Barnes, B.R. (2005) Is the Seven-Year Hitch Premature in Industrial Markets? European Journal of Marketing, 39 (5/6). pp. 560-584. ISSN 0309-0566.
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Abstract
Purpose – The paper reports on an exploratory study aimed at analysing a series of independent variables derived from international industrial marketing and channel management literature. Design/methodology/approach – The respondents represent a number of dyadic business-to-business relationships of different duration, and involve firms of different size (multinational enterprise buyers and their corresponding medium sized enterprise suppliers). Findings – Initial findings support much of the extant literature on relationship marketing, demonstrating that certain aspects of a relationship tend to change over time. In particular, the study revealed that: there is a high degree of optimism associated with dyadic relationships at early stages, and these are characterised by both parties having high initial perceptions of the relationship; in mid-term relationships some negativity maybe apparent, where certain aspects regress; and in long-term situations, there is a tendency for relationships to be well structured, and these are particularly highly perceived among both exchange parties. Research limitations/implications – The research approach shares those benefits as well as limitations associated with earlier empirical investigations. That is a trade-off in favour of undertaking dyadic exploration, than administering large samples and data sets. As a consequence of the sample size, some caution should be exercised when interpreting these findings. Practical implications – Firms need to pay particular attention to relationships of differing time duration. This is because specific aspects of relationships may not develop in a uniform direction. Originality/value – The research attempts to unravel the complexities and difficulties associated with obtaining data of a dyadic perspective for a significant number of relationships of different length. Such studies that map the evolvement of buyer-seller relations over time are rare.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled keywords: | Relationship marketing, Business-to-business marketing |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management |
| Divisions: | Faculties > Social Sciences > Kent Business School |
| Depositing User: | B.R. Barnes |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Sep 2008 13:39 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Jan 2010 14:34 |
| Resource URI: | http://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/9230 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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