ABSTRACT

Purpose

The main purpose of the study is to assess proposed relationships in a model across different settings, where satisfaction is a mediator between quality constructs in a seller-customer relational setting in B2B markets. The positioning of satisfaction as a mediator is between trust and commitment as antecedents of satisfaction, and cooperation, continuity, and coordination as postcedents of satisfaction in seller-customer relationships.

The study was quantitative in nature, supported by an exploratory research approach. Data was collected based on a population of companies across Norwegian industries, as reflected in the Norwegian database Sales Navigator on LinkedIn. To enable research on seller-customer business relationships, key informants who adhered to specific criteria (e.g., that they were sales or marketing managers/directors or key account managers) were selected to participate in the study. A total of 841 potential key informants were identified and contacted telephonically to verify whether they qualified to participate in the survey and, if not, to identify an appropriate person who fit the criteria at the same firm. A total of 523 informants adhered to the stipulated criteria to participate in the study, with a total of 213 informants who completed the questionnaire satisfactorily. This resulted in their responses to be used for data analysis purposes, representing a valid response rate of 40.7%. Respondents were requested to name one key business customer with whom they engaged in the last year, and to be mindful of this respondent when answering the questionnaire. To secure privacy, respondents did not have to identify the customer. Furthermore, the respondents were asked to answer the questions to the best of their ability to ensure quality responses to each item in the questionnaire. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire began with a competency check to ensure respondents were suitable to participate in the study. The respondents were asked, “Please consider how knowledgeable and experienced you are concerning your business and your business dealings with this customer.” They then had to answer the following two statements: a) “I have a lot of knowledge about this customer”; and b) “I have a lot of experiences with this customer,” which were measured using a five-point Likert-type scale, ranging between (1) strongly agree and (5) strongly disagree. Almost all respondents (99.5%) indicated that they had extensive knowledge about the customer, while 94.5% indicated that they had wide-ranging experiences with the customer. The application of a five-point Likert-type scale was secured to determine the degree to which respondents agreed or disagreed with the items included in the questionnaire relating to trust, commitment, satisfaction, coordination, continuity and cooperation in seller–customer relationships. The SPSS/Amos 24.0 software was used to conduct the multivariate analysis. Firstly, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, followed by structural equation modeling. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to assess the measurement properties of each construct, while structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the proposed hypotheses in the precursor and outcome research model.

Findings

The tested research model adheres to the cutoff points for satisfactory convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity, as well as to the minimum requirements for construct reliability. Furthermore, it was determined that trust and commitment have a positive and significant influence on satisfaction in a seller-customer context, while satisfaction positively and significantly influences coordination, continuation, and cooperation in seller-customer relationships in a B2B setting.

Research implications

The tested model validates the hypothesized relationships between trust, commitment, satisfaction, coordination, continuity, and cooperation from a seller’s perspective in a B2B setting. Moreover, the model confirms the sequential logic of quality constructs in seller-customer business relationships. Furthermore, the findings reported on the seller-customer research model raise the question for further research on the seller’s perspective in relation to the sequential logic of quality constructs in business relationships. Extensive research has been undertaken based on the buyer’s perspective, while the seller’s perspective requires additional research. The findings indicate consistency between the measurement and structural properties based on sellers’ and buyers’ perspectives in business relationships. Evidently, further research is required to verify the validity and reliability beyond the studied Norwegian seller-customer business relationships.

A crucial research implication is that existing items to measure trust, commitment, satisfaction, cooperation, coordination, and continuity in buyer-supplier relationships (i.e., a buyer’s perspective) appear to be valid and reliable – after the minimal replacement of the word “supplier” with the word “customer” – to measure the same construct in seller-customer business relationships (i.e., a seller’s perspective). This offers further opportunities to test other constructs and related items used that are based on a buyer’s perspective to verify their validity and reliability in seller perspective contexts. Finally, the study provides opportunities to assess the mutuality of satisfaction, trust, commitment, cooperation, coordination, and continuity in buyer-supplier and seller-customer business relationships.

Managerial implications

The findings assist sellers in a B2B setting to better understand the quality factors that are vital for business-to-business customers when building long-term relationships with industrial sellers. In addition, these quality factors are perceived as important by sellers across industries in Norway. Therefore, the study established that it is important to make the seller aware of the positive consequences of trust (e.g., through information and education). Secondly, when the seller understands the positive consequences of trust, the seller can use them as an argument in discussions with a customer focusing on the benefits (e.g., cooperation, coordination, and continuity) of keeping a satisfied and committed business relationship, and so trust is maintained between the seller and the buyer. It was furthermore established that mutual trust creates a relationship rewarding both parties (i.e., a win-win situation). Conclusively, it is argued that trust is the basis of positive consequences (e.g., commitment and satisfaction) that stimulates the seller’s self-confidence, and most likely leads to improved sales performance through cooperation, commitment, and continuity of the business relationship.

Originality/value

The majority of studies measuring quality constructs in B2B relationships are positioned from the buyer’s perspective in a B2B setting. This study established a foundation to assess the relationship quality of a firm’s inbound and outbound business relationships from a seller’s perspective in a B2B context. Furthermore, the study provides an understanding of the seller’s perspective toward the quality constructs required for long-term relationship building. Since the majority of B2B studies are conducted from a buyer’s perspective, a seller’s perspective is required increasingly to better manage the long-term relationship building process in B2B markets.

中文翻译：

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验证卖方-客户业务关系中质量结构的顺序逻辑——前因、中介和结果

摘要

目的

该研究的主要目的是评估跨不同设置的模型中提出的关系，其中满意度是 B2B 市场中卖方 - 客户关系设置中质量构造之间的中介。满意度作为中介的定位介于作为满意度前因的信任和承诺与作为满意度后因的合作、连续性和协调之间。

该研究是定量的，由探索性研究方法支持。正如 LinkedIn 上的挪威数据库 Sales Navigator 所反映的，数据是根据挪威各行业的公司群体收集的。为了能够研究卖方与客户的业务关系，选择了遵守特定标准（例如，他们是销售或营销经理/董事或关键客户经理）的关键线人参与研究。总共确定了 841 名潜在的关键知情人并通过电话联系，以验证他们是否有资格参与调查，如果没有，则确定符合同一公司标准的合适人选。共有523名线人符合规定的标准参加研究，共有 213 名被调查者满意地完成了问卷。这导致他们的回复被用于数据分析目的，有效回复率为 40.7%。受访者被要求说出他们去年与之合作的一位主要商业客户，并在回答问卷时注意这位受访者。为了保护隐私，受访者不必识别客户。此外，受访者被要求尽其所能回答问题，以确保对问卷中每个项目的回答质量。设计/方法/方法 问卷以能力检查开始，以确保受访者适合参与研究。受访者被问到，“请考虑您对您的业务以及您与该客户的业务往来的知识和经验。” 然后他们必须回答以下两个陈述：a）“我对这个客户有很多了解”；b) “我与这个客户有很多经验”，使用李克特五点量表测量，范围在 (1) 非常同意和 (5) 非常不同意之间。几乎所有的受访者（99.5%）都表示他们对客户有广泛的了解，而94.5%的人表示他们对客户有广泛的经验。采用李克特五点量表确定受访者同意或不同意问卷中有关信任、承诺、满意度、协调、卖方-客户关系的连续性和合作性。采用SPSS/Amos 24.0软件进行多变量分析。首先，进行验证性因素分析，然后进行结构方程建模。验证性因素分析用于评估每个构造的测量特性，而结构方程模型用于评估前体和结果研究模型中提出的假设。

发现

所测试的研究模型遵循令人满意的收敛性、判别性和规律性有效性的截止点，以及构建可靠性的最低要求。此外，确定信任和承诺对卖方-客户环境中的满意度具有积极和显着的影响，而满意度对 B2B 环境中卖方-客户关系的协调、持续和合作具有积极和显着的影响。

研究意义

经测试的模型从 B2B 环境中卖方的角度验证了信任、承诺、满意度、协调、连续性和合作之间的假设关系。此外，该模型证实了卖方-客户业务关系中质量结构的顺序逻辑。此外，关于卖方-客户研究模型的研究结果提出了进一步研究卖方关于业务关系中质量结构的顺序逻辑的观点的问题。已经根据买方的观点进行了广泛的研究，而卖方的观点需要额外的研究。调查结果表明，基于买卖双方在业务关系中的观点，测量和结构属性之间的一致性。显然，

一项重要的研究启示是，衡量买方-供应商关系（即买方的观点）中的信任、承诺、满意度、合作、协调和连续性的现有项目似乎是有效和可靠的——在对“供应商”一词进行了最少的替换之后”加上“客户”一词——衡量卖方-客户业务关系中的相同结构（即卖方的观点）。这提供了进一步的机会来测试基于买方观点的其他结构和相关项目，以验证它们在卖方观点上下文中的有效性和可靠性。最后，该研究提供了评估买方-供应商和卖方-客户业务关系中满意度、信任、承诺、合作、协调和连续性的相互性的机会。

管理影响

这些发现有助于 B2B 环境中的卖家更好地了解在与工业卖家建立长期关系时对企业对企业客户至关重要的质量因素。此外，挪威各行各业的卖家都认为这些质量因素很重要。因此，该研究表明，让卖方意识到信任的积极后果（例如，通过信息和教育）非常重要。其次，当卖方了解信任的积极后果时，卖方可以将其用作与客户讨论的论据，重点是保持满意和承诺的业务关系的好处（例如，合作、协调和连续性），等等买卖双方之间保持信任。进一步确定，相互信任创造了一种对双方都有益的关系（即双赢局面）。最后，有人认为，信任是积极后果（例如，承诺和满意）的基础，可以激发卖方的自信，并且很可能通过合作、承诺和业务关系的连续性来提高销售业绩。

原创性/价值

大多数测量 B2B 关系中质量结构的研究都是从 B2B 环境中的买方角度定位的。本研究为在 B2B 环境中从卖方的角度评估公司的入站和出站业务关系的关系质量奠定了基础。此外，该研究提供了对卖方对建立长期关系所需的质量结构的看法的理解。由于大多数 B2B 研究都是从买方的角度进行的，因此越来越需要卖方的角度来更好地管理 B2B 市场中的长期关系建立过程。