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COMMENTARY Relationship
quality
Relationship quality: a critical
literature review and research
583
agenda
Pinelopi Athanasopoulou
University of Peloponnese, Athens, Greece

Abstract
Purpose – In today’s highly competitive environment losing customers is very costly. Customer
retention and loyalty have become possible through the development of long-term, mutually beneficial
relationships with customers. This paper seeks to critically review the literature on relationship
quality (RQ) and to suggest avenues for further research.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected with impartial cross-referencing of papers
published in all major journals in the marketing area. Papers are presented in tabulated form based on
six rigorously cross-checked categories of information.
Findings – Most RQ research centres on business-to-business (b-to-b) markets and products use
survey data, look at relationships from the customer perspective and analyse either the US or
European markets. Also, results differ in various contexts and there is no universally accepted
framework for RQ. By analysing the different variables used in previous studies, a general conceptual
framework is provided for the study of RQ.
Research limitations/implications – The characteristics of RQ research that were identified from
the review indicate that future research should focus on service and retail settings; validate existing
conceptual frameworks across countries and contexts; do more seller and dyad studies; use more
qualitative approaches to capture the subtle differences between contexts; analyse RQ in different
relationship development stages, and look at new types of relationships between parties that may not
be individuals or businesses or may not assume the traditional roles of buyer and seller.
Practical implications – The framework developed here provides firms with a guide to the factors
that may affect the quality of their relationships with customers and helps them in developing effective
relationship marketing strategies.
Originality/value – The paper provides a comprehensive review of the RQ literature that has not
been done before and develops a general framework that can be applied in all contexts and will guide
future studies in the area. Overall, the study helps researchers identify the critical issues and concepts
related to RQ and shapes future research in the field.
Keywords Relationship marketing, Research, Customer retention
Paper type Literature review

Introduction
In today’s highly competitive environment loosing customers is very costly.
Researchers have concluded that it is five times more expensive to acquire new
customers than to keep existing ones. Therefore, companies have strived to develop
long-term relationships with their customers in order to create customer loyalty and European Journal of Marketing
Vol. 43 No. 5/6, 2009
increase profitability. The development of successful, long-term, mutually beneficial pp. 583-610
relationships has attracted the attention of researchers for the past few decades. Within q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0309-0566
this research stream, the issue of relationship quality (RQ) has emerged as very DOI 10.1108/03090560910946945
EJM important. When such quality is good, the relationship is successful and vice versa.
43,5/6 The three major questions that researchers have addressed are:
(1) Which factors increase or decrease the quality of relationships?
(2) How can we measure RQ?
(3) What are the consequences of RQ?
584
The problem, though, is that relationships in business-to-business (b-to-b) markets
differ from those in retail settings. Also, relationships in products generally differ from
those in services. This paper aims to critically review the literature on relationship
quality and make suggestions for further research in the field. In particular, the goal is
to highlight, elucidate, rationalise and interpret the similarities and differences among
the studies in content and methodology and make conclusions as to where the field is
going. As this literature has not been reviewed previously, this would be a timely and
useful contribution to the field. Also, this paper contributes to the relationship
marketing field by developing a general framework for the analysis of RQ that can be
used in future research irrespective of context.
The paper is structured as follows. First we explain the methodology followed; then
we present the results of the review; thirdly we make conclusions and indicate the
developmental trends in the literature, and finally we offer suggestions for future
research.

Methodology
This review was done through a rigorous comparison of peer-reviewed literature on
RQ and an examination of its chronological development. In order to select articles for
inclusion, a set of selection criteria was set. The first was that only academic papers
will be used. Practitioner articles were excluded as they could not be studied using the
same analytical constructs with academic journal papers, for example, objectives and
methodology. Also, their form differs a lot from the type of research that is the subject
of this study. A similar review of the practitioner literature would possibly be of value,
as it has not been analysed previously. Secondly, all papers selected had to do with RQ
either directly, when the title or the text included the construct, or indirectly, because it
was inferred by the content of the paper. All the included papers involved findings
related to at least one of the three categories of variables analysed in this review (i.e.
antecedents, consequences and dimensions of RQ). Finally, all papers selected studied
the quality of dyadic relationships in a business-to-business or business-to-customer
context and therefore, all studies that investigate networks are not included. Network
literature is a big part of relationship marketing. However, the studies on relationship
quality concern dyadic relationships. In the future, it may be interesting to analyse the
quality of network relationships.
Ultimately, a total of 64 studies (from 1987 to March 2007) were selected for
examination. The method of data collection was impartial cross-referencing. The major
journals in the marketing area were scanned for publications regarding relationship
quality and then all the cross-references were also analysed. No attempt was made at
this stage to separate studies on the grounds of perspective (buyer, seller or dyad), type
of service or product, research method or findings. This method was chosen to:
 .
Reduce the possibility of subjectively-driven selection criteria to assist theory Relationship
development; and quality
.
To reflect the fact that the body of literature, whatever its internal
inconsistencies, represents a canon that must be understood in toto to reflect
the importance of the internal dynamics of discourse within the literature itself.

These presumptions are evident in previous reviews done in the services marketing 585
literature (Fisk et al., 1993, 1995; Tyler and Stanley, 1999). Since there are no previous
reviews on relationship quality, an example from other contexts was important.
Each study contained a lot of information, and thus, it was decided that the best
way to compare studies was through the creation of a comparative table. This table
would also help researchers that work in this field. The first table constructed
attempted to separate the key elements of the studies into seven categories:
(1) Paper details (Author – Journal – Year of publication).
(2) Type of relationship.
(3) Perspective (buyer, seller, or dyad).
(4) Type of service-product.
(5) Country from which the sample was drawn.
(6) Methodology and sample information.
(7) Findings.

This deconstructed the studies so that it became possible to compare similarities of

approach across disparate literature types while retaining the awareness of difference.
From the further study of the papers involved, it was clear that there was a need to
simplify the data and rearrange the categories so that the straight comparison of
studies will be possible and that more detailed information about the findings of each
study is provided and contrasted. In line with this goal, findings were split in three
categories: Antecedents of RQ; Dimensions of RQ, and Consequences of RQ.
Those categories were selected because all studies analysed involved at least one of
these categories of findings. This form of tabulation will be helpful for future
researchers in reconstructing full theoretical frameworks for RQ and test them. Also, it
is useful to see the differences in results in these three categories according to the type
of relationship, service-product, perspective or methodology. Furthermore, another
change that was made in order to simplify the table for analysis, was the grouping of
categories 2, 3, 4, and 5 into one named “theoretical positioning”. This category
included the type of relationship; the type of perspective; the type of service or product
involved, and the country from which the sample was drawn. Finally, very few studies
involved moderating variables and as a result, there was no new category created but
these variables were presented in the table in between the variables that they moderate.
Subjective processes were inevitable in the reduction of the literature into a
tabulated form; however, there was an effort to achieve consistency and objectivity. To
minimise subjectivity, the tables were checked and re-checked against the studies that
they attempted to encapsulate, to ensure that observations were consistent with the
central theme and dynamics of the articles. Observations that emerged from the
creation of the tables were again re-checked against the articles as written, to test the
EJM observations’ legitimacy and applicability. Such rigorous cross-checking was viewed
43,5/6 as the only viable, if imperfect, way of attempting to create valid comparable data.

Results
A breakdown of the results by study can be seen in Table I.
586 General observations
The study of relationship quality begins with Dwyer and Oh in, 1987 and is established
by Crosby et al. (1990). This publication creates a stream of papers on the
conceptualisation of the construct of relationship quality. Up to 1995, the studies on
this issue are few but more researchers start analysing this construct from 1995
onwards developing a whole stream of research within the relationship marketing area.
Most studies appeared in top tier marketing journals. The earlier studies, up to 1999,
appeared mainly in the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science. But in later studies, from 2000 to 2007, more specialized
publications were favoured such as Industrial Marketing Management; Journal of
Business Research, and the European Journal of Marketing. It is notable that 62.5 per
cent of studies appeared in just six journals and Industrial Marketing Management
alone published 18.75 per cent of the studies. This is mainly due to the
business-to-business character of most studies in the relationship quality area. Also,
earlier studies are mainly on industrial products whereas in the last four years (from
2003 onwards) we can see a change of focus towards services either
business-to-business or retail and that is why more specialized services journals
publish RQ studies lately (IJBM, MSQ, JSR, IJSIM). In total the per cent of studies that
appeared in each journal are presented in Table II.
Furthermore, in product-related research there are more studies in
business-to-business than in retail markets whereas the opposite stands for
service-related research. Studies in professional services are very few. In total, apart
from the conceptual papers, there are 38 studies in business-to-business relationships
and 19 in retail relationships. Also, two studies analyse different types of relationships,
such as relationships between marketing executives of firms (Menon et al., 1996) or
interorganisational relationships between automobile manufacturers and their own
salespeople (Park and Deitz, 2006). Furthermore, 26 studies are done in product
markets whereas 25 are done in services, eight deal with both products and services or
it is not defined which industry they deal with, and five are conceptual or theoretical.
Moreover, more than one third of all studies (24) analyse the US market although
from 2000 onwards there is an increase of studies from other parts of the planet such as
Europe (13 studies in various countries but mainly The Netherlands, UK and
Germany); Asia (7); Australasia (8), and Canada (2). Most studies analyse one domestic
market and that is probably due to the characteristics of relationships that differ
widely between different countries, and thus, it is difficult to generalize results across
countries. There are only three studies that are multi-country, one is a buyer side study
that investigates the relationship between automobile manufacturers and car dealers in
the USA and The Netherlands (Kumar et al., 1995); the second is a seller side study that
looks at the relationship between service firms and their international partners in
Sweden, Australia and the UK (Friman et al., 2002), and lastly there is a buyer side
study of relationships between professional painters and distributors of paints in

Author/year/journal
Dwyer and Oh, 1987, JMR
Crosby et al. 1990, JM
Lagace et al. 1991, JPSandSM
Moorman et al., 1992, JMR
Han et al. 1993, IMM
Relationship quality:
a review of the literature
Table I.
Theoretical positioning Methodology/sample
Automobile manufacturers and Survey, random sample of 243 US
dealers dealers (58 in pretest, 185 main
Buyer side survey) from telephone directory
USA of five rich and five lean Standard
Metropolitan Statistical Areas,
167 resp.a (34 pretest and 13
main), 69% r.rb
Salespeople – life insurance retail Survey, random sample of 469
customers policy holders 25-44 years old,
Buyer side, USA heads of households, members of
national panel, 296 resp. (63% r.r)
Physicians and pharmaceutical Survey, convenience sample of 90
salespeople medical doctors (100% r.r)
Buyer side, USA
Providers and users of market Survey, convenience sample of
research 1,719 users of market research
Buyer side, USA identified by Advertising Age’s
1990 list of 200 top advertisers (3
types of users – MKTc managers,
firm MKT researchers and
non-MKT managers), 779 resp.
(45.3% r.r)
Four types of relationships
researched:
1. Internal MKT manager and
researcher
2. Internal MKT manager –
external MKT researcher
3. Internal – external MKT
researcher
4. Internal non-MKT manager and
MKT researcher
Purchasing agents and Survey, convenience sample of
salespeople (industrial 123 purchasing agents and 123
relationships) salespeople drawn from 41
Dyad, USA member companies of Institute for
study of Business markets. 86
resp. (41 agents and 44
salespeople, 33and 36% r.r
respectively)
RQ antecedents
Participation in decision making
Formalization
Centralization
Similarity
Perceived salesperson service
domain expertise
Relational selling behaviour
Ethical behaviour
Expertise
Frequency of interaction (negative
impact on trust, not significant for
satisfaction)
Duration of relationship
User trust in researcher
Comparison level of alternative
exchange relationships (quality of
outcomes from other relationship)
Future uncertainty due to
overdependence
Findings
RQ dimensions
Satisfaction
Minimal opportunism
Trust
Customer satisfaction
Trust in the salesperson
Trust with salesperson
Satisfaction with salesperson
Perceived quality of interaction
Researcher involvement in
research activities
Commitment to relationship
Mutual trust, Satisfactory
exchange (partners’ satisfaction
with each other’s performance)
RQ consequences
–
Anticipation of future interaction
Sales effectiveness
–
Market research utilization
Buyers: Purchasing efficiency (i.e.
better delivery schedules, lower
production costs etc.)
Suppliers: Price/production
stability, Enhanced Marketing
efficiency, Optimal capacity
planning, Customer orientation
(continued)
Relationship
quality
587

Table I.
Author/year/journal
Johnson et al. 1993, JM
Storbacka et al. 1994, IJSIM
Wray et al. 1994, EJM
Morgan and Hunt, 1994, JM
Zineldin, 1995, IJBM
Kumar et al. 1995, JMR
Bejou et al. 1996, JBR
Theoretical positioning
US manufacturers and Japanese
importers of consumer goods
Buyer side, Japan
Framework for all services,
examples from financial services
Financial intermediary and
consumer in financial services
Buyer side, USA
Automobile tire retailers and their
customers, Seller side, USA
Banks and corporate customers
Buyer side, Sweden
Large, national automobile
manufacturers and small, regional
new car dealers Buyer side,
USA and The Netherlands
Salespeople and retail customers
in financial services
Buyer side, USA
EJM
588
43,5/6
Findings
Methodology/sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences
Survey, convenience sample of Importers’ perception of power Satisfaction cooperation –
203 managers of importing use relationship stability
retailing firms (74 resp., 36.5%
resp. rate) reporting on individual
distribution relationships within
the firm
Conceptual, individual level, – Satisfaction Relationship strength
firm’s point of view Commitment, #
Bonds Relationship longevity
Telephone survey in four cities, Selling orientation Customer satisfaction with the –
random sample, of 1,944 Customer orientation relationship Trust in intermediary
consumers, 564 resp., 29% r.r Seller’s expertise and ethics
Relationship duration
Survey, random sample of 1,394 Relationship termination costs Trust Acquiescence
independent retailers drawn from Relationship benefits Commitment Propensity to leave
trade association list, 204 resp. Shared values Cooperation
(14,6% r.r) Communication Functional conflict
Opportunistic behaviour Uncertainty
Survey, random sample of 300 Environment (economic, technical, – –
companies, 179 resp. (60% r.r) in legal/political) Atmosphere
two mailings (power/dependence,
cooperation/conflict,
trustworthiness)
Interaction process (information
exchange, business or financial
exchange and social exchange)
Survey, random sample of new Distributive fairness (in earnings Affective and manifest conflict –
car dealers from commercial lists, and other outcomes from Trust in partner’s honesty and
1,640 USA (from 2,100 list of two relationship) benevolence
states) and 1,600 in The Procedural fairness (bilateral Commitment
Netherlands (from 4,000 list of communication, impartiality, Willingness to invest
whole country). 453 and 309 refutability, explanation, Expectation of continuity
responses respectively (28% and knowledgeability, courtesy)
19% r.rs). Final usable sample due Outcomes given alternatives
to missing data 289 Netherlands Environmental uncertainty
and 417 USA Age of the relationship
Survey, random sample, 734 Seller’s ethical orientation Customer satisfaction –
telephone interviews, 564 Seller’s expertise Trust in salesperson
responses (76% r.r), Artificial Relationship duration
Neural Network Analyses Customer and selling orientation
(ANNA)
(continued)
 Findings
Author/year/journal Theoretical positioning Methodology/sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences

Wilson and Jantrania, 1996,
Australia Marketing Journal
Menon et al. 1996, JAMS
Henning-Thurau and Klee, 1997,
Psychology and Marketing
Leuthesser, 1997, IMM
Doney and Cannon, 1997, JM
Gwinner et al. 1998, JAMS
Intraorganizational relationships
– Business Week 1000 companies,
Undefined side, Global
Consumers and firms
Supplier – buyer in various
B-to-B products, Buyer side, USA
Industrial relationships in
manufacturing firms (supplier –
buyer)
Buyer side, USA
Service provider and customers
(various industries)
Buyer side, USA
Conceptual
Survey, 1,160 senior level
Marketing execs, 262 responses,
22% r.r – Critical Incident
technique
Theoretical – conceptual
Survey, random sample of 765
members of National Association
of Purchasing Management, 454
resp. (59.3% r.r)
Three wave mail survey, random
sample of 678 members of
National Association of
Purchasing Management, 210
resp., 31% r.r.
First study: in-depth interviews
Judgement sample of 21
customers through personal
acquaintances
Second study: Survey, random
sample of 530 customers, 299
responses, 56% r.r
Value creation dimensions in
relationships (economic, strategic
and behavioural)
Centralization
Formalization
Team spirit
Interdepartmental
interconnectedness
Communication barriers
Customer satisfaction
Initiating communication
Signalling changes
Disclosing information
Interaction frequency
Characteristics of supplier firm
(reputation and size)
Characteristics of supplier firm
relationship (willingness to
customize, confidential info
sharing, length of relationship)
Characteristics of salesperson
(expertise and power)
Characteristics of salesperson
relationship (likeability,
similarity, frequent business and
social contact, length of
relationship)
– –
Relationship success affected by:
Trust
Satisfaction
Structural and social bonds
Goal compatibility
Investments Comparison level of
the alternatives
Functional conflict
Dysfunctional conflict
Trust
Commitment
Customer’s product-related
quality perception
Satisfaction, Trust
Moderating variables:
product importance and age of
relationship
Buying firm’s trust of supplier
firm and of salesperson
–
Quality of marketing strategy
#
Market performance
Customer retention
Share of business
Supplier purchase choice
Anticipated future interaction
Control variables:
Delivery performance
Relative price/cost
Product/service performance
Purchase experience with supplier
Relational benefits for customer
Social
Psychological
Economic customisation
(continued)
Relationship
quality

589

Table I.

Table I.
Author/year/journal
Dorsch et al. 1998, JAMS
Smith, 1998a, Psychology and
Marketing
Smith 1998b, Canadian Journal
of Administrative Sciences
Selnes, 1998 EJM
Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998;
Cornell Hotel and Rest. Admin.
Quarterly
Jap et al. 1999, JBR
Hopkinson and Hogarth, 1999
Theoretical positioning
Vendors and purchasing
executives
Buyer side, USA
Purchasing professionals and
sales representatives Buyer side,
Canada
Purchasing professionals and
sales representatives
Buyer side, Canada
Food producer and its customers
(Cafeterias and Restaurants)
Buyer side, Norway
Hotels and their guests, Buyer
side, USA
Retail firms (organizational
buyers) and their sellers
Buyer side, USA
Franchise channel relationships
EJM
590
43,5/6
Findings
Methodology/sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences
Mail survey with slightly different – Trust –
questionnaire to three groups of Satisfaction
respondents asking about their Commitment
best, typical or worst vendor. Opportunism
Random sample of 975 Customer orientation
purchasing executives from Ethical profile
commercial mailing list (94 resp.,
9.6% r.r)
Survey, random sample of 185 Similarity of two parties (in sex, Trust –
male and181 female professionals age, work attitude, personality) – Satisfaction
from Purchasing Management affects next three also directly Commitment
Association members in Canada, Relationship investment
128 resp. (54 male and 74 female), Open communication
37% r.r Relationalism
Supplier representative expertise
Relationship duration
Survey, random sample of 220 Social bonds Trust –
male and 200 female professionals Relationship investment Satisfaction
from Purchasing Management Supplier expertise Commitment
Association members (105 male Communication/cooperation
and 80 female resp. 44% r.r)
Survey, random sample of 400 Competence, communication, Trust Relationship enhancement and
purchasing managers of customer commitment, conflict handling Satisfaction continuity
firms as key informants, 177
responses, (44% r.r)
Survey – random sample of 5,000 Fair costs Trust Less opportunistic behavior
American Express Holders that Relationship benefits Commitment Product use (incremental
have stayed at least three times in Switching costs business)
hotels of a list Value of relationship understood Voluntary partnership (referrals,
Certainty WOM, references, publicity)
One large grocery chain. In depth – Trust Consumer behaviours:
interviews with four key Affective conflict Friendliness
informants- procurement Manifest conflict Question asking
employees, three senior category Disengagement Disagreement
managers, two senior group Expectations of continuity Compliance
managers, 1 vice president of Time spent talking in meetings
procurement and observation of
buyer-seller interactions
Theoretical – conceptual Strategic objectives Power equilibrium –
Resource constraints Sense of unity
Agency problems Expectations of future
Information constraints Anticipation of trouble
(continued)

Author/year/journal Theoretical positioning
Baker et al., 1999, JAMS Suppliers and resellers, various
industries
Seller side, USA
Johnson, 1999, JAMS Suppliers and distributors in
industrial machinery and
equipment
Buyer side, USA
Garbarino and Johnson, 1999, JM Service providers and consumers
Buyer side, USA
Henning-Thurau 2000, JMM Manufacturers and consumers of
electronic products (video and
reflex cameras)
Buyer side, Germany
Naude and Buttle, 2000, IMM Executives in various industries
and their suppliers (B-to-B)
Buyer side, UK
Boles et al. 2000, JBR Salesperson and business
customer (telecommunications
services)
Buyer side, Global
Scanlan and McPhail, 2000, J. of Business travellers and hotel
Hospitality and Tourism Res. receptionists
Buyer side, Australia
Table I.
Findings
Methodology/sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences
Survey, convenience sample of Supplier’s perceived reseller Trust –
1,127 suppliers indicated by market orientation Commitment
reseller members of the National Satisfaction with reseller
Association of Wholesalers, 380 Perception of cooperative norms
resp., 33.7% r.r. with reseller
Survey, convenience sample of Expectation of relationship Trust Distributor’s strategic integration
400 qualified key informants from continuity Fairness of relationship with supplier
distributor firms, 177 responses, Absence of opportunism
44.7% r.r.
Survey, random sample of 1,000 Actor satisfaction Overall satisfaction Future intentions (relation of
customers of professional Actor familiarity Commitment constructs differs according to
non-profit repertory theatre Play attitudes Trust three different customer groups)
company in New York. (375 Theatre attitudes
occasional subscribers, 250
current subscribers, 375
individual ticket buyers), 401 resp.
40% r.r.
Face-to-face questionnaire survey, Skills attribution Trust Customer retention
random sample of 293 consumers Customer skills level Product-related quality perception
in one city Skills specificity Emotional and calculative
commitment
Convenience sample of 40 – Trust –
executives attending a Satisfaction
management course, 2 stages, 1st Coordination
unstructured questions, 2nd Power
ranking questions Profit
Survey, random sample of 3,010 Similarity Customer satisfaction Anticipation of future interaction
business customers of Fortune Service domain expertise Trust in the salesperson Sales effectiveness
500 Telecommunications firm, Relational selling behaviour
1,009 resp. (33% r.r) Equity
Two stage design: Relationship attributes: Quality of the stage of Long-term relationship
Exploratory – 15 in depth Social bonding relationship formation during
interviews with business Reliability relationship development affected
travellers Personalization by:
Descriptive – Survey, Familiarization Memorable and satisfying service
convenience sample of 500 experiences
business travellers – guests, Intention to continue stay
questionnaire given by reception, Positive first impressions
119 usable responses, 24% r.r. Receptionist’s adaptive behaviour
to meet customer needs
(continued)
Relationship
quality
591

Table I.
Author/year/journal Theoretical positioning
Hibbard et al. 2001, JMR Marketing channel of a Fortune
500 consumer durable
manufacturer – relationship with
its independent dealers hurt by
addition of mass merchandiser in
marketing channel,
Buyer side, Global
Goodman and Dion, 2001, IMM Manufacturer – distributor
relationships in high tech
industrial products
Buyer side, USA
de Ruyeter et al. 2001, IMM B-to-B relationships in high
technology markets (very high
volume – VHV copiers)
Buyer side, The Netherlands
Hewett et al. 2002, JAMS Industrial purchasing executives
and sellers (goods and services),
Dyad study, USA
Woo and Cha, 2002, Hospitality Hotels and guests
Management Buyer side, Korea
Henning-Thurau et al., 2002, JSR Consumer services firms and their
customers
Buyer side, USA
Wong and Sohal 2002a, IJ of Department store and retail
Retail and Distribution shoppers
Management Buyer side, Australia
Wong and Sohal 2002b, Department store and retail
Managing Service Quality shoppers
Buyer side, Australia
Methodology/sample
Survey, random sample of 1,186
independent dealers (list supplied
by manufacturer), 742 responses
(62.6% r.r)
Survey, random sample of 675
firms from lists of Distributor
Associations, 215 usable resp.,
31.9% r.r.
Convenience sample, 54 in-depth
interviews with business
customers of three main VHV
suppliers
Survey – convenience sample of
986 Seller and 113 buyers, 166 and
81 responses respectively and
16.8% and 72% response rates
Survey, random sample of 462
hotel guests staying at 12 5-star
hotels, 208 resp. (45% r.r)
Survey – 71 student data
collectors with five questionnaires
each ¼ 355 total, 336 responses,
173 female and 163 male
Survey, random sample of 1,261
customers in a department store
chain, on site (45.5% r.r) or by
reply paid mail (37.2% r.r)
Survey, random sample of 1,261
customers in a department store
chain, on site (45.5% r.r) or by
reply paid mail (37.2% r.r)
EJM
592
43,5/6
Findings
RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences
Perceived RQ before the RQ after the destructive act (Trust –
destructive act (trust and affective and affective commitment)
commitment), Total and Relative (same antecedents are used for
dependence of both supplier and effect on performance from the
dealer supplier’s perspective)
Type of response to destructive
act
Dependence and power, Commitment –
Idiosyncratic investments
Product saleability
Ease of sale
Effective communications
Anticipation of trust
Manufacturer’s strengths
Offer characteristics (product Trust Loyalty
performance and output, after Affective commitment Intention to stay
sales service) Calculative commitment
Relationship characteristics
(Account support, Communication
from supplier, Co-operation,
Harmonization of conflict)
Market characteristics
Replaceability
Switching costs
– Buyer’s perception of trust and Repurchase intentions
commitment in relationship
Moderating variable:
buyer’s corporate culture
Customer orientation Relational Trust Share of purchases
orientation Mutual disclosure Satisfaction Relationship continuity
Service provider attributes Word of mouth
Relational benefits (confidence, Satisfaction Word of mouth
social and special treatment Commitment Customer loyalty
benefits)
Salesperson trust – –
Salesperson commitment
Store commitment
Store trust
Service quality – –
(continued)

Author/year/journal
Friman et al. 2002, IMM
Lang and Colgate, 2003, IJBM
Keating et al. 2003, Managing
Service Quality
Walter et al. 2003, IMM
Roberts et al., 2003, EJM
Sanzo et al. 2003, IMM
Table I.
Theoretical positioning
Service firms and international
partners. International B-to-B
relationships
Seller side, Sweden, Australia and
UK
Financial service providers
(banks) and retail customers –
online relationships
Buyer side, New Zealand
Relationships in online retailing
Buyer side, Australia
Manufacturing supplier and
purchasing professional, various
industries
Buyer side, Germany
Service firms and their customers
Buyer side, Australia
Industrial firms and suppliers
(products and services),
Buyer side, Spain
Findings
Methodology/sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences
Five case studies, Critical incident Relationship termination costs Commitment Long-term relationship
technique, Extending Morgan and Relationship benefits Trust
Hunt’s (1994) model Shared values
Communication quality
Lack of opportunistic behaviour
Fairness
Perceived relationship
effectiveness
Prior beliefs of how likely the
partner will reciprocate acts of
trust and commitment
Survey, random, proportionately Commitment
stratified probability sample of Trust
2,688 consumers, two mailings, Satisfaction
1,346 resp. (55.5% r.r) Social bonds
Conflict
1st stage: two online focus groups Trust
in Australia Effort
2nd stage: online survey with Value
convenience sample of student Understanding
e-shoppers from Australian Communication
University, 259 resp. (24% r.r)
Survey, random sample of 560 Direct functions of relationship Commitment –
purchasing managers or agents, (cost reduction, volume, quality, Trust
230 responses (41.1% r.r). safeguard), Indirect functions of Satisfaction
relationship (market, scout,
innovation development, social
support)
Survey, random sample of 1,020 Service quality Trust in integrity Loyalty expressed by:
consumers, 251 responses Trust in benevolence Share information
(24.7% r.r) Commitment Say positive things
Affective conflict Recommend friends
Satisfaction Continue purchasing
Purchase additional services
Test new services
Structural personal surveys, two Effective communication Trust Buyer’s satisfaction with the
stages, random sample of 264 influenced by suppliers’: Conflict supplier
firms from Directory of industrial Use of coercive or non-coercive Value of relationship for the buyer
companies and industrial supply influence strategies
firms in Austrias (174 resp. 66% Cultural market orientation
r.r, same in both stages)
(continued)
Relationship
quality
593

Table I.
Author/year/journal Theoretical positioning
Woo and Ennew, 2004, EJM B-to-B relationships in
professional services (consulting
engineering services)
Buyer side, Hong Kong
Fynes et al. 2004, J of Purchasing Supply chain relationships,
and Supply Management Manufacturing companies in
electronics
Seller side, Ireland
Venetis and Ghauri 2004, EJM Advertising agencies and
business customers (products and
services),
Buyer side, The Netherlands
Lages et al. 2005, JBR Exporters and importers
Seller side, UK
Bennett and Barkensjo, 2005, Charities and their beneficiaries
IJSIM Buyer side, UK
Farrelly and Quester, 2005, IMM Football teams (Australian
Football League) and their
sponsors, Buyer side
Van Bruggen et al. 2005 IJRM B-to-B relationships
Professional painters
(owners/heads of painting firms)
and distributors of paints
Buyer side
Belgium and The Netherlands
EJM
594
43,5/6
Findings
Methodology/sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences
Survey, random sample of 273 – Cooperation Service quality
senior government engineers from Adaptation
the Staff list of Hong Kong Atmosphere
Government, 98 responses (36%
r.r)
Survey, convenience sample of – Trust, adaptation, Supply chain performance
538 companies, single informants, communication, cooperation expressed by:
202 resp. (38% r.r) Customer satisfaction
Delivery
Cost
Flexibility
Moderating variables:
Demand, technological and
supply uncertainty
Survey, convenience sample of Structural bonds (switch and Calculative commitment Relationship intentions (intention
1,112 representatives of 705 stuck bonds) Affective commitment to continue the relationship)
advertisers, 241 resp. (22% r.r of Trust
total and 31% of companies Service quality
approached)
Survey, random sample of 1,564 – Amount of information sharing, Export performance (financial,
enterprises from the Database of communication quality, long-term strategic and satisfaction with
the British Chamber of Commerce, relationship orientation, export venture)
person responsible for exporting, satisfaction with the relationship
111 responses (7% r.r, actual, 32%
effective)
Survey, convenience sample of Quality of charity’s RMd Trust Behavioural intention
1,000 employees and 1,000 (relationship advertising, two-way Benevolence Perceived service quality
students in London University communications, database MKG, Commitment
þ1,500 random people from two face-to-face contacts, listening
railway stations, 100 resp. (34, 37activities)
and 29 from 3 samples, 3.5%? r.r.) Satisfaction with service
provision
Survey, convenience sample of 54 – Trust, commitment Economic satisfaction,
relationships of which 46 non-economic satisfaction
examined (86% r.r)
Survey, convenience sample of Distributor channel function Trust, commitment, satisfaction
1,000 professional painters in The performance (location, and relationship conflicts
Netherlands and 500 in Belgium, assortment, financial and pricing
317 respondents, 21.1% r.r., (233 policies, personnel)
resp. from The Netherlands, 94 Dependence structure (total
from Belgium, 23.3 and 18.8% r.r interdependence, relative
respectively) distributor and customer
dependence)
(continued)

Author/year/journal
Huntley, 2006, IMM
Athanasopoulou (2006), JBBM
Park and Deitz, 2006, JBR
Ramaseshan et al. 2006, J of
Retailing
Ulaga and Eggert, 2006, EJM
Leonidou et al., 2006, IMM
Huang and Chiu, 2006, JAAB
Table I.
Theoretical positioning
B-to-B relationships, in
technology intensive
environments (marketing
representatives and business
customers of various industries)
Buyer side, USA
Corporate customers and financial
service providers (leasing
services) –
Relationship for NSD Seller side,
UK
Automobile manufacturers and
their salespeople
Buyer side, Korea
Department stores and their
tenants –
Buyer side, China
Industrial purchasing managers
and vendors, various industries –
goods
Buyer side, USA
Exporters and importers
Seller side, USA
Tourists and destinations
Findings
Methodology/sample RQ antecedents RQ dimensions RQ consequences
Telephone survey, convenience Goal congruity Trust, commitment Willingness to recommend,
sample of 240 customers of one service sales, product sales
Fortune 100 company selling IT
products and services, Key
informants, 203 resp. (84,6% r.r)
Nine case studies of leasing Communication quality – –
companies that involved 27 Relationship bonds
in-depth interviews with key Quality of relationship partners
informants and study of internal Customer-driven NSD strategy
documents Proficiency in knowledge
brokering
Survey, convenience sample of Adaptive selling behavior (ASB) Working relationship quality Salesperson’s job satisfaction
199 automobile salespeople that between salespeople and Salesperson’s performance
work in a major automobile colleagues
Korean Manufacturer (90% r.r) Managers
Other departments
Survey, random sample of 302 Non coercive power (affects Economic and social satisfaction Strategic performance (influenced
tenants drawn from 1,210. List economic and social satisfaction) # only by commitment)
supplied by a department store, Coercive power Commitment
295 responses (98% r.r)
Two stages – 1st in depth Perceived value of relationship Trust Intention to expand business with
interviews with ten senior level Commitment supplier Propensity to leave the
purchasing managers / 2nd Satisfaction relationship
survey with a random sample of
1,950 purchasing managers,
members of the Institute for
Supply Management, 400 usable
responses (20.5% r.r.)
Random, systematic sample of Uncertainty Adaptation
1,500 SMEs manufacturers that Distance (does not affect Communication
export from American Export adaptation, trust and Commitment
Register (42,000 firms). Sample understanding) Cooperation
stratified by product type and Conflict Satisfaction
geographical location. Two (does not affect adaptation and Trust
phases of 750 firms, mail communication) Understanding
questionnaire to employees
responsible for export operations
(215 responses, 13.4% r.r).
Conceptual Perceived culture differences Trust Destination loyalty
Perceived safety Satisfaction
Convenient transportation
(continued)
Relationship
quality
595

Table I.
Author/year/journal Theoretical positioning
Carr, 2006 (CACM) IS departments and IS users
Dyad study, USA
Ndubisi, 2006, JFSM Banks and retail customers
Buyer side, Malaysia
Lin and Ding, 2006, JOEUC Retail customers of ADSL
services and ISP providers, Buyer customers in Taiwan. Random,
side, Taiwan
Papassapa and Miller, 2007, JBR B-to-B, Courier Delivery services
Buyer side, Australia
Notes: a Responses, b response rate, c marketing d relationship marketing; factors in italics denote that there is no significant direct relationship with next or previous cell variables. Arrows denote a relationship between
two variables of the same category
Methodology/sample
22 IS managers and 22 IS user
interviews in 11 businesses
Survey, convenience sample of
400 customers in 15 banks who
volunteered to respond. 230
responses (57.5% r.r)
Survey of Chunghwa Telecom
proportional, stratified sample by
area and then systematic
sampling from customer phone
numbers. 800 questionnaires
mailed and followed up by phone,
339 resp. (42% r.r)
1. Mail survey, convenience
sample of 500 owners or
managers of SMEs recruited by
phone from commercial list of
3,000 SMEs (52 resp., 10.4% r.r)
2. Online survey, random sample
of 4,000 SMEs from permission
Marketing database (254 resp.,
20.8% r.r on 1,216 clicks made to
survey page)
RQ antecedents
IS service quality (five dimensions
of SERVQUAL)
Overall customer satisfaction
operationalized as:
Trust, commitment,
communication, service quality,
conflict handling and service
satisfaction
Relational selling behaviour
(affects RQ more for females)
Perceived network quality (affects
RQ more for males)
Service recovery
Findings
RQ dimensions
Trust, satisfaction
# behaviours:
Affective commitment (only
commitment affects user
behaviours)
General measure of RQ as
perceived by customers
Trust
Satisfaction
Moderating variable: gender
Trust in supplier
Affective commitment to supplier
Satisfaction
Perceived service quality (trust
and commitment affect only
attitudinal loyalty)
EJM
596
43,5/6
RQ consequences
Positive reciprocal user
1. User identification with IS
department
2. Voluntary participation in IS
departmental activities
Customer loyalty
(RQ affects more male loyalty)
Customer loyalty expressed as:
Attitudinal loyalty
Purchase intentions
 Relationship
Journal No. of studies %
quality
Journal of Marketing (JM) 6 9.4
Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 3 4.7
Industrial Marketing Management (IMM) 12 18.75
Journal of Business Research (JBR) 6 9.4
European Journal of Marketing (EJM) 7 10.9 597
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) 6 9.4
Journal of Retailing (JoR) 1 1.6
International Journal of Research in Marketing (IJRM) 1 1.6
International Journal of Service Industry Management (IJSIM) 2 3.1
Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management (JPS&SM) 2 3.1
Psychology & Marketing (PS&MKG) 2 3.1
Journal of Business to Business Marketing (JBBM) 1 1.6
Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management (JoP&SM) 1 1.6
International Journal of Bank Marketing (IJBM) 2 3.1
Journal of Service Research (JSR) 1 1.6
Managing Service Quality (MSQ) 2 3.1
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management (IJRDM) 1 1.6
Hospitality Management (HM) 1 1.6
Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research (JofH&TR) 1 1.6
Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly (CH&RAQ) 1 1.6
Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences (CJAS) 1 1.6
Journal of American Academy of Business (JAAB) 1 1.6
Communications of the ACM (CACM) 1 1.6
Journal of Financial Services Marketing (JFSM) 1 1.6 Table II.
Journal of Organizational and End User Computing (JOEUC) 1 1.6 Breakdown of RQ studies
Total 64 100 in various journals

Belgium and The Netherlands (Van Bruggen et al., 2005). Also, another three studies
are considered global because they concern companies that are multinationals (e.g.
Fortune 500) and cannot be classified in terms of country.
Finally, irrespective of context, the common characteristic of all studies is that the
main research question addressed is the conceptualisation of relationship quality
and/or its antecedents and consequences.

Methodology
Most studies (47) reviewed here are on the buyer side (or upstream studies) probably
because it is easier to research buyers than sellers. Usually selling firms are very
reluctant to provide information on their customer relationships and secondly it is
difficult for executives to find spare time in order to take part in the research effort.
Only seven studies analyse the seller side (downstream studies) and just three examine
both sides of relationships although the essence of relationships is about the interaction
of the two parties. However, the difficulties associated with dyad studies, such as
shortage of time and money, prevent researchers from including both buyer and seller
in the research effort. Finally, two studies are not classified in terms of relationship
sides since they analyse relationships that do not involve a buyer and a seller (Menon
et al., 1996; Park and Deitz, 2006).
The primary method of data collection is a survey in most studies (55). As much as
35 of these involve random samples whereas 20 studies involve some type of
EJM convenience sample. Surveys are mainly mail but there are also two telephone, five
43,5/6 on-site and two online. Survey sample sizes vary according to the type of study.
Samples in b-to-b contexts are smaller than in retail situations. In b-to-b relationships
samples vary from 40 executives to 3,500 business customers. Larger samples are
found in studies that involve data from more than one countries, dyad studies and
professional services studies. Classic manufacturer-reseller type of studies involve
598 medium size samples of 400 to 700. In contrast, retail relationships involve larger
samples of 1,000 to 5,000, although most of these samples range from 1,000 to 2,000 and
there are also some smaller samples depending on the context of the study, the size of
the population analysed and the method of data collection. If the survey is mail or
telephone the samples are larger than in face-to-face situations.
Apart from surveys, there is only one study that collects data using case studies and
three that use in-depth personal interviews. Also, four of the studies that do some type
of survey apply a two stage design involving also in-depth interviews (three studies)
and online focus groups (one study) It is clear that the preferred mode of data collection
is surveys that provide more generalisable data and confirm relationships of variables.
Qualitative or semi-qualitative methods of data collection are mostly preferred in
services studies where some constructs are more abstract for relationship parties and
therefore, there is a need for interview data to conceptualise the survey instruments.

Variable selection
In order to analyse the type of variables used in previous RQ studies we look at the
three categories of findings that appear in Table I and we observe the following:
Dimensions of RQ. The dimensions of relationship quality include most of the time
trust, commitment and satisfaction. Those three are established as measures of
relationship quality. Also, many studies analyse conflict in various forms (affective,
manifest, calculative, functional, dysfunctional), cooperation, opportunism, power,
adaptation, atmosphere, and social and/or structural bonds. Certain studies brake up
trust in two by using trust in benevolence and trust in integrity (Kumar et al., 1995;
Roberts et al., 2003), and separate commitment in emotional and calculative
(Hennig-Thurau, 2000). Also, there are various studies that go further and include
dimensions such as expectation of continuity (Kumar et al., 1995; Jap et al., 1999;
Hennig-Thurau, 2000); goal compatibility and comparison level of the alternative
(Wilson and Jantrania, 1996); perceived product or service quality (Hennig-Thurau and
Klee, 1997; Hennig-Thurau, 2000; Papassapa and Miller, 2007); perceived quality of
interaction (Moorman et al., 1992); relationship stability (Johnson et al., 1993); customer
orientation and ethical profile (Dorsch et al., 1998); coordination and profit (Naude and
Buttle, 2000), and communication (Fynes et al., 2004; Keating et al., 2003). Finally, there
is a study that creates a whole measurement scale for RQ in the exporter-importer
relationship that includes the following dimensions: amount of information sharing;
communication quality; long-term relationship orientation, and satisfaction with the
relationship (Lages et al., 2005).
The dimensions used to measure RQ differ between b-to-b and retail studies. In the
first case, the dimensions used vary widely and the studies have started from 1987.
There are seven studies up to 1995 and 22 out of the 38 (57.9 per cent) studies are done
from 2000 and onwards. In contrast, retail studies are more focused in the dimensions
they use. They mainly use trust, commitment and satisfaction and in some cases
bonds, conflict and communication. Also, they tend to break up dimensions such as Relationship
trust, commitment or conflict in sub-categories. The first retail study appears in Crosby quality
et al., 1990 and is followed by two others in Wray et al., 1994 and Bejou et al., 1996.
Most studies (12 out of 19 – 63.2 per cent) are done from 2000 onwards and try to
validate some constructs from earlier b-to-b work. Dimensions used increase as years
pass and especially from 2003 onwards.
Consequences of RQ. The consequences of RQ that are analysed in various studies 599
involve three major categories of variables:
(1) Business or service or channel performance in different forms including
purchasing efficiency (Han et al., 1993); market research utilization (Moorman
et al., 1992); supply chain performance (Fynes et al., 2004); export performance
(Lages et al., 2005); sales effectiveness (Crosby et al., 1990; Boles et al., 2000);
service quality (Woo and Ennew, 2004; Bennett and Barkensjo, 2005), and
increase in sales (Huntley, 2006) or incremental business (Bowen and
Shoemaker, 1998).
(2) Relational benefits including anticipation of future interaction (Crosby et al.,
1990; Boles et al., 2000); relationship strength (Storbacka et al., 1994);
relationship longevity (Storbacka et al., 1994; Scanlan and McPhail, 2000;
Friman et al., 2002); customer retention (Hennig-Thurau and Klee, 1997;
Hennig-Thurau, 2000); social, economic, psychological and customisation
benefits (Gwinner et al., 1998); relationship enhancement (Selnes, 1998) and
continuity (Selnes, 1998; Woo and Cha, 2002); some aspect or aspects of
voluntary parternship (referall, WOM, references, publicity) (Bowen and
Shoemaker, 1998; Woo and Cha, 2002; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002; Roberts et al.,
2003; Huntley, 2006); customer loyalty (de Ruyeter et al., 2001; Hennig-Thurau
et al., 2002); future intentions regarding the relationship (Garbarino and
Johnson, 1999; Venetis and Ghauri, 2004; Ulaga and Eggert, 2006); less
opportunistic behaviour (Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998), and propensity to leave
the relationship (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Ulaga and Eggert, 2006). Also,
another variable that seems very important is the actual or perceived value of
the relationship for both parties (Wilson and Jantrania, 1996; Bowen and
Shoemaker, 1998; Ulaga and Eggert, 2006). Finally, customer loyalty has caught
the interest of researchers lately either as one variable (Lin and Ding, 2006), or
broken up in attitudinal loyalty and purchase intentions (Papassapa and Miller,
2007), or at a conceptual level as destination loyalty (Huang and Chiu, 2006).
(3) Satisfaction-related variables including salesperson satisfaction (Park and
Deitz, 2006); economic and non-economic satisfaction (Farrelly and Quester,
2005) and buyer’s satisfaction with supplier (Sanzo et al., 2003).

Studies in b-to-b markets and products use mainly efficiency and performance
variables to measure consequences of RQ whereas in services (both professional and
retail) and retail situations, studies use more relationship-related variables. Also, since
relationships have been analysed more in detail in later years, we observe that there is
an increase in the use of relationship-related variables in b-to-b and product studies
from 1998 onwards.
EJM Antecedents of RQ. In antecedents of RQ, we observe that the variables used by
43,5/6 researchers belong to the following four major categories:
(1) Characteristics of the two relationship parties (buyer and seller). These include
variables such as similarity (Crosby et al., 1990; Doney and Cannon, 1997;
Smith, 1998a; Boles et al., 2000); seller expertise (Crosby et al., 1990; Lagace et al.,
1991; Wray et al., 1994; Bejou et al., 1996; Doney and Cannon, 1997; Smith,
600 1998a; Boles et al., 2000); ethical behaviour (Lagace et al., 1991; Wray et al., 1994)
and orientation (Bejou et al., 1996); manufacturer strengths (Goodman and Dion,
2001); service provider attributes (Woo and Cha, 2002); the reputation and size
of the supplier (Doney and Cannon, 1997); the level of formalization and
centralization of firms (Dwyer and Oh, 1987; Menon et al., 1996); goal congruity
(Huntley, 2006); suppliers’ perceived reseller market orientation (Baker et al.,
1999), and adaptive selling behaviour (Park and Deitz, 2006). Also, a very
important characteristic of both supplier and buyer has to do with their
orientation towards relationships. This tendency to promote relationships is
conceptualised in many different manners. Woo and Cha (2002) term it
relationship orientation whereas Smith (1998a) uses relationalism and Boles
et al. (2000) develop the term relational selling behaviour that includes
information sharing and mutual disclosure (also used by Doney and Cannon,
1997; Zineldin, 1995; Leuthesser, 1997, and Lin and Ding, 2006); interaction
frequency; bilateral communication; courtesy, explanation and cooperative
intentions.
(2) Relationship attributes including the length or duration of the relationship
(Lagace et al., 1991; Wray et al., 1994; Bejou et al., 1996; Doney and Cannon,
1997; Smith, 1998a); structural or social bonds (Smith, 1998b; Scanlan and
McPhail, 2000; Venetis and Ghauri, 2004; Athanasopoulou, 2006); dependence
(Goodman and Dion, 2001; Van Bruggen et al., 2005) and power (Zineldin, 1995;
Doney and Cannon, 1997; Goodman and Dion, 2001); relationship termination
costs (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Friman et al., 2002); relationship benefits
(Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998; Hennig-Thurau et al.,
2002; Friman et al., 2002); relationship switching costs (de Ruyeter et al., 2001;
Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998); cooperation (de Ruyeter et al., 2001; Zineldin,
1995); conflict handling (Selnes, 1998; Ndubisi, 2006) or harmonization of
conflict (de Ruyeter et al., 2001); less opportunistic behaviour (Morgan and
Hunt, 1994; Friman et al., 2002); fairness (distributive and procedural) (Kumar
et al., 1995); trust (Moorman et al., 1992; Goodman and Dion, 2001; Wong and
Sohal, 2002a; Venetis and Ghauri, 2004; Ndubisi, 2006); commitment (Selnes,
1998; Wong and Sohal, 2002a; Ndubisi, 2006), and relationship investment
(Smith, 1998a,b). Furthermore, some studies are interested in the existence of
communication barriers (Menon et al., 1996) and the nature and/or quality of
communication between the two relationship parties (Morgan and Hunt, 1994;
Selnes, 1998; Smith, 1998a; Friman et al., 2002; Sanzo et al., 2003;
Athanasopoulou, 2006). Finally, Leonidou et al., 2006 try to observe the
negative effects on RQ and study the levels of uncertainty, distance and conflict
and their effect on various dimensions of RQ.
 (3) Offer characteristics (product or service) including product performance and Relationship
after sales service (de Ruyeter et al., 2001), and service quality (Wong and Sohal, quality
2002b; Roberts et al., 2003; Venetis and Ghauri, 2004; Carr, 2006).
(4) The role of the environment such as economic, political, legal, technical etc.
(Zineldin, 1995; Kumar et al., 1995).

The antecedents of RQ used vary widely in all studies. However, there are certain 601
variables that are used only in retail and services studies and include customer and
selling orientation; ethical behaviour and orientation, and relationship benefits. Also,
the most commonly used variables in all contexts include similarity; seller expertise;
relational selling behaviour; relationship duration or length, and communication
quality. Generally, the studies reviewed study endogenous variables. The role of
exogenous variables, such as the level of competition, geographical location of the firm
or other macro-economic conditions that could affect the ability of both relationship
sides to develop quality relationships, are not considered by RQ studies. The role of the
environment is taken into account in only two studies, and that is probably because the
development and nourishing of relationships is more an inside operation in each firm
and is not affected in any major way by environmental changes. On the other hand, we
can hypothesize that the study of exogenous or environmental effects on RQ will be
studied when the endogenous variables have been analysed in depth.
Furthermore, the time variable is included in many studies as relationship duration
or length and it is considered to be an antecedent of RQ. Time should really be integral
to any study that is relationship related. Relationships are the result of interactions
over time, and so, unlike transaction studies, must relate to time, even if only implicitly.
Time is also key to the economic rationale of relationship marketing strategies.
Relationships are costly for firms and economic advantage accrues over time as the
relationships become closer and their quality increases. Also, time is seen as an agent
in relationships since the longer the relationship, the more experience the two parties
have and the more benefits accrue from the relationship. This is essentially a
longitudinal, rather than cyclical, conceptualisation of time. The focus is upon
progression of relationships through time and time is seen as continuous, not episodic.
This is why many studies stress the importance of variables such as trust,
commitment, communication, cooperation, and bonds. All these become stronger as
time passes and the relationship becomes closer.
Also, another expression of the role of time in relationships is evident in a new way
of observing relationships, through studying the change of RQ in different relationship
stages of development (Scanlan and McPhail, 2000). In this approach, there is an
episodic examination of relationship development where time is seen as a series of
periods or stages. The relationship has a life cycle. This work builds on the awareness
that relationships are built, develop, and on the balance of probability, will end, and
attempts to understand this process and its effect on RQ. Finally, Hibbard et al., 2001
explore RQ in a marketing channel in two specific points in time (before and after a
destructive act). In this approach, time actually shows the changes in RQ, it is the
conceptualisation of this timely moment that the whole study is based on.
Moderating variables. The use of moderating variables is quite rare. Only four
studies use one or two variables to moderate relationships in their conceptual
frameworks. Probably the most important of these variables is the age of the
EJM relationship as relationship quality changes with time. Also, gender may be important
43,5/6 as a moderating variable since males and females tend to differ in relationship quality
perceptions and in the types of antecedents that influence these perceptions. This is
especially important in retail situations where customer behaviour may vary widely
according to gender. Product importance may also moderate certain relationships
especially when the supplied product is critical for the production of the end product or
602 when accurate service delivery is critical for the customer such as in medical or legal
services. Finally, buyer’s corporate culture and uncertainty are also used as
moderating variables and may influence the strength of relationships especially in
b-to-b contexts where it is important to have a relationship-oriented buyer or when the
market environment is uncertain and customers feel security from developing
long-term relationships with certain suppliers.
Categories of variables used by type of study. From the total of 64 studies, 29 use all
three categories of variables (full frameworks) whereas nine studies analyse only one
category of variables although most of these focus on creating a measurement scale for
RQ. Finally, the rest of the studies (26) look at only one part of the RQ framework
(either antecedents and RQ – 17 studies, or consequences and RQ – nine studies).
Looking at seller studies we observe that only two out of the seven use full
frameworks and only two analyse service markets. Relationship quality is
conceptualised using a number of the following variables: trust, communication,
commitment, satisfaction, cooperation, adaptation and understanding. Three seller
studies use communication quality as an antecedent and two studies use relationship
termination costs and benefits and opportunistic behaviour. Product studies use
performance indicators for consequences whereas in services the length of relationship
is more of interest.
Dyad studies are only three and two of them use a full framework. The interesting
part in Han et al. (1993) is that consequences are split in two categories: buyers and
suppliers, because there are different ways the two parties will measure the effects of
relationship quality. For buyers, it is important to have purchasing efficiency whereas
suppliers will have enhanced marketing efficiency; price/production stability; optimal
capacity planning and customer orientation.
In business-to-business situations almost half of the studies (15 out of 38) use a full
framework and another 12 look at the first part of the framework (antecedents and RQ).
There are only seven studies looking at consequences and RQ and four that deal with
only one category of variables. In contrast, retail situations present more complete
frameworks. More than half of the studies (ten out of 19) use all three types of variables
and five look at one category. So, there is a focus on one part of the framework only or
on full analysis. Also studies in products use less full frameworks than services.
Specifically, only ten product studies are full (out of 26) and almost half of the studies
(12) look only at antecedents and RQ. In the meantime, the consequences of RQ are less
important and are analysed in only three studies and only one study focuses on one
category of variables. On the other hand, in services more than half of the studies (14
out of 25) use full frameworks whereas only three look at the antecedents of RQ and
four at the consequences of RQ.
The conclusion is that retail and service studies use more full frameworks but fewer
variables than products or b-to-b studies. This may be due to the abstract character of
services or to the more complex behaviour of retail customers. Also, product and b-to-b
studies are interested equally on either full frameworks or on the antecedents of RQ. In Relationship
contrast, retail and service studies include very few cases where antecedents or quality
consequences are analysed and that could be due to the fact that this stream of research
has turned to retail and service settings in recent years and more general studies are
needed before researchers can focus on one part of the framework that could change in
different contexts.
603
Conclusions
The major conclusion that is drawn from this review is that although most studies are
empirically rigorous, the field is very broad and there is no accepted framework. The
only area of convergence is the three major dimensions of RQ (trust, commitment and
satisfaction) that have been used in many studies and have been validated in different
contexts. Also, another important observation is that there are very few international
studies although international trade increases rapidly. Thirdly, the role of the
environment is neglected in RQ studies although it would be extremely critical
especially for multi-country studies where cultural and other environmental factors
influence the development of relationships across countries. Finally, some of the
studies reviewed involve specialized markets such as market research services or
consulting engineering services and most studies focus on a certain market since
results could be different if the product or service context changes. Although such
studies may be more applicable and have stronger conclusions, their generalisability is
low.

Developmental trends in the literature

The study of the RQ area reveals certain research trends that have started developing
in the literature. First, research has started looking at relationship quality in different
stages of relationship development. It is only natural that as the relationship becomes
closer and time passes, antecedents and consequences of RQ change as well as the
dimensions that make up such quality.
A second trend involves the quality of online relationships. Researchers try to
determine whether variables that affect the quality of other relationships, also have an
effect in the online environment and which new variables emerge.
Third, some studies go out of the ordinary and look at somewhat different types of
relationships either within the same company (e.g. between manufacturer and its
salespeople – Park and Deitz, 2006) or between two parties but not in the traditional
buying and selling roles (e.g. department stores and their tenants – Ramaseshan et al.,
2006; or service firms and their international partners – Friman et al., 2002; or football
teams and their sponsors – Farrelly and Quester, 2005; or charities and their
beneficiaries – Bennett and Barkensjo, 2005). These relationships have special
characteristics and therefore it is important to determine whether the variables
connected to traditional relationship quality can be implemented in these
circumstances.

Agenda for future research

Based on the insights of this review we conclude that future research should be guided
by the following guidelines.
EJM Type of context and perspective
43,5/6 There is a need to focus future research more on services (both professional and retail)
and on retail relationships (both in products and services). Also, we need more seller
studies in order to test models from the other side of the relationship and dyad studies
in order to find out whether RQ dimensions, antecedents and consequences are the
same in both sides in the same context.
604 Also, the full frameworks that have been developed should be validated across
different types of relationships and products or services in order to increase their
generalisability. Furthermore, there is a need for more multi-country studies in order to
test whether cultural and other environmental or exogenous factors affect RQ and in
what way. Also, the nature of online relationships needs further studying in order to
create an established framework for future research in this very complex field. Finally,
the change in RQ in different relationship development stages is a new area of research
that could explain many problems addressed by firms in the development of RQ.
Further studies should establish whether the same RQ framework can be used for all
development stages or there is a need for variation of certain variables in certain
stages.

Methodology
Methodologically, since the major part of existing studies are quantitative, we need
more qualitative studies (case studies, interviews etc) in order to get more detailed
insights into the variables that affect RQ in each context. The complex constructs
involved in relationship quality, its inherent dimensions and its antecedents and
consequences call for significantly more qualitative enquiries in order to provide richer
data and advance theory.

Variable selection
In order to offer suggestions as to which variables should be used most in future
studies, we tried to put together a general conceptual framework that derives from this
review and its conclusions (see Figure 1). This general framework can be used in all
contexts and researchers can differentiate the ultimate variables used (e.g. which
provider characteristics to use). In essence, this framework can guide researchers for
the development of appropriate scales for future RQ related studies.

Figure 1.
Relationship quality: a
conceptual framework
New types of relationships Relationship
Lately research has started shifting towards the study of new types of relationships quality
that hold promise for future research. Firstly, the term relationship broadens
conceptually and includes parties that are not necessarily individuals or businesses
such as the customer and the different tourism destinations (Huang and Chiu, 2006), or
consumers and brands. Also, the study of relationships where the two parties do not
assume the traditional buyer and seller roles have attracted research attention lately. 605
So, an interesting new research area is the examination of the quality of such
relationships.
Second, the study of dyadic relationships has neglected to analyse relationships of
firms with the government; not for profit businesses, and multinational or regional
agencies such as the World Bank or the World trade Organization or other aid
agencies. All these relationships will provide new perspectives of relationship quality
since the role of the participants is not strictly a buyer-seller role.
Third, another important issue in RQ research is the role of intermediaries and their
relationships with customers especially in certain types of products and services where
intermediaries develop the relationship with customers (e.g. financial services or
insurance).
Finally, it is important to note that there is a need for more research into
cross-border relationships and the important influence of cultural traits such as the
ones proposed by Hofstede (1983, 1994) that differ between countries. This review
shows that only four studies deal with cross-border relationships (Johnson et al., 1993;
Friman et al., 2002; Lages et al., 2005, and Leonidou et al., 2006) and concern mainly the
relationship between exporters and importers of products. Only Friman et al. (2002)
analyse the relationship between service firms and their international partners.
However, the issue of culture and specifically the difference of cultural traits and its
significance for relationship quality is only evident in Leonidou et al. (2006) where the
authors investigate the role of uncertainly, distance and conflict as antecedents of
various dimensions of RQ. As a result, there is a need for further examination of
people’s cultural characteristics and their influence on cross-border relationship
quality.

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About the author

Pinelopi Athanasopoulou holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Athens
University of Economics and Business, an MBA from Manchester Business School, and a PhD in
Marketing from Cass Business School, London. Her research interests centre on new service
development, communication, relationship marketing and branding. She is currently a Lecturer
in Marketing in the Sport Management Department of the University of Peloponnese in Greece.
Her current research interests focus on relationship quality and brand extensions. Pinelopi
Athanasopoulou can be contacted at: athanapi@uop.gr

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