Instrumental and interpersonal determinants of relationship satisfaction and commitment in industrial markets

Although factors relating to suppliers' performance on core marketing functions (instrumental factors) and those relating to the climate of interpersonal relations between supplier and customer resource personnel (interpersonal factors) have both been independently advocated as determinants of relationship satisfaction in business-to-business (B2B) markets, there is a dearth of studies that have investigated their joint effects. The author develops and tests a model of relationship satisfaction and commitment in which both instrumental and interpersonal factors are included as joint determinants of relationship satisfaction. The model also examines the links between satisfaction and commitment on one hand, and customers' propensity to terminate a relationships on the other. It is tested with data from a survey of 282 manufacturing firms in Saudi Arabia in which respondents evaluated relationships with foreign suppliers of industrial components and raw materials. The results confirm the hypothesized joint effect of instrumental and interpersonal factors on relationship satisfaction. They also provide evidence in support of a theory-based positive link between satisfaction and commitment, and negative links between propensity to terminate relationship on one hand, and relationship satisfaction and commitment on the other. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are outlined and discussed.