https://www.tlog.lth.se/fileadmin/tlog/Utbildning/Kurser/Logistik_i_foersoerjningskedjor/Artiklar/JOM-2004-Paulraj.pdf

Towards a theory of supply chain management: the constructs and measurements

The Social Psychology of Groups. J. W Thibaut & H. H. Kelley. New York: alley, 1959. The team of Thibaut and Kelley goes back to 1946 when, after serving in different units of the armed services psychology program, the authors joined the Research Center for Group Dynamics, first at M.LT and then at the University of Michigan. Their continued association eventuated in appointments as fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 19561957. It is during these years that their collaboration resulted in the publication of The Social Psychology of Groups. The book was designed to "bring order and coherence to present-day research in interpersonal relations and group functioning." To accomplish this aim, the authors introduced, defined, and illustrated basic concepts in an effort to explain the simplest of social phenomena, the two-person relationship. These basic principles and concepts were then employed to illuminate larger problems and more complex social relationships and to examine the significance of such concepts as roles, norm, power, group cohesiveness, and status. The lasting legacy of this book is derived from the fact that the concepts and principles discussed therein serve as a foundation for one of the dominant conceptual frameworks in the field of family studies today-the social exchange framework. Specifically, much of our contemporary thinking about the process of interpersonal attraction and about how individuals evaluate their close relationships has been influenced by the theory and concepts introduced in The Social Psychology of Groups. Today, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley, we think of interpersonal attraction as resulting from the unique valence of driving and restraining forces, rewards and costs, subjectively thought to be available from a specific relationship and its competing alternatives. We understand, as well, that relationships are evaluated through complex and subjectively based comparative processes. As a result, when we think about assessing the degree to which individuals are satisfied with their relationships, we take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the importance they attribute to different aspects of a relationship (e.g., financial security, sexual fulfillment, companionship). We also take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the levels of rewards and costs that they believe are realistically obtainable and deserved from a relationship. In addition, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley's theoretical focus on the concept of dependence and the interrelationship between attraction and dependence, there has evolved within the field of family studies a deeper appreciation for the complexities and variability found within relationships. Individuals are dependent on their relationships, according to Thibaut and Kelley, when the outcomes derived from the existing relationship exceed those perceived to be available in competing alternatives. Individuals who are highly dependent on their relationships are less likely to act to end their relationships. This dependence and the stability it engenders may or may not be voluntary, depending on the degree to which individuals are attracted to and satisfied with their relationships. When individuals are both attracted to and dependent on their relationships, they can be thought of as voluntarily participating in their relationship. That is, they are likely to commit themselves to the partner and relationship and actively work for its continuance. Thibaut and Kelley termed those relationships characterized by low levels of satisfaction and high levels of dependence "nonvoluntary relationships. …

The Social Psychology of Groups

It is a marketplace reality that marketing managers sometimes inflict switching costs on their customers, to inhibit them from defecting to new suppliers. In a competitive setting, such as the Internet market, where competition may be only one click away, has the potential of switching costs as an exit barrier and a binding ingredient of customer loyalty become altered? To address that issue, this article examines the moderating effects of switching costs on customer loyalty through both satisfaction and perceived-value measures. The results, evoked from a Web-based survey of online service users, indicate that companies that strive for customer loyalty should focus primarily on satisfaction and perceived value. The moderating effects of switching costs on the association of customer loyalty and customer satisfaction and perceived value are significant only when the level of customer satisfaction or perceived value is above average. In light of the major findings, the article sets forth strategic implications for customer loyalty in the setting of electronic commerce. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

/pdf/customer-perceived-value-satisfaction-and-loyalty-the-role-4neea0s793.pdf

Customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: The role of switching costs

http://impgroup.org/uploads/papers/4744.pdf

Relationship quality as a predictor of B2B customer loyalty

Many business customers today consolidate their supply bases and implement preferred supplier programs. Consequently, vendors increasingly face the alternative of either gaining a key supplier status with their customers or being pushed into the role of a backup supplier. As product and price become less important differentiators, suppliers of routinely purchased products search for new ways to differentiate themselves in a buyer–seller relationship. This research investigates avenues for differentiation through value creation in business-to-business relationships. The results suggest that relationship benefits display a stronger potential for differentiation in key supplier relationships than cost considerations. The authors identify service support and personal interaction as core differentiators, followed by a supplier's know-how and its ability to improve a customer's time to market. Product quality and delivery performance, along with acquisition costs and operation costs, display a moderate potential to help a firm gain and maintain key supplier status. Finally, price shows the weakest potential for differentiation.

Value-Based Differentiation in Business Relationships: Gaining and Sustaining Key Supplier Status

Functions of industrial supplier relationships and their impact on relationship quality

Many studies have shown that market orientation is important for firms because it has a positive impact on performance. However, several studies have indicated that the relation between a firm’s market orientation and its success is sometimes weak and that moderating variables need to be considered at least under certain circumstances. As such the overall message from the market orientation studies is not clear. The usefulness of the market orientation concept must also be questioned when looking at the realities of business markets. In most if not all cases the firms’ “surroundings” should be seen as a network of inter‐organizational relationships rather than an anonymous market. Therefore, in this paper the notion of market orientation is explored with particular focus on inter‐organizational relationships. Hereby, it is argued that the relationships are important and that the overall market orientation of firms needs to be translated to a relationship level in order to be effective. It is further argued that market orientation on a relationship level can be interpreted in terms of a firm’s employed resources and executed activities dedicated to relational exchange processes.

Gabriele Helfert

Papers

Functions of industrial supplier relationships and their impact on relationship quality

Redefining market orientation from a relationship perspective: Theoretical considerations and empirical results

The impact of satisfaction, trust, and relationship value on commitment: theoretical considerations and empirical results

Relationship Marketing Teams

Teams im Relationship Marketing