Relationship Quality in Business-to-Business Contexts: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda

Abstract

This literature review paper examines relationship quality within industrial marketing, emphasising its role in fostering productive relational exchanges. Relationship marketing (RM) has become central in marketing exchanges, focusing on long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between buyers and sellers. The concept of relationship quality, reflecting the degree to which a relationship meets customer needs, is fundamental in this context. The paper adopts the 4 Ws framework to review 120 relevant articles systematically. Commitment, trust, and satisfaction consistently emerge as critical dimensions of relationship quality. However, variations in operationalisation exist across diverse research environments. The review highlights the need for context-specific analyses and suggests exploring the interplay between relationship quality and brand-related constructs. This paper enhances our understanding of relationship quality's impact on industrial marketing by identifying research gaps and proposing future directions.