Positive and negative consequences of a relationship manager strategy: New Zealand banks and their small business customers

This study analyses the impact of a relationship strategy in a business-to-business context. Specifically, we examine the influence of a relationship manager on the quality of the relationship between small businesses and their main provider of banking services. Importantly, we compare the overall relationship quality between those businesses that are assigned a relationship manager to those who are not. Results from 879 small business customers reveal that when a relationship manager performs well many benefits accrue-compared to those firms without a relationship manager. When a relationship manager performs inadequately, however, difficulties arise indicating that it is not the existence of the relationship manager that makes a difference but the execution of the strategy. The paper concludes by analysing two banks that are part of the study, one that has implemented their relationship manager strategy successfully and one that has encountered problems. This case analysis leads to recommendations regarding the execution of a relationship manager strategy.