) adaptive

capability, (b) innovative capability, (c) integrative capability, and (d) absorptive

capability. A firm’s ability to identify and capitalize on emerging market opportunities

through strategic flexibility by readjusting resources or adapting the organization defines

adaptive capability. Innovative capability refers to a firm’s ability to develop new

products and/or markets, through aligning strategic, innovative orientation with

innovative behaviors and processes (Lin, Su, & Higgins, 2016; Lin & Wu, 2014). Lin et

al. collected data from 823 participants from a qualitative survey of manufacturing

companies in China that adopted at least one management practice encompassing an

adoption of innovation. Out of 823 participants, 264 completed a follow-up survey.

Lin and Wu (2014) surveyed CEOs and senior executives from the top 1000

companies in Taiwan and 157 participants followed up the surveys with interviews of

seven CEOs and three scholars to assess four constructs for the purpose of content

validity. These constructs were valuable, rare, inimitable and nonsubstitutable (VRIN)

resources, non-VRIN resources, dynamic capabilities, and performance. Integrative

capability refers to the ability to relocate, recombine and reuse both existing resources

and those obtained, including the re-use of knowledge obtained in the past (Lin et al.,

2016).

Dynamic capabilities are essential in this respect for the development of learning

and organizational capabilities with knowledge integration components (Garavan,

Shanahan, Carbery, & Watson, 2016). Capabilities are the enablers for organizations and

people for learning opportunities, managing change initiatives, and innovation or

improvement of business processes and routines. In order to change strategies or to

devise new strategies to tackle new problems, managers of companies should have the

necessary capabilities or learning capacity to change current situations and adapt their

organizations to new realities (Garavan et al., 2016).

Double-loop learning also relates to organizational learning and challenging

leaders to rethink their SLL-oriented behavior, apart from settings wherein managers and

employees question old procedures and find new ways for improving conditions and

outcomes in organizations (Haddad et al., 2016; Liepė & Sakalas, 2015; Senge, 1990).

The question is how people in organizations can acquire new knowledge, review

situations, and change and act upon new understandings which are the precepts for

initiatives for new routines, processes, and improvement opportunities.

Absorptive capacity (AC) emanates in the form of habits, rules, standard

operating procedures or heuristics. These emanations involve the regulation of activities

related to managing internal variation, selection, and retention processes and as such

induce management innovation. Cohen and Levinthal are the founding fathers of AC with

an emphasis on cognitive learning and economics (Tortoriello, 2015). Absorptive

capacity is a function of organizational learning and requires exploratory, transformative

or exploitative learning capabilities to assimilate knowledge for problem-solving skills

and knowledge creation (Love, Teo, Davidson, Cumming, & Morrison, 2016). Love et al.

(2016) conducted an exploratory single case study using unstructured interviews and

analyzing documentary with 26 participants from a variety of organizations and

backgrounds. These organizations related to an alliance in Australia with people actively

involved in initiating and implementing program management activities and

technological changes and processes necessary for the alliance to succeed. Peeters,

Massini, and Lewin (2014) researched the evolution of absorptive capacity routines in

organizations, and more specifically on the consequences of firm-specific underlying

processes within different organizations for their effectiveness in inducing change in

current management practices, adapting, adopting new processes and transforming and

diffusing them.

Stakeholders acquire knowledge by (a) recognizing and understanding potentially

valuable new knowledge outside the firm through exploratory learning, (b) assimilating

valuable new knowledge through transformative learning, and (c) using the assimilated

knowledge to create new knowledge and better performance through exploitative learning

(Mariano, Mariano, Awazu, & Awazu, 2016). When individuals learn in organizational

structures, those structures should contain a learning effort which is higher than the sum

of their parts due to organizational memory, cognitive and associative learning abilities,

mental maps, norms and values which should endure (Senivongse, Mariano, & Bennet,

2015). Huang et al. (2015) and Shokri-Ghasabeh, and Chileshe (2014) espoused that for

the companies' ability to learn and innovate, organizations have dynamic capabilities to

integrate, build, reconfigure, and recreate internal and external competencies to act in

rapidly changing environments. These competencies are difficult to replicate and fully to

comprehend.

Huang et al. (2015) used a qualitative study and employed structural equation

modeling with data collected from 200 Taiwanese-owned small to medium-sized

enterprises (SMEs) in mainland China. The study contained interviews with a total of 49

managers and specialists to provide contents validity and investigator triangulation during

the study. The results indicated that when insourcing R&D to enhance innovation within

a company, managers should consider the availability of organizational and

transformational capacity to make performance and efficacy happen. Shokri-Ghasabeh

and Chileshe (2014) conducted a qualitative survey with 81 useable responses from 450

organizations in the Australian construction project market. The research focused on the

extent to which people can learn from tacit and explicit knowledge present in

organizations from post-project reviews and project members retain lessons learned.

Dynamic capabilities are an extension of the resource-based view (RBV),

explaining how companies can obtain a competitive advantage and attain a superior level

of profitability (Kozlenkova, Samaha, & Palmatier, 2014; Warnier, Weppe, & Lecocq,

2013). The concepts of double-loop learning and organizational learning find their bases

in the RBV and dynamic capabilities in the sense of practitioners, such as managers,

putting their resources into practice by interaction with their colleagues embedded in the

competitive environment. An example of this practical approach is the community of

practice (CoP) that I describe in the next subsection.

When stakeholders learn they contribute to a continuous learning process

potentially providing tacit and explicit knowledge which at the end of that process has to

stick. People obtain tacit knowledge through informal interpersonal contacts and sharing

of knowledge in a social and situated setting (Love et al., 2016). The extent to which

learned experiences remain in the organization or with its stakeholders and stakeholders

apply this potential again is the absorptive capacity. The higher the absorptive capacity,

the larger the chance is managers and stakeholders in organizations can induce the

organization to make a leap from single-loop learning to double-loop learning (Jansson,

Lundkvist, & Olofsson, 2015; Love et al., 2016; Tortoriello, 2015).

The acquisition and transfer of knowledge happen within an organization and

between independent organizational bodies. Factors influencing absorptive capacity are

(a) implementing change, (b) a conducive learning climate; (c) learning from lessons

learned, and (d) learning in action (Duffield & Whitty, 2015; Love et al., 2016).

Examples inhibiting AC are (a) corporate staff emphasize quantity over quality when

performing (process) activities; (b) a reluctance to get external advice outside the

organization; (c) duplication of workload, (d) a lack of perceived value, and (e) a high

level of internal competition (Wiewiora & Murphy, 2015).

Wiewiora and Murphy (2015) conducted a multiple case study with four project

organizations in the telecommunication industry, heavy engineering and building,

communication services, and mining in Australia. Wiewiora and Murphy held four to

nine interviews per case study in which the authors investigated the lack of capturing,

storing, and disseminating lessons learned in the respective organizations due to the

absence of tools and processes for stimulating knowledge exchange. Organizations

exhibiting low levels of AC have inadequate communication capabilities exacerbated by

a silo environment where personnel adds little value when they are under time

constraints. These organizations have managers with short-term objectives, a lack of

collaboration experience with partners and contractors, and a belief learning leads to over

standardization (Jansson et al., 2015).

Jansson et al. (2015) investigated the experience feedback and learning loops

from building in the house-building development industry in Sweden. The qualitative

multiple case study concerned 10 construction project and required four interviews per

project within a span period of 6 years apart from additional archival studies and

observations. The overall conclusion was that the organizations exhibited a lack of

incentives, inefficiency of processes, lack of clear guidelines, lack of employee times,

and a lack of management support which were not conducive to efficiently diffuse

innovation processes (Jansson et al., 2015; Shokri-Ghasabeh, & Chileshe, 2014).

Case study research concerns the identification of changes in the mindset which is

illustrative for a shift from single-loop learning to double-loop learning through the

mechanism of absorptive capacity emanateing in the form of habits, rules, standard

operating procedures or heuristics (Jansson et al., 2015; Shokri-Ghasabeh & Chileshe,

2014; Wiewiora & Murphy, 2015). These emanations involve the regulation of activities

related to managing internal variation, selection, and retention processes and as such

induce management innovation. Other applications of absorptive capacity concern project

management, six sigma implementations with a high reliance on teamwork and

collaboration, collaboration in R&D environments, and export abilities of small

companies (Love et al., 2016; Mariano et al., 2016; Senivongse et al., 2015; Villar et al.,

2014).

Villar et al. (2014) investigated knowledge management dynamic capabilities and

management practices with Spanish and Italian ceramic tile manufacturers. The

quantitative study concerned 157 valid 7-point Likert-type scale questionnaires from 95

Spanish SMEs and 62 Italian SMEs and the authors applied structural equation modeling.

The results indicated that dynamic capabilities are crucial and more important than

knowledge management practices for the tiles export success of these companies.

According to Acklin (2013), and Wolff and Amaral (2016) absorptive capacity and

applying maturity models connect to the extent to which individuals learn and

management of organizations perform. Acklin and Wolff and Amaral described

organizations demonstrating double-loop learning as having a higher degree of absorptive

capacity and accordingly, should have a high degree of maturity.

Learning processes contribute to the effectiveness of solving problems or meet

complex challenges. Double-loop learning and triple-loop learning determine the skill

which individuals apply to create, acquire, and transfer knowledge. In this process

managers and individuals modify their mind maps, outlooks and behaviors to reflect new

insights and a new understanding of how they can take care of new situations and

challenges. Managers should stimulate learning environments to induce learning and thus

the ability for double-loop learning to occur provided the degree of absorptive capacity is

high in organizations. This suggestion is also applicable to N-Loop learning as described

in the next subsections (Lozano, 2014).

Companies use the resource-based view to assess resources, capacity, and

processes for establishing a competitive advantage and engage in strategic planning

exercises (Akaeze, 2016; Silva, Gomes, Lages, & Pereira, 2014). Akaeze (2016)

employed three semistructured interviews who held small auto dealership businesses in

New York City, NY. Silva et al. (2014) conducted a survey of 112 Portuguese

manufacturing firms with 224 questionnaires before applying partial least squares

methodology to determine the role of total quality management (TQM) constructs in

affecting strategic product innovation.

A firm-level capability is TQM (Silva et al., 2014). The result was that only

product design capabilities contributed to product innovation with a mediating role for

the TQM culture in the organization. Managers use RBV-based structuralist strategies,

such as economies of scale or scope, to deploy unique assets in a company. In this

context, one gap in the literature concerns the extent to which companies can attain a

competitive advantage by just deploying resources or attaining capabilities without

appropriate learning skills (Laursen & Salter, 2014).

Laursen and Salter (2014) used the 2005 4th UK Innovation Survey to select 2931

manufacturing firms having more than ten employees with 744 firms only relied on past

innovations. The authors administered a qualitative study using a variety of regression

models to assess open innovation in relation with a company’s appropriability strategy to

(in)formal methods, such as patents, trademarks, and secrecy to impede collaboration

with external actors. It is not well understood how absorptive capacity works, and the

extent to which learning helps to promulgate absorptive capacity (Martín-de Castro,

2015).

Van Doorn, Heyden, and Volberda (2017) investigated how senior management

would benefit from advice from external advisers to aid them in decision-making

processes in a top-down strategy deployment approach. Future research should also

investigate how absorptive capacity works in a company and what factors such as

education, team size, age of personnel, and industry could determine the effect of

absorptive capacity in a company. Thus, there should be a relationship between

organizational learning and learning organizational efforts on the one hand and

organizational resources on the other hand which is not discussed and examined in

current research (Lazzari, Sarate, Goncalves, & Vieira, 2014).

Managers use the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities to seek

structuralist and reconstructionist to attain a competitive advantage relative to their

competitors by leveraging an enterprise’s competencies and resources to deliver superior

customer value. Mauborgne and Kim (2017) espoused that traditional strategic

management or planning have a mindset focusing on the environment within which they

have to meet competitive moves by entrenched players. In this mindset, managers of an

enterprise focus on ways how to sustain its competitive advantage by implementing

strategies and adapting its organization to this environment, or put differently, where

structure shapes strategy. This orientation has its roots in the structure-conduct-

performance paradigm of industrial organization economics. This type of strategies is

called structuralist strategy to which Mauborgne and Kim (2017) do not resort when

writing about organizational learning strategies and learning organizational capabilities

and the extent to which absorptive capacity applies in these contexts.

There is an opportunity to include learning organizations, organizational learning,

and absorptive capacity paradigms in strategic planning efforts when managers of

enterprises leverage their competencies and resources in a way to pursue new

opportunities in markets where they are not able to outperform existing rivals due to

excess supply, cutthroat competition, and low-profit margins (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015).

In these environments, strategies with an orientation on innovation or reconstructionist

strategies can make a difference (Mauborgne & Kim, 2017). When an enterprise gets

stuck in the middle by not being able to choose between these two types of strategies, a

sustenance of their performance can only be achieved by implementing a strategy in

conformance with an organizational mindset where individuals use double-loop learning

and learning organizational-based capabilities as illustrated by Spyropoulou, Katsikeas,

Skarmeas, and Morgan (2018).

Spyropoulou et al. (2018) conducted a quantitative survey of 446 firms out of

1032 firms eligible from a Dun and Bradstreet database that were exporting

manufacturers in the UK. The authors used a psychometric construct and applied

confirmatory factor analyses with maximum likelihood estimation to demonstrate that

companies with stronger internal and organizational capabilities can obtain their intended

strategies more easily. Managers deploying reconstructionist strategy propositions can

deliver both the attainment of low cost and differentiation to attain a competitive

advantage (Mauborgne & Kim, 2017). The underlying thought is that a company can

shape its destiny by carving out it's competitive positioning where nobody trod before.

Reconstruction or renewal of industry structures and markets are a result of this strategic

approach. The origin of reconstructionist strategies is in the emerging field of economics

of endogenous growth portraying the paradigm that individual economic actors can shape

economic and industrial landscapes (Akcigit & Kerr, 2018).

Berta et al. (2015) regarded absorptive capacity as a learning capacity or the

ability of an organization and its individuals to take advantage of new knowledge and

information by applying them in new work routines or changing organizational processes

and set-ups. Gao et al. (2017) and Zahra and George (2002) applied the concept of

absorptive capacity in many areas of research, such as information systems, strategic

management, technology management, international business, and organizational

economics. As exclaimed by Damanpour (2014) and Van Doorn et al. (2017), the

processes of absorptive capacity are not well understood and determine the extent to

which (adaptive) learning through social or meta-routines can happen due to external and

internal influences to the organization. These routines or processes occur in communities

of practice also where people from different companies and organizations partner to

create new knowledge for performance improvement efforts and make innovations

happen which might not occur otherwise.

The gaps in the academic literature consist of explanations for how these

structural mechanisms or routines form and how they work to induce change and

variation in the way individuals do their work. Absorptive capacity also relates to

learning retention and unlearning in organizations or so-called micro-systems, the latter

of which represents all actors and institutional set-ups related to work processes and its

changes. High-order learning (double-loop and triple-loop learning), the generation and

adaption to new knowledge, and the processes contributing to absorptive capacity are not

well-known and understood (Berta et al., 2015; Damanpour, 2014; Van Doorn et al.,

2017).

Liepė and Sakalas (2015) demonstrated how triple-loop learning (deutero

learning) could help companies to speed-up new product development to provide

customers more value and organizations to sustain their competitive advantage by

seeking continuous feedback and attaining holistic experiences. The authors emphasized

the benefits of acquiring knowledge and share information by individuals throughout the

organization to envision new contexts. Several factors contribute to knowledge exchange

and for information transfers to happen, such as unlearning, thinking, improvisation,

memory, and sense-making (Hislop et al., 2014; Lindh & Thorgren, 2015; Lozano, 2014).

These factors contribute to an environment wherein individuals introspect their learning

experience for improvement opportunities.

The concept of absorptive capacity has its use in many situations where learning

is conducive to change and adaptation initiated within and outside the organization (Berta

et al., 2015; Damanpour, 2014; Liepė & Sakalas, 2015; Van Doorn et al., 2017). One

research area concerns entrepreneurial orientation that top managers have when taking

risks, being proactive and innovative. Van Doorn et al. (2017) noted that companies

whose managers are entrepreneurially oriented tend to deliver better results, especially in

dynamic environments. In these organizations, the extent to which individuals and

managers gather knowledge, gain insights, process (new) information, make informed

decisions is a measure of absorptive capacity. This absorptive capacity is about the ability

of individuals to filter, process, and assimilate new information (Van Doorn et al., 2017).

Top managers might seek advice from external advisors to close the gaps in their

knowledge to improve the operations and strategic direction of their company.

Van Doorn et al. (2017) took a sample of 9000 firms from a database in The

Netherlands and resulted in 226 firms in various industries (agricultural and natural

resources, semi-product manufacturing, utilities and construction firms, trading firms,

transport firms, financial services, professional services, IT, media, semi-public sector,

and manufacturing. The authors used the survey to quantitatively measure an AC

construct for entrepreneurial orientation to measure the extent to which top managers are

apt to take risks and innovative, demonstrate proactive behavior, and can implement new

knowledge to resolve problems. The drawback of the study is an emphasis on how top

management processes new information. In this particular study, the authors researched

organizational learning at lower levels in the organization or inter-organizational

cooperation.

The Co-Evolutionary Framework

In this subsection, I describe the co-evolutionary framework (CoEF) which is a

particular application of double-loop learning and absorptive capacity. The CoEF

represents a platform for how individuals can induce double-loop learning by bringing

about changes or variations in the external or internal environment. Peeters et al. (2014),

Smith, Hayes, and Shea (2017), Van Doorn et al. (2017), and Van Knippenberg and

Schippers (2007) regarded the co-evolutionary framework as an approach which evolved

from the absorptive capabilities paradigm.

The key question is how organizations can start improving and speeding up the

generation, adoption, adaptation, and diffusion of management innovation. Damanpour

(2014), Van Doorn et al. (2017), and Van Fenema and Keers (2018) regarded innovations

as (disruptive) improvements in the way people perform work routines and (business)

processes. Absorptive capacity plays a decisive role. A co-evolutionary framework of

management innovation could explain the roles of human agency in four dimensions

within an organization that constitutes potential and realized absorptive capacity:

generation, diffusion, adoption, and adaptation of (management) innovation (Damanpour,

2014; Van Doorn et al., 2017; Van Fenema & Keers, 2018).

These four dimensions have the following modes of operation: the stages of

variation, selection, and retention (VSR). Three types of settings characterize variation:

new to the world (type 1), new to the organization and adapted to the setting (type 2), and

new to the organization without adaptation (type 3). Peeters et al. (2014) suggested

managers should not underestimate cultural diversity as it plays a huge role in these

stages, settings, and processes. The ability of a firm to recognize the value of new,

external information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends is attributable to

absorptive capacity (Peeters et al., 2014). As such, a firm's capability consisting of a

bundle of organizational routines defines absorptive capacity. Meta-routines define the

general, abstract purpose of routines and their conceptual foundation.

Absorptive capacity is primarily a function of a firm's prior knowledge and is

mainly related to how well it can use new knowledge to achieve desired innovation

(Damanpour, 2014). Over time, an organization becomes resistant to change as managers

and employees find it difficult to change and adapt well-established routines. Managers

demonstrating a high level of absorptive capacity learn to adapt form-specific knowledge

based on external information or triggers and transform these in already embedded

routines (Hon, Bloom, & Crant, 2014; Love et al., 2016).

Peeters et al. (2014) conducted a two case study design using a public company in

Chicago, IL, and an IT company located at in the east of the United States to conduct

research on the adoption of and success with global sourcing of business services and

global sourcing decisions and processes which related to management innovation. Apart

from collecting documentation, the study consisted of 21 interviews held at the Chicago

company and 40 at the IT company. The interviewees had a variety of backgrounds

consisting of front-line managers, senior managers, and CEOs with key persons having

multiple interviews. The authors explained how the co-evolutionary framework works by

means of various processes. These processes are to facilitate variation and enable the

emergence of new ideas within organizations. These ideas are used by people to further

select, and develop concepts with the purpose of sharing, combining and recombining

knowledge and superior practices across the organization.

In this way, managers and employees will be able to reflect, update and replace

established management and working practices. The co-evolutionary framework has

various mechanisms where learning and the exchange of knowledge takes place.

Individuals use their skills and experiences in real work activities in which they socially

interact and learn that resemble single- and double-loop learning environments in various

degrees (Snoeren, Niessen, & Abma, 2015; Van Doorn et al., 2017). Snoeren et al. (2015)

conducted a participatory action research project with an intrinsic case study design in a

care unit for older people in The Netherlands who had psycho-geriatric problems. The

participants consisted of 39 persons of whom 20 were vocational trained nurses and

health-care assistants, one nurse manager who supervised 18 students.

Damanpour (2014) reviewed the management innovation literature in various

areas of interest and along some dimensions: (a) the antecedents of management

innovation which are managerial, intra-organizational, and inter-organizational; and (b)

the dimensions of new practices, processes, structures, and techniques. Damanpour

(2014) discussed the outcomes of (management) innovation in terms of performance

along the lines of firm performance, productivity growth, quality of work, and group

satisfaction. Organizational size and competitiveness of the industry are contextual

factors determining the extent to which (management) innovation has its impact on an

organization. Management innovation research is still very fragmented, and this research

consists of the rational school, the institutional perspective, the international business

perspective, and theory development (Damanpour, 2014; Van Doorn et al., 2017).

Van Fenema and Keers (2018) developed a process model where individuals in

organizations create inter-organizational value with performance improvements involving

absorptive capacity and a co-evolutionary approach. The role of dynamic capabilities

regarding sensing, learning and coordinating capabilities are still not well understood,

especially the evolution of absorptive capacity over time and its role in inter-

organizational cooperation and achievement (Lane, Koka, & Pathak, 2006; Van Fenema

& Keers, 2018). In this respect, Van Fenema and Keers (2018) noted that the mechanisms

behind translating organizational processes into performance are unknown and

integrative (co-evolutionary) frameworks explaining inter-organizational performance

and dynamic coordination mechanisms are lacking.

According to Lane et al. (2006), the goal of a company’s learning processes is its

ability to identify, assimilate, and exploit knowledge from the external environment

which is achievable by absorptive capacity. Management, individuals, and teams should

continuously improve and adapt the knowledge base of the firm to perform and remain

viable. Lane et al. reviewed the literature extensively on absorptive capacity and the

applicability of the construct of absorptive capacity which most of the times remains

elusive as in many situations this construct is a given (Lane et al., 2006; Van Doorn et al.,

2017; Van Fenema & Keers, 2018). The implication of absorptive capacity is to modify

actions through single-loop learning than to modify assumptions which define double-

loop learning. Lane et al., Van Doorn et al. (2017), and Van Fenema and Keers (2018)

regarded absorptive capacity as a consequence of prior innovation and problem solving

which depends on critical thinking and information exchange between the members of an

organization. Therefore, absorptive capacity is path-dependent and depends on

knowledge sharing and communication efforts between and within departmental

organizations.

The concept of absorptive capacity evolves and extends to many papers. This

concept has its application in the resource-based view which has implications for its

meaning and practical use, as the underlying construct is taken for granted or becomes

elusive for regarding absorptive capacity as a resource (Damanpour, 2014; Lane et al.,

2006; Van Doorn et al., 2017; Van Fenema & Keers, 2018). There is no new

reconceptualization of the construct of absorptive capacity, and few studies concern the

absorptive capacity itself directly, assimilation of knowledge, or the influence of external

knowledge on absorptive capacity directly (Lane et al., 2006; Van Doorn et al., 2017).

The concept of absorptive capacity is useful in the context of knowledge,

organizational structure, organizational scope and flexibility, cross-functional teams,

knowledge sharing routines, motivation, and competencies with contradictory empirical

evidence for the measurement of its construct (Lane et al., 2006; Love et al., 2016; Zahra

& George, 2002). Defining co-evolutionary frameworks using feedback loops (Van Den

Bosch, Volberda, & De Boer, 1999; Van Doorn et al., 2017) extends the original AC

concept in a meaningful and practical way where the focus is on iterative learning

between the organization and the external environment. Van Den Bosch et al. (1999)

conducted two case studies in The Netherlands which concerned a publishing company

(SDU) and a business newspaper (Het Financieel Dagblad) without disclosing the

specifics of the research design. In the same manner, Zahra and George (2002)

introduced a process perspective to illustrate that internal knowledge sharing and

integration are essential for absorptive capacity to occur by organizational routines.

Zahra and George (2002) typified absorptive capacity as a dynamic capability

having a multidimensional construct which requires learning capability and develops

problem-solving skills to create knowledge for innovation to happen. The authors

distinguished between potential and realized absorptive capacity, the former of which

Van Den Bosch et al. (1999) call coevolution of absorptive capacity with the external

environment. Van Den Bosch et al. developed an integrative framework of the

coevolution of a firm's path-dependent absorptive capacity and the knowledge

environment which incorporates managerial actions, institutional influences, and

environmental phenomena. New knowledge is often the result of combining existing

knowledge.

Van Den Bosch et al. (1999) applied the framework using three absorptive

capacity dimensions: (a) efficiency related to a company’s identification, assimilation,

and exploitation of knowledge based on economies of scale; (b) scope concerning of a

variety of knowledge which is present; and (c) flexibility which captures the ability of a

company to create, acquire, or combine knowledge. This framework is helpful to assess

the extent to which companies can innovate incrementally, modularly, architecturally, or

radically. Combinative capabilities consist of (a) systems capabilities as demonstrated by

policies and procedures; (b) coordination capabilities exist due to lateral coordination

between group members; and (c) socialization capabilities concern social integration in

and between groups implicating tacit understanding of rules, actions, and norms (Van

Den Bosch et al., 1999). Feedback loops influence the extent to which absorptive

capacity is effective through these combinative capabilities and decisive for adapting the

company’s organizational form.

In addition, by operationalizing the absorptive capacity construct, external and

internal knowledge using mediator and independent variables has a research emphasis

(Lane et al., 2006; Van Den Bosch et al., 1999; Van Fenema & Keers, 2018). Factors as

everyday skills, knowledge bases, culture, and cognitive structures define knowledge and

determine the extent of knowledge absorption and assimilation giving way to tacit

knowledge, embedded in complex interactions, processes, and routines (Lane et al.,

2006). Absorptive capacity should also be able to address knowledge complexity which

is the number of interdependent technologies, routines, individuals, and resources linked

to a particular knowledge or asset (Lane et al., 2006; Van Den Bosch et al., 1999).

The relationship between absorptive capacity and performance in the organization

and organizational learning is elusive and has not been tested enough for validation (Lane

et al., 2006). Lane et al., Van Den Bosch et al., 1999), and Van Fenema and Keers (2018)

found some empirical evidence that depends on organizational structures. Although much

emphasis is on exploitative learning than exploratory learning, Lane et al. (2006) gave

not much attention to the implications of learning in the organization. Frameworks for

study for learning experiences concern co-evolutionary (interpretative) frameworks using

the underlying processes where knowledge applies to the content (Smith et al., 2017; Van

Den Bosch et al., 1999).

Future studies should incorporate how to operationalize absorptive capacity

regarding recommendations and policies in companies involved in R&D and non-R&D

activities where interactions between individuals in various organizational structures

matter (Zahra & George, 2002). Also, transformative learning is a topic that requires

further study because this is a context in which exploitative and exploratory learning

takes place, and individuals create new knowledge for which they require prior

knowledge within a company which Van Den Bosch et al. (1999) and Van Fenema and

Keers (2018) demonstrated. Also, the impact of information systems on organizational

absorptive capacity together with coevolution (integrative) frameworks should be of

interest, as suggested by Gao et al. (2017).

Situated Learning Models

Learning is an effort and a process entailing the change of behavior of the

organization using learning activities which takes place and transfers from individuals to

the collective (Senge, 1990). The term learning organization relates to organizations

being able to build knowledge and increase performance through continuous learning

efforts (Senge, 1990). For instance, stakeholders in organizations only achieve double-

loop learning by eliminating causes of problems which might not require expensive

efforts. Senge espoused the need for organizations to learn and develop using the mastery

of five core disciplines (self-mastery, shared vision, team learning, mental models, and

systems thinking). Three levels of learning provide logical steps to a learning

organization: (a) the individual level mental models and personal mastery, (b) the group

level team working, and (c) the organizational level regarding shared vision and systems

thinking (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Lee, 2014; Lozano, 2014; Senge, 1990).

Collaboration is a necessity lest organizations remain inept to change course and

directions. For this to happen, deep interventions and collaborative efforts contribute to

changing individual and team behaviors, and as a result, these affect double-loop

learning. Senge (1990) and Fillion et al. (2015) referred to single-loop learning as

adaptive learning and double-loop learning as generative learning. Senge (1990)

explained mental models and team learning in the context of informal and social

networks. People can use their skills or competencies to act in a double-loop learning

mode. Otherwise, they remain relatively incompetent. Through the foundation of social

relationships, people interact through dialogues consisting of processes of reflection and

inquiry. As such, deeply held assumptions surface, and as a result, new thought

paradigms form and people re-frame new mental models enabling a transitioning to

double-loop learning (Senge, 1990).

Managers of online vendors need to react to complaints to increase customer

satisfaction. These managers are dependent on their teams to find or implement the

appropriate strategies. These strategies could entail leveraging the experience and

awareness of stakeholders in the organization concerned to come up with new ideas,

routines, or new business processes which is the domain of learning organizations

(Argyris & Schön, 1978; Haddad et al., 2016; Senge, 1990).

In the previous sections, I discussed the concepts of double-loop learning, single-

loop learning, and triple-loop learning. To extend these concepts, Simonin (2017a, b)

postulated the notion of N-loop learning to capture a wide variety of views, models, and

levels of organizational learning ranging from zero learning and single-loop learning to

quadruple-loop learning. Simonin noted the emphasis on empirical research as this is up

to this date lacking. The purpose of N-loop learning is to confer managers of

organizations with the flexibility and agility they need to face a range of circumstances or

challenges they have to meet. Simonin (2017a, b) reflected upon the various meanings of

triple-loop learning. These meanings comprise of collective mindfulness to co-invent for

stakeholders in the organization to discover the extent to facilitate or inhibit learning

producing new structures and strategies for learning. Triple-loop learning (N=3)

encapsulates a continuous reflection on learning processes, and their context wherein

learning happens together with motivations necessary for that to occur to promulgate

desired outcomes and effects. Quadruple learning (N = 4) has elements of reflections and

thoughts on a philosophical level where the learners (individuals or organizations) change

with respect to their apprehension and position regarding cognitive and behavioral traits.

In the N-loop learning paradigm, N = 0 corresponds with unlearning (Hislop et al., 2014;

Lindh & Thorgren, 2015; Lozano, 2014).

Reflection theory concerns the systematic, intentional, and disciplined meaning-

making process which moves a learner from one experience into the next with a more in-

depth understanding of its relations and connections to other experiences (Lindh &

Thorgren, 2015). In this way, people can improve taking subsequent actions and can learn

from previous mistakes by using new insights and knowledge, also when critical events

are a cause for people to think and explore to act critically (Argyris & Schön, 1978;

Lindh & Thorgren, 2015). For this reason, Lindh & Thorgren conducted 15 semi-

structured interviews and follow-up weekly surveys using a 7 points Likert scale for an

inductive case study with prospective entrepreneurs in a Swedish training program.

Work-based learning and workplace learning are examples of organizational learning

contrasting double-loop learning (McCormack, Manley, & Titchen, 2013; Snoere et al.,

2015). Snoeren et al. (2015) conducted an intrinsic case study design in a care unit in The

Netherlands with 39 participants that the authors interviewed. Members of organizations

also reflected upon their actions and directions.

Organizational learning and learning organizational methodologies have their

fundaments on dynamic capabilities and the resource-based view and have their

orientation on system thinking. The traditional focus is on attaining competitive

advantages vis-à-vis the competition and organizations strife for the increase of financial

or organizational performance through problem-solving or information-processing. Kim

and Mauborgne (2015) emphasized organizations also need to be more flexible and

innovative to attain a leadership position in the market which needs more focus on

creativity and triple-loop learning. People in organizations should question processes,

procedures, product, and systems. Unlearning efforts are the drivers to think differently,

and people should depart from their theories-in-use. Knowledge creation and innovation

capabilities are essential drivers of value innovation (Hislop et al., 2014; Kim &

Mauborgne, 2015; Lindh & Thorgren, 2015; Lozano, 2014).

I will try to understand in this research study the extent to which organizational

learning happens or operationalizes regarding N-loop learning or other modalities.

Assessing what activities in organizations contribute to the collaboration effort are

necessary, and with what type of N-loop learning managers of vendors associate their

strategies. The notion of N-loop learning can capture and explain various phenomena

stakeholders in organizations will encounter. The disadvantage of classifying these

phenomena is that the underlying factors or constructs related to the occurrence of

learning remain unexplained which are the premise on which organizations interrelate,

collaborate, learn, and adapt to changing circumstances to which Senge (1990) also paid

attention. Learning in organizations change the competencies (resources) and capabilities

with which to tackle problems or meet challenges. Hence, finding out how knowledge

flows in organizations is necessary for the learning effort and what factors or actions

trigger to do things in a different way (Lindh & Thorgren, 2015; Lozano, 2014).

Stoner and Cennamo (2018) recommended reflection in situated learning

situations what Argyris and Schön (1978) described as reflection-on-action. Learners in

this context are not only students, but they become practitioners as well within their

specific environment or setting. Practitioners should well go beyond as reflection-on-

action as suggested by Argyris and Schön because they need to prepare themselves for

novel and unanticipated situations and resolve problems which requires self-awareness

and learning to cope with given situations. In this sense, situated learners are adaptive and

able to contribute to performance improvements and act upon their experience.

According to Stoner and Cennamo (2018), situated learners use those tools and

schemas as provided by their social environment for problem-solving. The creation of

new knowledge comes from these problem-solving activities within the cultural context

in which they occur. As situated learning is used in practice as an instructional strategy in

many situations and contexts, the most common implementation of this concept is

apprenticeships, internships, or in a simulated actual work environment (Stoner &

Cennamo, 2018). The goal of situated learning is to create meaning and significance

within learning activities through shared practice and discourse as suggested by social

constructivists and situated learning theorists (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Vygotsky, 1980).

Lave and Wenger (1991), Stoner and Cennamo (2018), and Vygotsky (1980)

demonstrated that experienced learners and experts do not follow the rules based on

higher-order knowledge, but they use an in-depth understanding of the situation they are

facing based on practice and experience This understanding has its base on a tacit

understanding of complex situations in contexts that do not concern independent

technical-rational models. Situated learning also takes place in various environments with

an integral and inseparable social practice (Stoner & Cennamo, 2018). One example is an

entrepreneur who needs to understand the context and business environment and to deal

with a variety of social relationships such as partners, customers, friends, and mentors).

These relationships may exhibit conflict, social risk, stress, and discomfort which give

way to higher-level forms of entrepreneurial learning in a specific environment. Situated

learning can occur in (social) networks where learning requires trust, respect, and

exchanges of experience (Stoner & Cennamo, 2018).

Situated learning research is developing around the situated character of human

understanding and communication with a focus on the relationship between learning and

social situations (Stoner & Cennamo, 2018). Lave and Wenger (1991) formulated

situated learning as social co-participation which deals with social engagement rather

cognitive processes and conceptual structures which have implications for the skills

learners develop. Learners gain their skills as a result of being engaged in a process

where the individual exchanges practical knowledge with experts having a limited degree

of responsibility in that process. They do not acquire a set of abstract knowledge which

learners can apply in other situations. Research based on this concept and understanding

of Lave and Wenger’s paradigm is cognitive in nature and consists of discourse and

sociolinguistic analysis concerning the meaning of words and experts’ activities in an

actionable context and a participation framework.

Lave and Wenger (1991) studied the learning of improvisation, interaction, and

processes which they only could capture in terms of phenomenological and practice-

oriented approaches Stoner and Cennamo (2018) regarded situated learning as a

transitory concept between learning as a result of cognitive processes and as an outcome

of social practices in which that outcome is meaningful. Stoner and Cennamo reported

many studies where situated learning and its associated processes of socialization in

practice have positive and negative effects. McSharry and Lathlean (2017) conducted one

of the studies in clinical teaching using a qualitative design to study in-depth holistic

understanding of students' and preceptors' perceptions and practices related to teaching

and learning using 26 participants in semi-structured interviews. The authors used an

interpretive approach to assess the interviews and discover patterns of meaning,

understanding, behaviors, and values.

Situated learning takes place in various environments such as information

technology practices where informal learning in practice takes place. Chadhar and

Daneshgar (2018) analyzed a sequence of events and issues which led to an unsuccessful

enterprise resource planning (ERP) post-implementation project at a large IT service

management company in Australia. Chadhar and Daneshgar conducted a qualitative

research study using an interpretive single case study interviewing project stakeholders in

38 focus groups with additional one-to-one interviews with individual group members.

This project was unsuccessful because of various contributing factors: (a) individuals’

lack of understanding of the ERP system, (b) insufficient connection between the ERP

system and associated business processes, (c) insufficient training by the ERP vendor1,

(d) unrelated ERP training to the actual work processes, and (e) disconnect of

management of staff about what training and engagement individuals need.

Situated learning studies do not provide integral frameworks for analyzing how

individuals and organizations acquire, assimilate, and disperse new knowledge to the

benefit of the performance of a company. Although learning in situated learning contexts

can be complicated, intricate, and practical at the same time, learners should be able to

interact with the organization as a whole as in Senge’s (1990) learning organization to

apprehend what capabilities they bring to the company.

Self-Efficacy Theory

In this subsection, I describe another theory contrasting the learning

organizational and organizational learning capabilities. Managers, stakeholders, and the

organization can transcend from single-loop learning to double-loop learning stages or

may reach N-loop abilities. Individuals connect their psychosocial functioning through

personal agency to contributions and acts they undertake. In other words, they believe

they can effectuate upon their beliefs to achieve any organizational goals, assisted by an

urge and motivation to do so.

Self-efficacy (SE) is a social cognitive theory explaining what determines

individuals’ motivation to act according to what they believe (Cherian & Jacob, 2013).

The concept is defined by Bandura in 1986 to study people‘s judgments related to their

capabilities to stipulate, organize and execute courses of action required with the purpose

to attain designated types of performance (Cherian & Jacob, 2013; Lee et al., 2014;

Williams & Rhodes, 2014). Lee et al. conducted a qualitative research study with 500

middle school students (253 girls, 246 boys, and one genderless) from two middle

schools in two suburban cities near Seoul, Korea in two separate surveys.

Lee et al. (2014) assessed cognitive and affective motivational constructs

measuring self-efficacy and grade goals and the students’ use of self-regulatory strategies

by repeated measures analysis of variance and structural equation modeling. Goals setting

ties self-efficacy with achievements. Accordingly, it is the judgments of individuals what

they can achieve depending on the skill set they will leverage to attain the ends rather

than the individuals' actual abilities. The effectiveness of individuals' actions depends on

four main forms of influence: (a) mastery experiences, (b) vicarious experiences, (c)

social persuasion, and (d) physiological and emotional states, where the mastery of

experiences is the most important form. Self-efficacy for learning concerns beliefs

enabling individuals to learn facilitated by self-regulatory processes to learn, especially to

acquire skills to perform novel tasks and activities. Individuals with high self-efficacy

achieve excellent outcomes regarding satisfaction and performance (Cherian & Jacob,

2013; Lee et al., 2014; Williams & Rhodes, 2014).

Individuals' performance and ability to act depend on the interpretation of their

self-appraisals and on the impact social persuasion has. The latter has to do with feedback

and information individuals receive from the social environment about actions required to

attain success. This research study contains an assessment about whether self-efficacy

plays a role in inducing N-loop or double-loop learning transitions by behavioral

outcomes potentially managers of online auctions employ to increase the organizational

performance of stimulating learning for its intended effects. Individuals with high self-

efficacy have a higher ability to align themselves with new challenges by generating new

ideas and come up with innovative solutions and better collaborate in teams.

Managers of eCommerce companies compete fiercely for market performance,

and shareholders expect an increase in companies’ valuations on a continuous basis

(Sokol & Ma, 2017). Therefore, these managers need to innovate, disrupt current markets

and search for new growth opportunities, and perfect their services. Online auction

companies have to survive in a growing knowledge-based economy, and to thrive in a

socioeconomic environment which is increasingly unstable and competitive

(Muthitacharoen & Tams, 2017; Tadelis, 2016). In fast-changing technology-oriented

markets, these enterprises are continuously looking and differentiating themselves for

new customers in segments that they create attracting customers from existing markets,

disrupting the auctions industry using new business models (Muthitacharoen & Tams,

2017). Additionally, managers of online auction companies have to continuously improve

their current business models through strategic planning exercises to stay ahead of the

competition, which is called sustainable innovation (Tadelis, 2016). Disruptive

innovation is an activity that calls for strategic thinking about where an enterprise has to

be in 3-5 years as suggested by Vecchiato (2017). Vecchiato (2017) employed a multiple

case research design using Motorola and Nokia in the mobile communication industry

and Eastman Kodak and Hewlett-Packard in the imaging and printing industry. Apart

from publicly available documentation, the author used semi-structured interviews with

an undisclosed number of internal and external informants to study disruptive innovation

and management’s cognition to adapt to changing market conditions.

Against this background, self-efficacy theory concerns strategic planning

approaches as regards conditions of the market and legal uncertainties, international

political unrest, shifting social values, and economic imbalances in the marketplace by

executing strategy (setting direction, goals, defining a roadmap, allocating resources,

commitment and coordination). Strategic planning depends on the preservation and

rearrangement of established categories (corporate, business, functional) and the

established types of products along current strategic business units and related structures

(Bryson, 2018). Current literature focuses on factors that determine entrepreneurs’

persistence in reaching their goals (Bullough, Renko, & Myatt, 2014; Davidsson &

Gordon, 2016). Davidsson and Gordon (2016) conducted a survey and interviews with

625 individuals who they regarded as nascent entrepreneurs. Of this group, the follow-up

resulted in 493 interviews. At the end of a year, 337 participants remained engaged in

entrepreneurial activities. Conducting a hierarchical logistic regression analysis was part

of this qualitative study and contributed to these activities.

Academics apply the concept of self-efficacy in various environments, such as in

online learning (Alqurashi, 2016), nursing (Shen, 2015), psychological interventions

(Tang & Chan, 2016), and business (Liñán & Fayolle, 2015; Newman, Obschonka,

Schwarz, Cohen, & Nielsen, 2018). Alqurashi (2016) noted that some topics need more

research on the nature of the relationship between self-efficacy (other than technology

factor) and online learning regarding learning, interaction, and collaborative skills. Shen

(2015) described various cultural assessment tools to assess and measure the self-efficacy

construct regarding cultural awareness, knowledge, cognitive skill, awareness, encounters

and desire domains. Shen developed close-ended surveys for any research environment

based on for instance proper literature review, factor analysis, question development, and

expert panels' items previews.

Liñán and Fayolle (2015) reviewed the literature on entrepreneurial intention (EI)

models concerning the behaviors and mental processes of entrepreneurs. The authors

concluded that the field on EI lacks systematization and categorization. In some models

of entrepreneurial intention, self-efficacy is a motivational antecedent of entrepreneurial

intention. In addition to self-efficacy mediating the influence of some background

variables for entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial education has a significant effect

on self-efficacy (Liñán & Fayolle, 2015). Learning orientation and passion for work

mediates the influence of perceived ability and attractiveness on intention (Liñán &

Fayolle, 2015) and a 22-item multi-dimensional measure exhibits entrepreneurial self-

efficacy (Newman et al., 2018). Current self-efficacy assessment instruments have

drawbacks: (a) few assessment instruments survey outcomes in order to provide a

comprehensive analysis of culture and practices; (b) lack of psychometric evaluation

whilst the validity or reliability of these studies are not up to research standards; (c) the

role of self-efficacy in interdisciplinary teams or groups; and (d) answers might

demonstrate social desirability (Shen, 2015).

Newman et al. (2018) reviewed the literature on entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

Entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial emotions and mental state determine

entrepreneurial behavior, venture creation, and entrepreneurial performance. The

antecedents of entrepreneurial self-efficacy are the cultural and institutional environment,

firm characteristics, education and training, work experience, role models and mentors,

and individual differences such as gender, personality, and risk-taking preferences.

According to Newman et al., the psychological construct in entrepreneurship research

centers on entrepreneurial motivation, intention, behavior, and performance.

Entrepreneurs need to confront environmental events, contend with personal

factors, and manage their behaviors that affect their decision-making processes. Although

self-efficacy deals with managers’ beliefs in their capabilities to organize and execute the

courses of action required to produce given attainments (Bullough et al., 2014), managers

should have the resources and build organizational capabilities to achieve their goals.

Bullough et al. conducted a qualitative research study by surveying 148 Afghan persons

of which 79% attended high school or higher and 109 participants who applied to a

women’s business development training program.

In general, research does not incorporate mechanisms of organizational learning

or learning organization to attain these goals, nor how these organizations or individuals

attain goals (Liñán & Fayolle, 2015) although social cognitive theory and the theory of

planned behavior relate to study outcomes of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The emphasis

on self-efficacy is on motivational factors enabling managers or entrepreneurs to find

ways to identify those strategies to deliver results. Additionally, there is a lack of research

in (entrepreneurial) self-efficacy at the group level or team-based organizational

structures (Newman et al., 2018).

Community of Practice

Farnsworth, Kleanthous, and Wenger-Trayner (2016) defined the community of

practice (CoP) as an organizational learning mechanism or social platform to increase

knowledge in organizations by sharing knowledge, experiences and business model

designs. The community-of-practice mechanism emphasizes knowledge-sharing between

companies or organizations to evaluate how decisions work out to improve performance,

resolve problems stakeholders have in common, or share common interests. For that

purpose, stakeholders in organizations use maturity models as repositories and

knowledge bases which reflect CoP mechanisms to increase knowledge and stimulate the

exchange of experiences (Farnsworth et al., 2016). The participation of the members of

the communities of practice is essential for its effectiveness, advancement, and a

continued effort. Communities of practice often publish capability maturity models to

describe various levels of practices within an industry, sector or profession (Langston &

Ghanbaripour, 2016).

A community of practice is a group of people who share a work profession, a

practice or an interest (Cordery et al., 2015). This community can emerge on its own but

also be developed and designed on purpose to generate knowledge in a particular area

(Pilemalm et al., 2014). Cordery et al. conducted a qualitative research study within a

division of a large multinational company operating in the metals industry in the United

States, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Australia using operational log data of

a period of 298 weeks. Applying a Bayesian change-point detection model helped to

evaluate changes in operational procedures from a revised work model assessing 10

CoPs. Through the sharing of information and experience, the group members learn from

each other and can develop both on a personal plane and in their professional roles (Kolb,

2014). Charband and Navimipour (2016) noted that the academic community does not

yet fully understand how members of a community of practice evaluate their experiences

to be beneficial or what impact in terms of inducing double-loop learning in

organizations. The conclusion is that satisfaction and knowledge self-efficacy are factors

for members of the community of practice to continue using the platform (Charband &

Navimipour, 2016).

Members of community-of-practices and who apply maturity models advance

learning in organizations, stimulate absorptive capacity and increase their awareness to

improve routines and business processes to resolve problems and improve customer

satisfaction objectives (Rauffet et al., 2014). At the same time implementing and further

customizing industry practices induce double-loop learning. The nature of absorptive

capacity, dynamic capabilities or N-loop learning settings are still unclear as concerns

how this learning happens specifically (Jaaron & Backhouse, 2017; Van Doorn et al.,

2017).

Lave and Wenger (1991) described the learning practices in communities of

practice where participation of students is essential for learning to occur through

legitimate peripheral participation (McSharry & Lathlean, 2017). Alternatively, Vygotsky

(1980) explained through the zone of proximal development and instructional scaffolding

theory how students and practitioners enhance their level of practice to the next level

under expert guidance, interactive dialogue and coaching efforts. In communities of

practice, participants address deficits in their knowledge and (re)construct their

knowledge to create meaning and significance within learning activities (McSharry &

Lathlean, 2017). These communities of practice provide both reflection opportunities on

lived experiences as well as situated learning experiences (McSharry & Lathlean, 2017).

As observed by McSharry and Lathlean, most research studies contain support to only

retroactive reflection-on-action learning experiences within situated learning contexts or

communities of practice with a specific culture, dialogue, and practices which remains

not useful outside these contexts.

Communities of practice grow as soon as a specific area of knowledge or field

matures through newcomers and their participation. These communities of practice have

the ability to develop and produce themselves in transformative ways through

acculturation and socialization rather than skill development and an emphasis on

principles which are independent of a social context, as described by Lave and Wenger

(1980). Hollinshead, Stirling, Kerr, and Massey (2015) noted that communities of

practice offer participants a platform to share knowledge, learning and innovation, and a

vehicle for collaborative problem-solving.

Academics and managers of organizations use capability maturity models to

evaluate the extent to which collective of individuals as an organization can learn in

terms of processes that depict repeatable, unpredictable, defined, managed, or optimized

processes (Langston & Ghanbaripour, 2016). The concepts of single-, double-, and triple-

loop learning, learning organizations, and capability maturity models have some

drawbacks. According to Fillion et al. (2015) and Van Doorn et al. (2017), these concepts

do not adequately describe the power structures in organizations, nor the way how people

interact, and disseminate knowledge, and attain an understanding of complex problems.

Senior management mostly determines the conditions under which individuals

collaborate (McClory et al., 2017) requiring top-down leadership. Bottom-up approaches

to improve organizational processes or renew strategies would require other mechanisms

than those of SLL, DLL, and TLL efforts as suggested by Mauborgne and Kim (2017)

and McClory et al. (2017). In many communities-of-practice studies, authors research

various facets defining the community of practice (tools, procedures, stories, and

language) detached from their actual practices (Lane et al., 2006).

The Categorization-Elaboration Model

For stakeholders and managers to learn what strategies to apply to effect desired

outcomes, organizational learning is essential as discussed in the previous sections. In

this section, I discuss how the notion of collaboration fits into learning, absorptive

capacity, and N-loop type of stages. Collaboration is a major factor in communities of

practice, teamwork, and close cooperation with management to achieve organizational

goals.

Boughzala and De Vreede (2015) demonstrated by applying a collaboration

maturity model at an international automotive manufacturer that collaboration is an

essential ingredient of organizational life as people work together to create value for their

companies and society. The critical success factors for collaboration efforts to yield

success are a shared understanding of business processes, goals, information, goal

alignment between individuals and teams, averting groupthink, and choosing the right

methodologies and techniques to advance within-team collaboration and fruitful

cooperation across organizational borders. The objectives expressed by the central

agency leading the studied process aimed at implementing double-loop learning

objectives by revising the incident reports and improving future operations accordingly.

Collaboration efforts are necessary to prepare organizations for double-loop learning

efforts and as such to transfer tacit individual knowledge to a team and organizational

level (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Pilemalm et al., 2014).

In this context, making a joint effort toward a group goal comprised of acts of

shared creation and/or discovery defines collaboration. Individuals do not attain this

effort by double-loop learning, or any effort necessitating organizational learning or

learning organization. Boughzala and De Vreede (2015) conducted a mixed research

study using a focus group of 15 chief knowledge officers from different companies and

sizes in different sectors (including automotive, software, audiovisual, civil engineering,

and telecommunications) in France. The participants took part in a quantitative survey on

appropriate collaborative maturity models. Boughzala and De Vreede interviewed the

executives on their experiences with the implementation of these models. The results

accentuated collaboration as a process in which two or more agents (individuals or

organizations) share resources and skills to resolve problems so that they can jointly

achieve one or more goals. During this process, agents communicate with each other to

coordinate their tasks. Prevention of conflicts and mediating mechanisms to avert conflict

affecting the performance of distributed teams are worthy of closer study. Relational

conflict (also called affective or interpersonal conflict) represents personal disagreements

between people characterized by anger and dislike. Task conflict (also referred to as

cognitive conflict) refers to disagreements about the content of the task individuals

perform (Bradley, Anderson, Baur, & Klotz, 2015). Communication can play a decisive

role.

Diversity plays a role in conflict situations, because of (a) underlying cognitive

attributes, such as values, attitudes, knowledge, experiences, and personality (deep-level

diversity), and (b) high-visibility diversity, based on apparent attributes such as age,

gender, or race (Pieterse, Van Knippenberg, & Van Dierendonck, 2013). Pieterse et al.

(2013) employed two qualitative studies using 79 and four teams and 312 and 436

students respectively who were students of a Dutch business school engaged in a human

resources business simulation class. Pieterse et al. used surveys to measure goal

orientation, cultural diversity, and team performance, and they applied hierarchical

multiple regression for the analysis of results.

Meyer et al. (2015) conducted a quantitative survey assessing log-likelihood-

based models with 3,263 consultants forming 325 teams from a large financial consulting

company in Germany in the period between 2005 and 2008. Meyer et al. measured

performance, the occurrence of disparate events (crises) that would impact the

consultants’ performance, and identity-based faultline strength, the latter of which would

measure the extent to which a group would break up. The adverse effect of team diversity

relates to the social categorization process with regard to which people consider

themselves as (dis)similar to others, and this induces in-group and out-groups (Meyer,

Shemla, Li, & Wegge, 2015). The members of the last group are believed to be different,

and as a result cohesion, trust and perception of performance are affected. The process

and its effect have an impact on collaboration, knowledge sharing, information

processing, and the variance in team performance or effectiveness (Bezrukova, Spell,

Caldwell, & Burger, 2016). Shared understanding can be a distinctive mediator of the

conflict-effectiveness relationship. Cognitive conflict relates positively to teams reaching

a shared understanding (Bezrukova et al., 2016). Task conflict relates negatively to

shared understanding and team effectiveness (Bezrukova et al., 2016). Bezrukova et al.

(2016) conducted a quantitative survey with multisource, multilevel data on 30 Major

League Baseball (MLB) teams in the United States applying hierarchical linear modeling

and regression analysis. The results indicated that group-level faultlines negatively

associated with group performance with internally focused conflict exacerbating the

effects which negatively influences performance.

Teams, as information processors and being functionally diverse, reap the benefits

to produce innovations through knowledge sharing by the moderating effect of affect-

based trust (Cheung et al., 2016). Cheung et al. conducted a qualitative study evaluating

surveys using regression models with 96 research and development teams with a total of

443 employees from a large IT company in China. Measures included functional

diversity, affect-based trust in a team, knowledge sharing, and team innovation. The

authors indicated functional diversity had a negative indirect relationship with team

innovation via knowledge sharing when affect-based trust in a team was low, and this

relationship became less negative as the level of affect-based trust in a team increased. In

this way, the social categorization process is used to avert conflict due to diversity

differences by emphasizing commonalities amongst team members. The development

and implementation of novel and useful ideas characterize innovation in this context.

The definition of functional diversity is the degree to which team members have

different experiences and skill sets in a specific function during the greater part of their

career. Other similar definitions of innovation are: the intentional introduction and

application within a job, work team or organization of ideas, processes, products or

procedures which are new to that job, work team or organization and which are designed

to benefit the job, the work team or the organization (Hon et al., 2014). Diversity reflects

the degree to which there are differences among people within a group (Barak, 2016).

Diversity may refer to any attribute, but research has mainly focused on differences in

gender, age, and cultural backgrounds which include race, ethnicity, and nationality,

tenure, educational background, and functional backgrounds (Anderson, Potočnik, &

Zhou, 2014).

Against these backgrounds, the categorization-elaboration model (CEM) is a tool

to explain the relationships between work group diversity and performance through the

reconceptualization and integration of information/decision making and social

categorization perspectives on work-group diversity and performance (Meyer, Glenz,

Antino, Rico, & González-Romá, 2014). The CEM model applies to diversity research

with a focus on mediators and contingency factors to explain performance in

organizations where also information elaboration takes place (Pieterse et al., 2013; Van

Knippenberg and Schippers, 2007; Van Veelen & Ufkes, 2017). The dimensions of

diversity (e.g., race, gender, age, culture, and nationality) determine the rationale of

information/decision making and social categorization processes. The implications for the

management of diversity are: (a) to retain the potential benefits of work-group diversity,

and the prevention of potentially disruptive effects, diversity management should focus

on fostering elaboration; (b) intergroup biases being associated with negative affective–

evaluative reactions to the group and its members should be prevented; and (c) the

elaboration of task-relevant information should not be disrupted. Diversity management

should focus on task motivation and ability. The categorization-elaboration model is

about preventing negative effects of diversity and stimulating its positive effects. The

absence of adverse effects in itself is insufficient to motivate behavior by promoting the

performance benefits of diversity (Pieterse et al., 2013).

Barak (2016) discussed the theory and implications of diversity in workgroup

compositions incorporating differences in functional or educational background. The

authors emphasized the importance of processes underlying the mediating effects of

diversity and how to manage these processes which pose major challenges to research in

organizational behavior by looking at the mediators and moderators of these linear and

curvilinear effects. At the workgroup level, group composition affects group

performance, cohesion, social interaction, group members' commitment, satisfaction, and

other indicators of subjective well-being. Barak (2016) presumed social categorization

processes engender more favorable attitudes toward in-group than out-group others, more

trust, more willingness to cooperate, and generally smoother interaction with in-group

than with out-group others. Similarly, clients of a selection and assessment company

concerned research on minority dissent in teams in conjunction with team innovations

(Schippers, West, & Dawson, 2015). Schippers et al. conducted a qualitative research

study consisting of 98 primary health care teams working in the NHS across the UK. The

following measures and methodologies were applicable: team reflexity, work demands,

team innovation, applied surveys, and analyses of variance. Results showed more

innovation and greater team effectiveness under high rather than low levels of minority

dissent, but only when there was a high level of team reflexivity.

According to Van Knippenberg and Schippers (2007), the overall main

conclusions were (a) typologies of diversity (most commonly differentiating forms of

demographic and functional diversity) did not explain the differential effects workgroup

diversity may have on group process and performance; and diversity simply as dispersion

on a single dimension of diversity; and (b) diversity research should pay more attention to

the moderators of social categorization, intergroup bias, and information/decision-making

processes. The role of double-loop learning, organizational learning, or learning

organization efforts is not part of the categorization-elaboration model. Future research

should incorporate organizational learning and learning organization elements as well as

demographic and structural factors to illustrate how the categorization-elaboration model

works in practice (Tröster, Mehra, & Van Knippenberg, 2014). Tröster et al. (2014)

conducted a qualitative study using regression analysis consisting of 92 student teams

(461 individuals with 60 different nationalities) at a major European business school.

Tröster et al. measured team performance, team potency, workflow network

centralization, workflow network density, and cultural diversity.

Although teams are building blocks in any organizational design, more emphasis

should be put on the incorporation of the dynamics of teamwork and networks of teams

based on its composition of individual members which changes over time. The

categorization-elaboration model exhibits the relationship between individual relations

and the performance of teamwork regarding the team structure and social categorization,

compositional arrangements, coordination actions, and psychological state. The

relationship changes in time and is dynamic in practice. The capturing of team dynamics

in processes and emergent states may describe team outcomes. Also, the team

relationships change over time.

For these reasons, Mathieu, Hollenbeck, Van Knippenberg, and Ilgen (2017)

suggested to develop new quantitative-oriented measurements to describe various

constructs. Tröster et al. (2014) employed network analysis techniques to measure the

collaboration effects of team diversity focusing on the potential for differences in

member nationality to influence conflict and workflow coordination in a longitudinal

study of 92 self-managed teams. They concluded that the more diverse a team is, the

more successful teams perform in a centralized network of teams to perform workflows.

Teams performing work in network arrangements may perform differently than uniform

variable patterns suggest (Mathieu et al., 2017). As such, studying multilevel, multiplex,

and dynamic features of workgroup, team composition, and team-based arrangements is

beneficial, as the nature of team-based work is changing.

Van Knippenberg and Schippers (2007) and Van Veelen and Ufkes (2017) noted

that in the extant literature the relationship between diversity and team performance

remains inconsistent and is a cause for many interpretations. It is for this reason that Van

Veelen and Ufkes complemented and extended the categorization-elaboration model to a

theoretical framework in which team learning and efficacy are mediators, and team

identification is a moderator. Van Veelen and Ufkes performed a cross-sectional study

among 72 project teams at a European university and used additional data from various

sources (self-reports, database, and performance assessments) for studying intragroup

dynamics and interactions only using structural equation modeling. The result of the

study showed that team diversity is a contributing factor to team performance when there

is a strong collective team identity through learning and team-efficacy. Objective and

subjective measures can lead to different results and conclusions.

Mathieu et al. (2017) stated that the traditional views of learning, as discussed in

this section of the professional literature, is changing as individuals change teams often

and may work across different organizational structures, in communities of practice,

using agile software, or deploying other fluid temporary arrangements. Future research

should include the consideration of the impact of changing team memberships concerning

team dynamics which depends on previous processes or team outcomes. As a

consequence of all changes in real-life situations, research should also include the

account of changes in linking static antecedents and mediating mechanisms in prevalent

models to describe outcomes and performances. Also, appropriate feedback loops should

account for the dynamics of team interactions. Research on team diversity and

elaboration in combination with team learning is scarce (Tekleab, Karaca, Quigley, &

Tsang, 2016). Tekleab et al. (2016) conducted a qualitative research study using

longitudinal survey data comprising of 45 teams (227 participants) of students with

diverse ethnic backgrounds at a large Midwestern university in the United States. Tekleab

et al. used a Capstone Simulation to generate results measuring functional diversity,

behavioral integration, team cohesion, team learning, and team performance using

confirmatory factor analysis.

Transition

In Section 1 of this study, I provided the background and the reasons for

conducting the research, as well as the problem and purpose statements, research

question, conceptual framework, operational terms, the significance of the study, and a

critical review of the professional literature. The proposed research study concerned

identifying strategies online vendors in online auction markets use to manage customer

complaints to improve customer satisfaction. Quantitative research methods and designs

for explaining the inner workings of online auction platforms occur frequently in the field

of online auctions (Carter, Tams, & Grover, 2017; Cui et al., 2008; Ma, 2014). To explain

online auction outcomes in terms of profitability and customer satisfaction measures, the

variable “complaints” often is a mediator. The underlying management strategies and the

mechanisms of how these emerge and function remain obscure.

For this purpose, using qualitative research was the appropriate method to find

themes that illustrated how managers of online vendors could learn by deploying

strategies helping to handle complaints more effectively and efficiently. These themes

concerned supporting and contrasting theories associated with double-loop learning.

Supporting points of view were the theories of organizational learning, learning

organizations, communities of practice, and the co-evolutionary framework. The extent to

which managers learn as part of their strategies was a theme which required further

exploration. On the other hand, associated with contrasting themes, managers can deploy

resources and capabilities to advance their goals. They may use situated learning guided

by collaborated efforts (in teams) and motivation to accomplish objectives. The extent to

which managers and their organizations can adapt to new and a variety of circumstances

will influence their operations and the handling of complaints. These strategies

demonstrated the agility of the managers and their personnel, the capacity to adapt, the

level of learning they apply, and how they collaborated. Section 2 provides further details

on the research effort of this multiple case study regarding the nature of the study, the

participants, and the research design. In Section 3, I included the presentation of findings,

recommended strategies online vendors can use to improve managing complaints,

suggestions for future research, and reflections on my research.

Section 2: The Project

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective

strategies managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage complaints to

improve customer satisfaction. I identifed these strategies by interviewing managers of

vendors and using other documentation (customer reports, financial reports, and online

auction data). The interviews resulted in finding key issues and themes managers found

important to manage complaints. The outcomes of this research have an organization and

learning theories perspective. This study was different from traditional studies in online

auction research. Traditional studies were mostly of a quantitative design, such as those

from Carter et al. (2017), Cui et al. (2008), and Ma (2014).

This section contains an elaboration on how I conducted the research and the

underlying research methodology and design. The study included open-ended interviews

with a sample of managers of vendors in online auction markets. The findings and related

discussions are part of Section 3.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective

strategies managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer

complaints to improve customer satisfaction. The targeted population consisted of

managers of six companies in Los Angeles, California, who successfully implemented

effective strategies to manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction.

These vendors sold their products in online auction markets such as eBay.

The implications of this study for positive social change include facilitating the

growth of online markets and increasing opportunities to buy and sell goods and services

among those who have limited access to conventional marketplaces and brick-and-mortar

stores. Online markets also benefit consumers and the economy as a whole by lowering

the cost of goods and improving services for consumers with market participants

profiting from efficiency gains from the use of and access to electronic transactions.

Role of the Researcher

The primary role of the researcher in qualitative studies is to collect data, explore,

explain and exchange ideas, results, and information by performing data analyses using

themes and theories from the professional and academic literature (Bailey, 2014;

Boynton, 2016). I selected participants who gave consent to participate in this qualitative

research and contributed to the research by providing specific company information and

data concerning effective strategies to manage complaints in online auction markets.

I operated as an online vendor in the online auction market for luxury watches for

3 years (2014–2016) in the capacity of an executive in Los Angeles, California. As a

result of my past involvement in online auction markets, the operations of an online

auction market company and the industry were familiar to me. In addition, the

interviewing took place with some of the participants who developed business

relationships with me. There were no personal relationships between myself and the

participants.

While conducting this research, I followed the guidelines and principles of the

Belmont Report (1979) using institutional ethical standards academics practice in the

United States and apply the principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

Using these standards, the researcher informs participants thoroughly about the study and

obtains consent and specific permission when conducting audio or video recording.

Participation in research was at all times voluntary. Participants may have withdrawn at

any time. I did not apply coercion, fully disclosed my funding sources, provided

anonymity for persons and results, and applied the appropriate research methodology, as

suggested by Vanclay, Baines, and Taylor (2013). I attended appropriately to ethical

concerns by informing participants about the purpose and scope of the study and their

rights before and after participating in this research. I completed the NIH training on the

protection of human research participants and received the certificate. After participants

decided to accept the invitation for this study, they signed a consent form or letter of

cooperation informing them of the voluntary nature of their participation and assuring

them confidentiality during and after the research effort (see Appendices A and B).

Tuohy, Cooney, Dowling, Murphy, and Sixmith (2013) dealt with the issue of

bias during their studies especially when they were familiar with their research topic.

Recognizing my role in the study during data collection consisted of mitigating any

concerns by restricting my personal bias to a minimum to uphold the credibility of the

interview data. All collected data were subject to the preservation of their integrity.

Setting aside any preconceptions and understanding of the online auction market was

crucial for the full evaluation of the collected data from the participants in the interviews

and other sources. Additionally, honest and open interactions contributed to the

avoidance of any misrepresentations. Talking subsequently to the participants resulted in

feedback and the collection of additional information. Using triangulation techniques and

member-checking maintained any bias at a minimum level.

Preparing for the collection and retrieval of the most important information from

the participants, an interview protocol was imperative (see Appendix C). I interviewed

participants in an appropriate setting in which they felt unoppressed and free to share any

information they wanted. The interviewing questions, as formulated in Appendix D, had

a purpose of asking questions which mattered. Preparatory work, before the interviews

took place, culminated in addressing key elements of effective strategies participants used

to manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction. Answering meaningful

questions resulted in (a) the relay of relevant information to the interviewee as regards the

purpose of the interview; (b) providing information to the participants about what the

procedures are to store the collected information; and (c) answering any confidentiality

concerns the participant had.

Participants

The main eligibility criterion for study participants in this study was that they

were managers of vendors in online auction markets having effective strategies to

manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction. These managers had at

least 2 years of experience working at an online auction market. Participants had

comprehensive insight into how their business works and were proficient in identifying

and deciding how to handle and manage a variety of customer complaints. Online

vendors (the companies) exhibited a strong vision for their company by having proven to

maintain a competitive advantage.

Measures of this competitive position were (a) a long-year experience in the

online auction business of at least 2 years, (b) a loyal customer base demonstrated by at

least 30% of customers who were revisiting the online auction company as recorded in

vendors’ systems by comparing the number of visitors at the time of the interview with

those in the previous year, (c) recognition from the online platform eBay acknowledging

the participant’s company was a trusted vendor with a high customer satisfaction rating,

(d) reports from eBay showing the online auction vendor satisfied customer services

requirements, and/or (e) high customer satisfaction surveys as demonstrated by eBay or

implied in the annual report, by other documentation of the company, or publication

(such as a trade journal). The participants already had a long track record in the online

vendor market and demonstrated their abilities in dealing with customer complaints in a

successful manner. These criteria aligned with the problem statement and the research

question of this study.

To find eligible participants, using my network of contacts in the online auction

industry was vital. As an online auction vendor in luxury watches for 4 years, I was a

well-known member of the online auction community in Los Angeles, California. This

presence in the community provided an opportunity to meet appropriate online vendors in

Los Angeles, California, by reaching out to them personally and/or writing them a letter

to ask them to participate in this research effort. I used an invitation letter (see Appendix

B) to contact participants.

The strategy of establishing a working relationship with prospective participants

was to introduce them to the topic of the research and clarify to them how the results of

this study could benefit them. I motivated participants in this research by providing them

with feedback on the preliminary results of the study for potential adjustment and

additional input. Participants were likely to be eager to receive feedback based on this

research and gain insight to address customer satisfaction issues on their online auction

platforms by applying the appropriate strategies. Most importantly, they wanted to know

more about how learning in organization works and can contribute to the improvement of

the bottom-line of their companies.

Research Method and Design

This part of the study entails the choices and their justifications made to conduct a

qualitative multiple case study based on the specific business problem and the research

question formulated in Section 1, containing two subsections. These subsections relate to

the research method and design chosen for this research study. The purpose of this

research study was to find themes to characterize strategies successful managers of

vendors in online auctions used to satisfy buyers. Exploratory research without the use of

quantitative data limited the research study, as answering the research question required

an in-depth understanding other than an assessment based on numerical outcomes as

suggested by Yin (2018). The mixed-method approach did not meet the needs of the

research study. The qualitative method was more appropriate. I used a case study design.

Four of the five analytic techniques applied to analyze collected evidence from case study

research, as outlined by Yin (2018).

Research Method

Research is the systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data

to understand an area of interest or a phenomenon by formulating at least one research

question for the inquirer to investigate the phenomenon of interest (Ravitch & Carl,

2015). In academic research studies, the two most common methods of inquiry are

quantitative and qualitative. According to Friedensen, McCrae, and Kimball (2017),

Jordan and Wood (2017), and Padgett (2016), philosophical postpositivist worldview

assumptions influence quantitative research, while interpretive constructivism inspires

qualitative inquiries. Qualitative research concerns the processes, contexts,

interpretations, meanings or understanding through inductive reasoning to describe

complex phenomena which do not rely predominantly on statistical or numerical analysis

(Cronin, 2014).

The aim of qualitative research is to describe and understand the phenomenon

studied by capturing rich results and communicating participants’ experiences in their

own words via observations and interviews through contextualization, interpretation, and

understanding of the participants’ experiences (Cronin, 2014; Marshall & Rossman,

2016). Ravitch and Carl (2015) conducted quantitative inquiries to seek explanations and

predictions that generated data to either establish, confirm, or validate the relationships

between the variables, as well as developing generalizations contributing to the

study. The features of a qualitative study include an interpretive, naturalistic approach to

the world allowing the researcher to study things in their natural habitat in an attempt to

make sense of, or interpret, phenomena based on the meanings assigned by individuals

(Mason, 2017). By employing a quantitative methodology, the researcher can examine

the existence of a correlated relationship (if any) between input and independent variables

the last of which would explain the underlying construct capturing and explaining

behavior of phenomena (Mason, 2017). Quantitative research studies rely on

predetermined mechanical techniques and standardized procedures where the emphasis is

less on human experiences (Marshall & Rossman, 2016).

Mixed-methods research involves a combination of qualitative and quantitative

methods (Larkin, Begley, & Devane, 2014). Using this research method may address

complicated research questions by collecting a variety of richer data. Limiting research to

a qualitative or quantitative research method may not deliver results as aniticipated

(Larkin et al., 2014; Yin, 2018). Mixed-method studies might involve a combination of

two qualitative studies to describe a certain environment and a quantitative one to hold

experiments in this environment by manipulating conditions to test hypotheses. Yin

(2018) remarked that mixed methods research is more difficult to execute than studies

constrained by a one-method research approach.

Conducting a qualitative study by creating an in-depth understanding of

phenomena and managerial behaviors could necessitate an appropriate construct to

explain their causes and effects. Many more variables might exist than data points

available to capture. I was not aware of a theory positing independent variables or inputs

as to measure, assess, and detect a construct. Using any construct to describe and explain

complaints as an attempt to do so would prove counterproductive as suggested by

Spillman (2014). Because of the reasons as mentioned above, a qualitative research study

was the only appropriate choice to study customer complaints as specific phenomena in

an online auction market context.

Research Design

Qualitative research designs are holistic in the sense that these designs pertain to

what is relevant in the particular contexts, parts, or cases of the investigation to include

and what is not by making well-founded choices (Mason, 2017; Ravitch & Carl, 2015).

When applying these designs, the researcher tries to understand the phenomenon and

situations as a whole (Mason, 2017). From a study perspective, the assumption is that the

research design as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts and is adequate when the

focus of the research is on processes (how something happens) rather than on the

outcomes or results obtained (Mason, 2017; Ravitch & Carl, 2015).

According to Yin (2018), case studies can be used to analyze (a) distinctive

situations in which there will be many more variables of interest than data points, (b)

multiple sources of evidence which might converge using triangulation methods, and (c)

prior theories determining data collection and analysis. As such, case studies involve an

in-depth exploration of an individual, a group of people, an activity, or an event (Cronin,

2014). Case studies can be intrinsic, instrumental, or collective. Instrumental case studies

focus on issues by selecting groups of participants to examine specific patterns of

behavior (Mason, 2017). A collective case study pertains to a study of multiple cases to

examine particular phenomenon by collecting data from multiple data sources (Mason,

2017).

Mason (2017) and Thomas and Myers (2015) noted that intrinsic case studies are

useful for acquiring a better understanding of the particular case of interest without the

purpose of building theories. I chose an intrinsic qualitative case study (QCS) which is an

exploration of a bounded system or case over a particular time period through detailed,

in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information, each with its

sampling, data collection, and analysis strategies to study beliefs, values and attitudes to

tackle specific problems (Thomas, 2015). The outcome is a case description comprised of

case-based themes (Thomas & Myers, 2015). Qualitative case study approaches relate to

a contextually based tradition (Mason, 2017; Thomas, 2015; Thomas & Myers, 2015).

A case study concerns the investigation of typical phenomena in depth within its

real-world context when the boundaries between the phenomena and the context may not

be evident (Yin, 2018). The central research question of this study was what strategies

managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer complaints to

improve customer satisfaction. By means of collecting data, holding interviews, and

methodological triangulation, I attained a high degree of validity and credibility of the

study. A multiple case study design was best suited to research concerning the how, what,

or why questions (Mason, 2017). The qualitative case study was the most appropriate

design for this research describing complex social phenomena. I saw these phenomena

under study where reality was objective and predictable which reflected a postpositivist

approach (Mills, Harrison, Franklin, & Birks, 2017).

According to Pérez-Bennett et al. (2014), the qualitative case study provides

research with an intensive holistic description and analysis of a bounded phenomenon

within various organizational settings by analyzing persons, programs, processes or social

units and applying theories and methodologies. I collected these experiences which

contained both the outward appearance and inward consciousness based on the memory,

image, and meaning as explained by Thomas and Myers (2015). In this research, I was

the primary instrument in the data collection process because of using interviews with

open-ended questions and other materials such as reports, company data, and other

information to explain the phenomena under study.

Conducting a phenomenological study was not applicable because the goal was

not to use or assess my own empirical experiences of the phenomenon but to conduct

interviews with participants. The goal of phenomenological research is to arrive at the

essence of the lived experience of a phenomenon (Moustakas, 1994). As such, my role

was an observer in the research effort and not part of this effort. In using phenomenology

as a review technique, the unit of analysis is the research report rather than an individual

who experienced the phenomenon (Moustakas, 1994). To achieve data saturation, the

phenomenological research would necessitate more interviews and using any

triangulation method might not attain the desired results.

Additionally, my own interpretations, opinions, and experiences to empirical

claims about the phenomenon of lived experience were not contributions to this research.

Therefore, employing a phenomenological study did not meet the needs for describing

and translating particular research observations in clusters of meaning through

descriptions based on human behavior and experiences which occurred in a natural

setting. As noted by Harris (2014), conducting interviews only when collecting data does

not restrict research.

According to Suopajärvi (2015), ethnographic study designs provide a holistic

socio-cultural understanding of human interactions in a particular context or environment

based on a shared language, values, beliefs, norms, rituals, and practices of a cultural

group. Although studying and interviewing people in the online auction industry that

might have similar backgrounds regarding education or occupational lives, the attention

did not focus on the participants’ ethnographic backgrounds, such as age groups, gender,

or ethnic and social backgrounds when conducting interviews. Also, the objective was

not to conduct long-term observations and immersion of myself in the environment when

speaking to my participants and participating in this setting because these activities would

take up too much time. Interviews and collecting other documentation, such as customer

reports, financial reports, and online auction, restricted this study.

Narrative research designs are to analyze narratives and tales in a holistic way in

terms of their content, form, categories or settings to understand concrete and complex

situations of social actions and embodied experiences which might connect to a reader’s

own experience (Clandinin, Cave, & Berendonk, 2017; Geelan et al., 2015, Mason,

2017). I did not conduct interviews to collect and analyze stories, such as biographical

interviews. Nor did I observe the participants during a long-term period to uncover a

more in-depth understanding and consciousness of lived experiences and complex

problems connecting the past to the present. Also, my focus was not on the social and

cultural settings on which the participants’ base and express their narratives.

Fusch and Ness (2015) noted that the requirement of accountability for data

saturation when using a personal lens to explain phenomena. Participants’ as well as the

researcher's biases and worldviews are present in social research, both intentionally and

unintentionally (Fields, Kafai, & Giang, 2017; Fusch & Ness, 2017). To address the

concept of a personal lens, in qualitative research, the researcher is the data collection

instrument and cannot separate himself from the research which brings up special

concerns (Fusch & Ness, 2015).

Guest, Namey, and McKenna (2017) and Namey, Guest, McKenna, and Chen

(2016) systematically documented the degree of data saturation and variability over the

course of their thematic analysis of data from 40 in-depth interviews and 40 focus groups

on the health-seeking behaviors of African American men in Durham, North Carolina.

They used a bootstrap simulation using 10,000 samples by deducing how many data

collections they needed to attain saturation for specific themes. Based on these findings,

Namey et al. (2016) were able to make evidence-based recommendations regarding

nonprobabilistic sample sizes for interviews where five in-depth interviews were

sufficient to reach 90% saturation. I ensured saturation occurred within the least possible

number of interviews where basic elements for meta-themes were present as early as

possible under the condition of variability within the data following similar patterns until

no new themes surface. In case data saturation did not occur, I continued interviewing

participants and member-checking the results until data saturation occurs.

Population and Sampling

Benoot, Hannes, and Bilsen (2016) used purposeful sampling to select in a

nonprobabilistic and subjective way participants that might suit the objective of the

research study. The purposeful sampling method is the most commonly used form of

nonprobabilistic sampling to address research questions apart from stratified random and

convenience sampling (Mason, 2017; Ravitch & Carl, 2015). I used the purposeful

sampling method to select an adequate number of participants for this study. Benoot et al.

(2016) mentioned the use of the snowball sampling strategy to identify and reach out to

potential participants outside the interview group through referral. Accordingly, I asked

the participants to reach out to other potential managers of online vendors in Los

Angeles, CA, for capturing additional information and alternate experiences these

managers of online auctions might have.

Guidelines for how many participants to include for holding interviews are

virtually nonexistent (Guest, Namey, & McKenna, 2017; Namey et al., 2016). Bertaux

(1981) argued 15 interviews is the smallest acceptable sample size in qualitative research.

On the other hand, Kuzel (1992) by tying recommendations to sample heterogeneity and

research objectives, recommended six to eight interviews for a homogeneous sample and

12 to 20 data sources when looking for disconfirming evidence or trying to achieve

maximum variation in case study research where the research goal is not to generalize but

to target specific phenomena or patterns.

According to Morse (2015), a minimum of six participants is necessary to

produce excellent qualitative research. Interviewing more participants might be necessary

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to reach data saturation. Data saturation occurs when the researcher gathers data which is

repetitive which provides no more depth related to the data already acquired. Additional

data contains similar identified and explored patterns or meta-themes (Morse, 2015).

Holding four interviews would suffice unless more are necessary to achieve data

saturation. Data saturation could necessitate more and possibly up to 12 interviews after

an assessment of the results by applying other external methods, such as data

triangulation through multiple data sources, or interviewed my particpants once more.

Fusch and Ness (2015) used data triangulation to (a) correlate people, time, and space, (b)

investigate findings from multiple study research, (c) use theories for using and

correlating multiple theoretical strategies, and (d) methodologically correlate data from

multiple data collection methods.

The sample size of participants typically relied on the concept of data saturation,

or the point at which no new information or themes surface from the data (Fusch & Ness,

2015). Data saturation means the researcher fully explored the phenomena under study

(Malterud, Siersma & Guassora, 2016; Mason, 2017; Ravitch & Carl, 2015). As regards

data saturation, the researcher can categorize information, explain the richness and

adequacy of descriptions and the depth of data, and clarify the variability among

categories (Robinson, 2014). The aim of reaching the data saturation point is to ensure

there are no new themes or new information which are important for the research.

In the previous subsection, I formulated the main selection criteria for

participants: (a) they are decision-makers working for vendors in online auction markets

for at least 2 years, and (b) they must be successful in managing customer complaint

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strategies contributing to the satisfaction of their clientele, as evidenced by employee

records, annual reports, trade journals, eBay (customer satisfaction) reports, or any other

documentation the online vendor can furnish. The participants had adequate experience in

the organization they work. They were experts in the industry and had gained extensive

experiences as regards customer relationships and solving customer complaints. Online

managers exhibited the skills for identifying and deciding on how to handle and manage a

variety of customer complaints.

Power imbalances in interview settings do not promote open discussions,

especially when issues of politics, oppression, or discrimination are relevant to answer

the research question (Ravitch & Carl, 2015). I interviewed participants in a setting

where they feel free, comfortable, and unperturbed to provide (sensitive) information and

data related to strategies they use to manage customer complaints to improve customer

satisfaction. I conducted the interviews outside the participant’s office in an open, safe,

and quiet environment. The venues were a café, a library, or a chosen location the

participant suggests, but preferably the site of the online auction, that were quiet and

provide privacy. Also, I ensured I engaged with the participants in technical and specific

terminology when needed to match the interviewer and participant characteristics.

Ethical Research

Qualitative research requires some rigor when participants contribute to the

research effort. The researcher depends on sensitive data from research participants

which raises ethical concerns and which calls for moral responsibility and meeting moral

obligations. Ethical considerations apply throughout the phases of this research project.

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Those multiple concerns need attention which are ambiguous when conducting research

on an ethical basis (Fuller, Hutter, Hautz, & Matzler, 2014; Griffiths, 2014; Mason, 2017;

Vanclay et al., 2013).

Collecting relevant documentation from interviewed participants was part of the

research effort. After an initial selection of prospective participants, invited participants

contributed to this research. See Appendix B for the invitation letter. Consecutively,

prospective participants perused the informed consent or the cooperation agreement. See

Appendix A for the letter of cooperation. Participants were fully aware of the procedures

to guarantee their confidentiality (see Appendix E). Also, acknowledging the voluntary

participation to this research was part of the process.

Participants could withdraw from this study after notifying the researcher.

Participants indicated to the researcher verbally or in writing or to Walden University any

time during the research to withdraw from the study. Participants also could have opted-

out from providing sensitive information at any time, on any topic, without a penalty and

must only provide information and participate in interviews on a voluntary basis. If any

participant decided to withdraw from this study, I asked them for the reasons for

declining to partake in the research. If necessary, any potential problems or issues

participants encountered, would need alleviation of these concerns. The incentives for

participants consisted of (a) participation in stimulating research, (b) feedback of the

(preliminary) research results from their contribution to the research, and (c) results of the

overall research project which potentially would benefit their company and enhance their

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own learning experience. I did not provide any monetary compensation to the participants

in this study.

The consent form complied with Walden University policy requirements, and

consent should comply with applicable regulations (Larson, Foe, & Lally, 2015).

Through the consent form or the letter of cooperation (see Appendix A), I disclosed those

arrangements and understandings between the participant and myself as a researcher in

conducting this study. Furthermore, I protected the names of individuals or organizations

to keep these confidential. Before conducting the interviews and collection of other data

proceeded, Walden University’s Institutional Review Board provided approval.

The consent form guarantees the rights and the anonymity of participants (Knepp,

2014; Koonrungsesomboon, Laothavorn, Chokevivat, Hirayama, & Karbwang, 2016;

Smith et al., 2014). I protected the confidentiality of all participants, and the names of

participants and their organizations by assigning codes and pseudonyms. Also, I secured

the data and information while working on them. Any specific data I will keep

confidential by only mentioning particular information in the research documents,

interview transcripts and other materials obtained, such as professional background, age,

and type and years of experience. I will store the collected data securely for 5 years in a

secure vault to protect the confidentiality of participants before destroying the data.

Data Collection Instruments

The researcher is the primary data collection instrument through the interaction of

the investigator with the participants of the study (Oun & Bach, 2014). To identify and

understand what strategies managers of vendors of online auction markets use to manage

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complaints that improve buyers’ satisfaction, I conducted semistructured interviews. In

addition, I collected data by gathering information available at the participant’s company

that might be confidential, such as annual reports, financial reports, and customer reports.

Also, I gathered other useful internal and external data, such as consumer reports,

customer satisfaction data, industry reports, statistics, eBay related industry information,

for the research. Obtaining these data is the result of conducting semistructured

interviews to identify, find, and collect various kinds of information which are helpful in

addressing the specific problem statement and answering the research question. Through

the collection of a variety of data, I was able to relate to complex phenomena, the context

in which these appear, and people acting in these environments by means of a case study

design as suggested by Yin (2018).

The approach employed in this study was using semistructured responsive

interviews which required participants being knowledgeable and informed about their

subject matter (Bernard, 2017). Using the interview protocol contributed to reduction of

researcher bias; see Appendix C. Obtaining a deep understanding, rather than breadth,

about the subjects at hand necessitated responsive interviewing, which yielded coherent

and transparent results that mattered and were trustworthy, as Robinson (2014)

suggested. I interviewed the participant at a designated location at which the interviewee

felt comfortable. Making the identity of the interviewees unknown was part of the

interviewing transcribing process. This process resulted in obtaining rich qualitative data

for further analysis with ATLAS.ti's qualitative software analysis. Coding the interviews

was conducive for exploring themes, categories and related threads which were relevant

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to the research question and the reflection on the worldview of the participants. Using

these themes, I identified, explained or otherwise suggested what effective strategies

managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage complaints to improve

outcomes with the result of satisfying buyers. Themes are dynamic affirmations of

control behavior or situations of stimulated activities (Mason, 2017).

Reliability of the data refers to the consistency of measures employed, whereas

validity concerns with the extent to which these concerns reflect the phenomena as

observed in practice (Mason. 2017). To ensure the consistency of collecting data, an

interview protocol and standard interview questions were part of this research when

questioning participants which improved the reliability of the primary data collection.

Consecutively, loading the information into ATLAS.ti, capturing and analyzing the

information in a uniform and consequent way enhanced the validity of the data and the

findings. Additional activities were member checking, additional feedback by

participants, follow-up interviews, and triangulation with external data or information.

Also, triangulation of any case study with outcomes of other case studies took place, as

suggested by Carter, Bryant-Lukosius, DiCenso, Blythe, and Neville (2014).

Analyzing the accuracy of the research findings resulted in the reliability of the

research, for instance, by checking and comparing the results with those in the

professional literature and previous research, as explained by Harris (2014). As regards

the validity of the study, Harris reread and crosschecked the transcripts against the audio

recording. Additionally, Harris did a member-checking analysis of the data to ensure the

information was correct and accurately portrayed the participants’ lived experiences. In

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the same manner, checked transcripts and performing member-checking contributed to

the inclusion of appropriate information and reduction of researcher bias. Also, I

analyzed the accuracy of the findings by checking the results of previous research.

Data Collection Technique

The research question concerned strategies managers of vendors in online auction

markets use to manage complaints to improve outcomes that satisfy buyers. Data

collection techniques include gathering and collecting the data via (a) interpretive

techniques (most popular technique – interviews, observations, etc.), (b) recursive

abstraction (collecting data without coding), (c) mechanical techniques (electronic or

online data collection), (d) self-study, and (e) obtaining additional information, such as

reports and documentation (Mason, 2017; McTate & Leffler, 2017; Oun & Bach, 2014). I

used interpretive and recursive techniques, predominantly interviews, to collect data.

These techniques included semistructured interviews and the collection of organizational

documentation. An interview protocol (Appendix C) was appropriate to conduct

interviews consistently.

Through semistructured interviews, detailed responses contributed to answering

the research question. These interviews were suitable, as the participants engaged the

interviewing process in a dialogue format. To ease and optimize data collection, an

interview protocol suited as a guidance for obtaining as much as information from

participants and informing them of the step-by-step order of events during the interview.

Adjustments of data collection techniques were necessary when circumstances or

developments during the interview required adapting the techniques to attain the

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appropriate data for the study. See Appendices C and D for the abridged interview

protocol and the interview questions, as employed in this qualitative research.

This research did not contain unstructured interviews which would consist of

asking different questions to different participants in any manner befitting the researcher,

as that may introduce bias in the interviews, as suggested by Dana, Dawes, and Peterson

(2013). Participants answered the same questions in a similar manner. Avoidance of the

usage of a set of questions in a rigid, organized, and ordered manner contributed to the

quality of the answers, as noted by McTate and Leffler (2017). Conducting

semistructured interviews, there is ample opportunity and opportunities to adapting the

interviews for investigation purposes and exploring the answers much more in-depth.

Together with other documentation collected from the organization (financial, statistics,

customer surveys, and performance data), I obtained an account to the fullest extent

possible of those strategies, approaches, and other phenomena to explain which effective

strategies managers of vendors in online auction markets apply to manage customer

complaints. During site visits and follow-up meetings, collection of other data pertaining

to the research question took place consisting of mainly other organizational

documentation as discussed above.

The advantage of conducting semistructured interviews is the preparation of

questions carefully which are unambiguous. Participants should understand the questions

with the goal to assist them to generate adequate information within the proper (cultural)

context suitable to the research question (Mason, 2017, Yin, 2018). The goal of

semistructured interviews is to stimulate reflexivity and enable self-examination by

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providing them with new and emerging information previously unknown (Kallio, Pietilä,

Johnson, & Kangasniemi, 2016). The questions are to stimulate the flow of information

and participants can provide the researcher with other questions the participants can

answer. Also, the researcher can make behavioral observations of participants.

The disadvantage is that these interviews do not provide the possibility to go

further than the scope of the questions that are useful which could potentially provide

additional information. The interviews are not guided conversations. Participants might

not be able to give answers directly to complex, difficult, or technical questions which

should address the use of other means of data collection, such as reports and

documentation, as noted by O'Keeffe, Buytaert, Mijic, Brozović, & Sinha, 2016.

For these reasons, the collection of data is necessary from other sources such as

(financial) reports, statistics, magazines, and academic and professional literature to get

additional information for answering the research question or getting affirmation,

verification, and contextualization of the phenomena under study that otherwise is not

obtainable through the semistructured interview approach (Mason, 2017). By only

conducting semistructured interviews, only essential information is obtainable.

Documentation only concerns particular contexts and might not be detailed,

comprehensive for evaluative purposes. A textual analysis of documents involves the

mediation of content from the point of perspective to the context of research (Mason,

2017).

During the study, I used a research journal to write remarks, make notes, and

record observations during the interviews. Bourque and Bourdon (2017), Parrott and

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Cherry (2015), and Thorley, Baxter, and Lorek (2016) used this research journal to aid

with data collection, data validation, and recollection of memory. Memos and notes

written down in the research journal assisted the process of using descriptive materials

for substantial and critical analysis. Also, I used this journal as a reference tool when

conducting member-checking activities.

Member-checking involves checking and validating interview data and

(intermediary) conclusions, and other analysis results with participants for validation

purposes. The research journal contained reevaluations, observations, and assumptions I

had prior, during, and after having contact with the participants to manage bias and create

maximum transparency. The advantage of using a research journal is to help the

researcher organize thoughts and make notes for further attention or exploration. The

disadvantage was that the research journal was only for practical use to the researcher.

Cross-referencing of the data occurred with the results from the application of each theme

during the data collection process.

Data Organization Technique

Collecting empirical data and organizing them is an essential part of conducting a

qualitative case study research (Dos Santos Bortolocci Espejo, Portulhak, & Pacheco,

2017; Kimball, 2016; Senom & Othman, 2014). Various methods to collect data exist

(Akaeze, 2016). During my research, I organized my data using a research journal, a

digital recorder in my mobile phone, transcribed interview data, and folders to categorize

organizational data. The transcribed interview data were a result of posing nine questions

(see Appendix D). I protected the confidentiality of participants by substituting names of

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individuals or organizations by letters (e.g., A, B, C) or numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3). This

process entailed redacting the interviews by removing information that identified the

identity and personality of the participants. Also, I collected other documentation such as

customer reports, financial reports, and online auction data by asking the participants for

this information. I also assembled data that was publicly available in (academic and

professional) publications.

For this study, digitization of collected data took place to the fullest extent

possible. I kept that data which could not be stored in a digital format in a locked-up

cupboard in my house. In addition, an encrypted external hard drive suited the storage

needs for storing digital data; the storage place was the same cupboard. McCurdy and

Ross (2017) emphasized the importance of saving data securely for 5 years and

destroying them afterward. The destruction process entails secure paper destruction and

securely erasing the external hard drives. Non-electronic data consist of tables, graphs,

research journal, and other data in paper format. I will be the only individual who has

access to the research database, paper-based documents, and any other information being

available. The data is accessible during 5 years for future audits or further research in

conformance with what Akaeze (2016), Banks (2013), and Holland (2017) indicated. A

twicely secured backed-up version of the electronic data is available at a different

location for safe storage purposes.

I used a research journal to write notes, make observations, and drafted remarks

as many, as Akaeze (2016), Akkoyunlu, Telli, Çetin, and Dağhan (2016), O'Leary,

Wattison, Edwards, and Bryan (2015) did. A reflective journal is a record book which

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allows the demonstration of research process transparency, the recording of broad

descriptions, and documenting insights otherwise not captured during the research

process. This journal suits the purpose to minimize any bias during this research by

reviewing the research process and intermediate results in an objective manner.

Apart from a research journal, I used other digital tools which were databases

(FileMaker Pro and Devonthink Professional Office) to store data (interviews, coding,

literature) and a qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) computer program to

transcribe and code interviews. Specifically, I used a QDAS program to organize,

(automatically) code, retrieve, and analyze imported (interview and other qualitative) data

for the identification and extraction of themes, as suggested by Paulus, Woods, Atkins,

and Macklin (2017), Salmona and Kaczynski (2016), and Woods et al. (2016). ATLAS.ti

and NVivo are two known QDAS software programs for qualitative analysis purposes. I

used ATLAS.ti (version 8.4.2) for Mac for its simplicity and usefulness. Visualizing the

data using matrices and hierarchical tree diagrams assists the research effort in finalizing

this exploratory phase (Woods et al., 2016). For an overview of how to apply computer

programs and reaping the benefits out of those, see Woods et al. (2016). Carter et al.

(2014) explained that triangulation methods could be an appropriate method to test

validity of research when information from different sources point can point the

researcher to a particular conclusion. In the same manner, triangulation of the case study

took place with a variety of interpretative theories to interpret the formulated conceptual

and related conceptual frameworks with to-be discovered contextual variables.

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Data Analysis

The aim of qualitative data analysis was to provide a meaning from the collection

of a variety of data the researcher organized through interpretation of words, videos, or

pictures (Flick, 2014). Elo et al. (2014) explained that using qualitative data analysis

reduces the collected data to concepts to describe the research phenomena in more detail

by also employing insights. As such, after collecting the data, I used a general analytic

technique approach for case study analysis to ascertain the internal and external validity

of the research results as proposed by Yin (2018). This approach consisted of the

following techniques: (a) pattern matching, (b) explanation building, (c) time-series

analysis, (d) logic models, and (e) cross-case synthesis. Pattern matching concerns

comparing observed patterns with expected ones by using the found themes and patterns

from surveys, interviews, and document analysis (Almutairi, Gardner, & McCarthy,

2014; Morgan, Paucar-Caceres, & Wright, 2014). These procedures represent a

systematic and objective means of describing and quantifying phenomena (Mason, 2017).

The goal was to reduce threats to the validity of the study by comparing and

analyzing the data within cases, between the cases, and across cases, in this multiple case

design as suggested by Kramer et al. (2017). Building an explanation of the case is

mainly appropriate for explanatory case studies (Yin, 2018). The purpose of content

analysis is to analyze data and interpret its meaning for reducing them to concepts as a

description of phenomena in a deductive or inductive manner (Elo et al., 2014; Saldaña,

2015; Yin, 2018). The inductive approach entails open coding and creating categories

with a degree of abstraction. In the deductive approach, performing a review of all the

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data is necessary after developing a categorization matrix and code according to

correspondence or exemplification of identified categories (Elo et al., 2014). Logic

models refer to repeated cause-effect cause-effect patterns when using interventions in

case studies of organizational change which I did not do. I performed a cross-case

analysis as I conducted a multiple case study by attempting a cross-case synthesis or

meta-analysis of the results by aggregating the findings across multiple cases.

Triangulation was the appropriate data analysis process for case study research

(Carter et al., 2014; Joslin & Müller, 2016; Marshall, Cardon, Poddar, & Fontenot, 2013;

Ravitch & Carl, 2015). The purpose of this method is to decrease bias and increase

validity through multiple perspectives in order to address the research question (Drouin et

al., 2015; Hober, Weitlaner, & Pergler, 2016; Joslin & Muller, 2016). There are four

types of triangulation: data, investigator, theory, and methodological (Carter et al., 2014).

Data triangulation concerns the capturing of data from multiple sources, whereas

investigator triangulation pertains to data collection using multiple investigators (Carter

et al., 2014).

By contrast, theory triangulation involves multiple perspectives of the same data

under analysis, and methodological triangulation concerns multiple methods to collect

data (Gibson, 2017; Joslin & Muller, 2016). By using the applied methodological

triangulation, the use of at least two methods suffices to collect data to explore the

phenomenon (Akaeze, 2016; Holland, 2017). Conducting various interviews, collecting

organizational documentation, notes, and journaling to obtain various perspectives of

studying a phenomenon were activities during the research. As such, methodological

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triangulation to obtain validation of the information was part of collecting further

information in terms of richness and depth of the data, as espoused by Drouin et al.,

(2015), Fusch and Ness (2015), and Iqbal and Hassan (2015).

Accordingly, I triangulated the findings, implications, and conclusions with

external data or information and applied the conceptual framework and associated

theories in Section 1 to discover contextual variables, themes, and strategies. I employed

an approach to analyze the data and representing them on the basis of a qualitative case

study design with traditional or specific interviewing techniques. Cronin (2014) and

Mason (2017) observed there is not a cookbook to analyze data emanating from a

qualitative research study. Bernard, Wutich, and Ryan (2016) and Saldaña (2015)

observed that qualitative research does not contain an explanation or mention in detail

how research results explicitly derived from the data analysis employed. That makes

qualitative research comparatively more challenging compared to quantitative research

designs (Bernard et al., 2016).

This challenge is due to the fact of the theory not being adequate by the absence

of independent fixed variables to substantially explain phenomena in their contextual

settings (Mason, 2017). The researcher is part of the discovery process. Therefore, it was

important to play around with the data gathered and develop a suitable analytic and

interpretative strategy intuitively (Mason, 2017). Using other qualitative models found in

the research literature for data analysis, I enhanced the particular coding of the interviews

and themes in the area of research. Accordingly, I performed a cross-case analysis to

enhance validity issues when necessary or suitable.

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According to Mason (2017), conducting interviews is the most fundamental tool

in qualitative research for which various methodologies exist to interpret the data. Coding

interviews is an ability requiring learning and experience in praxis. Glaser (2017)

discussed the art of coding as the ability to detect codes in such a way where the author

linked the assigned codes in an interview to one another in a system of hierarchical

relationships and as such can be visualized. Bernard et al. (2016), Ravitch and Carl

(2015), and Saldaña (2015) espoused discovering themes is the basis of QCS research.

Data analysis includes describing, classifying, and interpreting data into codes and

themes (Mason, 2017). Once the researcher codes the data, the researcher compares the

codes and determines a relationship between the codes and themes (Farsi, 2017; Firmin et

al., 2016; Mason, 2017; Nassaji, 2015; Oun & Bach, 2014). Conducting research may

employ an inductive and iterative approach by comparing the result with the outcomes of

multiple reviews of the same data by other research, as suggested by Firmin et al. (2016).

The researcher then completes a four-step analytic process by (a) comparing units

of meaning across categories for inductive category coding, (b) refining the categories,

integrating data to write the theory (Mason, 2017). Bernard et al. (2016) and Saldaña

(2015) suggested some techniques (theming, matrix, discriminant analysis, and

visualization) to advance the analysis in a meaningful manner. The study included the use

of theming and visualization to gain insightful results. Also, I used my intuition as

suggested by Ravitch and Carl (2015) to gather insights which might result in additional

impressions of the phenomenon. As such, categorical aggregation of the data took place

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by coding and theming exercises to reduce these to meaningful segments until as a result

names were assigned to them (Ravitch & Carl, 2015). In this manner, an in-depth picture

of my research emanated.

Research may contain the use of themes drawn from the data to address the

overarching research question by identifying keywords and patterns and interpreting the

data for validation purposes (Bessa & Tomlinson, 2017; Pohlmann & Kaartemo, 2017;

Salmona & Kaczynski, 2016). For the theming, the coding of the transcripts and

visualization of the results, I used ATLAS.ti for Mac (version 8.4.2) which is a

specialized computer program for qualitative data analysis. By using this computer

program and its functionality, finding themes and (hierarchical) relationships between

themes and codes was easy to perform. The goal was to provide a perspective by putting

the themes and codes into perspective as these elements are illustrative of interview

segments. Visualizing the codes altogether and reviewing the quotations helped in this

respect.

The coding process involved the identification and continuous refinement of the

codes until no new themes emerge (Akaeze, 2016; Edward-Jones, 2014; Oliveira,

Bitencourt, Zanardo dos Santos, & Teixeira, 2016). Ormston, Spencer, Barnard, and

Snape (2014) emphasized the underlying meaning and essential nature of things, that is,

qualities, rather than the attempt to count, measure, or quantify those things. I applied

some codes to collapse the findings into broader categories to create hierarchies of codes

as mentioned by Glaser (2017). Alternatively, selective coding attempts would produce

better results. In these attempts, I used the results of quantitative case studies related to

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many factors to explain and explore the impact of behavioral traits online auction

participants experience. This context proved suitable for coding purposes. To ease and

optimize data collection, an interview protocol aimed to guide for the acquisition of as

much as information from participants as possible and for informing them of the step-by-

step order of events during the interview. Adjustment of this data collection technique

took place when circumstances or developments during the interview required changing

the techniques for the attaiment of the appropriate data for this study. See Appendix C

for the abridged interview protocol I used in my qualitative research.

Against this background, the study included the use of the five analytic techniques

as proposed by Yin (2018) to identify codes and emerging themes. These analyses helped

to contrast the results of the study with other (more or less similar) cases researched

which sustained the validity of the data gathered by putting it into a context. Also, I was

able to correlate the findings with the models in the conceptual framework and related

theories. I reviewed the collected data, generate initial coders, search and review original

themes and name them as indicated by Visagie, Loxton, Stallard, and Silverman (2017).

Crowe, Inder, and Porter (2015) demonstrated the use of content analysis in qualitative

research to construct categories representing manifest content upon which the researcher

can base the themes involved in the research.

Reliability and Validity

Boudreau, Gefen, and Straub (2001) postulated that phenomena are mostly latent

in the sense of not being directly observable. Reliability and validity refer to the extent to

which measures would contribute to the capture of the essence of that construct which is

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mostly a social construction represented by a set of intellectually-derived measures.

These measures are not self-evident or inherently "true" indirect measures but emanations

of the underlying research construct. It is therefore against this background research

requires the establishment of types of validity to ascertain the underlying (unobserved)

phenomena, sufficiently to explain them through these constructs, and to recognize the

conclusions as to be valid and reliable. Accordingly, research reliability and validity

involve the concepts of dependability, credibility, confirmability, and transferability in

qualitative research (Kozleski, 2017; Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014).

Dependability

Dependability concerns the quality of findings and conclusions through repetition

of the research process captured through an audit trail as explained by Cope (2014) and

Ravitch and Carl (2015). The dependability of research outcomes needs enhabcement to

make sure that outcomes based on surveys and interviews are consistent, replicable, and

repeatable (Chan Huan Zhi, Hj Malek, & Bahari, 2017; Haakma, Janssen, & Minnaert,

2017; Landis, Scott, & Kahn, 2015). For this purpose, I employed an interview protocol

with questions as listed in Appendix C during each interview as suggested by Akaeze

(2016), Holland (2017), and Townsend, Pisapia, and Razzaq (2015) to obtain data and

answers consistently.

Additionally, I used collection and coding techniques to analyze data as suggested

by Saldaña (2015) which consisted of (a) audio recording the participant interviews, (b)

verbatim transcriptions of these interviews, and (c) employing a codebook with the major

codes used and their definitions and outlays in the text using ATLAS.ti qualitative

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software by examining the data carefully using inductive reasoning. I increased the

dependability which contributed to the reliability of my results by (a) validating the

transcriptions with the participants to avoid errors, mistakes, and misinterpretations, (b)

maintaining consistency when using the codes, (c) member-checking efforts through

providing a synopsis and the results of the transcripts to the participants, and (d)

organizing follow-up interviews for validation purposes as suggested by Noble and Smith

(2015) and Saldaña (2015).

Reliability is a statement about measurement accuracy in the sense the participant

can answer the same questions in a similar or approximately the same way each time

while reducing bias, according to Akaeze (2016) and Bernard (2017). As such, I explored

the phenomena under study as accurately as possible by conducting the interviews

consistently. Thus, the reliability of the findings depended on the likely recurrence of the

same phenomena and the interpretations thereof. This study was of a nonexperimental

design, and as such threats to internal validity are not applicable. Notwithstanding, I had

to address threats to statistical conclusion validity.

Credibility

Credibility refers to the truth and certainty of the data or the participant views and

the interpretation and representation of them by the researcher (Cope, 2014; Miles et al.,

2014). Birt et al. (2016), Mason (2017), Ravitch and Carl (2015) suggested that applying

the member-checking technique ensures data dependability which implies that the

findings conform to the data which are the result of data collection. To enhance

credibility, I member-checked the interviews by asking the participants to confirm that

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the transcriptions were accurate and whether readers could interpret the data accordingly,

as Akaeze (2016), Birt et al. (2016), and Mason (2017) suggested to minimize bias. For

these purposes, I was very transparent with the participants to show my notes and let

them review this information as long as they need to attain their approval. In this way, the

validation of the results ensured that (a) the participants were related and had a strong

correlation with the phenomenon at hand, (b) the researcher’s relationship with the

participants was well defined; and (c) the rich, thick descriptions could be traced from the

research journal used, as articulated by Noble and Smith (2015). The collected data

reflected the participants’ feelings, experiences, values, and beliefs as suggested by

Harvey (2015).

In addition to taking notes, I recorded the interviews to ensure the reliability of

the transcripts, as Akaeze (2016), Birt et al. (2016), and Mason (2017) indicated. I asked

the participants on various occasions during and after the interviews for additional

clarification and in-depth details to gain full comprehension of what participants would

espouse (Akaeze, 2016; Birt et al., 2016; Holland, 2017; Mason, 2017). During these

interventions, I followed the interview protocol or process as illustrated in Appendix C to

retain consistency and maintained reliability of the case study research, as proposed by

Akaeze (2016), Birt et al. (2016), Holland (2017), Mason (2017), and Townsend et al.

(2015).

Using various methods of triangulation (data, investigator, theoretical, and

methodological) as described in the previous subsection I increased the extent to which

the study was credible (Carter et al., 2014). In this way, further analysis and interpreting

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the data occurred as well as collection of semistructured interviews to increase the

accuracy and credibility of my findings. Hence, I made sure that interviews and other

collected data were credible by letting participants reviewing the transcripts and

commenting on the interpretation of events and by allowing others to recognize the

experiences contained within the study through the interpretation of participants’

experiences. This process ensured that the explanation of the phenomena under study

attains the highest degree of completeness as a representation of collecting the data and

capturing and documenting that as suggested by Akaeze (2016), Holland (2017), and

Mason (2017).

Confirmability

Confirmability refers to the researcher’s ability to demonstrate that the data

represent the participants’ responses and not the researcher’s biases or viewpoints and as

such reflects the degree of neutrality of the data (Cope, 2014). In this case study research,

I conducted interviews and organizational document analysis by using multiple sources

of data during the data collection process, as suggested by Akaeze (2016), Holland

(2017), and Tarrant et al. (2017). Sources should complement each other and researches

should aim to use as many resources as possible to investigate phenomena (Mason, 2017;

Ravitch & Carl, 2015; Shadiev, Wu, & Huang, 2017). Accordingly, the research process

consisted of collecting as much as data (e.g., documents, reports, statistics, magazines,

literature) as possible apart from holdeing the unstructured interviews. In this case study

research, the use of multiple sources of data and carrying out an iterative and in-depth

analysis contributed to the research outcomes. Hence, the use of in-depth interviews and

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the collection of other data was essential to identify and analyze the themes and patterns

carefully and critically to provide a picture of the phenomena to the greatest extent

possible as explained by Akaeze (2016), Kozleski (2017), and Mason (2017). Also, I

maintained an audit trail to fully document the findings throughout the study including

the decisions and steps taken as suggested by Noble and Smith (2015).

In addition, I reviewed the data and inspected the interview data on several

occasions, as to be sure that the perspectives that participants wanted to convey were

captured and interpreted in a rightful way. Performing a member checking effort after

interpreting participants’ interview answers and before analyzing the data ensured the

validity of the interview data, as recommended by Akaeze (2016), Birt et al. (2016), and

Holland (2017).

Additionally, capturing similarities and differences amongst participants took

place. To ensure confirmability, documenting any participants’ responses in detail in the

research journal in conjunction with my personal notes were crucial for capturing my

thoughts and insights. I focused on detailing perceptions and nuances of the

conversations with the participants. This process established a link between the notes, the

data, and the results. By using various methods of triangulation and analyzing different

sources of information, I confirmed and improved the clarity or precision of a research

finding, as espoused by various authors (Cronin 2014; Drouin et al., 2015; Joslin &

Muller, 2016; Ravitch and Carl, 2015).

Data analysis can pay off, not only in providing diverse ways of looking at the

same phenomenon but in adding to credibility by strengthening confidence in whatever

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conclusions the research delivers. In order to reduce researcher bias, I triangulated my

data and results by (a) triangulation of sources originating from a variety of sources from

my participants to find support of what they had said and correlated with other results

from e.g. observations, interviews, documented accounts; and (b) theory triangulation:

looking at data from different theoretical perspectives (Carter et al., 2014; Mason, 2017).

These data consisted of (a) interviews, (b) annual reports and any other documentation of

the online auction vendor, (c) eBay customer satisfaction reports, (d) qualitative studies

pertaining to the functioning of online auction markets, and (e) any other documentation

(e.g. industry surveys) and/or literature which was available. Additionally, I consulted

experts in this research field and find additional eCommerce studies (online auctions in

particular) to verify the findings and seek further feedback accordingly.

Akaeze (2016), Gillian and Craig (2016), and Holland (2017) noted that they were

unable to finish their case studies and provide conclusions unless they could obtain a

certain degree of data saturation. Analyzing the assembled data on a continuous basis and

conducting additional interviews resulted in data saturation. Data saturation occurs when

additional data collection and analyses result in repetitive, redundant information

(Akaeze, 2016; Hennink, Kaiser, & Marconi, 2017; Marshall & Rossman, 2016).

Therefore, the collection and analysis of data was useful until that became repetitive and

redundant to the extent that new themes or explanations for phenomena would not

surface.

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Transferability

Transferability refers to findings that reserachers can apply to other settings or

groups (Cope, 2014). According to Cope (2014) and Hadi and Closs (2016), external

reliability concerns the expectation toward the level of replication of research when

contrasted to similar studies. Internal reliability relates to the extent to which agreement

exists or replication of assessments, judgments, ratings and so on may happen as regards

the internal research effort, as explained by Ravitch and Carl (2015). I demonstrated that

by using procedures in the interviewing process and triangulating multiple sources of

evidence were acceptable as to provide the techniques of this study applicability in other

contexts and settings, as suggested by various academics (Dag & Arslantas, 2015;

Ravitch & Carl, 2015; Tertoolen, Geldens, Van Oers, & Popeijus, 2015).

For this purpose, I enhanced the transferability by providing rich and thick

descriptions as suggested by Saldaña (2015) and Yin (2018). These descriptions consisted

of ample and sufficient details of the phenomena and themes under study which related to

strategies that managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer

complaints to improve customer satisfaction. In this way, readers of this research study

and future interest groups can judge whether the findings are useful in their context

under the assumptions as employed in this research.

Transition and Summary

In this section, I proposed to conduct an intrinsic multiple case study concerning

strategies that managers of vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer

complaints to improve customer satisfaction. Writing included an outline of the role of

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the researcher and the standard to which I complied to conduct this research ethically.

Through purposeful sampling, I selected appropriate participants to explain the

underlying phenomena associated with these strategies by exploring various case-based

themes. The plan was to select at least six participants in the greater Los Angeles region

in California.

Section 2 also consists of detailed descriptions of the data collection process, data

organization techniques, the data analysis process, and means of determining reliability

and validity during the research study. In addition to applying selected quality measures.

I took the necessary precautions to attain reliable results and conducted this research

study in an ethical manner, which is the subject of Section 3 of this research study.

Section 3 contains the study’s implications for social change and

recommendations for useful action steps, based on the conclusions. Recommendations for

further study are part of the next section. Part of that section are a reflection on my

experiences with the research process by discussing my personal biases, their possible

influence on participants, and the changes in my thinking process during the research

effort.

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Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change

Introduction

The purpose of this intrinsic exploratory qualitative multiple case study was to

explore effective strategies managers of vendors in online auction markets used to

manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction. I collected data by using

multiple interviews, site visits, and additional documentation which was also available

online. The results were to determine and classify strategies applied according to five

themes: (a) Business Orientation, (b) Customer Purview, (c) Complaints Handling, (d)

Coping Strategies, and (e) Learning Abilities. The first three themes indicated the

direction of online vendors chose to achieve business results by placing the customer in

the first place by handling complaints in an effective manner and as a priority. Online

vendors’ standing with eBay depended on feedback rating and high customer satisfaction

outcomes.

Online vendors used various strategies to cope with complaints. These were

mostly tactics and solutions to satisfy customers immediately, including better

information on their websites and providing financial refunds for orders. These coping

strategies had their origins in adaptive and behavioral learning to the market

environment. Online vendors who had extensive experience were very adaptable and

changed course in their decision-making process multiple times using feedback-learning

loops, which reflects double-loop learning efforts. These vendors applied anticipatory

learning primarily based on experience and accumulated entrepreneurial know-how and

knowledge. They were very adamant to succeed and applied self-efficacy. Less

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experienced vendors lacked the agility to proactively anticipate customer demands and

changes in the online market environment; single-loop learning was dominant. Proactive

and behavioral learning mechanisms were the drivers of situated learning strategies to

handle customer complaints up to a satisfactory level with excellent feedback ratings.

Applying experiential and entrepreneurial learning, these mechanisms were more

effective by tackling real-life problems. Online auction vendors depended on the extent to

which they handled complaints successfully based mainly on skills development and a

changing mental model mindset driven by self-efficacy.

Presentation of the Findings

I formulated the research question to address what effective strategies managers

of vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer complaints to improve

customer satisfaction. This research question required an answer by explaining the

findings by comparing and interpreting the collected data. The study included the

application of various techniques of triangulation, as explained in the previous

subsections for reliability and validity purposes. In qualitative research, discovering and

finding themes are the basis for much research using data analysis and text interpretation.

Codes represented ranges in magnitude from a single word and up to a full paragraph of

text or a stream of moving images. In further coding attempts, the portions coded can be

the same units, longer passages of text, analytic memos about the data, and even

reconfiguration of the codes themselves developed thus far. Codes are vital connections

in the data collection process for interpreting the collected data and explaining their

meaning (Saldaña, 2015).

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As suggested by Saldaña (2015), the study included two rounds of coding of the

interviews, documentation, and other data collected from the literature and websites. On

the first round of coding, performing magnitude, holistic, and provisional coding

contributed to capturing the meanings of the interviews. On the second round, when

performing hypothesis, simultaneous, and causation coding, while getting rid of

unnecessary and redundant codes, this process resulted in a meaningful size of codes and

optimal outcome of the data. The activity of building hierarchies of codes and themes

involved devising codebooks. Various themes link to the conceptual framework and its

associated theories as dynamic affirmations through the expressions and references to

them in the quotations of transcripts and other materials employed. The discovery process

resulted in the following themes: (a) Business Orientation, (b) Customer Purview, (c)

Complaints Handling, (d) Coping Strategies, and (e) Learning Abilities. These themes

formed the basis to discuss the findings to the extent these outcomes validate, confirm, or

extend the theoretical implications associated with the conceptual framework and

associated theories.

ATLAS.ti as a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software tool was

instrumental to code transcripts, documentation, and other materials for text interpretation

purposes. In conformance to the interview protocol and in conjunction with the interview

and a list of follow-up questions (Appendices C and D), I conducted interviews and

checked the transcripts of the interviews after transcribing them using Trint. Checking the

results occurred manually. Prior importing the data into ATLAS.ti, member-checking to

validate the texts and their interpretations was essential. Consecutively, the goal of the

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final coding attempts was to ensure optimal reliability of results and removed redundant

codes. Visualization of the resulting hierarchies of codes and themes took place, as

discussed in the next subsections. The improvement of the data analysis resulted from

performing analyses by tools provided within ATLAS.ti and using a stop list.

Table 1 concerns the relative importance of each theme. For each participant

interview, I listed the frequency of codes per theme. Complaints handling was the second

most crucial theme in this study. The extent to which online vendors were able to

accommodate their business by leveraging their learning abilities scored the lowest

amount of relevant codes employed at around 8% (normalized). Figures 1 and 2 contain

an overview of all the codes and themes used in this study, which include relations to the

conceptual framework and associated theories (single-loop and double loop learning

(SLL/DLL), dynamic capabilities and absorptive capacity (DC/AC), and situational

learning). All the themes require reading in a horizontal fashion left to right with the

learning abilities feeding the coping strategies, the latter of which connects to the

handling strategies as illustrated in Figure 1. The handling strategies relate to the

customer purview which directly connects to the business orientation with the complaints

Table 1. Frequency of (Normalized) Codes Sorted by Theme and Participant Frequency of (Normalized) Codes Sorted by Theme and Participant and Normalized for Comparison

Absolute Table- relative

Norma- lized

Absolute Table- relative

Norma- lized

Absolute Table- relative

Norma- lized

Absolute Table- relative

Norma- lized

Absolute Norma-

lized Business Orientation 99 21.34% 9.00% 25 5.39% 7.72% 15 3.23% 5.95% 15 3.23% 8.33% 154 31.00% Complaints Handling 77 16.59% 7.00% 20 4.31% 6.17% 16 3.45% 6.35% 8 1.72% 4.44% 121 23.97% Coping Strategies 61 13.15% 5.55% 14 3.02% 4.32% 16 3.45% 6.35% 12 2.59% 6.67% 103 22.88% Customer Purview 8 1.72% 0.73% 16 3.45% 4.94% 13 2.80% 5.16% 6 1.29% 3.33% 43 14.16% Learning Abilities 30 6.47% 2.73% 6 1.29% 1.85% 3 0.65% 1.19% 4 0.86% 2.22% 43 7.99%

Totals 275 59.27% 25.00% 81 17.46% 25.00% 63 13.58% 25.00% 45 9.70% 25.00% 464 100.00%

Participants Totals

Themes A1 B1 C1 D1

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Figure 1. Map overview (left-to-right alignment) of themes and codes used in the study in conjunction with concepts from the conceptual framework.

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Figure 2. Map overview (hierarchical, right-to-left arrangement) of themes and codes used in the study in conjunction with concepts from the conceptual framework.

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being an inherent part of this theme. Figure 2 concerns a hierarchical orientation of the

themes.

The code co-occurrence table in Figure 3 depicts an overview of the significance

of codes used in the coding practice as exemplified by the colors red, yellow, and blue.

The business of online vendors depended heavily on handling and managing complaints.

The aim is to satisfy the customer and manage customer expectations. Learning abilities

mainly consisted of experience feedbacks within a situated learning context. Standard

solutions to immediately avail oneself of a problem using appropriate solutions and

tactics with refunds taking most of the solution. Complaints mainly consisted of shipping

issues and nonconformity of listed items. Noteworthy is the following. For the top 10c-

coefficients in the co-occurrence of codes, 0.38 were for experience feedback and

experiential learning, 0.33 for self-efficacy and entrepreneurship, 0.35 for customer

Figure 3. Code co-occurrence table. The top 5% codes are red-colored; codes in the bracket top 5-10% are in yellow; codes in the bracket top 10-20% are in blue.

●Business model

●Business results

●Complaints ●Complaints Handling

●Customer expectation

●Customer satisfaction

●Experience ●Experience feedback

●Experiential learning

●Feedback learning loops

●Refund ●Shipping ●Solution ●Tactics

●Business model 0 7 14 13 6 14 4 10 12 13 11 6 8 8

●Business results 7 0 3 1 4 9 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0

●Complaints 14 3 0 17 7 7 1 15 14 18 8 12 10 9

●Complaints Handling 13 1 17 0 9 10 2 10 11 10 10 5 10 8

●Customer expectation 6 4 7 9 0 16 0 3 4 1 2 3 3 4

●Customer satisfaction 14 9 7 10 16 0 1 1 3 0 2 3 3 3

●Experience 4 0 1 2 0 1 0 6 12 2 1 0 2 1

●Experience feedback 10 1 15 10 3 1 6 0 22 16 4 3 3 3

●Experiential learning 12 0 14 11 4 3 12 22 0 17 3 7 4 9

●Feedback learning loops 13 2 18 10 1 0 2 16 17 0 2 2 6 4

●Refund 11 0 8 10 2 2 1 4 3 2 0 4 8 6

●Shipping 6 1 12 5 3 3 0 3 7 2 4 0 4 7

●Solution 8 0 10 10 3 3 2 3 4 6 8 4 0 11

●Tactics 8 0 9 8 4 3 1 3 9 4 6 7 11 0

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satisfaction and customer expectation, 0.28 for experiential learning and feedback loops

and feedback, 0.26 for adaptive learning and lessons learned, and 0.26 were for lessons

learned and adaptive learning as well.

Theme 1: Business Orientation

Managers of online vendors have a particular business orientation as concerns the

value proposition they offer their customers. Customer complaints are part of this

business orientation. See Figure 4 Figure 4. The codes used for Theme 1 (Business

Orientation) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies

with this theme.

The success of each of the online vendors’ businesses directly related to complaints, as

negative feedback impacts the reputation of the sellers, which will force them out of

business. Also, by using eBay as a trading and auction platform customer satisfaction was

high on the agenda. Customers expect vendors will deliver on their promises. The

business model and the success of online vendors depend on the detection and correction

of errors. These corrections frequently occurred when shipping products or when the

descriptions of the products sold did not match the customer’s expectation. The online

auction industry has a complex environment, and its markets are dynamic and turbulent.

For companies to succeed, they have to be able (a) to handle complaints effectively and

efficiently, and (b) focus on everything which matters to the customer, the so-called

customer purview. In the following sections, I will demonstrate double-loop learning is

essential for companies to be successful and viable in the long-term. In their business

focus, vendors were very much action-oriented, which emphasizes double-loop learning

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Figure 4. The codes used for Theme 1 (Business Orientation) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme.

is a necessary prerequisite (Argyris & Schön, 1978).

This research is essential for a critical understanding of business models and

frameworks in online auction transactions and the decision-making processes from the

point of view of sellers specifically. Online auction success depends on the business

model that vendors apply (Ko & Kim, 2015). The subject of the research study concerns

managerial aspects of how to cope and handle complaints that directly influence customer

behavior and online auction outcomes but not the mechanics of the auction. Strategies to

handle complaints are part of the business orientation that managers of online vendors

should have. Customer satisfaction is a direct factor to make an online auction business to

become successful.

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Given the business orientation theme, complaints take a central role as an incident

cause for double-loop learning to occur. The extent to which vendors were responsible

for depended on the level of absorptive capacity (AC) they were able to demonstrate. The

AC is evident from participant A1, who has been in the business for more than 20 years.

Generating new knowledge and being innovative enough to satisfy customers, while

attaining business results, highly depends on the ability to change routines, procedures,

and the way of working which was more evident for participant A1 than the other

interviewees. For those vendors who maintained an online business over 5 years, the

level of absorptive capacity was relatively low.

Appendix F contains relevant quotations using the codes, as indicated in Figure 4.

Academic authors do not offer general frameworks to understand to what extent sellers

on eBay or any other online auction platform can influence buyers to buy more goods or

successfully complete the auction process when complaints occur. Many quantitative

studies and qualitative models exist providing guidance to sellers which (facilitating and

intermediary) factors influenced the online auction process (Cui et al., 2008; Ma, 2014).

These factors were trusted third-parties (like eBay), reputation mechanism, and

technology adoption of the auction platform. In terms of the reputation mechanism,

sellers’ ranking was a common one, and feedback ratings on online vendors’ pages on

eBay illustrated this mechanism very well. Auction success directly related in various

studies by the experience online vendors could demonstrate (Cui et al., 2008; Ma, 2014);

complaints may be a mediating or intermediary factor influencing consumer behavior in

online auctions. The results of this study have implications for applications to

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professional practice with regard to (a) handling complaints, (b) coping strategies, and (c)

learning abilities.

Online auction platforms, such were the case in this study, have reputation and

feedback systems to induce and enable trust between the online vendor and the customer

(Tadelis, 2016). Establishing trust was in the hands of the online vendors to ensure the

products offered were of high quality and the online vendor displayed the correct

information or the quality of the product accurately. The feedback rating mechanism

seeks to establish trust between online vendor and the buyer. The feedback rating system

causes biased feedback with the result of online vendors avoiding negative ratings at any

reasonable cost in order to satisfy eBay customer satisfaction ratings (Tadelis, 2016).

Trust is a critical ingredient between sellers and buyers at online auctions and in

e-commerce environments in general. The element of trust has various meanings and

implications (Wu, Chen, K.Y., Chen, P. Y., & Cheng, 2014). Specifically, the reputation

of online stores and auctions highly depends predominantly on the factor of trust, and

online vendors maintain these by voluntary measures of quality controls as discussed in

the next subsections of Themes 2 and 3. As Wu et al. (2014) emphasized, many

uncertainties surround the way online vendors perform their services and can affect the

perception and expectation of its users, especially when trading in luxury goods (Parguel,

Delécolle, & Valette-Florence, 2016).

Experienced online vendors were aware of the complex trading environment eBay

offered them. Achieving business results with and outside the eBay platform was their

focus. They pushed the boundaries of the possible and experimented with various

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solutions in terms of pricing, packages, (international) shipping, various modalities of

refunds, and customer feedback mechanisms. This behavior was exemplary as many

organizations adhere to single-loop learning and related problem-solving patterns despite

the urge to change operations in competitive environments (Lee, 2014). Only these

vendors exhibited double-loop learning abilities to manage change and confront

exceptional online trading conditions where the customer purview was central in

achieving business results. For this to happen, the vendors illustrated their business

practice was dependent on adaptive and action-oriented learning practices. In this way,

they were reflective of how to resolve a variety of customer complaints and eBay-

platform oriented operational issues. Also, these specific vendors changed their mental

models continuously, as explained by Pérez-Bennett, Davidsen, and López (2014) in

order to improve financial performance, sales results, and the avoidance of customer

complaints. One vendor exclaimed online vendors had to be knowledgeable, logical, and

professional when applying their business model (see Appendix F). Part of the business

model is to avoid making mistakes against all costs, irrespective of the reasons.

Vendors who gained much experience demonstrated their unique capabilities to

leverage their tacit skills and position themselves in the online vendor market, as

illustrated by Argote and Guo (2016). Their competencies relied heavily on the extent to

which they were able to learn in practice and formulate coping strategies to operate their

specific business model. The courses of action in handling complaints to satisfy

customers differed significantly. This held also for the application of a variety of

(international) shipping schedules and track-and-trace abilities which depended much on

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the business model each online vendor used (see Appendix F). One vendor explained the

essentials of applying knowledge as doing so would create more advantages on eBay

about what he was buying and selling. Crucial to experienced buyers was to devise a

long-term strategy and create a consistent presence on the online auction platform. Also,

they found a niche where they were able to generate healthy profits.

Theme 2: Customer Purview

The customer purview theme accentuates the customer because any vendor

operations centers around getting the highest possible feedback rating on the eBay

platform which hosts each participant’s online store. Coding of the feedback rating on

images on the website took place. The quotations in Error! Reference source not

found. only relate to the interviews held and concern customer satisfaction and customer

expectation. Figure 5 concerns an overview of the codes with the connection to other

themes. The customer purview theme accentuated a general lack of trust between vendors

and buyers which affects the vendors’ reputation and impedes consumers to buy luxury

goods on the internet (Parguel et al., 2016). The degree of trustworthiness demands, as is

the case in this study, a dedicated focus on customer expectation and satisfaction which

help attract potential shoppers and retain customers, such as adolescent buyers exhibiting

particular online shopping behaviors (Han-Jen, 2014) and those customers exhibiting

social facilitation behaviors (Ko & Kim, 2015).

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Figure 5. The codes used for Theme 2 (Customer Purview) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme.

Customers tried to understand how they can make proper decisions when

participating in online auctions, and they shape their choices for optimal outcomes

accordingly (Liu, Burns, & Hou, 2013; Parguel et al., 2016). In this regard, complaints

affect the trading behavior of buyers and sellers. Online vendors may not deliver the

goods and services appropriately. An abundance of literature is available to treat the

impact of this lack of trust emanating from various participants in these auctions such as

at eBay, one of the largest online auctions in the world, cf. Chamba et al. (2016) and

Purnawirawan, Eisend, De Pelsmacker, and Dens (2015).

The customer purview concerns ways to satisfy customers and meet the

expectations they have. Most of the complaints focus on issues of trust related to shipping

contributes tocontributes to

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Customer satisfaction

Customer expectation

Feedback rating

Business results

Complaints Handling

Customer Purview

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(costs), non-delivery problems of goods, and policies. Strategies to handle customer

complaints as part of completing auctions is not a subject of many research study during

the past decade. Customer feedback ratings are an indirect measure to assess customer

satisfaction; eBay feedback ratings are a reflection of those practices of what takes place

in an online auction transaction (Tadelis, 2016; Watt & Wu, 2018).

Experienced vendors were aware the customer purview was one of the vital

elements which generated business results (see Appendix G). Less experienced sellers did

not know the exact rules of the online auction platform with the likelihood of impending

negative feedback ratings, which negatively impacted trading operations. On the online

platform, the customer purview is king. The seller had to know the particulars of shipping

to any country and the handling of postal authorities of shipments in the world in order to

meet customer expectations. Vendors had to avoid negative feedback ratings at any cost.

Any vendor had different (coping) strategies to pre-empt negative ratings. Behavior

learning abilities, in conjunction with situational learning, enabled these strategies to gain

more confidence in the ability to sell goods to (prospective) buyers with the result of

listings looking good.

Trust related to online auction websites, the online auction vendors, the auction

initiators, and the group members. The eBay feedback mechanism constituted a

significant part of the online auction platform proposition, as demonstrated by Chen et al.

(2017). Trust-building systems in online marketplaces were essential for their operation.

Feedback mechanisms reflect the extent to which undesirable transaction behaviors

(UTBs) and online auction-related complaints impact the online auction process. Online

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auction vendors who did not have an adequate established reputation and received a

resulting negative feedback rating would considerably sell their goods and services

against lower closing prices (Laitinen, Laitinen, & Saukkonen, 2016). As a consequence,

an increase in negative feedback points would reduce the final sales price, change

consumers’ behavior, be a reflection on the level of customer service, and influence

bidding strategies.

A feedback mechanism for modeling trust is a platform for providing information

on vendors’s reputation and buyers who have different behaviors, preferences, and

viewpoints. When online auction vendors did not have a long track record, customers had

a high level of uncertainty concerning the good or bad performance of offered goods and

services. Reliability, similarity and satisfaction were factors to establish trust in the online

auction vendor (Chamba et al., 2016). Online auction vendors and managers of auction

platforms (like eBay’s) usually built reputation mechanisms upon behaviors based on

probability theory. In this multiple case study, I did not explore the behavior of the sellers

with the goals of measuring the effect of reputation on biased or unfair ratings and vice

versa. This learned behavior and online auction participants’ preferences could be used to

re-interpret the reputation information. This type of research could help online auction

vendors to more effectively aggregate and adjust reputation information in order to make

decisions, thereby increasing their satisfaction and overall payoffs in their interactions on

the auction platform.

Hsu, Chuang, and Hsu (2014) studied intense competition on online auction

marketplaces and provided for a model to provide safe and user-friendly shopping

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environments. Satisfied customers, in conjunction with positive endorsements, influenced

the factor of trust. Perceived risk and the trust invested in the seller related to intentions

to purchase based on reputation. The online auction vendor’s behavior influenced, in

turn, reputation by his behavior to deal with UTBs and a variety of complaints. As noted

by Hsu et al. (2014), an increase of consumers’ trust invested by auction initiators caused

more interactions with other auction participants, such as providing the most relevant and

updated purchase information. Reduction of uncertainty for the whole online auction

process, including the delivery of goods, was vital when customers decided to partake in

online auctions. Customers would face other online auction transactions attributes, such

as pre-payments and insurance policies and their effects on online auction complaints and

UTBs, which could alleviate uncertainty (Zhou, Lu, & Wang, 2016).

The above-mentioned results were in line with the findings of Escobar-Rodríguez

and Carvajal-Trujillo (2014). As stated by these authors, the determinants of transactions

were trust, online purchase intentions, price savings, habit, cost saving, ease of use,

performance and expended effort, hedonic motivation and social factors assisted by

facilitation conditions of the online auction. The element of trust was the result of

information quality, perceived security and perceived privacy.

Tsang, Koh, Dobbie, and Alam (2014) developed various methods for identifying

fraud in an online auction setting which used supervised learning methods by classifying

various occurrences of fraud (UTBs). The purpose was to propose a system for predicting

fraudulent attempts when delivering online auction goods while taking into account a set

of product listings of an online auction site and outputs for each listing using a fraud

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score. In this way, by analyzing listings online auction vendors decreased the order of

risk.

Unlike price, trust was the determinant of online purchases despite the fact

consumers were familiar with conducting transactions online (Kim & Peterson, 2017).

Therefore, consumer reviews and feedback systems played an essential role in consumer

decision-making which indicated a prominent role for online consumer feedback

mechanisms and associated consumer forums. Trust was a significant predictor of actual

risk perceived between transacting participants (Filieri, Hofacker, & Alguezaui, 2018;

Liu & Park, 2015). In this regard, prompt shipping, careful packaging of fragile products,

and excellent customer service were crucial factors to avoid customers to generate

complaints.

Tsang et al. (2014) researched detecting collaborative fraudulent behavior using

quantitative research. These behaviors included shilling fraud, reputation manipulation,

and non-delivery fraud, characterized by the fact although the winner sent payment, he

never would receive the products as ordered. Non-delivery fraud occurs when buyers

complete an auction successfully.

Consumers depended on online reviews by other consumers or advisors for their

purchase decisions (Wu, Noorian, Vassileva, & Adaji, 2015). Price level and personality

affected the purchase decision. The number of reviews affects consumers’ purchase

decisions only when price levels are high. In terms of personality, openness significantly

related to purchasing decisions when price levels were high, whereas neuroticism

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affected purchase decision when price levels were low (Chou, Picazo-Vela, & Pearson,

2013; Einav, Farronato, Levin, & Sundaresan, 2018).

Reputation effects have a considerable impact on transactions conducted in

internet auctions. Relevant for this multiple case study was a lack of trust which implied

consumers bought more luxury goods in-store with pricing displays influencing consumer

luxury perceptions (Parguel et al., 2016). The trustworthiness of sellers online alleviated

this lack. Convenience, price, product availability, shopping attitude, and online trust

were themes investigated in the research conducted by Liu et al. (2013). Differences

existed in price consciousness and product availability. Also, significant differences

existed in online trust towards customer ratings and risk aversion. Lack of internet trust

and the existence of potential risks prevent more consumers from purchasing luxury

items online. Lack of internet trust and the existence of potential risks prevent more

consumers from purchasing luxury items online. In contrast, in-store buyers prefer to see

or feel the product in person, and they demonstrate a higher level of risk aversion. Luxury

consumers are a particular segment of shoppers, as was the case in this multiple case

study research.

In this respect, according to Niu (2014), consumer decision-making styles

determine and shape consumer choices. Online auctions are effectively an automatic

price negotiation tool. Online purchasing behaviors relate to consumers’ decision-making

styles significantly, as confirmed by the research results. Eight factors determine this

behavior: (a) perfectionism, high-quality consciousness, (b) brand consciousness, (c)

fashion consciousness, (d) recreational, hedonistic shopping consciousness, (e) price and

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“value for money”, shopping consciousness, (f) impulsiveness, (g) confusion from over

choice, and (h) brand loyalty orientations toward consumption.

These factors profoundly influenced the complaints handling online auction

vendors applied and the coping strategies these vendors discovered in this multiple case

study, as discussed in the next subsections. The following observations were noteworthy.

The management of the online auction platform played a decisive role in consumer

behavior when it tried to prevent specific outcomes of auctions which deemed to be

unfair to consumers. Effective customer relationship management strategies correlated to

sellers reputations which improved the rate of recurring purchases. The discussion of

these strategies takes place in the next subsections.

Theme 3: Complaints Handling

In order to achieve business results, the theme complaints handling is essential to

tackle and deal with customer complaints. This theme originates from another theme

called coping strategies (see Figure 6) with concomitant codes applied and their

relationships. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme. Two principal

codes relate to this theme: solution and tactics. The codes of refund and matching

description are part of the solution code.

Appendix H contains selected quotations related to the theme of complaints

handling. Experienced vendors knew how to solve problems before they were occurring

and prior escalation by eBay management. Some complaints handling strategies were

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Figure 6. The codes used for Theme 3 (Complaints Handling) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme.

those tactics and solutions related to customer expectations. Vendors made sure these

expectations were met against all costs and for any reason. Avoiding complaints included

goods matching descriptions on the online platform site, refunding customers before they

could file any complaint, and pre-empting buyers when online vendors sensed buyers

attempted to acquire goods fraudulently. Avoiding any problems was conducive for any

online auction transaction.

Any tactic or strategy devising any solution helped to anticipate any fallout for

any online vendor. Therefore, learning abilities contributed to finding the appropriate

coping strategies for handling customer complaints. The attainment of knowledge on

(international) shipping, the appropriateness of refunds, finding the right way to list

goods and services on a trading website, and managing the rules of eBay were part of

strategies to handle customer complaints.

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Business results

Tactics

Matching descriptionCustomer Purview

Feedback learning loops

Complaints

Coping Strategies

Complaints Handling

Solution

Refund Adaptive

learning

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The results from the interviews and further observations at the locations of the

online vendors confirmed the findings and conclusions, as discussed by Nguyen et al.

(2016), in the following manner. Complaints handling strategies all concerned and were

part of order-fulfillment operations. These strategies related to solutions and tactics to

satisfy customers and meet their expectations. In addition, to avoid most of the

complaints, online auction vendors made sure those goods and services customers bought

matched the description as published on the auction website. These fulfillment operations

were crucial to ensure customers would repurchase from the vendor again, vendors

accepted returning products and made the appropriate refunds, and vendors were capable

of shipping goods to any part of the world without any problems. In this way, online

auction vendors would anticipate positive consumer behavior against all costs to

stimulate repeat business and make sure feedback ratings were excellent. The purpose of

these measures was to improve customer service levels. As such, Nguyen et al. implied

complaints handling strategies were one of the vital factors affecting customer loyalty,

trust, repurchasing decisions, and risk perception by customers.

Online auction vendors were very imaginative to identify any problem which had

to do with product listings and the order-fulfillment process and assessed any outcomes

customers experienced in terms of satisfaction, complaints, refunds, deliveries

(shipments), product returns (reverse logistics or return management), or any UTBs for

that matter. Essential in all complaints handling strategies was the homogeneity of the

solutions and tactics each vendor devised. All these strategies influenced the customer

purview by making the customer aware of the complaints handling offered and any

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consideration any vendor made to keep customers fully satisfied according to their

expectations.

As implied by Chen et al. (2017), the extent to which online auction vendors

handled customer complaints, devised strategies, and adjusted these accordingly, would

make or break a business. An auction deal depended heavily on customer experience and

convenience, as explained by Ko and Kim (2015). Online auction enterprises had a high

rate of not succeeding than traditional brick-and-mortar companies because of the role of

feedback rating mechanisms and online auction vendors’ reputations (Gregg &

Parthasarathy, 2017). None of the online auction vendors in this study used any strategic

planning effort or business plan. Their success depended on an integrative approach to

(not only) devise complaints handling strategies but to integrate all strategies from a

learning organization perspective, originating from Theme 5 and having their effects in

Theme 1.

As indicated in the last subsection, these strategies influenced customer reviews

by means of feedback ratings and comments informing other (prospective) customers of

the complaints handling and order-fulfillment processes. The latter processes included

pre-purchase to post-purchase events. The feedback rating system was the most critical

element of an online auction platform like eBay (Chen et al. 2017). As discussed by

Nguyen et al. (2016), the aspects of shipping consisting of (last-mile) delivery

encompassed delivery information and options, shipping and handling charges, and order

tracking. Online auction vendors focused on these aspects with great care and attention in

order to ensure the timeliness of the delivery of goods (see Appendix H).

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Decisions for online auction vendors depended heavily on the ability and the costs

of handling shipping. In the end, shipping should be economical. In line with the findings

of Hsu et al. (2014), trust played a mediating role between order fulfillment processes

(including strategies of the vendor for handling complaints) and customer behavior

(before ordering and repeat business). Also, trust was an indicator for delivering customer

expectations and the appropriateness and accuracy of product listings on the online

auction platform (Nguyen et al., 2016). The latter concerned the code “matching

description” as part of the solution theme under Theme 3.

Returns and refund strategies were essential to devise the appropriate policies,

procedures, preparations, options, refunds, and returns handling. These strategies were a

significant part of any complaints handling strategies online auction vendors applied (see

Appendix H) and affected the level of customer service quality, customer satisfaction,

customer behavior (social facilitation) and feedback ratings. The more the complaints

handling strategies were successful and the higher the reputation of the online auction

vendor, the more positive feedback ratings and the higher the viability of an online

auction’s business became because of its maturity (Gregg & Parthasarathy, 2017), as was

the case with the online auction vendors in this multiple case study.

According to Chen et al. (2017), negative feedback related to complaints handling

strategies and solutions to attenuate (common) complaints from buyers; and sellers would

have to accommodate for these complaints. Experienced online auction vendors would

have fewer complaints. Most of the complaints with negative feedback in the study of

Chen et al. concerned (a) buyers never receive goods; (b) online auction vendors dp not

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respond to buyers’ complaints or questions; (c) goods are not functional or faulty; and (d)

buyers do not receive any refund. Neutral feedback consisted of the following factors: (a)

sellers ship goods very slowly; (b) the conditions of the goods; (c) non-delivery of goods;

and (d) buyers do not receive refunds. Buyers gave sellers also positive feedback

concerning the satisfaction of goods, quick shipments, items conformed to listing and

description, the excellent condition of products, and honest communication with online

auction vendor.

Hence, given the arguments mentioned above, complaint handling strategies were

an indicator of the long-term ability to achieve performance and success of the online

auction enterprise, as all the participants in this study were successful for at least 5 years.

Notably, the element of trust was crucial as this multiple case study concerned online

auction vendors selling jewelry products and parts which were specialty goods that had a

higher level of risks than convenience goods had.

Theme 4: Coping Strategies

Coping strategies are those mechanisms based on feedback, experience, or

practice which contribute to handling complaints. Figure 7. The codes used for Theme 4

(Coping Strategies) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the

dependencies with this theme.

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Figure 7. The codes used for Theme 4 (Coping Strategies) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme.

Appendix I contains categories of Appendix I: Selected Quotations Organized by

Code for Theme 4: Coping Strategies. . These coping strategies directly influenced the

manner of how online vendors handle complaints, which contributed to business

results and the successful completion of the transaction on the eBay platform. Coping

strategies related directly to experiential learning consisting of gained experience and to

which feedback learning loops contribute. The experience of online vendors directly

related to online auction successes, as acknowledged by Cui et al. (2008) and Ko and

Kim (2015).

Online vendors who had more than 10 years of experience formed their values

and beliefs how to deal with problem-solving issues such as making sure they handled

shipping goods (internationally) and complaints optimally. Based on this experience, they

were capable of formulating many rules and procedures what to do in certain situations

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Lessons learned

Feedback learning loops

Coping Strategies

Learning Abilities

Tactics

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Solution

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Procedures

Experiential learning

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and what not. These processes consisted of job-related tasks by leveraging online

vendors’ knowledge and expertise. Feedback learning was essential to stay in business

aligned to each vendor’s objectives and to cope with eBay policies and guidelines, which

was in conformance with Vinther et al. (2017). Online vendors regarded these guidelines

as buyer-oriented with sellers always having to cope with customer requests, fraudulent

claims, refunds, shipping issues, and more.

As suggested by Argyris and Schön (1978), vendors were able to make

organizational changes in their organizations which were situational. In this case study,

these changes related to experiential learning and feedback by making mistakes and

handling a variety of customer-centered problems. Through these learning mechanisms,

vendors accumulated knowledge (tacit and explicit) to refine organizational processes

and make trade-offs which were different for each vendor, as espoused by Pilemalm et al.

(2014). The result was each vendor instituted their operations and complaints handling

based on their experiences, lessons learned, and what each vendor encountered in practice

dealing with customer requirements and business concerns.

Experienced vendors with more than 10 years in the online auction business were

able to go beyond day-to-day routines, thinking about new ways to perform jobs and set-

up new procedures for the size and price of item sales, shipping, handling complaints,

fraudulent attempts, and handling various issues with eBay. Doing things differently

related to the detection and correction of errors when confronted with issues and

receiving feedback from customers, sellers, and eBay. In addition, these vendors were

able to test their lessons learned to come up with new coping strategies (see Appendix I).

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As a result, as implied by Argyris and Schön (1978), these vendors achieved a high

degree of organizational learning.

Those vendors who had less than 10 years of experience did not formulate an

abundance of rules, processes, and procedures to face the variety of customer complaints

as encountered with vendors who gained comparably more experience as depicted in

Appendix I. These vendors did not challenge their framework of operations and,

according to my assessment, made various trade-offs to manage their employees in pre-

existing conditions to find alternative coping strategies, as articulated by Argyris &

Schön (1978) and Jaaron and Backhouse (2017). This pre-empted double-loop learning to

happen, as it was not conducive to share the lessons learned to change work practices and

adjust coping strategies accordingly. Knowledge sharing and experiencing feedback

loops were essential for active learning efforts and reformulating coping strategies to

revitalize an online auction business, which is customer-focused (Orsato et al., 2017).

Theme 5: Learning Abilities

Learning abilities are necessary to formulate coping strategies. Figure 8 concerns

the illustration of the codes for this theme Figure 8. The codes used for Theme 5

(Learning Abilities) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the

dependencies with this theme. This theme consists of various modalities of learning

abilities: (a) behavioral learning, collaborative learning, (b) proactive learning, and (c)

adaptive learning. Especially adaptive learning abilities influenced complaints handling

as collaborative learning related to feedback learning loops. The feedback-learning-loops

code typify as learning abilities as a whole.

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Figure 8. The codes used for Theme 5 (Learning Abilities) and the relationship between them. Other themes illustrate the dependencies with this theme.

Appendix J consists of relevant quotations from the interviews held which pertain

to Theme 5 of learning abilities. The more experience online vendors had, the more

lessons learned they experienced. The evidence from the interviews pointed to a high

level of situated learning in combination with a low absorptive capacity from the market

environment. Online vendors who had strict control over activities demonstrated limited

learning with only single-loop learning abilities. Most experienced online vendors, as

sellers, emphasized a great deal of selling were imperative for their ability to learn and

find coping strategies within the context of his business operations. That knowledge was

conducive to finding coping strategies and solutions for complaints handling purposes.

This situation was particularly applicable to matching descriptions of listings and

instances where (proactively) refunds were applicable. The objective was primarily to

avoid problems with customers. Hence, the focus on aspects of the customer purview,

such as the importance of feedback ratings on eBay. Also, these vendors were capable of

interpreting the rules of the eBay online auction platform and meeting the standards of

the online auction platform.

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Collaborative learning

Proactive learning

Adaptive learning

Coping Strategies

Feedback learning loops

Behavioral learning

Complaints Handling

Learning Abilities

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The following observations are noteworthy. Only those online vendors, who had a

very long track record in trading on the eBay platform and also had gained experience on

other online sites, were able to change their routines and processes very quickly based on

acquired knowledge. When vendors felt making changes was necessary, they were able to

adapt their organizations to circumstances in a very creative way. I encountered more

instances of adaptive and behavioral learning instances than proactive learning

occurrence (see Appendix J). Those online vendor organizations, which had fewer

experience than 10 years, were more reliant on collaborative learning to increase their

abilities to formulate coping strategies to handle customer complaints and solve customer

complaints satisfactorily.

As discussed by Argyris and Schön (1978) as regards changes in organizational

learning, online vendors with less experience who tried to improve their daily tasks and

jobs would only make incremental changes to set-up their operations. These online

vendors only improved their processes by single-loop learning activities. Those vendors

who had more than 10 years of experience challenged their job tasks with double-loop

learning abilities. Collaborative learning would stimulate less experienced vendors to

induce more double-loop learning opportunities and bring about organizational change to

increase performance levels. These performance levels highly depended on handling

customer complaints and are directly related to feedback ratings (in the customer

purview) and solutions and tactics to handle complaints.

I did not encounter any triple-loop learning abilities with all vendors because

fundamentally any new process or procedures were absent, which is in accordance with

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the studies of Lozano (2014). These learning abilities go beyond adaptive learning

attempts. Mental models of online vendors did not change fundamentally in the

situational settings in this study, as explicated by Reynolds (2014) and McClory et al.

(2017). Also, in all organizations whose managers participated in this study, any evidence

for transformative learning occurrences were not present, which was in line with

Heorhiadi et al. (2014) and Fillion et al. (2015). In addition, absent were plan-do-act

quality cycles as suggested by Taylor et al. (2014) to promulgate single-loop learning

activities or hardly any instance of proactive learning abilities except with experienced

online vendors who were more than 10 years active in the online auction industry.

When typifying learning abilities to happen according to two dimensions (Argyris

& Schön, 1978), single- and double-loop learning, the former was the norm with the

latter dimension only occurring at instances where 10 years or more experience were

present and vendors who had dealt with around more than 10,000 items of sales. As such,

I encountered with less experienced vendors more action-oriented, routine, and

incremental tasks, and concomitant decision-making processes with rigid mental models

how eBay operated, which was in conformance to the findings of Argyris & Schön

(1978) and Lee (2014). No variations of job tasks related to shipping, complaints

handling, size of listings, or price policies took place, which was in accordance with the

findings of Jaaron and Backhouse (2017). These organizations did not exhibit unusual

behavior or attitudes to handle complaints, nor were innovative to tackle a variety of

issues whch were related to reformulating coping strategies.

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Also, no thinking out-of-the-box took place. No attempt to unfreeze or challenge

organizational policies or processes occurred beyond the tested waters to handle and

solve customer complaints, as discussed by Hislop et al. (2014). Behavioral learning is

necessary to induce organizational learning (Senge, 1990). Specific instances of cognitive

learning did not occur which seemed crucial to prove the efficacy of online vendors’

operations by continuously reviewing and modifying ways to improve performance.

Notwithstanding, cognitive learning was the result of predominantly adaptive learning

occurrences with systemic thinking instances where creativity was a leading indicator

which was in line with the results of Al-Raqadi et al. (2015).

Conforming to the findings of Secundo et al. (2017), I found many instances of

entrepreneurial learning which sublimated in adaptive and behavioral learning abilities of

online vendors. These learning abilities were mostly related to double-loop learning

instances. Entrepreneurial learning was foremost of a situational learning nature.

According to Senge (1990), team learning and a shared mental model are

prerequisites for learning opportunities. In this multiple case study, the underlying cause

of the success of any learning attempt was situational learning. More experienced online

vendors used situational learning to induce double-loop learning opportunities. This

induction, combined with a high absorptive capacity resulted in their organization to an

adaptation to a trade and customer environment, which necessitated changed behavior

from the side of the online vendor. Their corresponding behavioral learning was to keep

selling items competently on eBay and other (online auction) trading platforms by

transferring knowledge in the organization. Experience and common sense induced by

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situational learning abilities depended on knowledge for sellers who had a unique value

proposition. All participants gained their knowledge and experience in practice within a

specific situational setting inside or outside the online auction platform industry.

Each online auction vendor reflected differently on the actions (s)he did because

each organization had a particular way of organizational learning ability. A variety of

types of reflections defined the extent to which each organization worked in terms of

absorptive capacity (AC), as suggested by Argote and Guo (2016) and Gao et al. (2017).

The dynamic capabilities of each online vendor organization influenced the

outcome of the level of AC, and thus, the way the organization was able to adapt to

changing circumstances internally or externally. In line with the findings of Garavan et

al. (2016), these capabilities contributed to the extent to which each organization learned

and acquired and integrated knowledge among its members. I was unable to observe how

absorptive capacity occurred over time. As illustrated by Love et al. (2016), detection

took place of highly experienced vendors’ exploratory and exploitative learning abilities,

as illustrated in Appendix J. These were based on entrepreneurial learning abilities and

had their root causes in situational learning and self-efficacy.

I could not find much evidence of an application of the co-evolutionary

framework (CoEF) even though various occasions of feedback loops in the organizations

for identifying coping strategies. Finding any evidence of how managers of online

vendors induced double-loop learning by bringing about changes or variations within

their organizations was not possible.

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All online vendors seemed to be situated learners who were adaptive and were

able to contribute to performance improvements and act upon their experience, which

was in accordance with the literature (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Stoner & Cennamo, 2018).

They used those tools and schemas as provided by their social environment for problem-

solving, specifically the online auction platform (e.g., eBay). The creation of new

knowledge regarding coping strategies, which influenced those strategies to handle

customer complaints, came from these problem-solving activities within the cultural

context of the online auction industry. Especially online auction vendors as entrepreneurs

needed to understand the context and business environment. They had to deal with a

variety of social relationships, such as sellers, customers, competitors, online auction

management, auditors, and representatives of brands (e.g., Rolex). These relationships

were the cause of so much conflict and discomfort from the beginning resulting in the

induction of DLL. In this study, the relationship between the necessity to learn, the

hypercompetitive environment of a technologically oriented online auction platform, and

dealing with (eBay) management policies, was evident.

In addition, all vendors exhibited a high degree of self-efficacy where their

success based on their motivation, beliefs, and learning intentions and orientation, as

suggested by Cherian and Jacob (2013), Liñán and Fayolle (2015), and Newman et al.

(2018). All online auction vendors set goals and wanted to achieve results on their

platforms, aligned to their particular skills and dynamic capabilities. All online auction

vendors had in common a mastery and vicarious experience, and an emotional state of

willing to achieve. Especially those online auction vendors with the most experience

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(more than 10 years) acquired new skills and performed novel and innovative tasks to

tackle a variety of problems including handling complaints by devising specific coping

strategies for that induced by a high degree of adaptive and situational learning abilities.

Most online auction vendors in this multiple case study demonstrated their

collaborative and behavioral learning abilities which rooted in work-based learning and

workplace learning settings. Most organizations embedded their processes and

procedures and influenced their complaints handling strategies based on single-loop

learning.

In this study, I found no evidence of the application of the community of practice

and the categorization-elaboration model. The latter model does not deal with SLL or

DLL mechanisms.

Applications to Professional Practice

The emphasis of this study was not large online-auction vendors but small

business owners who decided to attract and engage customers online in the luxury brand

businesses of watches, bracelets, jewelry, and parts. Small business owners benefit from

the results of this study. Trading on online vendor platforms can be daunting and have

many caveats, especially for mom-and-pop business when trading on eBay’s platform

(Chen et al., 2017).

Trading on this platform requires compliance with many regulations related to

customer feedback and customer expectations. Online auction vendors’ successes

depended on handling complaints effectively while maintaining their focus on the

profitability of their business. The importance of operating the online auction platform

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depended mostly on learning abilities to (proactively) react to customers’ expectations

and demands while adhering to a variety of eBay’s rules and settings. I did not find any

evidence of strategic planning activities. One of the factors for this assessment was there

was not much room for reinventing the business case or orientation of the online auction

enterprise. Helpful would be to offer a (potential) customer base a unique customer value

proposition which would not face much competition (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015;

Mauborgne & Kim, 2017). It is all about achieving a sufficient degree of competitive

advantage to survive as an online vendor.

The reason for an appropriate business orientation of an online auction enterprise

would be as follows. These online auction companies have to survive in a growing

knowledge-based economy and to thrive in a socioeconomic environment which is

increasingly unstable and competitive. Managers of online auction companies have to

continuously improve their current business models through strategic planning exercises

or reconstructionist strategies to stay ahead of the competition, which refers to

sustainable innovation (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015; Mauborgne & Kim, 2017). The latter

strategies do not emphasize double-loop learning abilities.

Prospective online vendors have to be very knowledgeable about the products or

services they want to offer online in an auction. Also, they have to be resilient to

acknowledging fraudulent claims when dealing with customer complaints. Therefore,

organizational learning is imperative for organizations to accumulate dynamic

capabilities (Love et al., 2016). Online auction vendors should acquire or have the

flexibility to adapt internally to face external opportunities and market forces. In addition,

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any learning effort should influence and improve one’s memory, cognitive and

associative learning abilities, mental maps, norms, and values (Mariano et al., 2016).

Double-loop learning may take place to confront various changed induced by internal or

external triggers o the organization successfully. Positively influencing this learning is a

focus on long-term objectives and success. Only in this way, managers would be able to

solve (intricate) problems or meet complex challenges by applying knowledge (Teece,

2014). Knowledge consists of everyday skills, knowledge bases, culture, and cognitive

structures, and these factors determine the extent to which absorptive capacity takes place

(Helfat & Peteraf, 2015).

The level of absorptive capacity (AC) determines the chance of double-loop

learning (DLL) occurring in existing operations or may lead to the formulation of

reconstructionist strategies akin to triple-loop learning (Gao et al., 2017). Acquisition and

transfer of knowledge need to happen within an organization. As illustrated in this

multiple case study, a conducive learning climate and the sharing and transmission of

lessons learned are crucial, not only for incremental improvement efforts, but also for

transformations of processes, procedures, and (job) tasks. For DLL to happen, a shift

from single-loop learning (SLL) has to take place by finding mechanisms in the

organization to enlarge the amount of AC by changing habits, rules, standard operating

procedures or heuristics in the organization (Argyris & Schön, 1978; Jansson et al., 2015;

Shokri-Ghasabeh & Chileshe, 2014; Wiewiora & Murphy, 2015). Double-loop learning

abilities are one of the mechanisms how variation of processes, procedures, and

guidelines can take place, which results in a shift from SLL to DLL (Van Den Bosch et

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al., 1999; Van Doorn et al., 2017). Therefore, it is imperative for organizations to mature

as quickly as possible lest they get stuck.

In lieu of the co-evolutionary framework, attention should focus on the

improvement and speeding up of the generation, adoption, adaptation, and diffusion of

innovation especially in the technology industry which includes transactions on online

auction platforms (Peeters et al., 2014; Smith et al., 2017; Van Doorn, et al., 2017; Van

Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007). How can (disruptive) improvements in how people

perform their work routines and (business) processes happen? The result of this research

was to find ways how people select, and develop concepts with the purpose of sharing,

combining and recombining knowledge for discovering superior practices across an

organization in terms of coping strategies and handling complaints by putting the

customer in the center of all activities (Chen et al., 2017; Kim & Mauborgne, 2015;

Mauborgne & Kim, 2017; Nguyen et al, 2016; Parguel et al., 2016).

Implications for Social Change

The world of online vendors shape industries with more effectively matching

demand and supply in various markets. These vendors have different sizes, but even mom

and pop stores have the ability to start businesses and can become profitable in the short

run with the least amount of efforts (Chen et al., 2017; Nguyen et al., 2016). Customers

can buy online products of any kind against prices not found in brick-and-mortar

businesses. Thus, online vendor platforms can bring tangible improvements in the

organization of businesses, personal lives, and even change society and cultures.

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Complaints have a huge social impact as more people tend to buy and sell

products and services online and through an online auction platform. Buyers can be more

confident to interact on online auction platforms without being influenced by social

facilitation phenomena, such as demonstrating better bidding behavior and stronger

purchasing decisions (Ko & Kim, 2015). More people will engage in auction

transactions, which provides an opportunity to improve their lives and economic

conditions.

Vendors of online auction markets can reduce potential conflicts and resolutions

between customers and themselves by using appropriate organizational learning

strategies to reduce costs and increase profitability (Acklin, 2013; Wolff & Amaral,

2016). Online vendors may resolve complaints and dissatisfied customers by decreasing

nonpositive feedback from buyers, decreasing customer disputes, and increasing seller

ratings on the auction platform website or reputation platforms based on trust (Chen et

al., 2017; Laitinen et al., 2016).

As a result of deploying the right strategies to manage complaints, vendors may

improve customer satisfaction and enhance customer experiences to buy goods in their

online markets. These strategies may benefit sales, and consequently, vendors may spend

less time and reduce the costs of managing and resolving complaints (Nguyen et al.,

2016). Online markets lower the cost of products and services for consumers by enabling

information technologies and undergo (disruptive) innovation for lower operational costs

to manage an online auction (Camisón & Villar-López, 2014). Online markets make it

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easier for consumers to do comparison shopping, increasing competitiveness for

producers and services providers (Chen et al., 2017; Nguyen et al., 2016).

Online vendors do not have the overhead of having brick-and-mortar stores or a

large sales force. Therefore, increased competition and the cost savings from electronic

online sales transactions lower the cost of products and services for consumers.

Expansion of online markets can provide access to products and services to consumers

who otherwise have limited access. Poor neighborhoods and remote rural areas have a

limited choice of stores and vendors. Also, people who have physical disabilities may

have difficulties in traveling to stores. Online markets break down these physical barriers

by providing equally convenient access to everyone. The delivery of goods and services

without undesired effects of negative customer satisfaction will give rise to less frequent

complaints which benefit the economy, advances the use of digital platforms, and

stimulates innovation in any industry, the technology industry in particular.

Recommendations for Action

Online auction markets are very competitive, especially when online auction

vendors offer prospective customers similar goods and services. To stand out from the

competition, small business owners should reflect on their business orientation and devise

ways to obtain business results which will be viable in the long term. The online auction

industry is complex with customers being the central focus in complaints handling. The

ability to solve problems around shipping, feedback ratings, deliveries, UTBs, refunds,

customer service, and listing of goods and services on websites is vital for any online

auction vendor’s immediate success (Hsu et al., 2014; Nguyen et al., 2016). A more

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reconstructionist approach of implementing strategies would help the long-term viability

of the business by doing tasks, devising processes, and procedures differently (Kim &

Mauborgne, 2015; Mauborgne & Kim, 2017). For this reason, organizational learning is

crucial where either out-of-the-box thinking is desirable or where contemplation of the

current and future business model helps by applying double-loop correction mechanism

(Argyris & Schön, 1978). In the end, it is all about creating unimitable dynamic

capabilities and the propensity to be very flexible and adaptable concerning internal

organizational changes and changes in the online auction marketplace (Acklin, 2013;

Wolff & Amaral, 2016).

In order to build the right capabilities, online auction vendors should focus on

organizational learning capabilities to initiate necessary changes to obtain efficacies in

running job tasks, teamwork, and changing work processes. Organizational learning

abilities should contribute to a learning organization where the customer purview is

central. Learning abilities should stress the adaptiveness of the organization. The

interactions between customers, organizational members (team members, task forces,

project teams, and management), sellers and (eBay) platform members should induce

those behavioral learning abilities which will induce coping strategies. These strategies

deal with all sorts of customer complaints. In the end, it is all about finding the

appropriate customer complaints handling strategy. The business of any online auction

platform depends on the feedback any customer will receive. Online auction vendors

significantly depend on influencing consumer behavior and building trust between the

seller, buyer, and the (eBay) platform. Meeting customers’ expectation is crucial as well

167

as meeting customer demands irrespective whether the customer is right or wrong. These

are issues which do not have anything to do with the technical set-up of the online

auction platform. For this reason, it is imperative to guide customers in their shopping

quests and reduce any transactional risks for them, and also to avoid (future) customer

complaints and negative feedback ratings.

Hence, online auction vendors should build those processes, job tasks, and

institute work conditions which are conducive for quality control of the total selling

process including deliveries, shipments, reputation mechanisms, and complaints

handling, especially for those online auction vendors who trade in in luxury goods

(Parguel et al., 2016). The organizational learning environment should stifle linear

thought and induce double-loop learning abilities, or members of the organization should

be motivated to solve complex problems in team or project work without strict

management control. The learning environment should able to change extant mental

models for its members and create tacit knowledge employees would quickly transfer to

explicit knowledge.

The extent to which organizational learning takes place influences the way

organizational members learn and in turn, contributes to coping and complaints handling

strategies. The reputation of online auction vendors highly reflects the way these sellers

handle complaints as demonstrated by applied tactics and solutions for any imaginable

customer related complaint or issue. Organizational learning opportunities should stress

feedback loops and the sharing of experience amongst organizational members and

management. Adaptive and behavior learning, feedback from any stakeholder, and the

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self-efficacy of any organizational member are factors which need stimulation and the

attention of online auction management.

The future of any online auction business depends on innovation within the

organization and the ability to adapt to a changing market environment. Organizational

learning directly correlates with the absorptive capacity of the organization to receive

change and adopt the necessary measures for correction policies; the role of double-loop

learning abilities and the acquisition of new knowledge about (the operation of) the

business are crucial in this respect. Designing strategies for handling customer complaints

should become a proactive activity, and management of online vendors should stimulate

situational learning within the organization. Finding the meaning and significance of

handling complaints strategies helps the amount of motivation and self-efficacy of all

stakeholders concerned.

The findings in this multiple case study contribute to the design of job tasks, HR

training, and the attention management has to pay for the implications and importance of

organizational efforts. The more experience online auction vendors have, the more

business success and the more effective complaints handling strategies are, based on

situational learning opportunities resulting in many occasions of lessons learned.

Challenging continuously the way to work and face customers, sellers, and the

management of (eBay) management helps in that respect. Managers of online auction

vendors should build their business (orientation) around the learning organization (Senge,

1990) to ensure competently facing customers and building a customer-focused

organization with associated team-working and process-based structures.

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Recommendations for Further Research

This research had a focus of four online auction vendors and answered the

research question from their perspective in a business-to-consumer (B2C) environment.

Triangulation with the literature, especially Nguyen et al. (2016), and other available

data, especially which was available online (e.g., YouTube videos concerning setting up

eBay accounts), confirmed the conclusion of this study would be useful when dealing

with online vendors who trade on platforms selling other items than jewelry and luxury

goods, such as watches, buckles, and related parts. The strategies online vendors used

should be part of mixed studies to augment quantitative models in online auction studies.

As online vendors trade their items online across the globe, the results of this study

remain worthwhile for online vendors who trade outside Los Angeles, CA, and in

different segments of the industry. Online vendors in this study gave the researcher a data

saturation on the findings, as discussed in the previous subsections. The orientation and

the culture within each of the organization were not similar to each other. The results and

the interpretation of the findings were valid and provided a basis for continued research.

I undertook an extensive study of all existing literature within the last 5 years and

researched the area of online auction platform research, especially in a B2C environment.

The results might not be the same when the research relates to a business-to-business

(B2B) context. The focus of this study was the point of view of online vendors and their

effective strategies to manage complaints to the best of their abilities.

The role of complaints in online auction research settings does not have a

dominant role which has a direct impact on business results (Nguyen et al., 2016).

170

Further research could incorporate consumer behavior and the decision-making processes

of the online vendor (Nguyen et al., 2016). This decision-making process could

incorporate action research on how online vendors would handle complaints which go

beyond a primarily reactionary mode of operation by focusing only on tactics and

solutions benefiting the customer only. In this research, the efficiency and effectiveness

of an online enterprise were not part of the research. Much more attention would require

these businesses to outperform the market by innovative business models which would

not depend on adaptation to current market conditions per se, or on satisfying customers

based on customer satisfaction requirements (Tadelis, 2016; Vecchiato, 2017).

To improve the predictive behavior of consumers, putting models together is

useful, but the role of the seller needs more attention in terms of qualitative aspects, not

in quantitative aspects. As a consequence, the design of online platforms needs

improvement in terms of behavioral factors of online vendors who have to handle

complaints to effectuate higher auction results, notwithstanding the abundance of

economic and mathematical models. Carter et al. (2017), Cui et al. (2008), and Nguyen et

al. (2016) used mathematically based outcomes of online auctions which may provide

guidance for future research.

Also, a subject for further research is in the area of prediction and monitoring of

online auction systems which undermine trust (Kim & Peterson, 2017). A comprehensive

insight into the implications of behavioral factors influencing online vendors when

dealing with complaints, shipping problems, and returns, can be part of the research

agenda (Kim & Peterson, 2017; Nguyen et al., 2016). As such, an integrative approach of

171

bidding strategies of individuals should be on the research agenda based on research

models of interactions of bidders in online auctions terms of consumer behavioral traits

and online vendor behaviors (Nguyen et al., 2016; Zhou et al., 2016). A remarkable lack

of consensus in the literature exists on how complaints influence the outcomes in online

auctions (Nguyen et al., 2016; Zhou, Lu, & Wang, 2016).

This multiple case study made clear the differences in mindsets and practices

between those online vendors having more than 10 years of experiences and having a

smaller track record. Online auction vendors gathered experience and gained feedback on

multiple occasions, which induced the creation of abundant coping strategies induced by

foremost adaptive and behavioral learning experiences. Despite this assessment, I was not

able to detect the requirements or conditions how shifts between single-loop and double-

loop learning took place. In line with various authors (Haddad et al., 2016; Liepė &

Sakalas, 2015; Senge, 1990), shifts in mindsets in individuals and the changes which

occur in organizations and organizational learning are crucial. This topic would be an

excellent subject for further research to induce higher-order learning opportunities (Berta

et al., 2015; Damanpour, 2014; Van Doorn et al., 2017).

Another topic for further research is how absorptive capacity takes place and what

factors induce (more) AC, such as education, team size, age of personnel, and industry.

Absorptive capacity is hard to measure and determine (Martín-de Castro, 2015; Van

Doorn et al., 2017). The determination of factors which make an online auction tick is

practical, which goes beyond satisfying the customer at all costs and online vendors being

dependent on only feedback ratings which depend on handling complaints. How and

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what could online vendors do to learn to do better in terms of learning (organizations)?

How can they learn from future developments in the field of online auction and make a

difference?

The influence of absorptive capacity should play a role in innovative efforts and

the necessity to react in demanding online markets and with demanding customers. In this

regard, what mechanisms bring new habits, rules, and standards operating procedures into

existence (Damanpour, 2014; Liñán & Fayolle, 2015; Van Doorn et al., 2017; Van

Fenema & Keers, 2018). Learning retention and unlearning abilities play a role. On the

other hand, the extent to which companies can attain a competitive advantage by just

deploying resources or attaining capabilities without appropriate learning skills (Laursen

& Salter, 2014).

It should be possible to include learning organizations, organizational learning,

and absorptive capacity paradigms in strategic planning efforts when managers of

enterprises leverage their competencies and resources in a way to pursue new

opportunities in markets where they are inherently not able to outperform existing rivals

in their respective marketplaces (Snoeren et al., 2015; Van Doorn et al., 2017). High-

order learning (double-loop and triple-loop learning), and the generation and adaption to

new knowledge should be part of an AC research effort (Damanpour, 2014; Van Doorn et

al., 2017). Also, this AC is about the ability of individuals to filter, process, and

assimilate new information at all (managerial) levels in an organization.

Future research also should incorporate organizational learning and learning

organization elements as well as demographic and structural factors to illustrate how the

173

categorization-elaboration model works in practice (Tröster et al., 2014). In this context,

the role of dynamic capabilities regarding sensing, learning, and coordinating capabilities

are still not well understood, especially the evolution of absorptive capacity over time and

its role in inter-organizational cooperation and achievement (Lane et al., 2006; Van

Fenema & Keers, 2018).

Research efforts should focus on the how occurrences of double-loop learning

take place or what kind of mechanisms makes learning efforts advance from the

individual level to the organizational level (Rauffet et al., 2014). As in this multiple case

study, I indicated some occurrences of double-loop learning activities, but participants

could not explain how they did this. A construct for this purpose should operationalize a

better understanding of how double-loop learning can occur in practice (Lane et al., 2006;

Van Den Bosch et al., 1999; Van Fenema & Keers, 2018).

In addition, Alqurashi (2016) noted some topics need more research on the nature

of the relationship between self-efficacy (other than technology factor) and online

learning regarding learning, interaction, and collaborative skills. In some models of

entrepreneurial intention, self-efficacy is a motivational antecedent of entrepreneurial

intention which should have more attention in combination with organizational learning

(Liñán & Fayolle, 2015; Newman et al., 2018; Shen, 2015). In this context, bottom-up

approaches could improve organizational processes or renew strategies using other

mechanisms than those of SLL, DLL, and TLL efforts as suggested by Mauborgne and

Kim (2017) and McClory et al. (2017), which necessitates new research.

174

Last but not least, new research could cater to the development of new

quantitative-oriented measurements to describe various constructs for incorporating

complaints handling processes and associated theories and practices in consumer

behavioral research as regards online auction research, as implied by Nguten et al. (2016)

and Mathieu et al. (2017). Mixed methods would assist this endeavor in studying online

auction outcomes much closer.

Reflections

The results of this multiple case study were surprising because I did not anticipate

the outcomes of this research nor the role organizational learning played in achieving

success for an online auction business and the critical success factors for running such an

enterprise. Although many customers are now familiar with online auction platforms, the

mechanisms and procedures of these platforms are complex and generate many problems

for sellers and buyers alike. The industry is rapidly changing with the prospect of sellers

offering an increased amount of goods and services online. Innovation within

organizations is vital to surviving in this industry; the key to this is learning

organizations.

All participants had interviews in a similar manner to generate comparable output.

Also, I visited their operations various times and sought feedback on (intermediary)

results and conclusions. These member-checking activities were crucial for a complete

understanding and answering the research question. These meetings were useful to

observe their operations and mannerisms personally while conducting business. The

questions asked were fundamental in focusing the research effort. Only in this way,

175

reduction of my bias was the result from formulating conclusions and recommendations.

The original plan was to interview six participants for this multiple case study.

Conducting interviews with four participants and an analysis of the implications in

ATLAS.ti resulted in data saturation. Finding more participants was difficult because

many small organizations were reluctant to participate in this study. In this specific

business community, everyone knows each other. Many participants were afraid of the

implications of the results which would come out of this study.

I did not preconceive the extent to which a learning organization could have in

current small-scale operated mom-and-pop businesses. In these environments, online

auction vendors are heavily dependent on situational learning and are conducive to self-

efficacy of their founders. These vendors are not fully aware of the fact their future relies

on the capabilities to face an increasing amount of competition for small vendors but also

large-company participants on online auction platforms. These capabilities would

influence the way they can innovate, adapt, and survive in this exciting world of online

auctions on the Internet.

Conclusion

In this multiple case study, I observed the various strategies discovered which

managers of online vendors used, shaped the structure of their operations and

organization. This structuralist approach of planning and strategizing will not sustain a

long-term viable competitive positioning. For online auction vendors to stay competitive,

they require to build up those dynamic capabilities, and renew them, within their

organizations which make them sense and respond to a changing environment. This

176

environment is in flux because of changing customer demands and expectations,

behavioral changes of customers on online auction platforms, adjustment of policies and

applied technologies at eBay, and competitive forces in the marketplace.

The capabilities highly depended on the ability to apply knowledge for

organizational learning to happen which will change processes and routines that become

valuable over time. The essence of this multiple case study was to discover those

strategies managers vendors in online auction markets used to manage customer

complaints to improve customer satisfaction. The customer purview theme aligned tightly

to customer satisfaction. Adaptive and learning organizational strategies determined the

extent to which online vendors were successful in devising coping strategies which

contributed to formulating handling customer complaints. These strategies culminated in

specific tactics and solutions for each online vendor in dealing with size and price of

listings, (international) shipping, refunds, addressing eBay concerns, and fraudulent

attempts of customers to obtain goods.

Without having experience and going through experiential feedback loops and

leveraging their experience, managers of online auction vendors could not handle

complaints in different ways than people expect. They predominantly used adaptive

learning strategies and behavioral learning mechanisms to know what customers expect

and how to satisfy customers. Most of the times, they refunded the transaction because

customers had shipping problems or their orders did not conform to descriptions of orders

as listed on the auction website. Less experienced online vendors lacked the flexibility

and ingenuousness to solve problems and corrected errors in customer handling and

177

complaints using only in the single-loop mode of operations. For those vendors with

more than 10 years experience feedback mechanisms, and double-loop learning abilities

contributed to multiple solutions in customer handling, solving (shipping) problems, size,

and price of listings, and repositioning of the product portfolio on eBay but also other

online platforms. A lack of innovation typifies this industry with most vendors reacting to

complaints in standard ways than finding alternative solutions to handle complaints and

the efficacy of the auctions.

Online vendors were generally not able to practice double-loop learning to

generate and implement necessary improvement and changes to stand out in a very

competitive environment when trading on online platforms like eBay. Organizational

learning was a precursor for the level of required change to adapt business models and

operations and maintain a competitive advantage where the customer was the center of

operations. In this context, acquiring knowledge and the ability to refine mental mindsets

were essential to change organizations and make team members work together.

Concluding, the more experienced an online vendor was, the more eclectic and

effective these strategies were and the higher the level of absorptive capacity in the

organization was. Each vendor’s strategies were different and distinguishable from the

other. In the end, the strategies had one result in common, which was perfect feedback

ratings on the online auction website. Despite this assessment, double-loop learning

(DLL) abilities were the source of highly effective operations and unimitable value for

the online auction vendor and its customers. In the organizations where DLL occurred,

organizational inertia was not occurring because learned experience and lessons learned

178

remained in the organization. As such, the level of absorptive capacity was high.

Organizations were more stagnant, and management control was more visible in single-

loop learning oriented organizations.

Ultimately, all online vendors learned to design strategies for handling customer

complaints by being situated learners by discovering those tools and schemas as provided

by their social environment for problem-solving, prescribed explicitly by the online

auction platform itself. In this way, online auction vendors found a meaning and

significance of handling complaints strategies. The implication was only online auction

vendors who were well experienced did not follow the standard and formal rules of the

online auction platform due to DLL efforts and their acquired in-depth knowledge of the

online vendor auction industry, an industry where learning is more based on informal

learning practices. They excelled in demonstrating a high degree of self-efficacy based on

their motivation and beliefs which resulted in the acquisition of new stills and the

discovery of novel and innovative tasks to tackle a variety of problems rooted in adaptive

and situational learning abilities.

179

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Appendix A: Letter of Cooperation

Letter of Cooperation from a Research Partner Online Vendor Name xx, Los Angeles, CA yyyy xx March 2019 Dear Mr. Mousavi, Based on my review of your research proposal, I give permission for you to conduct the study entitled “Managing Customer Complaints at Online Auction Markets” within our company and its organization(s). I am giving you permission to contact any manager or person to be interviewed and obtain data (from them) for your studies. Furthermore, I am aware that your research will not consist of any program evaluation or are related to intervention studies. As part of this study, I authorize you to collect data and paper-based and electronic information, seek feedback from any persons you will interview, and provide any feedback to persons and interviewees involved within our organization. Any personnel will not supervise your research. Individuals’ participation will be voluntary and at their discretion. We understand that our organization’s responsibilities may consist of providing you access to our administrative offices and conference rooms. These facilities include interview rooms and our administration building to exchange information with our customer support personnel and meet up with our supervisors. However, we reserve the right to withdraw from the study at any time if our circumstances change. I understand that the student will not be naming our organization in the doctoral project report that is published in Proquest. I confirm that I am authorized to approve research in this setting and that this plan complies with the organization’s policies. I understand that the data collected will remain entirely confidential and may not be provided to anyone outside of the student’s supervising faculty/staff without permission from the Walden University IRB. Sincerely, Authorization Official c /o Online Vendor Name,

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Appendix B: Invitation Letter

Dear xxxx,

My name is Mohammad Mousavi, and I am a doctoral researcher at Walden

University.

I would like to invite you to participate in my case study research in the online

auction industry. The research is based on conducting interviews and collecting

additional information.

The background of this research is that companies spend much time trying to

resolve customer complaints. These complaints may affect sales that you as an online

vendor generate that may impact the profitability of your businesses. Complaints may

pertain to the delivery and quality of ordered goods appropriately, or dissatisfaction of

customers.

The purpose of my research is to explore effective strategies that managers of

vendors in online auction markets use to manage customer complaints to improve

customer satisfaction.

Participation in this study would only take a limited amount of your time (1-2

hours). Furthermore, the data that you would like to provide to me is made confidential,

and your company and person will be unrecognizable to others when the research study is

published. If you consent to be part of this research, you may retract your decision at any

time to contribute to these research efforts.

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I am happy to provide you with additional information on my research topic. I

will contact you during the next days personally. I look forward to receiving your

response.

With best regards,

Mohammad Mousavi

Walden University

+1 (xxx) yyy-zzzz

[email protected]

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Appendix C: Interview Protocol

I am applying the following Interview Protocol after Izard-Carroll (2016). An

Interview Protocol informs participants of the step-by-step order of events to take place

during the interview. While every effort will be made to follow the protocol as written,

unforeseen circumstances or developments during the interview may warrant altering the

protocol in some manner. If the questions are not answered, the researcher may ask if you

agree to a second interview to finish the questions, or follow-up on some of the questions

answered in the first interview.

Before the interview, the researcher will

• provide the participant with a copy of the interview protocol, consent

form, and interview questions and confirm each document was read and

understood;

• schedule time, place, and date with the interviewee; and

• answer preliminary concerns and questions of the participant.

During the interview, the researcher will

• obtain a signed consent form, if not already obtained in advance;

• confirm if the participant agrees to be recorded;

• remind the participant involvement is voluntary;

• remind the participant they may back out at any time;

• advise participant the researcher will take notes in a journal;

• remind participant responses are confidential;

• address any concerns regarding the consent form; and

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• ask the interview questions that were provided in advance.

After the interview, the researcher will

• thank the participant for taking part in the interview;

• transcribe the data and conduct a second interview for member checking

purposes;

• send the transcript to the participant for review;

• send a summary of themes identified in analysis and make updates based

on participant feedback (member checking);

• schedule a second interview for follow-up (if necessary);

• receive affirmation from the participant regarding the accuracy of the

transcription and accuracy of data interpretation (via e-mail or telephone);

• convert the paper documents to digital format;

• save the files to a thumb drive and lock in a safe for 5 years; and

• destroy the data after 5 years.

After publication, the researcher will

• send the participant a summary of the findings and an electronic copy of

the completed study if requested; and

• advise the participant of the publication.

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Appendix D: Interview Questions

The interview questions are:

1. How would you describe your experience from the start up to this date at

the eBay platform for conducting your business that relates to complaints

and customer satisfaction?

2. What type(s) of complaints do you receive most frequently?

3. What specific strategies or approaches have you used and were effective

to address these complaints?

4. On a typical day, what do you do to manage these complaints? Please

make sure you can recall specific details you did what, when, where, how,

for whom.

5. What do you intend to accomplish by managing these complaints?

6. How, if at all, are you changing your approaches and strategies to manage

customer complaints?

7. How have these complaints influenced your behavior dealing with eBay

and/or your customers?

8. How do you assess the effectiveness of your strategies for handling

customers’ complaints?

9. What other issues, subjects of interests, comments, or suggestions have we

not discussed regarding your strategies for complaint management?

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Appendix E: Agreement Document

CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

Name of Signer: Mohammad Mousavi, Walden University

During the course of my activity in collecting data for my research on “Managing

Customer Complaints at Online Auction Markets”, I will have access to information,

which is confidential and should not be disclosed. I acknowledge that the information

must remain confidential, and that improper disclosure of confidential information can be

damaging to the participant.

By signing this Confidentiality Agreement, I acknowledge and agree that:

• I will not disclose or discuss any confidential information with others,

including friends or family.

• I will not in any way divulge, copy, release, sell, loan, alter or destroy any

confidential information except as properly authorized.

• I will not discuss confidential information where others can overhear the

conversation. I understand that it is not acceptable to discuss confidential

information even if the participant’s name is not used.

• I will not make any unauthorized transmissions, inquiries, modification or

purging of confidential information.

• I agree that my obligations under this agreement will continue after the

termination of the job that I will perform.

• I understand that violation of this agreement will have legal implications.

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• I will only access or use systems or devices I am officially authorized to

access, and I will not demonstrate the operation or function of systems or

devices to unauthorized individuals.

Signing this document, I acknowledge that I have read the agreement and I agree

to comply with the terms and conditions stated above.

Signature: Date:

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Appendix F: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 1: Business Orientation

Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 1: Business Orientation Participant Quotations Code

Most sellers aren't professional, and so they see complaints as an emotional experience. [eBay’s] whole marketing and policies are pro-buyer, not pro-seller. The secret is accommodating customers describing everything properly. The buyer is always right. So eBay is a problem. You have to conform with eBay's management team and accommodate all your customers much more than you will have to in any other site. You are gonna have a lot more refunds on eBay than you do any other site, but that is part of your business model - that is my advice. Because they are seller, they are buyer oriented, and they are 25 years old. They do not know shit from anything they are reading a script; they just do not want complaining customers.

Business Model

There is a direct correlation of customer complaints to the revenue. Satisfied customer satisfaction is the bloodline of our companies. So I would say it is really very important because without them definitely the company is not gonna be here. I mean we were able to manage like customer complaints, that is why we were able to like maintain ever since we started. I think we have maintained a top rate of plus status. And we would only get that status if again.

Business Model

Just treat your customer the way you like to be treated. Just be transparent to the customer. What I am doing is you know give me a hundred percent not to lose that customer. I gain more customers because of the way I handle my customer; my customer likes how I know how I solve the problem.

Business Model

D1 Customer satisfaction is the bread and butter for our company. Capabilities of the business are first we are honest with our customers. Business Model

A1 At least 25 percent of the buyers want a refund and complain about non-receipts before it arrives. [eBay] just does not want complaining customers. Complaints

On a daily basis, it is going to be more of where the customer is expecting something a merchandise that's not really very reflective of like the pictures that they see on the listings. So complaints like you make amendments in your listings, and you make amendments on maybe your pictures. I mean, it is a process. [ …] Customers not receiving their items in a timely manner. Manage like customer complaints that's why we were able to like maintain ever since we started. I think we have maintained a top rate of plus status.

Complaints

Most of the time you know it's late shipment because they think that because we have two days processing time for the watches we have to put our watches to the winder for at least 36-48 hours because not all the customers reading the description they just basically buy the watch and then they think that they are going to get it two days after. [Customers] ‘re complaining about the shipping.

Complaints

So every day when you get complains, you learn how to deal with them. Another thing is [listings] did not match the description. So each customer you learn something from them. And then especially if it is like it is the really big complaint or big issue you have to learn that it does not happen again.

Complaints

B1 If [customers] complain that means it could either lead to like a return which is, of course, a loss on revenues. So yes there is a direct correlation of customer complaints to the revenue.

Business Results

C1 If you satisfy a customer for sure, they are going to go back, and for my company, I am not [for a] one time sale because I want to keep my customer you know just so for example word of mouth. They can tell it to their friends or relatives.

Business Results

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Participant Quotations Code

D1 When [customers] say that it does not matter description [of the listing] … it is going to affect your annual sales report. Customer satisfaction is the bread and butter of every e-commerce company.

Business Results

Once you go over the 20 dollar threshold of shipping fees, you are not going to sell that item going to be half the value of the item you are selling. If the item costs twenty-five dollars and it costs forty dollars to ship the damn thing the buyer is not going to buy it. [Managing these returns:] just return for a refund.

Shipping / Requirement

B1 Late shipment and all that customer defect customer complaints, you need to be on a certain bracket just to maintain that level [of customer satisfaction]. Shipping /

Requirement

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Appendix G: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 2: Customer Purview

Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 2: Customer Purview Participant Quotations Code

A1 It goes without saying keep the customer happy. The secret is accommodating customers describing everything properly. [eBay is ] buyer oriented. You avoid complaints by accommodating your customer

Customer Satisfaction

We can please everyone. So in terms of like maybe there are like those hard customers that you really cannot please. I mean you cannot do anything about it but in terms of like controllables at least. So once [buyers] received the item I mean the pictures we place everything we try to be transparent in the picture.

Customer Satisfaction

It is very important because if you satisfy a customer for sure, they are going to go back and for my company I am not one. So the customer is [ …] thinking that he will receive the package right away; so he … message[s] us you know a lot of passwords already, but I did, and you know I still message him back professionally [… ] right away […]. Basically, what I am doing with my customer is simple. I treat them the way I like to be treated. I do not' receive a lot of negative feedback.

Customer Satisfaction

D1 Customer satisfaction is the bread and butter for our company. Because if the customer does not get satisfied that they are going to return their merchandise back. Customer

Satisfaction

A1 [eBay] want[s] customers happy. They do not want customers to say, oh, do not buy on eBay. You cannot get your money back. Customer

Expectation

So I called the customer naturally. I mean she was upset she was you know very disappointed. But again that brought me back to like offering an option to her. It is you know we give them options like if they find item too small we offer them like something like a bigger watch to address their concerns. So we call the customer again as I said we offer either option that we have. I mean if you do not satisfy your customers most likely they are gonna go to the competitors. I mean it falls through it or expectation, or it is not what they were expecting so especially again it is only like like you know words and pictures. If they see it in like actual I mean it is not something they were expecting at all. On a daily basis, it is going to be more of where the customer is expecting something a merchandise that's not really very reflective of like the pictures that they see on the listings.

Customer Expectation

C1 Just be transparent to the customer. It is being honest, especially in this industry. But if I ship the item already, so they can track their [watch] you know they can check their watches.

Customer Expectation

Capabilities of the business are first; we are honest with our customers. Then [customers] 're going to send it back to us, and then we check everything A to Z and then [we] talk […] to the customer[s]. Once you are honest with a customer they would feel your sincerity at the same time, they would you would gain their trust; I mean even if you like there is something wrong.

Customer Expectation

232

Appendix H: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 3: Complaints Handling

Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 3: Complaints Handling Participant Quotations Code

I just raised the price, and I am more thorough about tracking. That is what I; that is how I react; the buyer is always right; I am sorry about this; I am sorry about that - What can you do; that is what I do; well you want to be a pain in the ass: Here is your refund. So you get a raise at the price of that item by 14 percent or 10 percent; if you then list it on eBay and then you lower the price on elsewhere where you do not have to pay those fees but list and go everywhere. [eBay] just do not want complaining customers. All those tools that I mentioned that is being pro-buyer, you know your policies. That means no complaints, refund: Everything You Always refund before you have to refund - You will never have complaints from customers. If they had a lot of complaints about a certain item, drop them for 6 months and then reintroduce them. {To the customer:] Just send it back and get your refund when it arrives. At least 25 percent of the buyers want a refund. At the end of eight days, if the customer has not received that the customer gets a refund. Just return for a refund. Just change it to half the price or do not sell it; [When receiving too much complaints,] just change it to half the price or do not sell it. You sell something else and then even then after a three month or four months your statistics [at eBay] look good. Here is your refund: […] bye bye [to the customer when complaing]; Next. That is what I do. I do not dwell on this stuff. If [sellers] ‘re restricted by eBay for noncompliance compliance, they quickly remove their account reenter their item in another email address and continue business. If a customer wants a refund after two weeks and he is in Spain, it is going to take three or four weeks to get there first class mail or Brazil.

Solution

It is you know we give them options like if they find item too small we offer them like something like a bigger watch to address their concerns. So it is mainly giving options through them. As much as possible […] you are just making really sure that you give them solutions as opposed to like you like fighting fire with fire.

Solution

So if I think that you know for example he is a man and then you know I know he is mad, already I would ask my co-worker, a lady co-worker, to call them. So what I did is you know social media, and then they can follow that. I can post it. But if I ship the item already so they can track their you know, they can check their watches. Nowadays, social media is very important.

Solution

D1 [When there is a complaint on a matching description of a listing,] we tried to explain to the customer that [ … ] whatever that we listed that is exactly the item that we sent it.

Solution

[eBay] wants the mass population saying it is great on eBay: you get your money and I got my refund. I am going on the Internet because of the statistics that eBay presents; see most sellers do not think long long term. I raised the price by the way [on a listing on eBau]. By the way, you should not send anything to certain countries first class it will not get there like South America. Forget about returns, forget about restricting returns because [customers] 're paying to PayPal and a credit card always is pro-buyer, and they will always return that money and reverse some money on that card; so you avoid complaints by accommodating your customer. So here is another problem after you master all that, big problem: If you sell anything between one dollar and fifty dollars, more and more buyers are international, more and more 5 percent now up to almost half of what you sell goes overseas. If it is one item and a lot of complaints, I drop it from listing or change the images or change a price to [a] description. Just change it to half the price or do not sell it. I found out that you ship for 13 dollars because all my art and jewelry

Tactics

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Participant Quotations Code items are small and fit in a six by seven padded envelope. Once you go over the 20 dollar threshold of shipping fees, you are not going to sell that item going to be half the value of the item you are selling.

Since we have their contact information and we make sure that we contact them like at the most available time we address it immediately. I mean there is like a sense of urgency into it. So we call the customer again as I said we offer either option that we have. But ... I mean the last resort being, of course, having them refunded for the item. But yeah I mean it is just a matter of like giving them options. We try to be very transparent in the listings and all that try to capture all like like the pictures. We do minimal editing and all that just to make sure that of course, those things are not going to happen. It is a strategy as well in a way. Like when you make changes in a listing when you make changes on pictures because I mean online sales that's about it it is just like you know your listings and a picture. That is it. That speaks to the customer.

Tactics

C1 For example, the watch, especially our watches the selling is pretty on the watch, so I usually tell them on the condition of the bad it is not you know it is 80% or something. Just be honest. It is being honest, especially in this industry.

Tactics

D1 I can think of because once you are honest with a customer, they would feel your sincerity at the same time they would you would gain their trust. So I think that is what we are doing that is like our best strategy: to be honest with our customer.

Tactics

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Appendix I: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 4: Coping Strategies.

Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 4: Coping Strategies Participant Quotations Code

You would not have twenty-five hundred other listings current on that Buckle. Why are you throwing me off and maintaining all these other listings so the same exact merchandise? You know what their answer was: we have to have a complaint about our listings before we can react on it. So each of those 2500 listings would have to have four or five or six complaints in a certain time window in order for them to respond. It depends on the circumstances that the complaint; if it is a volume of complaints and it is a different complaint of each one you know ... I am always changing; I am very flexible and not personally involved. So most of the stuff I have were sold was sold by a relay Rolex authorized relay authorized Rolex retail store before [eBay managers] were born; so they do not have any idea what whether it is authentic or not. [These managers] have no clue about what happened in the 70s and they have no clue. Have to live with this level of ignorance all the time.

Feedback Learning

Loops

Something that could be replicated [… ] like the big inventory that we have […] that caters to like every type of customer […] other companies are replicating that because we see them listing the same items … I shared with either my colleagues here they would give feedback I would give feedback. As I have said, it is like we have an open door policy here. I mean we have shared best practices just to make sure that each one would replicate those best practices as well. I mean it is a form of like continuous improvement. So complaints like you make amendments in your listings, and you make amendments on maybe your pictures. I mean, it is a process.

Feedback Learning

Loops

I guess there are changes that are going to be made especially if we see it like a trend on a particular defect or a particular customer complaint and we do some tweaks, or we do some adjustments just to make sure that we could address those complaints or defects. I just opened the store probably October, but I have 90 positive feedback right now. And then my, I am a top seller right now too.

Feedback Learning

Loops

Yes, ... yes [we have changed the direction of our business]. It is like we tried to look for other merchandise that we have that other people do not have. And we tried to change the [ … ] handling time to two days to one day handling time and then but mostly we tried […] to look for things that other sellers do not have. And of course, the prices to rise has to be competitive. So each customer you learn something from them. And then especially if it is like it is the really big complaint or big issue you have to learn that it does not happen again. If you get it every day yet, then you learn how to deal with different people the way that you talk. You will realize that what are the correct words that you have to use for the customer because each customer is different. So every day when you get complains, you learn how to deal with them. Now we are more careful we look at everything we make sure that everything is okay. A to Z we always check winding the watch. Yes, we did a lot of revisions already from the time that I started working.

Feedback Learning

Loops

You would not have 2500 other listings current on that Buckle. Why are you throwing me off and maintaining all these other listings so the same exact merchandise? You know what their answer was: we have to have a complaint about our listings before we can react to it. So each of those 2500 listings would have to have four or five or six complaints in a certain time window in order for them to respond. Duh? That makes them ... Now you know how their restrictions work.[…] So what did I do. This happened to me twice. I brought to their attention they said well maybe you should go list them, so I listed them and then the same thing and Oh you relisted them, and we told you not to. Well, you told me I could relist him. Oh, we do not. I am sorry. You go to a Rolex dealer and have him. Something I am

Experiential Learning

235

Participant Quotations Code doing is wrong with my listing very wrong. […] If [eBay] 's taken advantage of that one listing I am less I am not listing it properly; it is not eBay. Sellers have to be articulate about that [… not ] argumentative [but], factual. You know that is what sellers do not do they complain, and they do not go anywhere they do not reinvent themselves and do anything. You see, most sellers are not professional, and so they see complaints as an emotional experience. I am going on the Internet because of the statistics that eBay presents, see most sellers do not think long term, and they do not think like a business model of high volume business. That inexperienced seller scratches his head and go "where you want to do" is an idiot. If it is one item that's causing all these complaints or a feud and I pull them.

B1 I mean historically speaking I mean that is like at least the majority of the complaints that we are getting. Experiential

Learning

Every complaint you learn something you know, and it is different. Different type of people you know, especially on eBay. What I am doing is I took on this ... I tried to educate my customer. Just treat your customer the way you like to be treated. Just be transparent to the customer. Just be honest. It is being honest, especially in this industry. Basically, what I am doing with my customer is simple. I treat them the way I like to be treated. That is a compliment too. So that is it.

Experiential Learning

Yes, sometimes I talk to other owners and ask them. I have this situation. Have you experienced this? And sometimes they say that I experienced the same situation before. This is what you can do this and that. If we are having an issue with one customer, we tried. I always ask him what are we going to do. What is your suggestion? What is the best strategy? What can we do to fix this? Yes, yes, definitely. Always try to talk to other people for their opinion.... .

Experiential Learning

I had 70 listings of a strap and a buckle a logo buckle on the strap. A1 [00:18:25] Variations, and that is 660 listings. Now there are twenty-five hundred listings on eBay twenty-five hundred. But each listing looks like shit. The images look like shit. The bands they put on it looked like shit. You know, and I have these beautiful images and reasonable prices. I saw the band with a buckle board associated with the model Rolex model, and they sell. So I said I have 1 percent of the listing to 30 percent of the business on Logo buckles on eBay. I would stay with the same email address, so my credibility is way up there. All you have to be a little careful. But that is not a complaint of mine that's an expectation of eBay's buyers. Never be argumentative. They just watch the facts here it is and here is your money. That is it. That is how you handle customers. If you do that you are not going to have a problem with eBay. And make sure your listing describes the item well, and you are very clear about your policies. Forget about return; forget about restricting returns. After you master all that, big problem: If you sell anything between $1.50 more and more and more buyers are international, more and more 5 % now up to almost half of what you sell goes overseas.

Lessons Learned

Now, why am I know it all? Well, I am an old guy […] I have been on eBay since 1998. I have sold 9500 vintage watches sales. I have been screwed. Blue tattooed. I have been restricted and pulled off, and I never changed my email address for 20 years. Holy shit, [… I have got] more credibility than that damn crook and [my] jewelry store has been here 20 years. So you provide all the facts [eBay] need[s] so that each case they are informed and that neither the seller or the buyer is taken advantage of. More often than not on shipping a nonreceipt, it is the transit authority that's causing a problem. They have to be more willing to refund on eBay then you do other sites. If you are not, you are not going to do well on eBay. So eBay has its weaknesses, an immature script... You have to be logical about the complaints that the complaints are about a certain object and a certain aspect of the object you look at that. I am always accommodating the seller. I have an idea of what something is

Experience

236

Participant Quotations Code and what it should be. I do not dwell on this stuff; have to live with this level of ignorance all the time.

I had is really like in terms of like product training but in terms of like you know customer dealings I mean I happened to work with like the customer service industry for more than 13 years which I think helped me like handling you know customer satisfaction in this company. I have been in the company for more than 2 years.

Experience

C1 learned my oh my experience from my past. [Experience is …] probably 5 to 6 years ... [in] watches and jewelry. You know it is not from eBay, or you know because I used to work in a jewelry company.

Experience

D1 I have been doing eBay for like when they started I started 2016 so […] 3 years experience at eBay. I got into this business 3 years ago. Experience

But once yes once a complaint is registered because anonymously your funds are being held one hundred percent of the time so on the face of it 80 percent of the listers on eBay complain about refunds on shipping, but they should complain about their own incompetence and not following through on tracking and providing information to eBay. [eBay’s] Scripted management team: you have to be very careful with and and and conform to the rules and regulations. I am sure none of your sellers introduce [investigating complaints] as a problem. I am sure none of them do. So without boring you on how to sell on eBay and how to list it and everything everybody knows that. So eBay is pro-buyer you just have to remember that so everybody gets a positive feedback. Aall [eBay] employees are trained to smile at these morons [sellers]. You just smile at them and give them money back. Customers complain by item only, by listing; that question is germane to a listing, a specific one out of one hundred and sixty listings. You always do that. But the real proof of whether it is whether that price is right, descriptions right. And if the item is should be up there at all is the customer reaction. So I look at the customer reaction to tell me what to sell. So you make sure that listing is, uh, specific specifically changed to. Conform with. You must do that. You always do that in any business.

Experience Feedback

B1 I shared with either my colleagues here they would give feedback I would give feedback. As I have said, it is like we have an open door policy here. Experience Feedback

Nowadays, social media is very important. So if I ask them only if you can give me good feedback on it. And then you know I get another customer from that customer. So basically what I change is you know the feature of the watches. For the example of the bridge's one watch. They know exactly what they are getting, so it is less complaint. I do not receive a lot of negative feedback.

Experience Feedback

If they complain about certain things and then we can offer something different like for example if they say that oh the watch does not match the description and then we say that oh we can take the watch back and we can double check it to make sure it measures the description and then we're going to send that return shipping label at the customer, and then they're going to send it back to us, and then we check everything A to Z and then talk […] to the customer. We always tried to be honest with our customers that we all. We do not like it because it is gonna backfire to us if we say that something is if we say that this is original and it is not original that is going to backfire for us. So I think that is what we are doing that is like our best strategy, to be honest with our customer.

Experience Feedback

237

Appendix J: Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 5: Learning Abilities

Selected Quotations Organized by Code for Theme 5: Learning Abilities Participant Quotations Code

Pull them off eBay and restrict me. Please do not sell reproductions; only they are not reproductions. If they were. You would not have 2500 other listings current on that Buckle. Why are you throwing me off and maintaining all these other listings so the same exact merchandise? You know what their answer was: we have to have a complaint about our listings before we can react to it. A smooth running buy and sell agenda. So what did I do? This happened to me twice. I brought to their attention they said well maybe you should go list them, so I listed them and then the same thing and Oh you relisted them, and we told you not to. Well, you told me I could relist him. Oh, we do not. I am sorry. You go to a Rolex dealer and have him authenticate. You have to be professional, know whom you are doing business with [, with eBay]. Now why am I know it all: […] I have sold 9500 vintage watches sales. [eBay knows] he has stuff looks so professional, so complaints about what I have let us say. Oh, that is a reproduction buckle. It is no good. He should not sell on eBay or whatever. And they get 5, 6, 8 complaints. So, the 22- year-old [at eBay] looks at complaints about me. I had 70 listings of a strap and a buckle a logo buckle on the strap. Variations and that is 660 listings. Now there are 2500 listings on eBay. But each listing looks like shit. The images look like shit. The bands they put on it looked like shit. You know, and I have these beautiful images and reasonable prices. I saw the band with a buckle board associated with the model Rolex model, and they sell. So I said I have 1 percent of the listing to 30 percent of the business on Logo buckles on eBay. You know I go to a Rolex dealer. They have not sold this merchandise that I have for 30 years. Most of the dealers, uh clerks are 30 years old. So most of the stuff I have were sold was sold by a relay Rolex authorized relay authorized Rolex retail store before they were born. But that is part of doing business on eBay. Sellers will not take the time. All they want to do is act like a housewife. I do not like this, like a moron. No. If I if I lose and I refund the money, and that happens too much on an item either drop the item off eBay or change a price or do something. It is partially my fault.

Adaptive Learning

Every complaint you learn something you know, and it is different. Different type of people you know, especially on eBay. Some people there is friend money. For example, two thousand dollars but they are expecting a new watch for that amount. But some people they know that if they purchase that you know a low that that low. They are not expecting you know like a brand new watch. So what. What I am doing is I took on this ... tried to educate my customer. You know this is a vintage watch and that .. This is not a you know it is a vintage watch that close to a collector's item. So they know that. Oh, it is gonna benefit me later on because even though I purchased this watch and then the look is not that you know not that good, but it is a collector's item.

Adaptive Learning

But what we do is we try to be more accurate. We try to be more like we make sure that we double check everything from our end because whatever that is on the picture that is exactly what we want to sell. So we adjust from our end not that we change the company policy to the customers or anything like that from our end, we try to be more careful and to be more specific.

Adaptive Learning

You know that is what sellers do not do: they complain, and they do not go anywhere, they do not reinvent themselves and do anything; they just like a housewife. I have been screwed. Blue tattooed. Customers will just not read comprehend they might be in a foreign language or might simply have a sub temperature IQ or they just read too fast or too busy they do not understand and

Behavioral Learning

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Participant Quotations Code they misinterpret the description so they order it and it is not what they want it. I will be happy to refund him once he picks it up or if the postal authorities return it and I receive it then I will refund. [Mostly a] lister being an ignorant moron complaints…. you do not know how to do business what you do is you never leave a nasty message.

[Concerning strategies for complaint management:] …I mean as a cliche we can please everyone. So in terms of like maybe there are like those hard customers that you really cannot please. I mean you cannot do anything about it but in terms of like controllables at least. Those are the things that we could do on our end. Again those options and all that but sometimes at the end of the day, you really cannot please everyone. […] in terms of like you know customer dealings I mean I happened to work with like the customer service industry for more than 13 years which I think helped me like handling you know customer satisfaction in this company so in terms of like immersion or training I guess I had like a 13 year solid experience like in doing customer satisfaction.

Behavioral Learning

[Changing your direction of your business:] Yes, ... yes... it is like we tried to look for other merchandise that we have that other people do not have. And we tried to change the handling time to two days to one day handling time and then but mostly we tried to look for things that other sellers do not have. And of course, the prices to rise has to be competitive.

Behavioral Learning

Now, why am I know it all…. Well, I am an old guy. I have been on eBay since 1998. I have sold 9500 vintage watches sales. It depends on the circumstances that the complaint; if it is a volume of complaints and it is a different complain of each one you know ... I am always changing; I am very flexible and not personally involved. I am doing plenty of business on the items that Rolex restricted and did not restrict on all their other sellers the same item same merchandise same stuff. But the real proof of whether it is whether that price is right, descriptions right. And if the item is should be up there at all is the customer reaction. So I look at the customer reaction to tell me what to sell; … You see most sellers are not professional and so they see complaints as an emotional experience like. Like again that housewife. I would stay with the same email address, so my credibility is way up there.

Proactive Learning

I shared with either my colleagues here they would give feedback I would give feedback. As I have said, it is like we have an open door policy here. I mean we have shared best practices just to make sure that each one would replicate those best practices as well. We like to do brainstorming as a team so we could like make address this and we even involve of course the owner if that is needed.

Collaborative Learning

I am working with the other sellers too on eBay. So I asked for [another person’s] idea to know how to solve it. You know how they handle you know that because the eBay has a different kind of customer you know. […] I would ask my co- worker a lady co-worker to call them.

Collaborative Learning

Yes, sometimes I talk to other owners and ask them. I have this situation. Have you experienced this? And sometimes they say that I experienced the same situation before. This is what you can do this and that. Yes. I talked to other sellers…. Like for example if we are having an issue with one customer we tried. I always ask [my colleague] what are we going to do. What is your suggestion? What is the best strategy? What can we do to fix this? Yes, yes, definitely. Always try to talk to other people for their opinion...

Collaborative Learning

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Week 3 Discussion 1 (Due 1 day))/Week 3 Discussion 1 Open Exchange (Required Question).docx

100% Plagiarism Free work (3 to 4 Pages) & maximum 5 year old resources

My Notes: (Plz read all notes carefully before start work, see sample example of past student work book pdf page number 14 to 36)

Please see the sample Example pdf page 13 to 36 on the attached. You can provide me 3 to 4 pages every week so my professor can review it & provide feedback.

We will start with Double-Loop Learning as you can see in the example attached

My PHD study topic: Strategies to Manage Customer Complaints

Research Question (We hv already done in past)

What strategies do leaders of pharmaceutical companies use to handle customer complaints?

Please all the resources must be peer reviewed and recent (within 5 years old) & related my topic Strategies to Manage Customer Complaints

MY Note: Write assignment must be on my study topic & research question (Strategies to Manage Customer Complaints) & apply Double-Loop Learning concept/theory

Course DDBA 8100/8101 Doctoral Study Mentoring

Discussion 1: Open Exchange

This Discussion provides you with the flexibility to openly communicate and share ideas with your Doctoral Study Chair and colleagues. The topics for each week are established by your Instructor and identified on the Doctoral Study Rubric. These components include:

1. S1 – Review of the Professional and Academic Literature

Section 1 Foundation of the Study (FOR PROPOSAL & DBA DOCTORAL STUDY DOCUMENTS) Quality Indicators	Type Met, Not Met, or N/A in Each Cell
(1.14) Review of the Professional and Academic Literature 28
A. Literature Review Opening Narrative
i. Contains a brief discussion of the content of the literature that includes a critical analysis and synthesis of various sources/content of the literature (journals, reports, and scholarly seminal books, etc.) to convince readers of depth of inquiry.
ii. Explains the organization of the review.
iii.Explains the strategy for searching the literature.
iv. The majority of references should be from peer-reviewed sources. (Suggested 85% of the total sources should be peer-reviewed.)
v. The majority of references should be current. (As you consider your references, it is recommended that 85% should be within the past 5 years).
B. Application to the Applied Business Problem
i. Introduces the purpose of the study.
ii. Identifies hypotheses if a quantitative/mixed method study.
iii.Contains a critical analysis and synthesis of literature pertaining to the theoretical/conceptual framework the student identified in item #1.10, Theoretical/Conceptual Framework, above29. The student includes a critical analysis with supporting and contrasting theories/conceptual models for the theory in the theoretical/conceptual framework.

1.1 Review of the Professional and Academic Literature

The literature review content needs to be a comprehensive and critical analysis and synthesis of the literature related to the theory and/or conceptual model from the Theoretical/Conceptual Framework as well as the existing body of knowledge regarding the research topic. What a literature review should not be is an amalgamation of essays on the topic. The approach to this heading may vary by authors’ specific purpose. For example, if your study is to be grounded in the transformational leadership theoretical or conceptual framework, you will be examining or exploring your phenomenon through a leadership lens. You want to report on extant research that was grounded in the transformational leadership theoretical/conceptual framework. You would want to report on the literature that is as close to your topic/phenomenon as possible. In addition, if you are conducting a quantitative study, you need to include the literature for any other key variables. A basic outline is presented at Appendix A.50

Critical analysis and synthesis of the relevant literature will be an important element of the literature review. The review of the literature is not to be a regurgitation of what you have read. It is also not to teach about a topic; rather, it is to show your mastery of the previous and recent research on your topic and provide a comprehensive up-to-date literature review on your topic. Start with an introductory heading and then report the literature. This should be an exhaustive review of the literature using the chosen theoretical/conceptual framework and consist of the key and recent writings in the field. Repeat this approach if there are any additional theories. In addition, in quantitative studies, there must be a critical analysis and synthesis for each variable.

There are three questions that students typically ask about the literature review: (a) length, (b) organizational structure, and (c) content. The length will depend upon the theoretical foundation related to the topic and scholarly studies related to the theory. Typically, for a doctoral study, a literature review will average 35-40 pages. However, demonstrating a rich and

My Notes:

This is really confusing assignment & I can’t understand how to write Review of the Professional and Academic Literature on my study topic (Strategies to Manage Customer Complaints). So I hv attached sample example of past student (Page 13 to 36) & apply Double-Loop Learning concept.

I’ll need 20-30 pages on literature review so u will give me 3-4 pages every week on same topic.