Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Relationship Marketing: A Meta-Analysis

40 Pages Posted: 26 May 2006

See all articles by Robert W. Palmatier

Robert W. Palmatier

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Rajiv P. Dant

Michael F Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma

Dhruv Grewal

Babson College - Marketing Division

Kenneth R. Evans

University of Missouri at Columbia; University of Oklahoma - Michael F. Price College of Business

Date Written: January 2006

Abstract

Relationship marketing (RM) has emerged as one of the dominant mantras in business strategy circles, though RM investigations often yield mixed results. To help managers and researchers improve the effectiveness of their efforts, the authors synthesize RM empirical research in a meta-analytic framework. Although the fundamental premise that RM positively affects performance is well supported, many of the authors' findings have significant implications for research and practice. Relationship investment has a large direct effect on seller objective performance, which implies that additional meditated pathways may explain the impact of RM on performance. Objective performance is influenced most by relationship quality (a composite measure of relationship strength) and least by commitment. The results suggest also that RM is more effective when relationships are more critical to customers (e.g., service offerings, channel exchanges, business markets) and built with an individual person rather than a selling firm (which partially explains the mixed effects between RM and performance reported in previous studies).

Suggested Citation

Palmatier, Robert W. and Dant, Rajiv P. and Grewal, Dhruv and Evans, Kenneth R. and Evans, Kenneth R., Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Relationship Marketing: A Meta-Analysis (January 2006). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=904647 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.904647

Robert W. Palmatier (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Rajiv P. Dant

Michael F Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma ( email )

Price College of Business
307 West Brooks
Norman, OK 73019
United States

Dhruv Grewal

Babson College - Marketing Division ( email )

Babson Park, MA 02157
United States

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.babson.edu/dgrewal

Kenneth R. Evans

University of Missouri at Columbia ( email )

College of Business
Columbia, MO 65211
United States

University of Oklahoma - Michael F. Price College of Business

307 West Brooks
Norman, OK 73019-4004
United States