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Social bonding as a determinant of share of wallet and cross-buying behaviour in B2B relationships

Social bonding as a determinant of share of wallet and cross-buying behaviour in B2B relationships PurposeResearch on how social bonding between boundary spanners influences relationship outcomes in business-to-business (B2B) settings is sparse and controversial. This longitudinal study aims to close this gap and assess the impact of social bonding on the share of wallet and actual cross-buying behaviour.Design/methodology/approachB2B relationships between a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles and its customers were investigated. A random sample of fleet managers answered two telephone surveys.FindingsSocial bonding was found to affect both investigated relationship outcomes, share of wallet and cross-buying, through the generation of trust over and above the customer’s perceptions of value.Research limitations/implicationsOnly one product category was investigated in this study, and further research should explore boundary conditions for the relevance of social bonding in B2B.Practical implicationsSocial bonding represents one lever (next to value perceptions) for building a competitive advantage in a B2B context. Relationship marketing activities that are intended to strengthen the development of social bonds between customers and account managers should be encouraged.Originality/valueThe authors provide clear evidence regarding the disputed impact of social bonding between boundary spanners on relationship outcomes in B2B relationships by testing its impact on real purchase behaviour and not only purchase intentions, as is the case in most published studies to date. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png European Journal of Marketing Emerald Publishing

Social bonding as a determinant of share of wallet and cross-buying behaviour in B2B relationships

Paulssen, Marcel; Roulet, Raphael
European Journal of Marketing , Volume 51 (5/6): 18 – May 8, 2017
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0309-0566
DOI
10.1108/EJM-07-2014-0433
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeResearch on how social bonding between boundary spanners influences relationship outcomes in business-to-business (B2B) settings is sparse and controversial. This longitudinal study aims to close this gap and assess the impact of social bonding on the share of wallet and actual cross-buying behaviour.Design/methodology/approachB2B relationships between a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles and its customers were investigated. A random sample of fleet managers answered two telephone surveys.FindingsSocial bonding was found to affect both investigated relationship outcomes, share of wallet and cross-buying, through the generation of trust over and above the customer’s perceptions of value.Research limitations/implicationsOnly one product category was investigated in this study, and further research should explore boundary conditions for the relevance of social bonding in B2B.Practical implicationsSocial bonding represents one lever (next to value perceptions) for building a competitive advantage in a B2B context. Relationship marketing activities that are intended to strengthen the development of social bonds between customers and account managers should be encouraged.Originality/valueThe authors provide clear evidence regarding the disputed impact of social bonding between boundary spanners on relationship outcomes in B2B relationships by testing its impact on real purchase behaviour and not only purchase intentions, as is the case in most published studies to date.

Journal

European Journal of Marketing – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 8, 2017

References

  • Industrial purchasing: an empirical exploration of the buyclass Buyclass framework
  • Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach