The Power of Fit in E-Commerce Platforms: Aligning Customer Service Orientation and Internal Service Quality

This study explains repeat purchase intentions on e-commerce platforms as a problem of fit between what the interface signals (Customer Service Orientation, CSO) and what the system delivers (Internal Service Quality, ISQ). Using survey data from Chinese platform users (N = 605), second-order polynomial models with response-surface analysis (RSA) show that repurchase intention rises when CSO and ISQ increase together, exhibits diminishing returns at high joint levels, and declines as the two diverge. A structural equation model (SEM) provides cross-sectional evidence consistent with mediation via pride in membership; when CSO and ISQ are modeled jointly with pride, CSO shows the larger direct association with repurchase. We also find that trust and security awareness initiatives act as a structural assurance that flattens the CSO–ISQ surface, attenuating both slopes and curvatures. Taken together, the results advance a fit-based account of digital service in which outcomes depend on the alignment of interface signals with executional capability and operate through identity-based pride, with platform-level assurances bounding marginal returns. Managerially, the findings imply prioritizing the closure of CSO–ISQ gaps and reducing execution variance before pursuing further single-dimension upgrades.