Perception of B2B Relationships; A Gut Feeling? : A multiple case study on the consumer's perception of relationship success, and the underlying factors influencing trust, commitment, and satisfaction

Sammanfattning: Background: The success and quality of B2B relationships have been researched for decades. Relationship success carries many definitions, but prior literature lacks depth in how it is achieved. Relationship quality is often determined through three pillars: trust, commitment, and satisfaction. There is, however, unclarity as to what underlying factors build these pillars, due to the scarce amount of literature available on the topic. Purpose: To establish what aspects contribute to the success and quality of a relationship, by examining how relationship success, as well as relationship quality and how its three pillars are built, are perceived by Mediaspjuth's customers. Method: This interpretivist study initially follows a deductive approach as an already existing conceptual framework has guided the collection of data deemed necessary to answer the research questions. As the aim is to also seek answers to what factors build the three pillars of relationship quality; trust commitment, and satisfaction, the study also undertakes an inductive approach. Ten qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted as a primary source of data. Conclusion: The empirical findings detected important factors influencing relationship success, trust, commitment, and satisfaction. The study found that the quality of the relationship, quality of delivery, and integrity were the main factors affecting relationship success. Trust was built on the delivery process and the management of the relationship, while commitment focused on proactivity and dedication. Lastly, satisfaction was achieved mainly through the outcome quality and mutual benefits.