The Role of Customer Gratitude in Relationship Marketing

Abstract

Most theories of relationship marketing emphasize the role of trust and commitment in affecting performance outcomes; however, a recent meta-analysis indicates that other mediating mechanisms are at work. Data from two studies-a laboratory experiment and a dyadic longitudinal field survey-demonstrate that gratitude also mediates the influence of a seller's relationship marketing investments on performance outcomes. Specifically, relationship marketing investments generate short-term feelings of gratitude that drive long-lasting performance benefits based on gratitude-related reciprocal behaviors. The authors identify a set of managerially relevant factors and test their power to alter customer perceptions of relationship marketing investments to increase customer gratitude, which can make relationship marketing programs more effective. Overall, the research empirically demonstrates that gratitude plays an important role in understanding how relationship marketing investments increase purchase intentions, sales growth, and share of wallet.

Gratitude: does it have a place within media-practice education?

“…Whilst it notes the underpinning scholarship highlighted within the literature review and areas which warrant exploration, it recognises that many of these ideas are generated within contexts arguably quite distinct from that of HE (e.g. Hasan et al 2014;Palmatier 2009;Mishra 2016;Raggio et al 2014). Whilst Howells' (2012) ideas are clearly generated within the context of education, they too are somewhat removed from UK media-practice HE.…”

“…Palmatier et al 2009;Raggio et al 2104) differentiate between the emotional or affective state of gratitude itself and the behavioural nature of expressions of gratitude. However Hasan et al (2014) draw from Emmons and Crumpler (2000) to inform their distinction between the emotion of gratitude and the behavior of expressions of gratitude 'gratitude might be felt without being expressed and its behavioural components might not necessarily represent gratitude' (Hasan et al 2014:789).…”

“…Literature suggests that gratitude is an important glue within relational exchanges, maintaining relational bonds (Palmatier et al 2009), strengthening existing relationships (Raggio et al 2014) and enhancing relationship continuity (Bock et al 2015). The impact of gratitude is not limited to interactions with the original benefactor, Fredrickson (2004) found that grateful people seek to further the well-being of other people, thus gratitude has an important knock-on effect which could arguably beneficially ripple across media-practice education.…”

“…Bock et al (2016) identify the importance of supportive employee-customer interactions as facilitators of gratitude's positive impact on relational behaviours. In the consumer context, scholars have discovered that gratitude is a driver of purchase intention (Palmatier et al 2009;Soscia 2007;Simon et al 2015;Dewani et al 2016), sales growth (Palmatier et al 2009), loyalty (Bock et al 2015;Dewani et al 2016), positive wordof-mouth communication (Raggio et al 2014;Soscia 2007) and willingness to pay (Morales 2005). Whilst only positive word-of-mouth may be appropriate in the context of media-practice education, the range of outcomes indicates the potential power of gratitude.…”

“…Palmatier et al (2009) note that a series of scholars see a central place for reciprocity within relational exchange (e.g. Bagozzi 1995) indeed Houston and Gassenheime (1987) consider reciprocity to be the very process which transforms exchange events into exchange relationships.…”