Dealer Satisfaction Through Relationship Marketing Across Cultures

Abstract

The relationship of supplier-dealer relationalism with dealer satisfaction is examined with the help of a structural equation model in the two diverse cultures of the United States and India. Intrachannel relationalism between suppliers and dealers is measured in six dimensions: solidarity, mutuality, flexibility, role integrity, duration, and trust. The same measures of the various aspects of relationalism and dealer satisfaction are applied in the electric lamp and lighting equipment channels in the two countries with satisfactory reliability and validity. In both countries, relationalism as a whole is found to have a significant positive impact on dealer satisfaction. Individually, different dimensions have significant impacts on dealer satisfaction in the two countries. In the United States, trust and mutuality are individually significant, whereas in India, flexibility is the significant dimension affecting satisfaction. Managerial implications of the results and future research directions are discussed.