CUSTOMERS MOTIVATIONS FOR MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS

Understanding why customers are receptive to relationships with servic e providers is a key issue in relationship marketing. This paper sugge sts that four broad drivers-environmental variables, partner variables customer variables, and interaction variables-affect customers' recep tivity to relationship maintenance. Customers may maintain relationshi ps either because of constraints (they ''have to'' stay in the relatio nship) or because of dedication (they ''want to'' stay in the relation ship). The potentially differential effects of these dual motivations on customers' subsequent relationship attitudes and behaviors are exam ined. A model of relationship maintenance is developed and proposition s are presented regarding the antecedents and consequences of customer s' relationship maintenance. Theoretical and practical implications of the paper are discussed.