Relationship strength dimensionality

Many service businesses today are focused upon creating and managing long-term sustainable consumer relationships. A successful relationship marketing (RM) strategy requires an understanding of the dimensions that comprise relationship strength. In particular, this study extends previous research by identifying salient relationship strength dimensions within a high-credence, non-profit service context. Furthermore, the results of a first-order and second-order factor analysis identified the structure and comparative importance of these dimensions. The major finding of this research was the identification of three categories of relationship strength dimensions which reflect the magnitude of the relationship. It was concluded that within a high-credence, non-profit service context, consumers’ perceived Benevolence dimensions as the most important category of relationship strength, followed by Care dimensions and then Feedback dimensions. The major implication of this study is that relationship strength dimensionality is not generic across service contexts and, furthermore, extends beyond the traditionally cited satisfaction, trust and commitment dimensions. Overall, the research findings contribute to current RM theory and provide useful practical contributions.