Perceptions of Dyadic Business Relationships: In Search of the Social Psychological Basis of Interpersonal Relationship Perceptions in Socio-Economic Exchange Relationships

Abstract

During the past 10 years, substantial relationship marketing disciplinary discussion has centred around the concepts of commitment and trust as the key mediating concepts of relationship perceptions. The models developed, however, have lacked the psychological basis from which each of us typically approach the above mentioned relationships. As the essential reflective feature of business interaction seems to be the dualism between calculative monetary considerations and the social elements of relationship considerations, the key to understanding relational behaviour within these parameters is to combine both the rational business decision elements with the psychological elements that enter into this process of decision-making. This study builds a model of socio-economic exchange based on work from both relationship marketing and social psychology. Thus, the model might be placed at the core of the `marketing as exchange' discussion, in that this model captures the processes that are happening within the individual who is involved in the marketing exchange. The results provide support for a two-dimensional mediating concept of relationship perceptions and an additional view on what constitutes relationship quality is provided.