This study aims to provide valuable insights into consumer preferences for delivery services in online shopping in Chile. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the evolution of delivery and logistics services, leading to increased competition among online stores. Chile, with its highly digitally enabled population and a competitive landscape of online retailers, serves as an ideal reference case for Latin America. By analyzing key delivery attributes such as delivery time, order arrival time range, compensation policies for delivery delays, and delivery prices, we offer valuable insights into consumer behavior. These insights will, in turn, inform the formulation of effective strategies within the online shopping industry. We examine the following aspects: (a) The willingness of consumers to pay for the service attributes; (b) The relative importance assigned to these attributes by consumers; and (c) The relationship between consumer preferences and socioeconomic characteristics. Using Multinomial Logit Models and a database from a Discrete Choice Experiment, we have discovered that the most significant attributes of delivery service are the time until product arrival and the existence of compensation in case of delivery delays. Additionally, we found that consumers are willing to pay more for the same delivery service if the product is large, as large products generally have higher prices. Furthermore, we observed that delivery time preferences vary by gender and for small products, and price sensitivity varies according to educational level, household size, and socioeconomic status. To the best of our knowledge, no previous research of this kind has been conducted for Chile.

Using the well-known strategy in which parameters are linked to the sampling distribution via an identification analysis, we offer an interpretation of the item parameters in the one-parameter logistic with guessing model (1PL-G) and the nested Rasch model. The interpretations are based on measures of informativeness that are defined in terms of odds of correctly answering the items. It is shown that the interpretation of what is called the difficulty parameter in the random-effects 1PL-G model differs from that of the item parameter in a random-effects Rasch model. It is also shown that the traditional interpretation of the guessing parameter in the 1PL-G model changes, depending on whether fixed-effects or random-effects versions of both models are considered.

This research presents the Strategic Change Management index, an indicator measuring the level of maturity of organizations to address processes of organizational change. At present, there is no other available indicator that fulfills this function. The index is built using the information provided from an instrument (questionnaire) specially created for this purpose. The instrument was applied to a sample of 151 companies, mostly Chilean. Studies about reliability (Cronbach’s α, hierarchical ω coefficients, among others), and instrument validity (second-order confirmatory factor analysis and retrospective validity) are presented. These studies show that the instrument has good psychometric properties. The results show that the degree of maturity of the companies comprising the sample to face change processes is low: 87% of the companies have a basic, initial, or amateur level of maturity; 13% have a professional level; and only one company had an expert level. More validity studies are required. However, the absence of a similar available instrument restrains the realization of more in-depth validity studies at this time.