Manage your offering or manage your relationship?

Abstract

Competing models (the supplier offering and relationship management models) were tested in a maintenance, repair, and operating supplies purchasing environment to examine which better predicted customer satisfaction, trust, and supplier partnering attractiveness. These models were also tested against a combined model to see if the more comprehensive model improved prediction. The results provide evidence that relationships may be more important than the variables frequently investigated in the organizational buying behavior literature relating to supplier choice.