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My goal was to examine how experiences and behaviors of individuals and their romantic partners impact relationships on a daily basis. I conducted three separate but empirically and conceptually related studies. For all three papers, the sample was both members of heterosexual romantic relationships (N = 164 couples, 328 individuals) who completed measures each day for seven days. The papers were informed by tenets from interdependence theory and the conservation of resources model. The main purpose of the first paper was to examine a set of relational constructs (i.e., satisfaction, commitment, closeness, conflict, ambivalence, maintenance, and love) to determine which constructs fluctuated daily. All seven relational constructs showed significant within-person variability and were thus appropriate for further daily investigation. With this information, the next step was to understand how to foster positive relationships by examining what daily experiences were associated with those fluctuations. In the second paper I examined whether daily hassles and uplifts were associated with same-day and next-day feelings about the relationship. For same-day effects, I found that hassles were associated with decreased positivity and increased negativity about relationships, whereas uplifts were largely associated with increased positivity. I also found interactions between hassles and uplifts, suggestive of "blunting" effects whereby the positive effects of uplifts were nullified by high levels of hassles. For the next-day effects, I unexpectedly found that uplifts were associated with <italic>decreased</italic> positive relational constructs on the next day, possibly indicating a return to homeostatic levels. In the third paper, I moved to a more explicit examination of dyadic processes by examining both actor and partner effects and focusing on the role of relational sacrifices, or the daily changes individuals make for the sake of their romantic parnters. I expected that sacrifices would be beneficial for positive relationship quality, particularly on days characterized by low (versus high) hassles. I found support for these expectations with regards to actor, but not partner effects. Overall implications are that the everyday things that individuals experience (e.g., hassles and uplifts) and enact (e.g., sacrifices) are important considerations in fostering less negative and more positive romantic relationships.

La relation interpersonnelle présente une place importante dans l’instauration et le développement de la relation client. Cette importance est surtout évidente dans le secteur des services et surtout dans le contexte socioculturel des pays asiatiques. Le « renqing » (la norme de réciprocité dans le contexte asiatique) joue un rôle important dans la création et le suivi de la relation interpersonnelle. Il consiste en un mécanisme de stabilisation et d’harmonisation de la relation entre des individus au sein des sociétés asiatiques en se basant sur l’échange de faveurs et sur l’obligation mutuelle. Ce concept a été intégré dans le cadre de notre recherche au niveau la relation interpersonnelle entre le personnel en contact et le client dans le contexte de prestation de service bancaire au Vietnam. En adoptant une perspective dyadique, nous étudions le « renqing » du personnel en contact et du client, de l’un envers l’autre, et leurs impacts sur la qualité de la relation client au niveau interpersonnel comme institutionnel. L’enquête empirique par questionnaire sur le terrain de service bancaire au Vietnam nous permet de vérifier nos propositions de recherche. Le « renqing » du personnel en contact envers le client contribue à déterminer son comportement d’adaptation dans la prestation de service au client. Par ailleurs, le « renqing » du client envers le personnel en contact est un déterminant de la confiance interpersonnelle, qui influe ensuite sur la qualité de la relation du client envers la banque. Enfin, dans une perspective dyadique, notre recherche confirme la proposition exploratoire d’une part en ce qui concerne l’impact du renqing du personnel en contact sur le renqing du client et d’autre part en ce qui concerne l’impact indirect du renqing du personnel en contact sur la confiance interpersonnelle du client à travers deux variables médiatrices : le renqing du client et le comportement d’adaptation. Notre recherche permet de confirmer le rôle essentiel du « renqing » dans le modèle de relation client dans le contexte culturel du Vietnam. En effet, l’examen d’une perspective dyadique du concept de « renqing » nous permet de comprendre la manière par laquelle la réciprocité mutuelle entre le personnel en contact et le client renforce la relation client dans le contexte socio-culturel d’un pays asiatique. / Personal relationship plays an important role in creating and developing customer relationship. This important role has been confirmed in the service field and especially in Asian culture. “Renqing” (the norme of reciprocity in Asian context) has a critical role in creating and maintaining personal relationship. “Renqing” is considered a stable mechanism and helps to harmonize personal relationships in Asian societies based on favor exchange and reciprocal obligation. This variable is included in our study in the relationship between frontline employees and customers in the context of Vietnamese banking service. With the dyadic approach, we studied the “renqing” variable of frontline employees and customers in their relationship and their impacts on the relationship quality. “Renqing” of frontline employees have an effect on the employees’ adaptive behavior in service delivery. In terms of customers, “renqing” for frontline employees is a variable affecting interpersonal trust and through this trust it affects the quality of the relationship between customers and the bank. Finally, with the dyadic approach, our research confirms the suggestions on the effects of “renqing” of employees on “renqing” of customers and the indirect effect of employees’ “renqing” on customers’ trust through the two mediator variables: “renqing” of customers and adaptive behavior. Our research allows us to confirm the role of “renqing” variable in the customer relationship model in the Vietnamese context. Indeed, the study with the dyadic approach to “renqing” variable enables us to understand the way reciprocity between frontline employees and customers strengthens customer relationship in the context of an Asian country.

This paper introduces the construct of generalized shared reality—the experience of sharing inner states (e.g., feelings, beliefs, or concerns) in common with a partner about the world in general. Across eleven studies using varied methodologies (intensive longitudinal, experimental, and dyadic interactions) and varied measurements (self-report, linguistic markers, and behavioral coding), we identified the occurrence of generalized shared reality both between close and newly-acquainted partners. Further, we examined the relational outcomes, epistemic outcomes, and behavioral antecedents of generalized shared reality. In Studies 1a and 1b, generalized shared reality predicted self-other overlap between close partners in daily life. In Studies 2a-2d, this effect persisted when accounting for conceptually-related close relationship constructs. In Studies 3a and 3b, linguistic analyses revealed that experimentally threatening generalized shared reality with a romantic partner decreased self-other overlap and increased efforts to restore one’s sense of certainty. Next, in Studies 4a and 4b, experimentally manipulating shared reality between strangers using an established paradigm increased closeness, anticipated rapport, the desire to work together again, and epistemic trust. Finally, in Study 5, generalized shared reality between stranger dyads chatting online predicted key relational outcomes, such as closeness and ‘clicking,’ and key epistemic outcomes, such as joint sense-making and certainty, over and above other constructs. Further, generalized shared reality mediated the relationship between observable shared reality behaviors and these outcomes. These results suggest that generalized shared reality plays an important role in shaping both interpersonal relationships and perceptions of reality.

Relationship quality, satisfaction and stability have been topics of interest for some time, as marriage and family structure have undergone significant changes since the 1970s. Researchers have observed a continuing decline in marital quality and satisfaction among first-time married couples (Amato, Johnson, Booth, & Rogers, 2003; Schramm & Harris, 2010). This interest in dyadic couple relationship quality was likely driven by the expanding awareness that quality of marital relationships influences a broad range of positive and negative outcomes; healthy, satisfying marriages provide numerous benefits important to individuals and society, while marital dissolution has a profoundly negative effect (Amato, 2010; Cowan & Cowan, 2005; Harris, Schramm, Marshall, & Lee, 2012; Schramm & Harris, 2010). Furthermore, subjective levels of marital quality and satisfaction are predictive of both marital stability and marital dissolution (Gottman, 1994; Gottman & Notarius, 2000). Furthermore, subjective levels of marital quality and satisfaction are predictive of both marital stability and marital dissolution (Gottman, 1994; Gottman & Notarius, 2000). This study represents a continuing line of research into correlations between relationship quality and satisfaction, intimate partner consensus, and relevant contextual factors among married and unmarried cohabiting couples in a sample of residents in the Gulf States region, which encompasses the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas and included 1,360 respondents. The current study proceeds from an initial baseline study of dyadic couple trends in this region and is part of an ongoing line of research scheduled to continue over the next four years through a federal healthy marriages and relationships grant.

The present research tested whether and how regulatory focus as a motivational variable influences the ways in which people appraise, process, and react to events in romantic relationships. Regulatory focus theory distinguishes between (1) a prevention focus, which emphasizes the fulfillment of security needs, duties and obligations, and is associated with heightened sensitivity to aversive outcomes, and (2) a promotion focus, which emphasizes the fulfillment of nurturance needs, accomplishments and aspirations, and is associated with heightened sensitivity to rewarding outcomes. Based on regulatory focus theory, it was assumed that promotion and prevention focused people would appraise, react to, and process interpersonal events involving a romantic partner in different ways. In addition, it was expected that the distinct ways of experiencing such events are reflected in differences in relationship quality. Three studies using college student samples were conducted to test these notions. Evidence was found that individual differences in chronic prevention focus affect the ways in which people react to aversive events in relationships. No support was obtained for regulatory focus theory??s predictions regarding prevention focus processes in association with rewarding outcomes, and predictions related to the promotion focus system were also not supported. As expected, chronic promotion focus was related to higher relationship quality, and chronic prevention focus was associated with lower relationship quality. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Traditionally, marketers have assumed that investing in the quality of relationships with customers would generate superior profitability to the selling firm. The assumption is that coordination and collaboration between buyer and seller create value for both firms by reducing costs and expanding revenue opportunities. However, such value creation mechanism does not work every time. Closer relationships require customer specific investments and a higher level of service that may create more cost to the seller than the potential gain in revenue, negatively impacting profitability of the selling firm. This research explores the effect of buyer-seller relationship quality on value creation for the selling firm, emphasizing the understanding of costs associated with serving the relationship. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 qualitatively examines the cost associated with serving customers and estimates actual cost-to-serve for individual customers. Study 2 measures the quality of customer relationships, past customer profitability and customer lifetime value for each customer relationship in the proposed sample. Finally, the effect of RQ on customer lifetime value is evaluated. Results suggest that investing in customer relationships have an effect on the drivers of customer cost and profitability. However, the net effect on customer value is not as clear as it depends on the trade offs of the different drivers of cost and profit.

The goal of this dissertation was to examine how people pursue their personal goals in the context of an intimate relationship. Two studies were conducted; a daily diary study of dating partners’ joint activities and a longitudinal study of newly dating couples. In the daily diary study, people reported on their daily joint activities with their dating partners regarding whether their goals were met and how they were feeling during the given activity. The results showed that when people’s goals were met in an activity, their partners were able to accurately perceive that their goals were being met. However, when their goals were not met in the activity, their partners’ accuracy regarding their goals was only at chance levels. The partners’ overall levels of goal congruence did not predict the proportion of goal-congruent activities the partners participated in. However, the partners’ level of goal congruence predicted increases in life satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship satisfaction, as well as decreases in negative affect over time. In the longitudinal study, newly dating couples filled out measures of their goals, well-being, and relationship quality during their initial session. Three months later, the couples filled out measures of these same constructs again and answered questions about the goals that they reported pursuing during their initial session. Results showed that concurrently, the partners’ levels of goal congruence were associated with greater ability to make goal progress and higher relationship satisfaction, both of which, in turn, were associated with higher subjective well-being. Longitudinally, initial levels of goal congruence did not predict changes in goal progress and relationship quality over time. However, analysis of the individual goals indicated that people adjusted their goal pursuits based on the level of goal conflict between their own goals and their partners’ goals, such that people were more likely to stop pursuing or devalue goals that conflicted with their partners’ goals over time. Furthermore, the tendency to adjust goals over time was associated with increasing relationship commitment. The results of these studies show that conflict between relationship partners’ goals has important consequences for their relationship, goal progress, and personal well-being.

Thousands of Alumni are in all walks of life in domestic and foreign after graduated. They are not only the important economic supports but also the connections between school and business. However, relationship needs long-term maintenance, and virtual community becomes the brand¡¦s communitive and interactive distributions. In Taiwan, many universities are awared of the trend of community media and established their own virtual alumni associations on Facebook fan page, in order to enhance alumni serving and relationship connecting. This study is a partnership with National Sun yat-sen University¡¦s alumni service center as a case study, analyzing from relationship marketing view point to realize the influence of virtual alumni association management on alumni loyalty. By academic and empirical exploring to observe the excutive status of NSYSU alumni service on Facebook fan page and provide suggestions as a model to those organizations which willing to manage virtual communities to increase loyalty. This study is cooperated with NSYSU¡¦s alumni service center, and collected questionaires by the ¡§filled questionnaire, join lottery¡¨ activity on NSYSU¡¦s alumni service Facebook fan page. Furthermore, researcher also sent email invitations with the link of online questionarie from alumni database, to investigate alumni¡¦s understandings and recommendations of NSYSU¡¦s alumni service Facebook fan page. The study outcomes are as following, relationship marketing has positive influence on relationship quality; relationship quality has positive influence on loyalty; relationship marketing has positive influence on loyalty. Which means virtual community does help maintaining relationship between alumni and school, raising the loyalty. It is an efficiency way to manage the customers¡¦ relationship and loyalty. However, the influence of social bond of relationship marketing strategy on loyalty is not significant. This study conjecture that users can not be awared of the specialties of interactive communications on Facebook fan page since Facebook originally based on the social network. When users feel limited relationship marketing intention and qualities, they can not increase their loyalties.

With the high competition of prosperous catering industry motivated by the mammoth population of dining out, the business model is on the way to diversity. How to meet customer¡¦s need and build up customer loyalty has been playing an essential role to manage catering industry in the near future. According to the literature, customer loyalty is vitally associated with service quality, brand image, service value and customer satisfaction as opposed to the connection between relationship quality and customer loyalty. Consequently, the study attempts to explore whehter service quality, brand image and relationship quality have a certain impact on customer loyalty, and whether mediating effect occurs among them. The study utilizes linear structure relationship model along with service perceived value by Petrick (2002) to build up the relationship model among service quality, brand image, relationship quality and customer loyalty with a view to comprehending the effects existing among them. Based on SERVQUAL brought up by Parsuraman (1988) as well as overall evaluation of product effectiveness referring to SERV-PERVAL, it comes to the result- twelve observed variables. Data analysis is particularly divided into two parts ¡V Fundamental Analysis and Mode Analysis, which respectively undergoes the analyses with SPSS12.0 and AMOS. The subjects of this study are aimed at the customers from well-known chain hot pot restaurants in Kaohsiung. Six hundred questionnaires are given out and three hundred sixty five collected; the overall response rate is 60.8% in which there are eleven questionnaires are invalid and three hundred fifty four instead. The finding of empirical analysis indicates that service quality has an obvious impact on relationship quality and so does relationship quality to customer loyalty. Only the value in brand image can¡¦t make a remarkable impact on customer loyalty. The part of result seems fairly differs from empirical analysis. According to the accounts of some experts¡¦ interviews, the researcher points out certain impact truly exists in brand image and customer loyalty, which is taken as an evidence to modify the data of the questionnaires. Ultimately, to improve service quality, brand image, relationship quality and customer loyalty, we provide the suggestions.