Chapter 7 Interaction: Coherence to a Future

Abstract

While interaction occurs in the on-going present, the purpose is always about creating a future for each of the participants in the relationship. Based on the authors’ presentation at the International Colloquium in Relationship Marketing at Leipzig, Germany, in September 2006, this chapter presents a model of interaction within business and customer relationships that relies upon time and cognition to explain the formation of relationships (or atmosphere) through interactive cognitive processes. This model allows an analysis of the ways the future is shaped in different types of business and customer relationships, depending on the relative ability of the parties to have an effect on the future. The analysis shows how firms and customers work to slow down or speed up change. The final section of the chapter addresses the research implications.

Citation

Medlin, C.J. and Saren, M. (2012), "Chapter 7 Interaction: Coherence to a Future", Glynn, M.S. and Woodside, A.G. (Ed.) Business-to-Business Marketing Management: Strategies, Cases, and Solutions (Advances in Business Marketing and Purchasing, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 175-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1069-0964(2012)0000018012