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The aim of this article is to provide an understanding of how satisfaction, quality, and value affect repurchase and positive word‐of‐mouth in a business‐to‐business (B2B) setting. Most previous studies in this area apply to business‐to‐consumer (B2C) situations.

A survey of 382 users of freight services was undertaken in the USA. An exploratory pilot study was undertaken to gain a better understanding of these users and to test the research instrument. Structural equation modeling was used to test the constructs.

The results showing the best‐fit model identified a number of relationships that were unexpected. These are discussed in detail.

Managers have a model, survey instrument and methodology that service firms can use to establish what they are doing right or wrong to retain customers. Managers are also given guidelines on how to increase customer satisfaction in B2B services.

This paper deals with these constructs in a B2B service environment.

There has been rapid political, social and economic change in South Africa since 1990. As a result of the fall of apartheid, South Africa is slowly taking its place in the global village. Foreign companies are considering South Africa as a good market for their goods and as a source of supply of raw material and partly processed goods. Aims to review the marketing planning practices of large South African companies. A comprehensive review of the marketing planning literature has been undertaken. A study of 73 companies quoted on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange was undertaken. It was established that all these companies had a comprehensive annual marketing plan and they followed the procedures, and used the techniques described in the normative marketing literature. Global organizations looking for South African partners will find the level of marketing planning sophistication highly satisfactory.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the linkages between the determinants of relationship marketing and the behavioural component of these determinants within a non-Western retail stores setting.

A quantitative approach was employed, using 19-item, seven-point Likert scaled questionnaire administered to 350 participants with 67 per cent usable response rate. Data was analysed using exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach’s α internal consistency; correlation analysis and One-Way Analysis of Variance test.

Trust-Quality services emerged as the most outstanding determinant of relationship marketing within the retail stores context followed by relational orientation, commitment and proximity. Quality services were found to have the most significant positive impact on trust whereas trust was found to have a strong positive impact on commitment. Relational orientation was found to have a strong positive impact on trust, commitment and quality services but proximity was found to be a docile factor determining commitment and relational orientation. Finally, consumers were identified as being more relationally oriented than retailers and all categories of consumers can be served with same blend of relationship marketing strategies.

Since findings could not be generalized across other sectors and regions, guides for testing the proposed research model are put forward.

Relationship marketing implementation within the context of retail stores will be more successful if based on delivery of quality services. Consumers are also more likely to patronize closer than distant retail stores. As such, even if retail firms build strong trust, commitment and relational orientation with customers through quality services, consumers will still patronize stores that are closer to them more than stores in distant locations. Siting retail stores in locations with the largest pool of customers’ is therefore central to enhancing retail stores performance. All categories of customers could be served with same stream of relationship marketing strategies because designing different schemes of relationship marketing programmes for different customer categories were found to be counter-productive.

This paper identified 16 attributes that are important to consumers under four dimensions: Trust-Quality services, relational orientation, commitment and proximity within the retail stores context. The findings are acknowledged to be unique because they emerged from a largely under-researched collectivistic emerging market where relationship marketing formation is key.

The objective of the paper is to provide an understanding of how large organisations develop line extensions of their brands and to present guidelines for management when considering an upscale line extension.

A qualitative research technique was used in this study. It involved case study research in the beverage industry, where 11 senior marketers were interviewed in depth.

A line extension into premium categories was seen to be an effective strategy to revitalise a brand. Respondents also stated that the line extension needs to be very closely linked to the core brand. Being an early entrant but not first‐to‐market or late‐to‐market was also important.

Guidelines to management are provided and a framework is developed for using upscale line extensions in brand revitalization strategies. Marketing managers have been given a three‐step approach to line extension management.

The purpose of this paper is to assess customers' perceived value of professional services and how this influences satisfaction, loyalty and ultimately retention.

A survey is conducted among professional service providers in the Tampa Bay, Florida (USA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes attorneys, financial professionals, physicians, dentists and private investigators.

There is a highly significant relationship between service and customer retention, quality and customer retention, image and customer retention, price and customer retention, and value and customer retention. There is a significant relationship between value and satisfaction on customer retention; between value and loyalty's effect on customer retention; and among value, satisfaction and loyalty on customer retention.

Statistically, the findings cannot be generalized beyond the scope of this study and the Tampa area. However, this can be tested in further research.

The service, quality, image and price model had a significant correlation to customer retention. The four components of value – service, quality, image and price – are each directly related to customer retention and therefore should be used by service professionals and managers as an important strategy to retain their clients.

Professional services is an under researched area in the value, satisfaction and customer retention area and this study fills this gap.

This paper examines the perception and expectations of banking customers regarding the value being delivered to them by retail banks in South Africa. A literature review dealing with the concept of value was undertaken that presents the value disciplines of operational excellence, product leadership and customer intimacy. Results of a study of 150 managers are presented. The results show that customers were not satisfied with the service, products and level of customer intimacy delivered to them by their banks. Thus, they did not believe that they were getting the value they expected. Recommendations to retail banking management are made to help remedy the situation.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of private label resources possessed by a supermarket retailer on the shopping behavior of loyal customers. The study examines whether or not private label products can help in the overall enhancement of product category performance.

The paper examines the performance of a supermarket retailer in the Northeast United States that operates over 100 stores and generates a total yearly sales volume in excess of $3 billion. Data obtained from the Supermarket's point of sale information were used. The paper then developed a research model from the literature review and used structural equation modeling to analyze the data.

The findings show that overall dollars spent by loyal customers significantly impacted overall profitability.

The data collected pertained to the supermarket's grocery department that is comprised of center store dry grocery products, frozen food products, and refrigerated dairy products. Perishable departments such as deli, seafood, meat, bakery, floral, general merchandise, health and beauty care, etc. were not researched in this study. Also, data obtained were from one individual supermarket chain.

Although private label products may represent increased profitability for retailers, consumers prefer a full assortment of merchandise; an over emphasis on private label brands may result in diminishing category performance.

The paper examines the performance of a supermarket retailer in the Northeast United States that operates over 100 stores and generates a total yearly sales volume in excess of $3 billion. The use of scanner data has value as it measures actual shopping behavior.

While there have been many studies on new product development issues, there have been relatively few that deal with new service development. This study investigates the banking and insurance sectors in South Africa. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken and propositions formulated. A study of new service managers was undertaken to establish success and failure factors in developing new banking and insurance services. The results are reported from both sectors and the differences between them are discussed. The implications for the financial services sector are dealt with in detail.

The purpose of this paper is to specify and test factors surrounding trusting relationships between buyers and suppliers in a global, business‐to‐business services context. In so doing, the paper aims to help to extend relationship marketing theories to this under‐researched domain.

A literature review and results of qualitative interviews in the paper provide a conceptual framework for the trust formation process and relational outcomes of trust. The research then tests a model of hypothesized relationships using structural equation modeling.

The paper confirms the influence of trust building behaviors (social interaction, open communications, customer orientation) and service outcomes (technical, functional and economic quality) on trust formation. Trust is shown to have a positive influence on key relational outcomes, loyalty commitment and share of purchases.

The sample consists of buyers of aviation component repair services who may be susceptible to idiosyncratic industry pressures. Further, the sample of buyers in 42 countries includes a higher share of buyers from individualist countries.

The study provides managerially relevant (“actionable”) results that may help buyers execute customer retention strategies that lead to higher customer profitability.

This study adds to the limited literature on building trust in B2B services in a global context. The paper seeks to provide a balanced account of the interpersonal and tangible aspects of trust formation.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the degree of success in international assignments that public relations (PR) practitioners experience and explores the influence of both organizational culture and national culture.

PR practitioners in the USA and South Africa were surveyed.

Results show that there is no difference between PR practitioners from the USA and South Africa with experience in international assignments, in terms of degree of success in international assignments and of level of preparedness for international assignments. It was also found that there is no significant correlation between national culture or organizational culture and the degree of success in international assignments for those respondents with international experience.

The response rate was limited and therefore the results cannot be generalized. Future research would be to further extend this study to include additional countries.

The results support the concept that a PR practitioner with an organic organizational culture and a long‐term orientation of national culture will be better prepared to engage in international assignments than a practitioner with a mechanistic organizational culture and a short‐term orientation of national culture.

This study adds to the literature on international PR practice, and compares the practice in a developing economy, South Africa, to a developed economy, the USA.