| Abstract: | We explore respect's meaning and impact as experienced by individuals in buyer/seller business‐to‐business relationships. Though respect has known drivers and important consequences, it is poorly defined and understood, especially in business literature. We reviewed literature from various fields, including education, aging, and social work, and conducted in‐depth interviews with 24 North American professionals. Through thematic analysis of transcripts, we found respect is about valuing relationship partners. It results not only in commitment and positive word‐of‐mouth (as expected), but also positive emotions and citizenship behaviours. We develop a synthesized and expanded model of the determinants and outcomes of respect and point to future research. Our findings suggest managers should consider how to build respect in buyer/seller relationships to improve long‐term outcomes. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
