The Effect of Forgiveness and Trust on Relational Performance in the Purchasing of Business Services

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국마케팅과학회
· 수록지 정보 : Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science(마케팅과학연구) / 20권 / 4호 / 293 ~ 305페이지
· 저자명 : 노전표

초록

If forgiveness plays a role in normalizing and improving relationships in an organization transaction, suppliers and buyers can perform effective relationship marketing by understanding the 'forgiving process' and managing it systematically. Forgiveness based on trust eases customer's dissatisfaction, solves inconvenient relationship problems and eventually influences positively on the performance of suppliers and buyers.
The study aims (1) to propose a model on the effect of trust between buyers and suppliers on the tendency to forgive, (2) to examine the forgiving process and relational performance and (3) to suggest research hypotheses in buying-supplying situations of the business service. The proposed framework is concretely based on the process of the antecedents, processes, and consequences of forgiveness.
Hypothesis 1 tested the effect of trust toward salesperson and supplying companies on the tendency to forgive of buyers. Buyers’ trust toward supplying companies(t=3.02, p<0.01) positively affected the tendency to forgive of buyers. On the other hand, buyers’ trust toward salespersons does not affect the tendency to forgive of buyers. The finding implies that trust toward companies plays a more important role in the forgiving process. The finding also indicates that in industrial marketing situations companies rather than individual salespeople should be represented as a trustworthy entity.
Hypothesis 2 tested the effect of trust toward buyers and buying companies on the tendency to forgive of suppliers. Suppliers’ trust toward buying companies(t=2.66, p<0.05) positively affected the tendency to forgive of suppliers. On the other hand, suppliers’ trust toward buyers does not affect the tendency to forgive of supplier. The finding implies that trust toward companies plays a more important role in the forgiving process. The finding also indicates that in industrial supplying situations buying companies should be represented as a trustworthy entity. Although the finding shows a very consistent pattern with hypothesis 1, the strength of the pattern is stronger in the hypothesis 1. This clearly confirms that buyers’ trust is more meaningful than that of suppliers’ trust even though mutual trust works in the forgiving process.
Hypothesis 3 tested the effect of buyers’ tendency to forgive on the forgiving process. Specifically, the relationships between buyers’ tendency to forgive and perceived dissatisfaction, perceived risk, perceived fairness and willingness to cooperate with business partners were verified. Buyers’ tendency to forgive is negatively related to perceived dissatisfaction(t=-15.43, p<0.01) and positively related to perceived fairness(t=3.18, p<0.01) and willingness to cooperate(t=4.36, p<0.01). Buyers’ tendency to forgive is not related to the level of perceived risk. Therefore hypothesis 3-1, 3-3, and 3-4 proved to be significant but hypothesis 3-2 proved to be not significant.
Hypothesis 4 tested the effect of suppliers’ tendency to forgive on the forgiving process. Specifically, the relationships between suppliers’ tendency to forgive and perceived dissatisfaction, perceived risk, perceived fairness and willingness to cooperate with business partners were verified. Buyers’ tendency to forgive is negatively related to perceived dissatisfaction(t=-2.58, p<0.05), and positively related to perceived risk(t=3.51, p<0.01) and willingness to cooperate(t=2.77, p<0.01). Buyers’ tendency to forgive is not related to the level of perceived fairness. Therefore hypothesis 4-1, 4-2, and 4-4 proved to be significant but hypothesis 4-3 proved to be not significant.
Hypothesis 5 tested the effect of the forgiving process on relational performance of buyers. Specifically, the relationships between relational performance and perceived dissatisfaction, perceived risk, perceived fairness and willingness to cooperate were verified. Relational performance is positively related to perceived fairness(t=2.21, p<0.05) and willingness to cooperate(t=2.62, p<0.05). But relational performance is not related to perceived dissatisfaction and perceived risk. Therefore hypothesis 5-3 and 5-4 proved to be significant, while hypothesis 5-1 and 5-2 proved to be non-significant.
Hypothesis 6 tested the effect of the forgiving process on relational performance of suppliers. Specifically, the relationships between relational performance and perceived dissatisfaction, perceived risk, perceived fairness and willingness to cooperate were verified. Relational performance is positively related to perceived fairness(t=2.95, p<0.01) But relational performance is not related to willingness to cooperate, perceived dissatisfaction and perceived risk. Therefore hypothesis 6-3 proved to be significant, while hypothesis 6-1, 6-2, and 6-4 proved to be non-significant.
Quite interestingly the finding indicates that relational performance of buyers and sellers has no bearing on perceived risk and dissatisfaction. This may imply that personal sentiments shown in the forgiving process have little implications for industrial marketing. On the other hand, task-oriented sentiments like perceived fairness and willingness to cooperate have significant impact upon relational performance of buyers and sellers even though both parties go through the forgiving process.
Trust can be formed in a dimension of individual, of department and of organization. It suggests that organizations also can be the object of trust as trust is important in individual mutual relationships. The present study indicated that trust toward organizations is much more important than trust toward individuals. Specifically trust toward buying and supplying companies proved to be much more powerful in affecting forgiving tendency than does trust toward buyers and suppliers. This finding implies that in business transactions organizational factors could be more important factors than personal factors.
The present study showed that the tendency to forgive facilitates the forgiving process in a manner that the process significantly affects buyers’ and suppliers’ satisfaction and perceived risk. The finding of the study indicated that higher tendency to forgive could decrease the level of dissatisfaction for both parties of buyers and suppliers. Contrary to our expectation, higher tendency to forgive could increase the level of perceived risk only for suppliers, not for buyers. This may imply that perceived risk inherent in business service transactions may have no bearing with buyers’ forgiveness tendency.
The present study also showed the important role of willingness to cooperate when conflicts take place in business service transactions. The conflicts could be smoothly resolved if buyers and suppliers are willing to cooperate to solve the conflicts. Additionally, the conflict resolution process could be facilitated when both parties of buyers and suppliers perceive the process fair. This finding implies that mutual forgiveness of buyers and suppliers could play a meaningful and important role in facilitating conflict resolution process.
Finally, when a comparison could be made with regard to the effect of the tendency to forgive between buyers and suppliers on the forgiving process, the effect proved much stronger for buyers than suppliers. Although service buyers usually become forgiveness subjects, it was supposed that service suppliers can be the subjects too in this study. However, as generally understood, buyers showed stronger tendencies than suppliers in the effect that the tendency to forgive has on the forgiving process.

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