Relationship quality and buyer-seller interactions in channels of distribution

This study considers how relationship marketing is manifest in actual inter actions between buyers and sellers involved in on-going relationships with varying degrees of relationship quality. Seven buyer-seller, interaction en counters were observed, audiotaped, and analyzed. Before observing the enco unters, however, in-depth interviews were conducted with the buyers to dete rmine their perceived quality of the relationships within which the interac tions would occur. Qualitative and empirically based evidence suggest syste matic, behavioral differences across the interactions. Specifically, the re sults suggest that relatively higher-quality relationships tend to exhibit more friendliness, less question ashing, disagreement, and compliance behav ior as compared with lower-quality relationships. Buyers in lower-quality r elationships tend to dominate the interaction by disagreeing and talking a larger percentage of the time relative to buyers in higher-quality relation ships. As the quality of the relationship increases, however, buyers disagr ee less and allow sellers more latitude in time spent talking. (C) 1999 Els evier Science Inc. All rights reserved.