Gratitude in buyer-seller relationships: a dyadic investigation |
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| Authors: | Stephanie M Mangus Dora E Bock Eli Jones Judith Anne Garretson Folse |
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| Institution: | 1. Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University, 632 Bogue Street, Room N303, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;2. Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, Auburn University, 248 Lowder Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA;3. Mays Business School, Texas A&4. M University, 440 Wehner Building, College Station, TX 77843, USA;5. E.J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University, 2111 Business Education Complex, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA |
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| Abstract: | In addressing the call for research to understand affect in sales, this research uses moral affect theory and literature on emotional contagion to examine the effects of salesperson gratitude and customer gratitude on downstream relationship outcomes. The findings of this work suggest that salesperson prosocial behaviors account for the positive association between salesperson gratitude and customer gratitude. These prosocial behaviors – information sharing and extra-role behaviors – combined with customer gratitude serve as explanatory mechanisms for the positive effects of salesperson gratitude on customer commitment, which is an important result of buyer-seller interactions and an essential component of long-term relationships. Further, this research finds that salesperson extra-role behaviors and relationship length interact such that salesperson extra-role behaviors cultivate customer gratitude within developing and established relationships, but that these behaviors are particularly beneficial for less mature relationships. Understanding the role of salesperson gratitude and customer gratitude in driving relational outcomes contributes to both a theoretical understanding of the role of affect in sales and practical applications of emotions within buyer-seller relationships. |
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| Keywords: | salesperson gratitude prosocial behaviors emotional contagion |
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