Enhanced relationship marketing anchored on digital live selling behaviors and Uses and Gratification Theory.

Technological heterogeneity and the asymmetric volume–return relationship in the crypto-asset market

<p>This study empirically examines the key factors influencing the Internet of Things (IoT) adoption and benefits in healthcare with a particular focus on the Indian context. Grounded in co-creation theory, relationship marketing, service-dominant logic (SDL), and value-based adoption perspectives, the research investigates how customer involvement (CI), IoT benefits (IB), perceived quality (PQ), and perceived benefits (PB) contribute to overall IB in healthcare services. A quantitative approach was adopted, and data were collected from 386 IoT users of IoT-based healthcare devices, including patients, caregivers, and wellness users. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed using SmartPLS for data analysis. The proposed model demonstrates high explanatory power, confirming the robustness of the model. The results indicate that CE, CI, PQ, and PB as significant factors driving IB. The findings offer valuable implications for healthcare professionals and policy formulators who can leverage these insights to formulate targeted strategies, thereby accelerating IoT adoption and maximizing its positive influence on patient care quality and overall performance of the healthcare system.</p>

Cooperation: An enduring theory of relationship marketing

Contemporary recruitment practices remain dominated by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that operate on elimination logic, sequentially filtering candidates through keyword gates and multiple-hurdle screenings. While efficient at reducing applicant volume, this paradigm systematically discards potentially suitable candidates and degrades the quality of information available to hiring decisions. This paper introduces Applicant Relationship Management (ARM), a relational paradigm for talent acquisition derived from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) theory. ARM reconceptualises applicants as stakeholders in a co-creative assessment process, replacing sequential elimination with compensatory multi-dimensional evaluation, dialogue-based interaction, and sustained relationship management including silver medallist re-engagement. Drawing on stakeholder theory, relationship marketing, and compensatory assessment science, we develop the ARM framework and its lifecycle model. We then examine its implications for emerging regulatory and sustainability reporting frameworks, including the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (which classifies recruitment AI as high-risk from August 2026), the UN Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 10, and the CSRD/ESRS S1 workforce disclosure standards. Preliminary evidence from a pilot platform implementation is reported alongside explicit boundary conditions and a future research agenda with testable propositions. The paper contributes to recruitment theory by proposing a paradigm shift from transactional processing to relational cultivation, and to management practice by offering a framework that aligns operational effectiveness with regulatory compliance and applicant dignity

Purpose Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) are critical community-based/informal financial mechanisms, especially in underserved markets. Despite their enduring relevance, ROSCAs remain underexplored. This study aims to systematically map and synthesize 50 years of ROSCA-related scholarship, highlighting intellectual structures, thematic trajectories and emerging research opportunities relevant to financial inclusion and grassroots finance. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric analysis was conducted using 177 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus from 1973 to 2024. We employed the PRISMA protocol for article selection and utilized Bibliometrix (R package) for performance, network and thematic evolution analysis. Key indicators such as citation trends, co-authorship patterns and co-word clusters were visualized and interpreted. Findings Four dominant thematic clusters emerged: (1) informal financial practices and saving behavior; (2) ROSCAs as vehicles for social capital and gender empowerment; (3) developmental finance in low-income economies and (4) trust, reciprocity and group enforcement mechanisms. The analysis also traces the field's intellectual progression from descriptive ethnographies toward theoretical and digital financial inclusion discourses. Practical implications Findings offer insights for marketers and financial service providers targeting unbanked populations. ROSCAs provide scalable models for inclusive financial innovation, relationship marketing and culturally embedded service design. This study supports the integration of ROSCAs into mobile banking, agent banking and trust-based community outreach strategies. Originality/value This is the first comprehensive bibliometric review focused exclusively on ROSCAs. By bridging informal finance and banking marketing, it offers a strategic roadmap for future academic inquiry and innovation in inclusive financial services.

The researcher examined the relationship between commitment and repeat purchase in the global system for mobile communication (GSM) service companies in South-East, Nigeria. The work was carried out to identify how commitment as a proxy of relationship marketing enhances repeat purchase. The work used survey method and the primary data were collected through questionnaire. The analysis was done using Mean and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient with the use of SPSS version in testing the hypotheses. It was discovered that commitment has very significant and positive relationship with customer feedback, customer preference, and customer advocacy. The study concludes that achievement of effective and improved repeats purchase depends on the extent of relationship marketing implementation through organizational commitment. It was recommended that telecom organisations should try as much as possible to effectively show commitment to customer needs so as to encourage customer feedback which will help to achieve the business goal. Also telecommunication establishments should give the best services to their customers so as to enhance customer preferences.

The researcher examined the relationship between trust and referral within the global system for mobile communication (GSM) service companies in South-East, Nigeria. The work was carried out to identify how trust as a proxy of relationship marketing enhanced customer referral. The work used survey method and the primary data were collected through questionnaire. The analysis was done using Mean, percentages, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient with the use of SPSS version was used in testing the hypotheses. It was discovered that trust has very significant and positive relationship with word-of-mouth advocacy, social media advocacy, and customer testimonial. The study concludes that achievement of effective customer referral depends on the extent of trust building as a proxy of relationship marketing. It was recommended that Telecommunication establishments should give the best services to their customers so as to enhance customer involvement in social media advocacy for the companies. Also telecom organisations should try as much as possible to effectively build customer trust so as to encourage customers to use word of mouth advocacy for the benefits of the companies.

Ensuring customer loyalty in Indonesia’s oil and chemical freight shipping sector remains challenging despite substantial investment in operational improvement and digital technology. In this high risk logistics environment, where compliance, reliability, and safety are essential, customer loyalty is not shaped by service performance alone. This study examines the effects of service quality, perceived value, and Customer Relationship Management on customer loyalty, with customer satisfaction positioned as a mediating variable. Grounded in SERVQUAL, perceived value theory, and relationship marketing, the study adopts a quantitative explanatory approach. Data were collected from 200 corporate clients of PT PCS Internasional and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The findings show that service quality significantly improves perceived value but does not directly influence customer satisfaction. This indicates that customers first interpret service performance through the value they receive before forming satisfaction judgments. Perceived value and CRM both have significant positive effects on satisfaction, while satisfaction emerges as the strongest predictor of customer loyalty with a path coefficient of 0.837. Mediation analysis further reveals that loyalty is formed mainly through indirect pathways, especially through the relationship between CRM, satisfaction, and loyalty. The model demonstrates strong predictive power, explaining 94.5 percent of the variance in loyalty. These findings suggest that operational excellence alone is not sufficient to secure long term loyalty. Companies must also strengthen digital CRM, transparent communication, and value delivery. This study contributes to the literature by testing an integrated loyalty model in Indonesia’s hazardous shipping industry, a context that remains rarely explored empirically.

Entrepreneurial and Relationship Marketing as Drivers of Competitive Advantage and Socio-economy Empowerment: Evidence from Horticultural MSMEs in Indonesia

This study investigates how trust is formed among business partners in the port service industry, where variability in service performance and coordination complexity may generate relational uncertainty. Addressing the need to better understand relational mechanisms in B2B port services, this research examines the dual-pathway effect of service quality on partner trust formation, with customer satisfaction serving as a mediating mechanism. Grounded in relationship marketing and service quality theory, the study employs a quantitative approach to analyze how the technical and functional dimensions of service quality influence trust both directly and indirectly through satisfaction. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires from 125 business partners of a major Indonesian port authority, including shipping agents, logistics firms, and cargo operators engaged in ongoing contractual relationships. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that service quality has a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction and partner trust. Customer satisfaction also exerts a strong positive influence on trust and partially mediates the relationship between service quality and trust. These results demonstrate that trust in port service relationships is shaped through a dual pathway: direct evaluations of service performance and affective responses reflected in satisfaction levels. By positioning satisfaction as a central relational mechanism, this study extends the service quality literature by offering a process-based explanation of trust formation in B2B port services. Practically, the findings suggest that port authorities and service operators should prioritize consistent service reliability, responsiveness, and professionalism while simultaneously managing partner satisfaction to strengthen long-term collaborative relationships.

Purpose This study aims to examine how supplier behavior, specifically relationship-specific adaptation and product quality, shapes two forms of buyer commitment: affective and calculative. Drawing on social exchange theory, we investigate how reputational power, operationalized as the non-coercive influence a supplier derives from its industry reputation, moderates these behavioral effects. We treat industry reputation not as a behavioral act but as a reputational form of non-coercive power that alters how buyers interpret suppliers’ actions. Design/methodology/approach Guided by social exchange theory, this manuscript employs two field studies targeting purchasing professionals. Study 1 investigates how relationship-specific adaptation affects affective commitment, while Study 2 examines the impact of product quality on calculative commitment. Both models assess the moderating effect of perceived reputational power. Psychometric validity was evaluated using covariance-based structural equation modeling in Analysis of Moment Structures, and hypotheses were tested using Hayes’ PROCESS macro in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, employing moderated mediation models with bootstrapped confidence intervals. Findings Relationship-specific adaptation increases affective commitment, while product quality drives calculative commitment. Reputational power strengthens the relational pathway but does not affect the economic one, indicating that buyers respond emotionally to reputation only when relational behaviors are present. Power's influence is thus relational rather than transactional. Practical implications Suppliers with high power can reduce adaptation yet retain loyalty and performance benefits. Managers should thus invest in building strong brand recognition, balancing the trade-offs between meeting demands and leveraging reputational capital. Meanwhile, buyers must avoid over-reliance on powerful suppliers to preserve bargaining capacity. The findings highlight that intangible factors like reputation can be as critical as product or service quality. Suppliers must ensure responsiveness to maintain trust. Overall, managing power asymmetries is vital for sustaining healthy, performance-enhancing buyer-supplier relationships. Social implications In highlighting how supplier reputation can tilt relationship power, the study's findings have broader societal implications around fairness and collaboration in business partnerships. When powerful suppliers leverage their industry status, it can create unequal power dynamics that may pressure buyers into unfavorable terms, potentially affecting employee welfare, local communities and smaller firms with fewer resources. Conversely, understanding these dynamics encourages transparent, equitable relationships, prompting businesses to adopt fair negotiation practices, share information and foster trust. Consequently, better-managed power imbalances can lead to more ethical business conduct, greater social responsibility and potentially more inclusive supply chain ecosystems for all stakeholders. Originality/value This study introduces supplier industry reputation as a non-coercive form of power and shows how it differentially affects relational and economic forms of commitment. Guided by social exchange theory, we model relationship-specific adaptation and product quality as behavioral antecedents of affective and calculative commitment, respectively and test how supplier reputation – conceptualized as non-coercive power – moderates both pathways By distinguishing between affective and calculative commitment and modeling them in parallel, the study advances understanding of how social and economic value interact in supply chain relationships, re-centering power as a critical dynamic in an era dominated by relationship marketing.

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This article provides a theoretical generalization of approaches to the study of emotional intelligence (EI) and substantiates the feasibility of considering it through the prism of key marketing categories. An interpretation of emotional intelligence is proposed as an integrative competence of participants in the sales process, which influences the formation, awareness, and transformation of consumers' needs, values, and desires into specific behavioral decisions. It is demonstrated that the manifestation of emotional intelligence in sales personnel, business owners, and customers mediates the quality of marketing communications, the level of trust, the perception of the value proposition, and the nature of long-term relationships. Based on the systematization of scientific approaches, a conceptual model of emotional intelligence manifestations in sales has been developed, which structurally combines the psychological characteristics of interaction subjects with basic marketing categories. The model reflects the logical transition from emotional perception to the interpretation of needs, alignment of values, and activation of desires, which form the basis for purchase decisions. It is shown that the integration of EI into marketing processes becomes particularly significant across different business models, where the nature of communication and interaction structure determine the specifics of its manifestation. The results deepen the theoretical foundations of relationship marketing and form the basis for further empirical research on the quantitative assessment of the impact of emotional intelligence on sales efficiency and the formation of competitive advantages.

This study investigated the motivational factors that prompt individuals to participate in physical activities in conventional gyms in the cities of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Juiz de Fora (MG). A total of 302 practitioners from 18 gyms participated in the research, using the Motives for Physical Activities Measure – Revised (MPAM-R) scale, adapted and validated for Portuguese as Medida de Motivação para a Atividade Física – Revisada (MMAF-R). Results indicated that the Health factor had the highest overall mean (6.39), followed by Competence (5.28) and Appearance (5.19), while the Social factor (3.46) had the lowest mean. Univariate analyses showed significant associations between motivational factors and variables such as sex, age, educational level, and childhood sports participation. Women tended to attribute greater importance to Competence and Appearance, whereas elderly individuals demonstrated predominantly Health-related motivation. The results support existing literature and provide subsidies for gym managers to formulate more effective relationship marketing strategies for customer attraction, retention, and loyalty. Keywords: Motivation; Physical Activity; Gyms; Self-Determination Theory; Relationship Marketing.

Relationship marketing is emerging as a contemporary marketing concept that goes beyond the boundaries of classical marketing, which is mainly oriented toward sales and short-term profits. At the core of the relational approach is the building and maintaining of long-term relationships with customers based on trust, commitment, and mutual value. The relevance of the topic stems from the intensifying competition in the tourism and service sectors, where service quality and customer satisfaction are decisive factors for the sustainable development of companies. With the advance of digitalization and changing consumer attitudes, customers no longer seek merely a product or service, but a holistic experience and an emotional connection with the brand. In this context, relationship marketing appears not only as a method for improving customer service, but also as a strategic instrument for building sustainable business models. Sustainable business models require the integration of economic, social, and environmental dimensions into organizational management. They imply a new philosophy of interaction between the company and its stakeholders—customers, employees, suppliers, and partners. Relationship marketing provides the conceptual and instrumental framework for the realization of these interactions by emphasizing trust, loyalty, cooperation, and shared value. The present study seeks to demonstrate that the application of relationship marketing in tourism, and particularly in the field of tourist animation, not only leads to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, but also supports the development of sustainable business models. The empirical part is based on a study conducted at “BVS Entertainment” Ltd., one of the leading companies in the field of hotel animation in Bulgaria.

Relationship marketing is emerging as a contemporary marketing concept that goes beyond the boundaries of classical marketing, which is mainly oriented toward sales and short-term profits. At the core of the relational approach is the building and maintaining of long-term relationships with customers based on trust, commitment, and mutual value. The relevance of the topic stems from the intensifying competition in the tourism and service sectors, where service quality and customer satisfaction are decisive factors for the sustainable development of companies. With the advance of digitalization and changing consumer attitudes, customers no longer seek merely a product or service, but a holistic experience and an emotional connection with the brand. In this context, relationship marketing appears not only as a method for improving customer service, but also as a strategic instrument for building sustainable business models. Sustainable business models require the integration of economic, social, and environmental dimensions into organizational management. They imply a new philosophy of interaction between the company and its stakeholders—customers, employees, suppliers, and partners. Relationship marketing provides the conceptual and instrumental framework for the realization of these interactions by emphasizing trust, loyalty, cooperation, and shared value. The present study seeks to demonstrate that the application of relationship marketing in tourism, and particularly in the field of tourist animation, not only leads to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, but also supports the development of sustainable business models. The empirical part is based on a study conducted at “BVS Entertainment” Ltd., one of the leading companies in the field of hotel animation in Bulgaria.

Craft products are export commodities that contribute to Bali's economic growth, but have experienced a decline in export value. The increasingly complex dynamics of the craft industry present various strategic challenges for craft businesses in Bali. Considering that craft products not only serve as a source of regional and national income but also constitute a cultural heritage, this requires attention. This study has theoretical innovations regarding the integration of innovation and relationship marketing as intangible resources from the RBV perspective. Furthermore, competitive advantage as a mediating variable in this relationship has rarely been studied specifically in the context of traditional craft products facing the global export market. In this context, Balinese craft businesses are required to increase their competitiveness through the implementation of sustainable innovation and strengthening relationships with customers as an effort to encourage improved marketing performance. This study involved all craft businesses in Bali as the population. The sample size was 96. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results of the study proved that innovation influences competitive advantage and marketing performance, but the effect was not significant on marketing performance, while customer relationships influenced competitive advantage and marketing performance. In this study, the competitive advantage achieved by Balinese craft businesses.

Purpose This study aims to investigate how business customers’ dominance in the downstream market influences the profits of upstream suppliers. It also explores how suppliers’ diversification strategies – specifically product and customer diversification – moderate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel data from auto-component suppliers transacting with automakers in the global automotive industry. Regression analysis is conducted while addressing firm-level heterogeneity and endogeneity to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results show that suppliers earn lower profit margins when transacting with automakers that hold large market shares in the global auto market. Moreover, product diversification reduces the negative effect of customer dominance on supplier profit margins, while customer diversification unexpectedly amplifies it. Originality/value This study offers novel insights into the power dynamics in industrial marketing relationships. It extends resource dependence theory by demonstrating the effectiveness of diversification strategies suppliers use as a counter-power apparatus to lessen dependence on customers with dominant positions in the downstream market.

This study examines the structural relationships among perceived social value, brand identification, brand attachment, brand commitment, and brand loyalty in the context of eco-friendly and vegan cosmetics consumption. Drawing on self-concept theory, self-congruity theory, and relationship marketing theory, this study proposes that perceived social value and brand identification serve as key antecedents of brand attachment, which subsequently enhances brand loyalty through the mediating role of brand commitment. Data were collected from 255 consumers and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping. Results indicate that both perceived social value and brand identification significantly influence brand attachment, which subsequently affects brand commitment and brand loyalty. The mediating effect of brand commitment was confirmed, and sequential mediation analysis further revealed that brand attachment and brand commitment serially mediate the relationships between the two independent variables and brand loyalty. These findings suggest that in ethical consumption contexts, relationship maintenance intention (commitment) rather than emotional attachment serves as a critical mechanism in forming behavioral loyalty, offering theoretical and practical implications for relationship-oriented marketing strategies in eco-friendly and vegan cosmetics brands.