Restaurant buyers’ relationships with their suppliers were the focus of this study. Business marketing of this nature, where one firm sells to another, has undergone a paradigm shift away from an adversarial model to a cooperative model where many firms have learned that more value can be created by working creatively and effectively with one another. Drawing from the business marketing literature, this article puts forth and tests a model of buyer-supplier relationships where a number of factors are proposed to influence the level of trust and commitment restaurant buyers have with their wholesale suppliers. In addition, this study explores the perceived advantages and disadvantages of creating fewer but more closely integrated buyer-seller relationships from the perspective of restaurateurs. It is hoped that the proposed model and its test will invite future research in an area that has been largely neglected by hospitality and tourism researchers.
Anderson, E., & Weitz, B. (1990, Fall). Determinants of continuity in conventional industrial channel dyads. Marketing Sciences, 8, 310-323.
2.
Anderson, J. C., & Narus, J. A. (1984, Fall). A model of distributor’s perspective on distributor-manufacturer working relationships. Journal of Marketing, 48, 62-74.
3.
Anderson, J. C., & Narus, J. A. (1990, January). A model of distributor firm and manufacturer firm working partnerships. Journal of Marketing, 54, 42-58.
4.
Armstrong, J. S., & Overton, T. (1977, July). Estimating non-response bias in mail surveys. Journal of Marketing Research, 51, 71-86.
5.
Berry, L. (1995, Fall). Relationship marketing of services: Growing interest, emerging perspectives. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 23, 236-245.
6.
Brymer, R. (1998). Hospitality and tourism: An introduction to the industry (8th ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
7.
Carlisle, J. A., & Parker, R. C. (1989). Beyond negotiation: Redeeming customer-supplier relationships. New York: John Wiley.
8.
Crotts, J. C., Aziz, A., & Raschid, A. (1998). Antecedents of supplier’s commitment to wholesale buyers in the international travel trade. Tourism Management, 19(2), 127-134.
9.
Crotts, J., Buhalis, D., & March, R. (Eds.). (2000). Managing relationships in the global hospitality and tourism industry. New York: Haworth.
10.
Crotts, J. C., & Turner, G. (1999). Determinants of intra-firm trust in buyer-seller relationships in the international travel trade. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11(2), 127-134.
11.
Crotts, J. C., & Wilson, D. T. (1995). An integrated model of buyer-seller relationships in the international travel trade. Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1(2), 1-15.
12.
Davies, R. G., & Shultz, T. M. (1998). The history, pioneers, and leaders of hospitality and tourism. In R. A. Brymer (Ed.), Hospitality and tourism: An introduction to the industry (8th ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
13.
Doney, P., & Cannon, J. (1997, April). An examination of the nature of trust in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 61, 35-51.
14.
Dwyer, F. R., Schurr, P., & Oh, S. (1987). Developing buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 51(2), 11-27.
15.
Ford, R. C., & Heaton, C. P. (1999). Managing the guest experience in hospitality organizations. Albany, NY: Delmar.
16.
Ganesan, S. (1994, April). Determinants of long-term orientation in buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 51, 1-19.
17.
Hakansson, H. (1982). International marketing and purchasing of industrial goods: An interaction approach. Chichester, UK: John Wiley.
18.
Hallen, L., Johanson, J., & Mohamed, N. (1991, April). Inter-firm adaptation in business relationships. Journal of Marketing, 55, 29-37.
19.
Han, S. -L., & Wilson, D. (1993). Antecedents of buyer commitment to the supplier: A model of structural bonding and social bonding (working paper). University Park: Institute for the Study of Business Markets, Pennsylvania State University.
20.
Han, S. -L., Wilson, D., & Dant, S. (1993, Fall). Buyer-supplier relationships today. Industrial Marketing Management, 22, 331-339.
21.
Hardwick, B., & Ford, D. (1986). Industrial buyer resources and responsibilities and the buyer-seller relationships. Industrial Marketing and Purchasing, 1(1), 3-25.
22.
Heide, J. B., & John, G. (1990, February). Alliances in industrial purchasing: The determinants of joint action in buyer-supplier relationships. Journal of Marketing Research, 27, 24-36.
23.
Johnson, M. (1982). Personal and cognitive features of the dissolution of commitment to relationships. In S. Duck (Ed.), Personal relationships: Dissolving personal relationships. London: Academic Press.
24.
McCall, G. J. (1970). The social organization of relationships. In G. McCall, M. McCall, N. Denzin, G. Shuttles, & S. Kurth (Eds.), Social relationships. Chicago: Aldine.
25.
Money, B. R., & Crotts, J. C. (1999). Buyer behavior in the Japanese travel trade. In T. Inagaki, T. Ohashi, & K. Chon (Eds.), Japanese tourists: Socio-economic, marketing and psychological analysis. New York: Haworth.
26.
Moorman, C., Zaltman, G., & Deshpande, R. (1992, August). Relationships between providers and users of marketing research: The dynamics of trust within and between organizations. Journal of Marketing Research, 29, 314-329.
27.
Morgan, R., & Hunt, S. (1994, July). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing Research, 58, 20-38.
28.
Mummalaneni, B. (1987). The influence of a close personal relationship between the buyer and seller on the continued stability of theory role relationships. Unpublished dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
29.
Mummalaneni, B., & Wilson, D. T. (1991). The influence of a close personal relationship between the buyer and seller on the continued stability of their role relationship. University Park: Institute for the Study of Business Markets, Pennsylvania State University.
30.
Noordewier, T., John, G., & Nevin, J. (1990, October). Performance outcomes of purchasing arrangements in industrial buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 54, 80-93.
31.
Rusbult, C., Verette, J., Whitney, G., Slovik, L., & Lipkus, I. (1991). Accommodation process in close relationships: Theory and preliminary empirical evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(1), 53-78.
32.
Schurr, P., & Ozanne, J. (1985, March). Influences on exchange processes: Buyers’ preconceptions of a seller’s trustworthiness and bargaining toughness. Journal of Consumer Research, 11, 939-953.
33.
Turner, R. H. (1970). Family interaction. New York: John Wiley.
34.
Wilson, D. T., Soni, P., & O’Keefe, M. (1995). Modeling consumer retention as a relationship problem. University Park: Institute for the Study of Business Markets, Pennsylvania State University.
