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Exploring Consumer and Retailer Exchange in Rural Communities: Part II
Author(s) -
Miller Nancy J.,
Kean Rita C.,
Littrell Mary A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
family and consumer sciences research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.372
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1552-3934
pISSN - 1077-727X
DOI - 10.1177/1077727x99281006
Subject(s) - reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , social exchange theory , interpersonal communication , marketing , norm of reciprocity , rural community , rural area , social psychology , theme (computing) , business , focus group , interpersonal relationship , sociology , public relations , psychology , social capital , political science , socioeconomics , social science , computer science , law , operating system
In Part I of the authors' exploration, the social exchange tenet of reciprocity first emerged as a strong theme in both rural consumers' and retailers' focus group discussions. Reciprocity was defined as the degree to which individuals in the community and its marketplace expected cooperative action. The authors then pursued the theme of reciprocity in a second study using a mail survey of rural retailers. Findings suggested that rural retailers' level of satisfaction with their business was significantly associated with their level of satisfaction with reciprocity in local marketplace exchange relationships. In Part II, the authors explore rural Nebraska consumers' responses to mail survey questions focusing on specific types of reciprocity and find that satisfaction with interpersonal or community reciprocity, along with social and economic motivations, were significantly related to consumers' intention to shop with local retailers in the marketplace. This study incorporated controls for social desirability as a possible source of bias.