The role of trust and commitment as mediators between economic and non-economic satisfaction in sales manager B2B relationships

Ferro‐Soto, Carlos; Padín, Carmen; Svensson, Göran; Høgevold, Nils M.

doi:10.1108/jbim-02-2021-0076

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Considering that the satisfaction of both the sellers and the buyers becomes progressively important to secure a future relational intent, it is understandable why satisfaction measures are used by business partners to determine the future viability of relationships. Enhanced levels of trust are established when continuous economic satisfaction is secured, thus driving the willingness to continue with a relationship in the future (Ferro-Soto et al, 2023). Varela et al (2019) validated the relationship between economic and non-economic satisfaction in a B2B context, confirming that B2B partners' economic satisfaction will stimulate their dedication to the relationship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Satisfaction consists of multiple constructs, namely economic and non-economic satisfaction (Ferro-Soto et al, 2023;Geyskens & Steenkamp, 2000). On the one hand, economic satisfaction is an encouraging and intense reaction by a business partner to the economic rewards that accrue from a relationship and that contribute to shared value between partners (Kotze & Hofmeyr, 2022;Sales-Vivó et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Economic and Non-economic Satisfactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Economic and non-economic satisfaction as interlocking constructs in B2B sales relationships

Ferro-Soto,

Padin,

Roberts-Lombard

et al. 2024

South African Journal of Business Management

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Purpose: This study tests a research model that reflects the nomological relationship between satisfaction as a two-dimensional construct and continuity, coordination, and cooperation in business-to-business (B2B) sales relationships.Design/methodology/approach: The study sample comprised small- and medium-sized companies across industries in Spain. In total, 237 satisfactorily completed questionnaires were obtained for data analysis. Structural equation modelling was applied to secure the development of the study’s results.Findings/results: The results revealed that sales managers should reach agreements with their partners to put in place appropriate coordination mechanisms that contribute to improving efficiency and achieving expected long-term goals.Practical implications: The study guides B2B sales managers on how to establish good interpersonal relationships with partners, foster an atmosphere in which favourable impressions are generated between the parties, treat each other with respect and promote open sharing of information that avoids distrust and fear of the appearance of opportunistic behaviour.Originality/value: This study provides an extended foundation of the structural properties with intermediary constructs between economic satisfaction and non-economic satisfaction based on a seller’s perspective. This is significant, seeing that most extant studies have explored the constructs proposed from a buyer’s perspective.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Economic and Non-economic Satisfactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic and non-economic satisfaction as interlocking constructs in B2B sales relationships

Ferro-Soto,

Padin,

Roberts-Lombard

et al. 2024

South African Journal of Business Management

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“…It is expected that closer customer-service provider relationships will increase mutual trust and make parties more open and responsive, which will also lead to higher level of commitment to organizations (McEvily et al, 2003). In fact, inter-organizational relationship was emphasized for enduring trust and commitment between stakeholders in recent studies (Mungra and Yadav, 2020;Chou and Chen, 2018;Nyadzayo et al, 2022;Ferro-Soto et al, 2023). The following two hypotheses are therefore posited:…”

Section: Effects Of the Customer-service Provider Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antecedents of team alignment for team performance: length of relationship as a moderator

Jadhav

Fatima

Quazi

2023

JBIM

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Purpose While scholarly attention has mainly focused on team-level or relational constructs for the success of team performance, understanding the inter-play between these two streams of research remains limited in digital transformation projects. Borrowing from social exchange theory, this study aims to explore the antecedents of team alignment leading to team performance with mediation effects of trust, commitment and customer–service provider relationship. The moderating role of relationship length was also examined. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected using a survey of 180 employees working on digital projects in B2B context, mostly in the Indo-Pacific region, specifically Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Partial least squares method with multi-group analyses and bootstrapping method were used to analyze the data. Findings Findings show that customer control and team capability are the strongest antecedents of team alignment, and inter-play between the customer–provider relationship with team-level constructs is also significant. Relationship length has higher level of moderation impact on trust–team performance link compared to commitment–team performance relationship. Research limitations/implications The study considers moderation impact of relationship length on trust, commitment and team performance but not other constructs. Also, gender ratio is skewed in the data set. Practical implications Digital transformation practitioners need to be aware of relational constructs (not only team-level constructs) when designing successful long-term digitalization strategies for organizations. Originality/value This study is one of the first to document the inter-play between team alignment and relational constructs (such as trust, commitment, and customer–service provider relationship), with moderation impact of relationship length leading to team performance in digital transformation projects.

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“…Recent scholarship differentiates trust at two levels, namely, interpersonal and interorganizational trust (Ashnai et al , 2016; Wang et al , 2022; Ferro-Soto et al , 2023). Following the literature on multiple levels of trust (Zaheer et al , 1998; Poppo et al, 2016; Arvidsson and Melander, 2020), we consider trust as a unidimensional construct, defined as a buyer’s confidence and belief in the credibility and goodwill of the trustee.…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the impact of trust, many researchers agree that interorganizational trust creates relational benefits, such as firm’s customer performance and effectiveness (Katsikeas Skarmeas and Bello, 2009; Badawi and Battor, 2020), relationship commitment (Ferro-Soto et al , 2023; Gansser et al , 2021), customer loyalty (Paparoidamis et al , 2019), supplier selection (Arvidsson and Melander, 2020) and relational satisfaction and atmosphere (Badawi and Battor, 2020). In addition, interorganizational trust is associated with enhanced organizational outcomes such as strategic performance (Robson et al , 2008) and economic and financial performance (Katsikeas et al , 2009; Silva et al , 2012; Ashnai et al , 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affect-based dimensions of trust: a study of buyer-supplier relationships in Thai manufacturing

Rungsithong,

Meyer

2024

JBIM

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Purpose Trust is an important facilitator of successful B2B relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate affect-based antecedents of both interpersonal and interorganizational trust, and their impact on the performance of buyer–supplier relationships. The authors ask two research questions: (1) What are affect-based dimensions of interpersonal and interorganizational trust? (2) How do interpersonal and interorganizational trust influence buyers’ operational performance? Design/methodology/approach The authors use data from an original survey of 156 buyer–supplier relationships between multinational enterprise subsidiaries and local suppliers in the Thai manufacturing sector to develop a structural model in which the authors test the hypotheses. Findings Consistent with social exchange theory and social psychology, the empirical analysis shows that affect-based dimensions at the individual level, namely, likeability, similarity and frequent social contact, and at the organizational level, namely, supplier firm willingness to customize and institutionalization of cooperation, are important for establishing trust. In addition, interpersonal trust enhances buyers’ operational performance indirectly via interorganizational trust. Practical implications Buying and selling firms may develop organizational trust by developing processes that enhance organizational trust. Individuals with purchasing or sales responsibilities may enhance trust in their personal relationship. However, such interpersonal trust needs to be translated to the organizational level to benefit organizational performance. Originality/value The findings contribute to the literature on affect-based antecedents and outcomes of trust. Specifically, the authors offer theory and empirical evidence regarding the contribution of salespersons toward affect-based dimensions of trust and its impact on buyer’s operational performance.

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The role of trust and commitment as mediators between economic and non-economic satisfaction in sales manager B2B relationships

Cited by 11 publications

References 71 publications

Economic and non-economic satisfaction as interlocking constructs in B2B sales relationships

Economic and non-economic satisfaction as interlocking constructs in B2B sales relationships

Antecedents of team alignment for team performance: length of relationship as a moderator

Affect-based dimensions of trust: a study of buyer-supplier relationships in Thai manufacturing

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