Dimensions and outcomes of B2B relational exchange: a meta‐analysis

Purpose – The primary purpose of the present paper is to critically evaluate the extant literature on relational exchange, a fundamental driver of buyer‐seller relationship management in the twenty‐first century. Toward that goal, a meta‐analytic approach is employed to determine specific conditions under which relational exchange may have a greater or lesser impact on B2B relationship outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – The data were extracted from a multitude of effects in the large body of empirical research investigating relational exchange within the business and allied social sciences research. Then, a meta‐analytic methodology using multiple regression was used to assess the in/congruity across relational exchange effects.Findings – The findings indicate that the association between relational exchange and outcome variables is highly dependent on three factors: how relational exchange is operationally defined, who evaluates the relationship (upstream firm versus downstream firm and high‐status e...

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