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1 – 10 of over 111000Daniel Padgett, Christopher D. Hopkins and Colin B. Gabler
This paper aims to investigate the interrelated role of relational commitment and dependence as drivers of key performance outcomes. Specifically, the authors provide a conceptual…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the interrelated role of relational commitment and dependence as drivers of key performance outcomes. Specifically, the authors provide a conceptual model of the impact of commitment on relationship value dependence and switching cost dependence. The authors further investigate how these dimensions of dependence offer differing noneconomic and economic paths to strategic and financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data was collected from 296 purchasing agents across multiple industries located in the USA. The conceptual model and accompanying hypotheses were tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results show that the relational path is driven by affective and normative commitment, which are related to relationship value dependence. Conversely, calculative commitment is related to switching cost dependence. This economic path is related to both strategic and financial performance, whereas the relational path is more closely related to strategic as opposed to financial performance outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends research on Business-To-Business (B2B) relationships by leveraging social exchange theory to examine the interrelated roles played by two forms of dependence on performance outcomes. Thus, the authors answer Scheer et al.’s (2015) call for research into the two distinct types of dependence – relationship value and switching cost dependence – and their roles in determining B2B relationship outcomes. The findings contribute to the literature by integrating social exchange and relationship marketing concepts to develop a dual pathway approach to B2B partnerships.
Practical implications
The results suggest that dependence is not necessarily negative for firms. Specifically, buyers can and do still exhibit positive performance, both strategic and financial, in relationships with suppliers even when dependent on the relationship. Regardless of whether buyers are dependent due to a relationship or economic factors, both can, in different ways, lead to positive strategic and financial outcomes. Together, the authors contribute to the understanding of B2B partnerships by offering guidelines for both buyers and suppliers in the dyad.
Originality/value
The authors derive a comprehensive model depicting primarily relational and economic paths to performance through different types of commitment and dependence. The authors contribute to the literature by demonstrating that relational and economic paths to success are not the same, highlighting how firms could influence performance even when the relationship is not necessarily characterized by generally positive relational benefits and behaviors.
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Hongying Zhao and Christian Wagner
The purpose of this paper is to examine how different types of user experience in TikTok impact purchase intention via commitment to the influencer and commitment to the platform…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how different types of user experience in TikTok impact purchase intention via commitment to the influencer and commitment to the platform, with customer type included to determine moderating effects. Three types of user experience are considered: information experience, entertainment experience and parasocial-relationship-based experience.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected 458 valid questionnaires from TikTok users, employing the structural equation modeling approach to examine the proposed research model.
Findings
Information experience, entertainment experience and parasocial-relationship-based experience are found to critically stimulate user commitment to the influencer and commitment to the platform, in turn driving TikTok-based purchase intention. Tests incorporating customer type reveal that commitment to the influencer more strongly influences the purchase intention of repeat customers, with commitment to the platform more likely to stimulate purchase intention among potential customers.
Research limitations/implications
On a theoretical level, the paper is among the first to examine TikTok-based user purchase intention with customer type as a moderator. On a practical level, the results can guide marketers to effectively promote products using TikTok and inspire TikTok managers to develop customized strategies to stimulate initial and repeat sales.
Originality/value
TikTok is moving to the stage of commercialization and monetization by introducing e-commerce features. Although this move should cultivate particularly fertile ground for companies to sell products, TikTok user purchase behavior has yet to receive sufficient research attention, with little currently known about their purchase motivations. The current study uncovers the significant antecedents of users' purchase intention through TikTok, and further reveals the motivational differences among potential and repeat customers.
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Diana Weinberg and Abraham Carmeli
Although examples of governance abound in the study of export theory, dyadic relationships (importers and exporters) in import theory have thus far received scant attention in the…
Abstract
Although examples of governance abound in the study of export theory, dyadic relationships (importers and exporters) in import theory have thus far received scant attention in the international business literature. Our study aims to explore how high-quality relationships, manifested by trust, respectful engagement and vitality, augment relationship commitment between importer and exporter, while controlling for years of importing, exporter visits, exporter reputation, substitutes, and industry conditions. Data collected from 97 importing companies show that both trust and respectful engagement had a positive effect on relationship commitment. However, vitality mediated the relationship between respectful engagement and relationship commitment. The findings also indicate that the presence of product substitutes had a significant impact on relationship commitment.
Jane Cote and Claire K. Latham
Non-traditional performance indicators have gained broad acceptance in recent years. We continue this discussion and contribute to the knowledge base by employing trust and…
Abstract
Non-traditional performance indicators have gained broad acceptance in recent years. We continue this discussion and contribute to the knowledge base by employing trust and commitment as two critical intangibles existing between organizations that directly and indirectly influence performance metrics. Each interorganizational contact creates a transactional history that influences cumulative perceptions of trust, that then guide outcome behavior. Using an interdisciplinary foundation, we test a causal model where formal and informal interorganizational relationship structures impact trust and commitment, which then stimulates performance outcomes. The healthcare industry provides the field context where we empirically test our model. A survey was administered to physician practice professionals to measure the theoretical dimensions of the dyad's relationship structure, including antecedents to the mediating variables, trust and commitment, and the resulting outcome constructs. Results demonstrate that relationship dynamics are vital drivers of tangible outcomes. Trust and commitment emerge as variables to be explicitly managed to improve performance.
Ahmad Aljarah and Pelin Bayram
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the role of internal branding (IB) in fostering branding citizenship behavior in the hospitality context as well as the mechanisms…
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the role of internal branding (IB) in fostering branding citizenship behavior in the hospitality context as well as the mechanisms underlying the relationship.
Design/methodology/approach: This study obtained empirical evidence from 377 hotel employees in North Cyprus.
Findings: Our findings support the positive relationship between IB and brand citizenship behavior (BCB). The evidence was found for a dual and sequential mediating role of brand trust and brand commitment. Moreover, the organizational climate serviced as a moderator to influence the positive relationships between IB and BCB.
Practical implication: This study has shown that employees are rewarding firms involved in IB initiatives in the form of BCB – directly and indirectly –through trust and commitment. This finding can advance managers’ understanding, enabling them to better manage their IB initiatives to achieve the most effective outcomes.
Originality/value: The research advances convergence between IB and BCB research streams, which has been under-explored in the tourism context. Besides, it extends the IB and brand citizenship literature through a novel dual and sequential mediation mechanism and organizational climate as a novel moderator.
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Sheldon Stryker, Richard T. Serpe and Matthew O. Hunt
We present here research on the impact of three levels of social structure – large-scale, intermediate, and proximate – on commitment to three types of role-related relationships…
Abstract
We present here research on the impact of three levels of social structure – large-scale, intermediate, and proximate – on commitment to three types of role-related relationships: family, work, and voluntary associational. This research is carried out using data from a sample survey of Whites, Blacks, and Latinos drawn from a five-county area of southern California. The central problem of this paper is to explicate the social structural sources of commitment to social network relationships. Our interest in this problem arises out of earlier work on Identity Theory.
This paper reports the results of a three-year-long research on business relationships, relying on qualitative data gathered through multiple-case study research of four focal…
Abstract
This paper reports the results of a three-year-long research on business relationships, relying on qualitative data gathered through multiple-case study research of four focal companies operating in Australia. The industry settings are as follows: steel construction, vegetable oils trading, aluminum and steel can manufacture, and imaging solutions. The research analyzes two main aspects of relationships: structure and process. This paper deals with structure describing it by the most desired features of intercompany relationships for each focal company. The primary research data have been coded drawing on extant research into business relationships. The main outcome of this part of the research is a five construct model composed by trust, commitment, bonds, distance, and information sharing that accounts for all informants’ utterances about relationship structure.
Richa Chugh, Valerie J. Lindsay, Nicholas J. Ashill and Dave Crick
This study explores the influence of informal “psychological contracts” (PCs), (as opposed to formal contractual relationships) on exporter–distributor relationships.
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the influence of informal “psychological contracts” (PCs), (as opposed to formal contractual relationships) on exporter–distributor relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from a sample of 127 exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand. The authors employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for analyzing the measurement and structural models.
Findings
Psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) enhances affective commitment and calculative commitment. Moreover, affective and calculative commitments mediate the relationship between PCF and export venture performance (EVP). The authors also find that institutional distance (ID) weakens the relationship between PCF and both affective and calculative commitment. Additionally, ID moderates the strength of the mediating mechanism for affective commitment; thus, the authors present a moderated-mediation model.
Originality/value
To date, international relationship marketing (IRM) literature has focused on PC breach, and business-to-business (B2B) marketing literature has focused on the effects of PCs on affective/relational commitment. This study offers novel insights by demonstrating the positive indirect effect of PCF on EVP via the mediating variables – affective and calculative commitment. The authors' findings also present a conditioning role of ID on the micro-level relationships of PCs.
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Emilio Ruzo-Sanmartín, Alaa Abdelaziz Abousamra, Carmen Otero-Neira and Göran Svensson
This study aims to show how to improve supply chain performance through the relationship between firms and their customers. In doing so, this study examines the impact of a firm’s…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to show how to improve supply chain performance through the relationship between firms and their customers. In doing so, this study examines the impact of a firm’s relationship commitment and customer integration on supply chain performance. The aim is to detail a way to increase supply chain performance through the relationship between companies and their customers.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis was based on a survey on 205 corporate-Egypt multi-industry businesses including manufacturing, retailing, wholesaling and shipping services firms. Data collection was through a questionnaire survey distributed to 1,264 senior managers with responsibilities in the field of supply chain, logistics, purchasing, marketing and operations and with a 16% response rate. A conceptual model was designed, and hypotheses were analysed with covariance-based structural equation modelling.
Findings
This study makes a significant contribution to the supply chain management (SCM) literature by examining the influence of firms’ relationship commitment on supply chain performance in the supply chain management context by means of the disaggregation of customer integration into two dimensions: integration with customer (IWC) and integration by customer (IBC). The findings indicate that firms’ relationship commitment does not relate directly to supply chain performance, but rather indirectly through integration both with and by customers.
Research limitations/implications
This paper outlines a conceptual model in which firms’ relationship commitment relates indirectly to supply chain performance. The model also sheds light on the fact that IWCs precedes IBCs in supply chains. This finding suggests that firms should focus on customer integration to improve supply chain performance.
Practical implications
This study offers a particularly refined understanding of the reasons behind and situations in which supply chain integration (SCI) enables firms to gain superior supply chain performance. In fact, firms focusing on customer integration may improve their supply chain performance, thus enhancing the value of the supply chain.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by considering a relational view of the SCI-Performance path. In particular, by disaggregating customer integration into IWCs and IBCs, this paper verifies customer integration acting as a mediator between relationship commitment and supply chain performance in supply chains.
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Chang-Ju Lee, Sae-Mi Lee, Rajesh Iyer and Yong-Ki Lee
The study focuses on how to build long-term relationships with multi-channel agencies (MCAs) (dealers) who serve multiple manufacturers on a non-exclusive basis in a business-to…
Abstract
Purpose
The study focuses on how to build long-term relationships with multi-channel agencies (MCAs) (dealers) who serve multiple manufacturers on a non-exclusive basis in a business-to-business (B2B) market. This study looks at the framework of relational benefits-commitment-long term orientation in a business-to-business context.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from MCAs of three leading companies in the food distribution business. The survey used established scales to measure the relational benefits (core, operational, social and special treatment), commitment (affective and calculative) and long-term orientation (LTO).
Findings
The findings of the study show that core, social and special treatment benefits influence calculative commitment, and operational and special treatment benefits influence affective commitment. The study also supports that calculative and affective commitment play an important role in understanding the loyalty of MCAs.
Originality/value
The research examines how relational benefits impact commitment and loyalty among MCAs and manufacturers, in a non-exclusive relationship, in the business-to-business environment. This study incorporates social exchange theory (SET), relational benefits paradigm and commitment and long-term orientation in its framework and tests it within the food distribution industry. This study is the first of its kind to examine the effects of relational benefits on MCAs behavior in a food supplier–buyer setting.
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