An exploration of the moderators of business relationship value

Background: This study focuses on an important element of customer-supplier relationships, business relationship value. Business-to-business marketing literature reports relationship commitment as the most important antecedent of value of a business relationship. This study argues that there are moderating factors present in customer-supplier relationships, affecting the direct link of relationship value and relationship commitment. Customer attractiveness and customer’s commitment to the supplier are identified as the moderators affecting the value-commitment link. Materials and Methods: Sixty India based suppliers selected from a range of industries participated in this cross sectional research. Data was collected using a self-completed questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis to test the direct link between value and relationship commitment and moderated regression analysis technique was employed to test the hypothesised moderating effect of customer attractiveness and customer’s commitment. Results: Results support the study hypotheses. There is a positive effect of supplier’s relationship commitment on supplier’s perception of value realization. Moderated regression analysis results reveal that customer attractiveness and customer’s commitment moderate the direct link of supplier’s commitment and perception of relationship value. Conclusion: The study shows the existence of moderators in customer-supplier relationships. Value realization depends not only on the supplier’s commitment but also varies according to the strength of customer’s commitment and customer attractiveness. If companies are to enjoy long-term success in the business marketplace, they must effectively manage the relationships with their exchange partners. The knowledge of exchange partner’s capabilities and attitude is crucial to enable the firm to invest their resources in the most efficient and effective way.

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