Robert M. Morgan

The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing

Relationship marketing—establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges—constitutes a major shift in marketing theory and practice. After conceptualizing relationship marke...

Customer Engagement: Exploring Customer Relationships Beyond Purchase

Using qualitative studies involving executives and customers, this study explores the nature and scope of customer engagement (CE), which is a vital component of relationship marketing. We define CE as the intensity of an individuals participation in and connection with an organizations offerings and/or organizational activities, which either the customer or the organization initiate. We argue that it is composed of cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social elements. Finally, we offer a model of CE, in which the participation and involvement of current or potential customers serve as antecedents of CE, while value, trust, affective commitment, word of mouth, loyalty, and brand community involvement are potential consequences.

Relationship-Based Competitive Advantage: The Role of Relationship Marketing in Marketing Strategy

Abstract Relationship marketing research to date has focused for the most part on two sets of issues. First, what are the benefits of relationship marketing adoption? Second, how are marketing relationships built and maintained? Although these are important questions for researchers to address, we believe an understanding of the strategic impact of relationship marketing is equally important. We hold that relationship marketing should only be adopted when it offers, or contributes to, a firms competitive advantage—a competitive advantage that, it is hoped, proves sustainable. As a first step toward better understanding the strategic role of relationship marketing, adopting a resource-based approach, we first clarify the role that resources gained through relationships may play in marketing relationships. Then we isolate and discuss the various kinds of resources that might be gained through relationships. Finally, we develop five propositions for assessing the strategic worth of these resources in marketing relationships.

Organizational Commitment: One of Many Commitments or Key Mediating Construct?

This study developed and tested two rival views of how organizational commitment can be reconceptualized to accommodate both global organizational commitment and constituency-specific commitments. ...

Differential Effects of Preferential Treatment Levels on Relational Outcomes

Despite its often controversial and philosophically divisive nature, preferential treatment of customers holds the potential to contribute to important relational outcomes valued by firms. In this study, sampled customers (n = 2,461) of a national upscale department store chain representing recipients of three different levels of preferential treatment are tested. While controlling for individual customer characteristics, higher levels of preferential treatment are shown to positively influence relationship commitment, increased purchases, share of customer, word of mouth, and customer feedback. This study fills a major services marketing research gap by assessing the favorable effects of higher levels of preferential treatment as a relationship marketing strategy.

The moderating effect of organizational cohesiveness in knowledge use and new product development

This study examined the influence of cohesiveness, an organizational cultural variable, on knowledge use and organizational learning within the context of new product development (NPD). The authors surveyed NPD managers from 323 firms, representing a wide range of product classifications, about their firms’ levels of cohesiveness and NPD efforts. Using structural equation modeling, the authors demonstrated that organizational cohesiveness has a moderating influence on both an organization’s use of its existing knowledge to develop innovative new products and the resulting performance of those products, which emphasizes how influential organizational “mind-set” can be. By considering cohesiveness an influence in new product innovativeness and new product performance, the authors incorporated a cultural variable that has received little attention in the NPD and more general marketing literature. This research reveals that much is left to learn about cohesiveness and that understanding it can advance knowledge use, organizational learning, and innovation.

A Generalized Multidimensional Scale for Measuring Customer Engagement

As firms work tod engage customers better, researchers have attempted to understand customer engagement (CE) empirically. CE goes beyond purchase and is the level of the customers (or potential customers) interactions and connections with the brand or firms offerings or activities, often involving others in the social network created around the brand/offering/activity. Engaged individuals include current as well as prospective customers. Following the expanded relationship metaphor and service-dominant logic, the researchers conceptualize a three-dimensional view of CE, including conscious attention, enthused participation, and social connection. The final 10-item scale is thoroughly developed and subsequently validated in several contexts. In addition, its nomological validity is assessed.

Customer advocacy and the impact of B2B loyalty programs

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explore linkages between committed customers and their willingness to serve as advocates and investigate the moderating influence of B2B loyalty programs toward supporting customer advocacy behaviors.Design/methodology/approach – A model was developed to assess linkages between customer commitment and an assortment of customer advocacy behaviors, including sharing information, marketing research support, word‐of‐mouth referrals, and increasing repatronage. The model was tested on 248 agricultural business clients of a chemical manufacturer using confirmatory factor analysis. Multi‐group analysis was conducted to assess hypothesized B2B loyalty program membership effects.Findings – The findings suggest that customers with stronger levels of commitment are indeed more willing to contribute as customer advocates. Surprisingly, B2B loyalty program membership shows no significant moderating effects on the tested model.Research limitations/implications – The tested mo...

Advertising Agency Compensation: An Agency Theory Explanation

Abstract Advertising agency compensation may change dramatically in coming years as advertisers put pressure on agencies to reduce commissions and tie compensation to performance resulting from advertising campaigns. Drawing on agency theory from the economics discipline, the authors develop and test several hypotheses to address the advertising agency compensation decision. Their study provides the first comprehensive look at the prevalence of outcome-based compensation tied to performance and other compensation systems currently used among U.S. advertisers.

The Resource-Advantage Theory of Competition

The major thesis of this article is that combining the resource-based theory of the firm with Austrian economics and heterogeneous demand theory provides the foundations for a new theory of competition, the resource-advantage theory. This new theory has macro and public policy implications. Specifically, when compared with neoclassical perfect competition theory, the resource-advantage theory better explains productivity and economic growth.