Search results

Although relational commitment increases the likelihood that intimates will confront each other about relational problems, commitment may promote decisions to withhold complaints in some circumstances. We conducted a survey of undergraduate daters that focused on the conditions under which relational commitment prompts individuals to express or withhold relational complaints. As expected, we documented a positive association between relational commitment and the willingness to confront a partner; the magnitude of this association was stronger among respondents who had dated for less than a year compared to those who had been involved for a longer time. Despite this general trend, we also found that relational commitment was positively associated with withholding grievances because the respondent believed that the problem was minor and perceived the partner would not change. Finally, we observed an interaction between relational commitment and partner's supportiveness when predicting the number of complaints withheld. Among individuals who were not very committed to their relationships, the association between partner supportiveness and the number of irritations withheld was negative and statistically significant. Among highly committed respondents, the same association was positive and not significant.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the role of relationality in buyer–supplier negotiations and how it varies across cultural settings.

Using a multisession simulation design, this study recruited research participants (n = 82) from diverse cultural backgrounds to play the role of either buyer or supplier for two negotiation tasks. Regression analyses were used to test the relationships among relational constructs as well as the moderating role of relational culture.

Results show that negotiators’ relational self-construal enhances their relational commitment to the ongoing negotiations, which leads to a higher level of relational capital accumulated at the end of negotiations. The impact of relational self-construal on relational commitment and that of relational commitment on counterparts’ relational capital are stronger for negotiators from a high (as opposed to low) relational cultural background. Furthermore, intercultural negotiation context, when compared with intracultural context, weakens the impact of relational commitment on relational capital.

This research is among the first to empirically examine the culturally varied relationality in negotiations. The findings offer important theoretical and practical implications regarding how relationality, when interacting with cultural factors, has varying impacts on business negotiations.

This chapter examines three kinds of relational bonds (trust-based commitments, forbearance-based commitments, and apprehension-based commitments) on which parties rely in the processes employed in negotiating, committing, and executing their cooperative inter-organizational relationships (CIORs). It also considers three different societal contexts with strong, moderately strong, and weak exogenous governance safeguards in which these relational bonds are employed. The authors propose a process theory of relational bonds that fit different contexts. Specifically, our central proposition is that parties to CIORs are more likely to achieve their goals when they rely on relational bonds that fit their societal contexts in which they engage in economic exchanges.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influences of relational variables on export performance and the interactions among relational variables in the emerging market context of Malaysia.

The study used a mail questionnaire sent to Malaysian companies that export to Arab-speaking countries and achieved a response rate of 27.92 percent, resulting in a sample of 106 exporters.

The results of the path analyses indicate a positive impact of relational variables (adaptation, cooperation and communication) on export performance. However, the authors found that the impact was mediated by trust and commitment, rather than being direct.

The findings suggest that the impact of relational variables on export performance is complex and indirect. Mediators and moderators play important roles in this relationship.

Firms should invest in export relationships with the aim of building trust and commitment, which are the primary factors that affect export performance.

The authors have shed light on the way relational variables affect export performance. Moreover, this study contributes to a better understanding of small emerging markets, which are poorly represented in studies in this field.

Relationship marketing has been playing an important role in the development of marketing theory and practice. Though the concept has been extensively applied in international marketing in understanding the dynamics of exporter-importer relationships, few studies have looked at dyadic data to investigate the impact of mutuality of relational variables on the exporter-importer relationships. The objective of this study is to understand the impact of mutuality of key relational variables on exporter-importer relationship performance. A dyadic model of mutuality is proposed. The model highlights the impact of balance, level and quality of perceptual bi-directionality of relational variables.

The model was tested using dyadic data collected from exporter-importer relationships involving Australian exporters and their Southeast Asian import partners through a cross-sectional, quantitative survey. Mutuality of relationship constructs was measured using the perceptual bi-directionality (PBD) method.

The results support the central hypothesis that mutuality of relational constructs has an impact on relationship performance.

The study is the first to apply the perceptual bi-directionality method to measure mutuality of relational constructs in an exporter-importer setting. The study contributes to the general understanding of international business and exporter-importer relationship performance in particular.

The present study aims to examine the impact of relational communication, operationalized in terms of information sharing, quality and frequency of information, on buyer's trust and relationship satisfaction in a buyer–vendor relationship. The study also tests the mediating role of trust and the moderating role of relationship commitment in relational communication and satisfaction relationship.

The data for the study were collected through a questionnaire survey from 321 managers of the different firms who were directly or indirectly involved in making procurement or purchasing decision in the firm and were familiar with the firm's supplier relationships.

Relational communication was found to be positively related to relational satisfaction and trust partially mediated this relationship. Further, relationship commitment moderated relational communication-satisfaction relationship, such that the positive affect of relational communication on relational satisfaction was accentuated when buyer experienced higher relationship commitment towards the supplier.

Using single source, self-reported questionnaire data and cross-sectional research design are the limitations of this study. Studies in future should consider a dyadic perspective. The study outlines the need to explore investments and strategies in enhancing relational communication in buyer–vendor relationships.

Anchored in theoretical foundations of social exchange theory, the study integrates and tests behavioral aspects of buyer–vendor relationship. Testing an integrated model with direct and indirect effects of relational communication on relationship satisfaction in buyer–vendor is a significant contribution of the research. The study also contributes by examining relational exchanges in buyer-vendor relationships in India, an underrepresented context in buyer–supplier relationship (BSR) literature.

This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the sustainable online purchase intentions of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also examines the role of relational benefit and site commitment in the study model.

Data were obtained from a survey of 356 Bangladeshi consumers who were voluntarily using the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modelling with Smart PLS 3.0 and SPSS V25 tools.

The results show a positive and significant relationship between consumers’ personal innovativeness and impulse purchase orientation with their relational benefit and site commitment, social influence with relational benefit, relational benefit with site commitment, site commitment with the intention to purchase. Moreover, the study found that relational benefit mediates the relationship between impulse purchase orientation and social influence with site commitment. The results also indicate that site commitment mediates the relationship between personal innovativeness and impulse purchase orientation with the intention to purchase. The results further indicate that site commitment mediates the relationship between relational benefit and intention to purchase.

The findings allow online stores to consider crucial factors in their policies when making strategic decisions regarding the factors impacting consumers’ online purchasing intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this study, a research framework is developed with a focus on the sustainable consumer intention to purchase. This study, therefore, adds to the existing literature by analyzing the factors that determine online purchase intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, given the limited number of studies on the online consumer behavioral intentions in related circumstances to COVID-19.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Enhancing consumer engagement in e-commerce live streaming is critical for e-commerce operators to build relationships and create consumer loyalty. Using the stimulus–organism–response model and theories from relationship marketing, the authors develop and test an integrative conceptual framework that combines various relational bonds, affective commitment, and consumer engagement.

Using 327 valid responses from consumers of Taobao Live, the authors employed the software Mplus7.0 to evaluate the measurement model and the structural model.

The results empirically demonstrate that social and structural bonds positively affect consumer engagement directly and indirectly via affective commitment, while financial bonds have only an indirect effect via affective commitment on consumer engagement.

The findings provide useful insights for e-commerce operators, who should invest in establishing relational bonds and stimulating affective commitment to improve consumer engagement.

This study adds to e-commerce research by being one of the first empirical studies on e-commerce live streaming, extends the marketing literature by integrating different relational bonds as antecedents of consumer engagement from the relational perspective, and enriches the affective commitment literature by distinguishing commitment to the online marketplace from commitment to the broadcaster.

The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive model that explains the influence of different relational variables on export performance and the interaction between those relational variables.

This is a theoretical paper building upon the relational variables and export performance literatures.

A theoretical model was developed based on the existing studies and findings. In the proposed model, relational outcome variables mediate the effect of relational contextual variables on export performance.

The model developed in this study opens new avenues for future research because it provides a different perspective on how relational variables interact with each other in terms of their impact on export performance.

Relational variables have great importance for firms’ export performance. This study provides a framework about how these variables affect export performance, which should be taken into consideration in firms’ strategies and decisions with regard to the relations with partners.

Despite the consensus about the importance of relational variables, the evidence is mixed with regard to the way they affect export performance. With the proposed model, this study aims to fill this gap by providing a framework that explains how relational variables interact with each other and how they affect export performance.