Abstract
Background: A relationship marketing approach to the management of business relationships can enhance overall customer satisfaction and reduce economic risks, such as opportunism that is associated with business dealings.Aim: The aim of this study was to establish whether a positive relationship exists between trust and commitment, whether trust has a positive influence on commitment, whether trust and commitment positively influence satisfaction and whether opportunism and conflict are outcomes of satisfaction in South African buyer–supplier relationships.Setting: Top 500 companies operating in the South African private sector.Methods: Using a structured questionnaire, data were gathered from 250 large companies in South Africa and were analysed through the application of structural equation modelling (SEM).Results: The findings indicate that both trust and commitment were perceived as important antecedents of satisfaction in a South African business-to-business environment, and that trust is a precursor to commitment in relationship building between organisational buyers and sellers in South Africa. This study adds value by assisting business-to-business buyers and sellers in South Africa on variables to consider when developing relationship-building strategies.Conclusion: Both parties to a relationship should therefore build relationships founded on trust and commitment. This will enhance their joint satisfaction, resulting in less opportunism and conflict, and will foster long-term relationship building based on mutual satisfaction. In contrast, dissatisfaction could increase opportunism and conflict between the parties, leading eventually to the termination of their business relationship.
Highlights
The literature on relationship marketing suggests that trust, commitment and satisfaction are critical to establishing and managing long-term business-to-business relationships (Hess, Story, & Danes, 2011; Lee, Moon, Kim, & Yi, 2015; Liao, 2016; Morgan & Hunt, 1994; Ndubisi, 2007; Wang, Shi, & Barnes, 2015)
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to test the measurement model and evaluate the proposed structural relationships shown in Figure 1 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1976)
The results indicate that the variance extracted from items for all constructs exceeds 50% in the CMIN df p CMIN or df NFI
Summary
The literature on relationship marketing suggests that trust, commitment and satisfaction are critical to establishing and managing long-term business-to-business relationships (Hess, Story, & Danes, 2011; Lee, Moon, Kim, & Yi, 2015; Liao, 2016; Morgan & Hunt, 1994; Ndubisi, 2007; Wang, Shi, & Barnes, 2015). Some research studies perceive commitment, trust and satisfaction as higher order constructs of relationship quality (Chang, Tsai, Chen, Huang, & Tseng, 2015; Izogo, 2016; Lindgreen, Hingley, Grant, & Morgan, 2012; Vincent & Webster, 2013). A relationship marketing approach to the management of business relationships can enhance overall customer satisfaction and reduce economic risks, such as opportunism that is associated with business dealings
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