The mediating role of cooperative norms in the formation of buyer commitment in the buyer–seller relationship
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 22 August 2022
Issue publication date: 22 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on Foa and Foa’s elaboration of social exchange theory, the authors propose that buyers reciprocate perceived commitment on the part of the salesperson and supplier with commitment on their own parts because of strengthening of the relationship’s tacit governance mechanism – cooperative norms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data from 155 buyers doing business with a multinational supplier. The buyers were from firms generating less than $100,000 in billings. The salesforce of the supplier firm sponsoring the research is responsible for account management and communicating directly with buyers.
Findings
Buyers, who feel that their suppliers are providing a symbolic, long-term, particularistic benefit (commitment), respond with their own strengthened commitment to the relationship; this mutualism is explained entirely by the mediating effect of the relationship’s cooperative norms. Where buyers perceive generally favorable treatment (satisfaction), without these three qualities, their own reciprocal commitment increases directly and cooperative norms play no part. The results also demonstrate the transition of buyer perceptions of the salesperson as they develop into beliefs about the selling firm as a whole.
Practical implications
Drawing on the “reciprocation-in-kind” principle, supplier firms seeking long-term, open-ended commitment from their customers should cultivate it via similarly long-term and open-ended commitments of their own. Attention must be given to the unwritten, often unstated “rules of the road” for business relationships, as these rules represent the mechanism through which investments in long-term, profitable partnerships bear fruit.
Originality/value
The conceptual model draws on and empirically tests Foa and Foa’s framework within social exchange theory to predict what form of buyer reciprocation will result, based on the characteristics of perceived seller-provided benefits. This study illustrates that the tacit governance structure of a B2B relationship – its cooperative norms – plays a critical role in the strength of a buyer’s commitment to its supplier.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank National Council for Scientific and Technological (CNPq-Brazil) for provinding support for this research (Code 001).
Citation
Vieira, V.A., Mayberry, R., Boles, J., Johnson-Busbin, J. and Pereira, R.C. (2023), "The mediating role of cooperative norms in the formation of buyer commitment in the buyer–seller relationship", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 38 No. 7, pp. 1409-1423. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-01-2021-0044
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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