Relationship Quality and Purchase Intention and Behavior: The Moderating Impact of Relationship Strength

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between perceived relationship quality, purchase intention and behavior, and the moderating role of relationship strength. Actual purchase data and self-reported survey data were obtained from 634 customers of a Belgian apparel retailer. Perceived relationship quality and relationship strength significantly impacted buying intention, and buying intention and relationship strength significantly impacted purchase behavior. A better relationship quality led to stronger purchase intention for customers with weaker relations with the retailer, whereas a stronger intention led to more purchase behavior for customers with a stronger relation with the retailer. Our results indicate that marketing strategies based on customer intentions and its predictors alone may not be effective because opposite results can be expected for high versus low relationship strength customers. Therefore, relationship strength should be included as well, and consumers varying in this construct should be approached in a different way. This is one of the first studies to combine actual purchase data with information based on customer interviews, which makes it possible to not only study the link between relationship quality and buying intention but also between buying intention and actual buying behavior. Moreover, the main concepts were measured more validly than in previous studies: buying behavior was measured in several ways (total expenditure, number of visits, and number of product types bought) and relationship quality was based on longitudinal buying behavior information

Why do people participate in Web surveys? Applying survey participation theory to Internet survey data collection

In recent years Web surveys have emerged as the most popular mode of primary data collection in market and social research. To improve our understanding about the influence of different societal-level factors, characteristics of the sample person, and attributes of the survey design on participation in Web surveys, this paper establishes a systematic link between theoretical frameworks used to explain survey participation behavior and state-of-the-art empirical research on online data collection methods. The concepts of self-perception, cognitive dissonance, commitment and involvement, social exchange, compliance, leverage-salience, and planned behavior are discussed and their relationship with factors that have empirically proven to influence Web survey participation are analyzed using data from an expert survey. This paper will help researchers and practitioners to make informed decisions about the use of techniques increasing participation in Web surveys