The Dark Side of Long-Term Relationships in Marketing Services

Abstract

In their study of marketing services relationships, Moorman, Zaltman, and Deshpandé (1992) are unable to support a hypothesized link between relational factors (such as clients’ trust in their service providers) and clients’ use of marketing services. This finding runs counter to relationship marketing theory. To explain their result, Moorman, Zaltman, and Deshpandé (1992) suggest that, as a relationship becomes more long-term, it becomes prone to negative influences that dampen the positive impact of relational factors. This study replicates and extends Moorman, Zaltman, and Deshpandé's (1992) work by examining relationships between advertising agencies and their clients. The results replicate findings on seven of ten hypotheses proposed in the original article. The authors also extend the original study by supporting the general hypothesis that long-term relationships have a negative impact on service use, which dampens the impact of trust. The results shed light on the mediating role that certain “dark side” constructs play in marketing services relationships.