Authors: Dr. K. Rukmani, Dr. B. Vasuki, Dr. S. Ruby Grace
Abstract: The rapid growth of digital commerce in India has been accompanied by a rising volume of consumer disputes relating to refunds, delivery failures, defective products, and billing errors. How these disputes are resolved shapes consumer confidence in online markets. This study examines the effect of six dimensions of dispute resolution — Accessibility of Grievance Channels, Timeliness of Resolution, Procedural Fairness, Outcome Fairness, Interactional Fairness, and Awareness of Legal Remedies — on Consumer Satisfaction with Dispute Resolution, and compares satisfaction across the resolution channels consumers use. A descriptive research design was adopted, and primary data were collected from 400 online consumers in the Chennai Metropolitan Area who had experienced at least one dispute with a digital commerce platform in the previous twelve months, using a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and stratified random sampling. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and one-way ANOVA. All six dimensions significantly and positively predicted satisfaction, with Outcome Fairness (β = 0.247) and Procedural Fairness (β = 0.189) emerging as the strongest predictors; the model explained 65.9% of the variance in satisfaction. Satisfaction differed significantly across resolution channels, with payment-provider chargebacks rated highest and consumer commission proceedings rated lowest. The findings offer implications for platform grievance design and consumer protection policy.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23334639
