Social bonding as a determinant of share of wallet and cross-buying behaviour in B2B relationships
这项纵向研究调查了B2B关系中边界跨越者之间的社会纽带如何通过信任影响钱包份额和实际交叉购买行为，发现社会纽带能超越客户对价值的感知产生作用。
Purpose Research on how social bonding between boundary spanners influences relationship outcomes in business-to-business (B2B) settings is sparse and controversial. This longitudinal study aims to close this gap and assess the impact of social bonding on the share of wallet and actual cross-buying behaviour. Design/methodology/approach B2B relationships between a manufacturer of light commercial vehicles and its customers were investigated. A random sample of fleet managers answered two telephone surveys. Findings Social bonding was found to affect both investigated relationship outcomes, share of wallet and cross-buying, through the generation of trust over and above the customer’s perceptions of value. Research limitations/implications Only one product category was investigated in this study, and further research should explore boundary conditions for the relevance of social bonding in B2B. Practical implications Social bonding represents one lever (next to value perceptions) for building a competitive advantage in a B2B context. Relationship marketing activities that are intended to strengthen the development of social bonds between customers and account managers should be encouraged. Originality/value The authors provide clear evidence regarding the disputed impact of social bonding between boundary spanners on relationship outcomes in B2B relationships by testing its impact on real purchase behaviour and not only purchase intentions, as is the case in most published studies to date.