Marketing channel research has relied on a variety of theoretical perspectives to understand interfirm relationship management and governance processes between a buyer and a seller, such as a supplier and a distributor. However, conclusions arising from different theoretical perspectives sometimes can be controversial. For example, both the economic approach and the sociological approach that conventionally dominate extant marketing channel research encourage firms to commit to existing relationships. Seeking new partners increases transaction costs, and therefore can harm incumbent relationship loyalty, leading to potential exchange hazards. On the other hand, however, network theory and the resource-based view suggest that exploring new relationships can help firms gain new knowledge and capabilities that contribute to superior firm performance and competitiveness. Therefore, how marketing channel firms balance the seemingly contradictory strategies - committing to the incumbent relationship (i.e. relationship exploitation strategy) while also exploring new relationships (i.e. relationship exploration strategy) is the central theme of the thesis. By focusing on the distributor firms, the thesis investigates the issue by two essays. The first essay examines how a distributor's relationship exploration strategy and relationship exploitation strategy influence its opportunism. The research provides different boundary conditions for how to manage relationship exploration strategy and relationship exploitation strategy, including two types of uncertainties (environment uncertainty and performance ambiguity), and two types of network factors (network density and network centrality). One of the interesting findings in the first essay is that while relationship exploitation reduces opportunism as predicted, relationship exploration exerts no significant main effect. This finding demonstrates that relationship exploration strategy is not the opposite of relationship exploitation strategy; rather, it is a conceptually independent construct. The nature of relationship exploration and its effect on incumbent relationship is the subject of the second essay. A theoretical framework was thereby developed to examine how a distributor's relationship exploration strategy can enhance its own dynamic capabilities, which in turn can promote the dyadic relationship quality between the distributor and its incumbent supplier. In sum, relationship exploration is not necessarily destructive. If firms are able to develop their own dynamic capabilities in forms of absorptive capacity and innovative capability, exploring new relationships can be a constructive co-development strategy beneficial for sustaining long-term continuity in the channel dyads.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Management)--Vanderbilt University, May 2010. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Naveen Donthu, committee chair; Detmar Straub, Dan Bello, James Boles, committee members. Electronic text (152 p. : ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 14, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-151).

Thesis (M. Com.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-219). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. James Boles, committee chair; Wesley Johnston, Greg W. Marshall, Edward Rigdon, Danny Bellenger, committee members. Electronic text (222 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 29, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-221).

The close relationship between sports and the natural environment has been endangered by climate crisis and global warming (Breitbarth et al., 2023; Cunningham et al., 2020; McCullough, 2023; Orr & Inoue, 2019). For this reason, the development of golf courses has been accused of serious impacts on environmental destruction which causes climate change, despite the popularity of golf (Fouillouze et al, 2023). Golf courses have become quite far from the green image. Hence, golf courses began to voluntarily obtain environmental certification (e.g., Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, GEO certified) to protect nature and keep ecosystems sustainable (Gomis et al., 2018; Lee et al., 2022; Minoli et al., 2015; Scott et al., 2018). However, the existing literature cannot determine whether the golf courses' environmental efforts play an important role in laying the groundwork for the development of relationships with customers, and even it is unclear whether they can benefit from the relationship marketing. Thus, the purpose of this study was to create and assess a holistic model that explains the formation of customers' brand advocacy on environmentally friendly golf courses. Building on various bodies of literature, such as green brand image, feelings of gratitude, relationship quality, and brand advocacy, proposed a theoretical model that explains the formation of customers' brand advocacy intentions. Empirical data were collected from 575 golfers who had visited environmentally friendly golf courses and analyzed using a structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that perceived brand image influences feelings of gratitude, which in turn positively influences brand advocacy intentions through relationship quality. The feelings of gratitude did not directly affect brand advocacy intentions, while they indirectly influenced brand advocacy intentions through the quality of relationships including trust and commitment. The findings of the study suggested that under the influence of green marketing, relationship quality plays a pivotal role in influencing brand advocacy intentions, providing a holistic model of relationship development. Therefore, sustainable branding is a relationship strategy that can inspire customers.

Este estudo aborda a utilização das mídias sociais como ferramenta para gestão de marcas. O tema se demonstra relevante por tratar de três assuntos considerados importantes na atualidade: gestão de marcas, marketing de relacionamento e redes sociais no ambiente virtual. A proposta do estudo é explorar se as organizações estão estabelecendo um relacionamento com seus clientes de forma que este promova o brand equity por meio do uso das redes sociais. Para se atingir os objetivos do estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória de cunho qualitativo em que os dados foram coletados a partir do método netnográfico, ou seja, a partir da observação das informações que foram disponibilizadas publicamente nas páginas das marcas Coca-Cola, Microsoft e Google no site Facebook. A análise da pesquisa permitiu concluir que as três marcas observadas estão atuando no Facebook com o objetivo de se relacionar com seus consumidores, sendo que seu uso permite o engajamento natural das pessoas - seja por meio das mensagens postadas, que devem ser simples e conter em sua essência um conteúdo que promova o diálogo, a interação e confiança entre os participantes, evitando um teor que fale de si mesmo, ou seja por meio das ferramentas disponibilizadas. / This study addresses the use of social media as a tool for brand management. This is a (highly) relevant theme because it deals with three matters of current importance: brand management, relationship marketing and social networking in the virtual environment. The purpose of this study is to explore whether organizations are establishing a relationship with their customers so as to promote brand equity through the use of social networks. To achieve the objectives of the study, an exploratory qualitative character survey was conducted where data was collected from netnographic method, in other words, from the observation of the information that was publicly available on Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Google\'s pages on Facebook. The research analysis concluded that the three brands are seen using Facebook in order to relate to their customers, and its use promotes the natural engagement of persons - whether through postings, which should be simple and contain in its core a content that promotes dialogue, interaction and trust among participants, thus avoiding the company to speak of itself, or through the tools available.

Relationship marketing provides a new foundation for thinking, genuine change in values and ethics and a new logic that sees consumers as the prime drivers of the value creation process. It seems to have a lot to offer to social marketing, however, despite its potential, the social marketing field is responding slowly to relational thinking. This research demonstrates that relationship marketing helps social marketing and that its absence seriously undermines the field. Our examination is critical because it de-constructs the transactional paradigm and shows how its logic is incapable of responding to the complexities of contemporary pluralist societies. From the literature, we have identified the principles, processes and constructs of relationship marketing that are transferable to social marketing. Further, we have identified the challenges and implications of that transference, given the particular characteristics of social marketing. To empirically examine the potential of relationship marketing in social marketing, we have conducted a process evaluation and developed a specific framework that incorporates and reflects relationship marketing principles, processes and constructs. This research makes an important methodological contribution because it goes beyond current frameworks and suggests alternative evaluation components. The process evaluation was applied through an explanatory, holistic and single case-study design. The case was a parent drugs prevention programme and to examine it we have predominantly used a mix of qualitative methods and a research design which enabled triangulation. Through the application of process evaluation to the case we have de-constructed the dominant paradigm of the programme and examined its consequences. The findings indicate that the programme did not widely applied the principles, processes and constructs of relationship marketing. Despite having successfully applied relationship marketing in specific parts of the programme, these correspond to technical rather than strategic aspects of relationship marketing and worked as isolated parts rather than as a whole. More fundamentally, rather than seeing consumers as partners, the programme saw consumers as targets, not recognizing them as the main drivers of the value creation process. The programme was therefore shaped by a transactional perspective which affected its assumptions and undermined its design and implementation. The main conclusion is that, despite its theoretical potential, it is challenging and difficult to transfer relationship marketing to real live social marketing programmes. In particular, social marketing needs to be more reflexive and self-critical in order to de-construct its prevailing paradigm and start re-constructing an alternative. This demands not only a new attitude, new values and new assumptions but also a focus on resources, competences and new and more flexible organizational structures.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2005. / Advisor: Norman P. Archer. Includes bibliographical references (p. 180-197). Also available via World Wide Web.

Este estudo aborda a utilização das mídias sociais como ferramenta para gestão de marcas. O tema se demonstra relevante por tratar de três assuntos considerados importantes na atualidade: gestão de marcas, marketing de relacionamento e redes sociais no ambiente virtual. A proposta do estudo é explorar se as organizações estão estabelecendo um relacionamento com seus clientes de forma que este promova o brand equity por meio do uso das redes sociais. Para se atingir os objetivos do estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória de cunho qualitativo em que os dados foram coletados a partir do método netnográfico, ou seja, a partir da observação das informações que foram disponibilizadas publicamente nas páginas das marcas Coca-Cola, Microsoft e Google no site Facebook. A análise da pesquisa permitiu concluir que as três marcas observadas estão atuando no Facebook com o objetivo de se relacionar com seus consumidores, sendo que seu uso permite o engajamento natural das pessoas - seja por meio das mensagens postadas, que devem ser simples e conter em sua essência um conteúdo que promova o diálogo, a interação e confiança entre os participantes, evitando um teor que fale de si mesmo, ou seja por meio das ferramentas disponibilizadas. / This study addresses the use of social media as a tool for brand management. This is a (highly) relevant theme because it deals with three matters of current importance: brand management, relationship marketing and social networking in the virtual environment. The purpose of this study is to explore whether organizations are establishing a relationship with their customers so as to promote brand equity through the use of social networks. To achieve the objectives of the study, an exploratory qualitative character survey was conducted where data was collected from netnographic method, in other words, from the observation of the information that was publicly available on Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Google\'s pages on Facebook. The research analysis concluded that the three brands are seen using Facebook in order to relate to their customers, and its use promotes the natural engagement of persons - whether through postings, which should be simple and contain in its core a content that promotes dialogue, interaction and trust among participants, thus avoiding the company to speak of itself, or through the tools available.