Analysis of the Effect of Green Supply Chain on Customer Retention, Focusing on IT Resources and the Omnichannel Sales

EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Introduction: Organizations seek to set up effective customer relationship management strategies so that by using information technology and relying on artificial intelligence, they can provide services based on personal and appropriate experiences of their consumers, so as a result, the goal of profitability and long-term customer loyalty and maintaining long-term sustainability is provided. Paying attention to today's social contexts and also creating the possibility of customer communication with the organization through omnichannel while maintaining the quality of services can improve the brand image.
In recent decades, due to the limitation of natural and environmental resources, as well as the importance of social flows, the attention of the stakeholders and especially the customers of the organizations to environmental issues has increased, and as a result, the concept of green management in organizations is becoming a standard basis. Therefore, the increasing public concern for environmental and social issues has continuously forced companies to implement supply chain management approaches such as green procurement, green product design and waste recycling, participation in relevant social affairs and compliance with ethical principles. For this reason, researchers have mainly focused on how to direct and influence the external pressures of supply chain management. One of the influential issues in this regard is the use of information technology capabilities and the creation of an electronic supply chain. Many researchers have found that firm-specific resources, for example, IT resources, provide a flexible and effective foundation for facilitating the successful implementation of green innovations. However, less attention has been paid to how companies can enhance green HRM by making better use of internal resources or capabilities, or by adopting an omnichannel approach and relying on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, information and services alike. depending on the specific conditions of each customer. For this reason, the current study seeks to investigate the effect of information technology capabilities on green supply chain management and the approach of omnichannel in order to determine what effect these structures have on customer satisfaction and its retention rate; And this indicates the innovation of the present study and the necessity of its advancement.
Methodology: From the point of view of data collection, it should be said that the present study is of the survey-documentary type and the data collection tool is a questionnaire. The required statistical sample was selected from managers and information technology experts in the field of food industry in companies such as Ofogh Korosh. The size of the sample was determined according to the number of items in the questionnaire and sampling was done by simple random method. Since about 38 items are used in the questionnaire, 250 questionnaires were distributed, and finally, 198 completed questionnaires were collected. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by obtaining opinions from university professors and Cronbach's alpha was determined to check the reliability of the questionnaire.
Results and Discussion: It should be said that information technology infrastructure resources generally have an effect on the implementation of the integrated channel approach, and on the other hand, the omnichannel can have a positive effect on the implementation of the green supply chain and customer satisfaction, so that ultimately, the probability of customer retention increases as a result. The results obtained from the present study show that with the help of formulating appropriate strategies in the approach of omnichannel. it is possible to help green the supply chain and increase customer satisfaction. Because the findings of this study show that omnichannel increases consumers' intention to buy green, and there is an important mediating role in reducing brand skepticism and increasing the consumer's sense of psychological ownership, which ultimately helps to keep the customer and increase his satisfaction.
Conclusion: The implementation of green electronic supply chain seeks to innovate with the help of information technology and uses information technology to incorporate environmental and social considerations in supply chain processes and meet environmental and community protection requirements. Customer satisfaction is defined as the skill of making customers happy by paying attention to them and responding to their demands, and when customers receive services or products according to their perceived expectations, their satisfaction and loyalty increase. Decision makers are advised to pay attention to the explanation of the meaning of customers in the FMCG industry. When a brand consistently delivers on its promises and meets or exceeds customer expectations, it can foster a sense of loyalty and attachment among its customers. Building brand loyalty requires a continuous effort to meet or exceed customer expectations, communicate effectively with customers, and create an emotional connection with the brand. Brand loyalty can be influenced by various factors. These factors include product quality, customer service, marketing and advertising, social responsibility and overall brand image. For this reason, it is appropriate to use the efficiency of machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to analyze the repeat of purchase pattern of customers more accurately and effectively, in a way that takes into account all variables, and to classify customers. In this way, it is possible to plan for each section of customers separately and provide personalized services. Future researchers should also consider the effect of customer governance in supply chain management and sustainability in order to explain the role of the concept of psychological ownership on customer retention. Due to the limited resources available to the researchers of the current study, the current investigation has only been carried out in the FMCG industry. It is recommended that future researchers conduct a similar study in other industries such as the automotive industry.