Effects of Social Bonding in Business-to-Business Relationships

Abstract

This study investigates the social relationship between buyers’ key contact employees and sellers’ key contact employees in business-to-business marketing relationships in service industries. We specifically examine the impact of social bonding on the buyer's (a) loyalty toward the seller, (b) trust in the seller, (c) satisfaction with the seller, and (d) perceptions of the service quality provided by the seller while controlling for structural and economic bonds. To address this question, we use embeddedness theory, social exchange theory, marketing exchange theory, and attribution theory. Using partial least squares analysis, we demonstrate that when structural and economic bonds were controlled, social bonds significantly impacted the buyer's loyalty, trust, and satisfaction toward the seller and the buyer's perceptions of the seller's service quality.

KEYWORDS:

• attribution theory
• B2B marketing
• economic bonding
• economic exchange theory
• embeddedness theory
• loyalty
• relationship marketing
• satisfaction
• service quality
• social bonding
• social exchange theory
• structural bonding
• trust