The future of relational research in international marketing: constructs and conduits

Reviews relational research in marketing and makes suggestions for its application internationally. Issues relating to nature and role of relationships are highlighted. Specifically, suggests looking more widely, and to other cultures, for relational constructs. We illustrate this by considering the parallel Chinese literature on guanxi. Also argues that relationships should be seen merely as conduits; necessary but not sufficient for improved performance. Information and “animal spirits” are the two key factors that flow through these conduits. Finally, suggestions are made for applying relationship marketing internationally, relating to dynamics, dyads, contextual moderators, model completeness and culture.

[1]  A. Pecotich,et al.  Social Factors Influencing Export Initiation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises , 2001 .

[2]  Tim Ambler,et al.  Successful Export Practice , 1994 .

[3]  Joseph P. Cannon,et al.  An Examination of the Nature of Trust in Buyer–Seller Relationships: , 1997 .

[4]  T. Ambler.  How much of brand equity is explained by trust , 1997 .

[5]  F. Cheung,et al.  Distribution in China: A guide through the maze , 1995 .

[6]  G. Becker.  Ethics in business and society : Chinese and western perspectives , 1996 .

[7]  O. Williamson,et al.  Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Antitrust Implications. , 1977 .

[8]  J. Johanson,et al.  The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments , 1977 .

[9]  Shankar Ganesan.  Determinants of Long-Term Orientation in Buyer-Seller Relationships , 1994 .

[10]  Evert Gummesson,et al.  Broadening and Specifying Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[11]  D. Ford.  Understanding business markets : interaction, relationships and networks , 1997 .

[12]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[13]  Dong-Jin Lee.  Developing international strategic alliances between exporters and importers: The case of Australian exporters , 1998 .

[14]  Jeannie L. Johnson,et al.  Japanese and Local Partners Commitment to IJVs: Psychological Consequences of Outcomes and Investments in the IJV Relationships , 1995 .

[15]  T. Duncan,et al.  A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing Relationships , 1998 .

[16]  Barton A. Weitz,et al.  The Use of Pledges to Build and Sustain Commitment in , 1992 .

[17]  R. Adolphs,et al.  Impaired recognition of emotion in facial expressions following bilateral damage to the human amygdala , 1994, Nature.

[18]  M. Boisot,et al.  Information Space , 1995 .

[19]  O. Williamson.  Transaction-Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractual Relations , 1979, The Journal of Law and Economics.

[20]  Tim Ambler,et al.  The Silk Road to International Marketing: Profit and Passion in Global Business , 2000 .

[21]  E. Penrose.  The theory of the growth of the firm twenty-five years after , 1960 .

[22]  R. Rumelt.  How much does industry matter , 1991 .

[23]  J. Farley,et al.  Corporate Culture, Customer Orientation, and Innovativeness in Japanese Firms: A Quadrad Analysis , 1993 .

[24]  Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp,et al.  The Effects of Trust and Interdependence on Relationship Commitment , 1996 .

[25]  J. Steenkamp,et al.  Generalizations about trust in marketing channel relationships using meta-analysis , 1998 .

[26]  James A. Narus,et al.  A Model of the Distributor's Perspective of Distributor-Manufacturer Working Relationships , 1984 .

[27]  J. Tao.  The Moral Foundation of Welfare in Chinese Society: Between Virtues and Rights , 1996 .

[28]  L. Stern,et al.  The Environment of Marketing Channel Dyads: A Framework for Comparative Analysis , 1983 .

[29]  D. Wank.  The Institutional Process of Market Clientelism: Guanxi and Private Business in a South China City , 1996, The China Quarterly.

[30]  P. Lorange,et al.  Strategic Alliances: Formation, Implementation, and Evolution , 1992 .

[31]  Adamantios Diamantopoulos,et al.  Export information acquisition modes: measure development and validation , 1999 .

[32]  S. Hart,et al.  Export Marketing Research and the Effect of Export Experience in Industrial SMEs , 1994 .

[33]  Ravi S. Achrol,et al.  Changes in the Theory of Interorganizational Relations in Marketing: Toward a Network Paradigm: , 1997 .

[34]  N. Piercy,et al.  Examining the role of buyer-seller relationships in export performance , 1997 .

[35]  A. Anderson,et al.  Emotional memory: What does the amygdala do? , 1997, Current Biology.

[36]  Judy A. Siguaw,et al.  Effects of Supplier Market Orientation on Distributor Market Orientation and the Channel Relationship: The Distributor Perspective , 1998 .

[37]  Eric W. K. Tsang.  Can guanxi be a source of sustained competitive advantage for doing business in China , 1998 .

[38]  Ian R. Macneil.  The new social contract: An inquiry into modern contractual relations , 1980 .

[39]  J. Keynes,et al.  The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. , 1936 .

[40]  Jeannie L. Johnson,et al.  Setting the Stage for Trust and Strategic Integration in Japanese-U.S. Cooperative Alliances , 1996 .

[41]  J. Sheth,et al.  Relationship marketing in consumer markets: Antecedents and consequences , 1995 .

[42]  P. Patterson,et al.  The Determinants of Successful Relationships in International Business , 1999 .

[43]  W. Dugger.  The Economic Institutions of Capitalism , 1987 .

[44]  Preet S. Aulakh,et al.  Trust and Performance in Cross-Border Marketing Partnerships: A Behavioral Approach , 1996 .

[45]  Manohar U. Kalwani,et al.  Long-Term Manufacturer-Supplier Relationships: Do They Pay off for Supplier Firms? , 1995 .