Effects of suppliers’ marketing program variables on industrial buyers’ relationship satisfaction and commitment
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 1 December 2002
Abstract
Relationship satisfaction and commitment are two key constructs in the evolving paradigm of relationship marketing in business‐to‐business markets, and a substantial and growing literature exists on their antecedents and consequences, especially within the context of supplier‐retailer relationships. However, relatively little research has examined these constructs within the context of supplier‐manufacturing firm relationships in general, and foreign supplier‐manufacturing firm relationships in particular. Even fewer studies have examined the effects of suppliers’ marketing program variables on relationship satisfaction and commitment in such contexts. The author examines how foreign suppliers’ marketing program variables affect Saudi industrial buyers’ satisfaction and commitment to long‐term relationships with the suppliers. Results of a survey conducted among buyers for manufacturing establishments in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia indicate that only the product and price‐related variables of foreign suppliers’ marketing program variables are significantly related to the buyers’ relationship satisfaction and commitment. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are outlined and discussed.
Keywords
Citation
Abdul‐Muhmin, A.G. (2002), "Effects of suppliers’ marketing program variables on industrial buyers’ relationship satisfaction and commitment", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 17 No. 7, pp. 637-651. https://doi.org/10.1108/08858620210451136
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited