RECIPROCAL EXCHANGE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES - CONSUMERS INDUCEMENTS TO INSHOP

Although consumer-retailer exchange behavior has been studied for many years, its treatment has not accounted for factors relating to recipr ocal exchange intentions. This article defines reciprocity as the degr ee to which individuals expect cooperative action, and places reciproc ity within the overall framework of consumer-retailer market exchange. In addition, it presents results of an exploratory study of rural con sumers' reciprocal intentions to shop with local retailers, indicating that levels of satisfaction with interpersonal reciprocity have great er influence than moral, social, or economic motives. This study also suggests that social desirability, as a bias, is strongly linked to ru ral consumers' responses. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.