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Determinants of Source Loyalty in Buyer‐Seller Relationships
Author(s) -
Sriram Ven,
Mummalaneni Venkatapparao
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of purchasing and materials management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.75
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1745-493X
pISSN - 0094-8594
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-493x.1990.tb00517.x
Subject(s) - loyalty , purchasing , business , marketing , association (psychology) , focus (optics) , conceptual framework , sociology , psychology , physics , optics , psychotherapist , social science
A significant change is occurring in the way a growing number of organizations manage their input acquisition strategy. Some purchasing managers are being asked by their organizations to shift from the more traditional “arms‐length” relationships with their suppliers to a newer, closer, “relationship‐building” approach. While both practitioners and academicians are interested in this new focus on buyer‐seller relationships, as evidenced from their writings in the trade and professional journals, much of the early work has been descriptive and conceptual. Empirical evidence appears to be limited concerning some of the characteristics of this new type of relationship—for instance, the factors that contribute to source loyalty or the association between relationship length and loyalty. This article develops hypotheses about these and other issues relating to these close relationships and tests them in two different settings. The results provide useful insights into the changing nature of buyer‐seller relationships.