Ozan Peneklioglu will be giving a research seminar this week in our seminar series. The seminar will be on 22 November at 14.00. You may attend via zoom by clicking here.

Dr. Ozan Peneklioğlu has recently completed his PhD at Istanbul Technical University Management Engineering department in the area of B2B sales. He has a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a concentration in marketing also from ITU. His research interests include B2B sales, relationship quality and interpersonal factors between buyers and sellers affecting the negotiation process. Dr. Ozan Peneklioğlu is the market segment manager of PPG's aircraft windows business and is responsible for EMEA region. He has been professionally working in the aerospace industry since 2005 at various, positions including market research, sales, marketing, and product/segment management.

Seminar title: INTERPERSONAL FACTORS AFFECTING B2B RELATIONSHIP QUALITY

Summary of research:

During the early 70s, business-to-business (B2B) buying behavior has been initially accepted as rational behavior and is not subject to the influence of relational factors. Through the development of relationship marketing theory, the effects of relational criteria on the B2B buying behavior have also been investigated many times, and there is evidence that the relational factors are also influencing the B2B buying behavior. It has already been established that the organizational goals and purchasing processes are bounded with rational decision criteria at most of the B2B buying situations. However, the decision-makers being human, their evaluations on these decision criteria are still subject to relational factors. Therefore, the relationship quality between the B2B buying decision-maker and the salesperson plays a critical role during the decision-making process. This research encompasses three studies that are related to the relationship quality construct. Firstly, the literature between 2008 and 2019 is systematically and structurally reviewed for studies that are related to relationship quality. Based on this structural review, the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of the relationship quality construct are classified. In many of those studies, the relationship quality construct dimensions are widely accepted as satisfaction, commitment, and trust. Both the antecedents and consequences are grouped into their respective categories. The most commonly researched consequences of relationship quality are performance-related consequences and interpersonal/relational benefits. The most commonly researched antecedents of relationship quality, on the other hand, are interpersonal and relationship characteristics. Even though academia focus on investigating the inter-personal factors affecting B2B relationship quality, the research about the similarity between buyer and seller, the personal characteristics of the buyer, the personality traits of the seller, as well as the relational selling behavior of the seller has been identified as gaps/inconsistencies in the literature and these antecedents are potential areas that should be developed further. To close these gaps, the author of this research conducted two empirical studies. Secondly, for the second study being the first empirical one, quantitative research at the B2B sellers' domain is conducted. The aim of this study is to determine interpersonal factors affecting the seller's trust (the most frequently used component of relationship quality) in the buyer and the effect of this trust on the sales process's effectiveness. Data has been collected via an online process, and responses from a convenience sample of 235 B2B salespeople have been used to test the research model and hypotheses developed. Findings show that there is a positive relationship between interpersonal factors and trust to the buyer as well as the sales process effectiveness. Moreover, the purchase importance moderates the relationship between trust and sales process effectiveness. Thirdly, for the second empirical study, research at the B2B buyers' domain was conducted. The purpose of this second empirical study is to explore whether the similarity between salesperson and buyer, as well as the salespersons' personality, have a bearing on anticipation of future interaction and loyalty through relational selling behavior and relationship quality. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected through personal interviews. Based on 473 responses from buying decision-makers in the pharmaceutical industry, the hypotheses are tested. Results show that interpersonal factors between buyer and seller have an influence on the relationship quality, and relational selling behavior partially mediates this relationship. Consequently, there is evidence of a positive relationship between relationship quality and loyalty and the anticipation of future interaction. The managerial implications of the findings provide some guidance concerning what criteria of salespersons' personality are essential when assigning to an account, and how a salesperson can be hired to perfectly match the buying decision-makers characteristics to maximize buyers' perceptions of the relationship quality. Lastly, the findings of the literature review and the two studies are summarized. The contribution of this research to the literature is also summarized in this section. Finally, the author mentions the limitations, as well as proposes suggestions for future research based on the findings, hot topics, and trends. With these propositions, the author not only tries to shed light on what has been examined already but also the future direction that the relationship quality researches should move.