Relationship marketing: a Thai case

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of relationship marketing in a Thai context by gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. Design/methodology/approach - This research adopts a multi method approach. A preliminary model is developed from existing literature, and then tested with data collected from a mail survey completed by 166 salespeople in 30 steel pipe firms in Thailand. Finally, to better understand the quantitative results from a different perspective, in‐depth interviews with 15 sales managers are undertaken and the model further refined. Findings - The quantitative findings indicate that from the perspective of industrial sales people, the key success factor of relationship marketing is trust. However, the results of the in‐depth interviews with sales managers did not support the views of the salespeople. The sales managers endorse four variables: bonding, empathy, reciprocity, and trust, as affecting the success of relationship marketing. Further, company image, information exchange, and time are identified as key factors that contribute to the building of these variables, which in turn contribute to performance. Research limitations/implications - The data are gathered from one industry in one country only, hence future research could extend these findings to other industries and countries to test their general application. Practical implications - The key implications of these findings for marketing managers include support for the use of relationship marketing programs at a strategic level as well as suggestions for successful implementation of these programs. These findings suggest that the existence of needs analysis and response adaptation characteristics in salespeople have a strong, significant, and positive association with buyer‐seller relationship development. Originality/value - This paper contributes to relationship marketing research because a scarcity of empirical research still exists in this field, particularly in emerging markets such as Thailand.