Social Bonds in Clients' Business Relationships with Professional

Social bonds in clients’ business relationships with professional service providers

Ewa Krolikowska-Adamczyk

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the University of Greenwich for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

August 2013

DECLARATION

I certify that this work has not been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently being submitted for any degree other than that of Doctor of Philosophy being studied at the University of Greenwich. I also declare that this work is the result of my own investigations except where otherwise indicated by references and that I have not plagiarised the work of others.

Student’s Signature: ______Date: ______

Supervisor’s Signature: ______Date: ______

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge and thank the following people who have made the completion of this thesis possible:

Dr Sven Kuenzel, my first supervisor, for his advice, encouragement, good humour and patience throughout the process of writing this thesis. I thank also Dr Celia Stanworth, my second supervisor, for her advice, feedback and kind encouragement and Gill Haxell, the Business School’s Research Degrees Administrator, for her excellent support with administrative matters.

My sincere thanks go to Robert Adamczyk, Dr Agnieszka Herdan, David Preston and Jon Sibson for their help in facilitating contact with interviewees for my research and to the interviewees themselves who provided me with a valuable insight into their client relationships. Thanks also to Reed Exhibitions for allowing me to collect data at EIBTM in Barcelona in November 2012. I also appreciate the time of everyone who completed a questionnaire during my survey.

My deepest appreciation goes to my parents, Elżbieta and Walenty Królikowski, who have supported me in so many ways throughout my life; to my daughter Lara, who always asks good questions and keeps me on my toes; and to my partner, Martin, for his kindness, patience and for keeping me refreshed with many cups of tea during long evenings spent in front of my computer.

Finally, to Janet Bohdanowicz, RIP, my friend and mentor – you gave me my first lecturing opportunity, you encouraged me to study at the University of Greenwich and you were always a source of inspiration and good advice. You were not able to finish your own thesis so this one is dedicated to your memory.

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ABSTRACT

The emergence of Relationship Marketing around 40 years ago has led to an improvement in our understanding and management of business relationships through the study of relationship constructs such as loyalty. Researchers have also found a number of different bonds in business relationships. One of these is social bonds which develop between individuals and can impact positively on long-term client relationships at an organisational level. However social bonds have suffered from a lack of clarity in definition, identification and measurement. Scale development has been limited as most researchers view the social bond as a unidimensional construct and fail to provide solid theoretical support for their scale. There is a need to define the concept and build a multidimensional scale of social bonds using a comprehensive theoretical framework.

Researchers such as Barnes (1994) suggest that marketers can learn from social psychologists who have studied relationships extensively. Indeed social-psychology theories such as social exchange theory have been widely used in relationship marketing studies. Attachment theory is relatively new to business relationships, having emerged from the study of child-parent relationships but has been applied more recently to explain customer attachment. Another promising theory is Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love (1986) which can be used to identify potential bonds based on liking.

This study uses attachment and liking theories as the theoretical framework for developing a social bond scale in the context of clients’ business relationships with professional service providers. These relationships have been substantially under-researched and provide a relevant context for the research due to the benefits of strong interpersonal bonds in a pure service environment like professional services. A multi-method research design was adopted consisting of qualitative in-depth interviews with professional service providers and a questionnaire survey of senior decision makers in the hotel industry.

The study’s contributions include a greater understanding of social bonds, attachment and liking in business relationships. The research found two distinct social bonds thereby confirming that the construct is multidimensional. A number of demographic and contextual variables were found to have an impact on social bond strength. These findings have led to guidelines on managing client relationships for professional service providers and organisations.

CONTENTS

Declaration ii Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv

Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Theoretical Overview 1 1.2 Professional Services Business Relationships 5 1.3 Research Question, Aim, Objectives and Research Design 6 1.4 Potential Contributions 7 1.5 Structure of the Thesis 8

Chapter 2 Literature Review 10 Introduction 10 2.1 The Context of the Study 12 2.1.1 Relationship Marketing and Business Relationships 12 2.1.2 Relationship Structure 14 2.1.3 Relationships in Service Organisations 16 2.1.4 The UK Hotel Industry 18 2.1.5 Professional Services 20 2.2 Relationship Bonds and Social Bonds 23 2.2.1 Relationship Bonds 23 2.2.2 Social Bonds 25 2.2.3 Defining Social Bonds 26 2.2.4 Bonds in Professional Services Relationships 31 2.3 Social Bonds: Characteristics, Demographics and Outcomes 32 2.3.1 Characteristics of Social Bonds 32 2.3.1.1 Reciprocal or from the Client’s Perspective 33 2.3.1.2 Social Bonding as a Marketing Activity 34 2.3.1.3 Positive and Negative Bonds 37 2.3.1.4 Strong and Weak Bonds 38 2.3.1.5 Levels of Bonding 39 2.3.1.6 Relationship-specific or Mobile 40

2.3.2 Demographic/Contextual Variables and Social Bonds 41 2.3.2.1 Length of Relationship 41 2.3.2.2 Gender, Age and Position 41 2.3.2.3 Culture 42 2.3.2.4 Type of Service and Company Size 43 2.3.3 Outcomes of Social Bonds 44 2.3.3.1 Social Bonds as an Antecedent to Value 44 2.3.3.2 Social Bonds as an Antecedent to Customer Retention 45 2.3.3.3 Social Bonds as an Antecedent to Loyalty and WOM 45 2.3.3.4 Social Bonds as an Antecedent to Trust 46 2.3.3.5 Social Bonds as an Antecedent to Satisfaction 46 2.4 The Theoretical Framework 47 2.4.1 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love 48 2.4.1.1. Intimacy 49 2.4.1.2 Passion 49 2.4.1.3 Commitment 50 2.4.2 Attachment Theory 52 2.4.3 Combining Sternberg’s Theory with Attachment Theory 57 2.4.4 Alternative Theories 60 2.4.4.1 Social Exchange Theory 60 2.4.4.2 Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory 61 Conclusion 63

Chapter 3 Preliminary Scale Development 65 Introduction 65 3.1 Existing Scales measuring the Social Bond 68 3.1.1 Social Bonds as a dimension of Relational Bonds (Smith, 1998) 68 3.1.2 Social Bonds as part of Perceived Service Quality (Patterson and Smith, 2001a) 69 3.1.3 Social Bond dimension in a scale of Relational Bonds (Lin et al, 2003) 70 3.1.4 Social Bond as a measure of Buyer-Seller Relationships (Crotts et al, 1998) 72

3.1.5 Social Bond as part of Relationship Bonding (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002) 72 3.1.6 Social Bonding as part of Relational Bonding (Dash et al, 2009) 73 3.1.7 Social Bond Scale (Venetis and Ghauri, 2004) 74 3.1.8 Social Bonding tactics as part of Relationship Bonding tactics (Liang and Wang, 2007) 75 3.1.9 Social Bonding Scale (Mavondo and Rodrigo, 2001) 75 3.1.10 Social Bond Scale (Peltier and Scovotti, 2004) 76 3.1.11 Social Bonds (Cater and Zabkar, 2009) 77 3.1.12 Social Bonds Scale (Perry et al, 2002) 78 3.1.13 Scales not included in the Analysis 79 3.1.13.1 Social Bonds as part of Customer Bonding (Gounaris and Venetis, 2002) 79 3.1.13.2 Social Bonds as part of Customer Relationship (Theo and Swierczek, 2008) 80 3.2 Stages of Scale Development 81 3.2.1 Stage 1 Defining the Construct to be measured 81 3.2.1.1 Proposed Definition 82 3.2.1.2 Content 82 3.2.1.3 Setting and Population 83 3.2.2 Stage 2 Generating a Sample of Items 84 3.2.2.1 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love scale 84 3.2.2.2 The Social Bond of Intimacy 85 3.2.2.3 The Social Bond of Passion 89 3.2.2.3 The Social Bond of Affective Commitment 92 3.2.2.4 The Social Bond of Security 94 Conclusion 96

Chapter 4 Methodology 99 Introduction 99 4.1 Research Paradigm 99 4.2 Mixed Methods Research 105 4.3 The Effect of Theory on Research Design 106 4.4 Phase 1 Qualitative Research 111 vii

4.4.1 Definitions and Purpose 111 4.4.2 Research Approach 112 4.4.3 Interview Development 114 4.4.3.1 The Semi-Structured Face-to-Face Interview 115 4.4.3.2 The Interview Guide 117 4.4.3.3 The Pilot Study 120 4.4.4 Main Interview Research 121 4.4.4.1 Interview Sample Size 121 4.4.4.2 Sampling Methods 122 4.4.4.3 Interviewee Recruitment and Interview Process 126 4.4.5 Qualitative Research Limitations 128 4.5 Phase 2 Quantitative Research 130 4.5.1 Definition and Purpose 130 4.5.2 Research Strategy 130 4.5.3 Questionnaire Development 131 4.5.4 Mode of Questionnaire Distribution 133 4.5.5 Response Rate and Sample Size 134 4.5.6 Pilot Study 138 4.5.7 Main Survey Research 142 4.5.7.1 Online Survey in E-Newsletter 142 4.5.7.2 Self-Administered Questionnaire Survey at EIBTM 143 4.5.7.3 Postal Survey of the Hotel Industry 144 4.5.8 Quantitative Research Limitations 147 4.6 Measurement Error 147 4.7 Research Ethics 148 Conclusion 149

Chapter 5 Qualitative Data Findings and Analysis 150 Introduction 150 5.1 Data Management and Coding 152 5.1.1 Transcription of Interview Data 152 5.1.2 Coding using NVIVO 9 Computer Software 152 5.2 Data Description, Classification, Interpretation and Presentation 158 5.2.1 Theoretical Framework 159 viii

5.2.1.1 Theme 1 Attachment 159 5.2.1.2 Theme 2 Liking 165 5.2.2 Social Bonds – Frequency Tables 169 5.2.3 Four Social Bonds 173 5.2.3.1 Theme 3 Intimacy 173 5.2.3.2 Theme 4 Passion 181 5.2.3.3 Theme 5 Affective Commitment 189 5.2.3.4 Theme 6 Security 194 5.2.4 Theme 7 Demographic and Contextual Variables 203 Conclusion 212

Chapter 6 Quantitative Data Findings and Analysis 214 Introduction 214 6.1 Descriptive Statistics 214 6.1.1 Overview of Responses from Hotel Survey 214 6.1.2 Data Inputting 216 6.1.3 Missing Data 216 6.1.4 Descriptive Statistics for the Hotel Survey Respondents 217 6.1.5 Descriptive Statistics for the Professional Service Providers 220 6.2 Examining the Data and Factor Analysis 225 6.2.1 Examining the Data prior to Factor Analysis 228 6.2.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis 229 6.2.3 Social Bond Scale Items 232 6.2.4 Retesting the Factor Solution 234 6.2.4.1 Hotel Mailing 2 Database 235 6.2.4.2 Professional and Non-Professional Services 236 6.2.4.3 EIBTM Database 239 6.2.5 Computing Two New Variables 241 6.2.6 Reliability and Validity 243 6.2.6.1 Reliability 243 6.2.6.2 Validity 246 6.3 Investigating Potential Group Differences 249 6.3.1 Hypotheses Testing 249 6.3.2 Tests Conducted to Compare Group Differences 250 ix

6.3.3 Test Results 251 6.4 Testing a Multiple Regression Model 268 6.5 Limitations 269

Chapter 7 Discussion of Findings 270 Introduction 270 7.1 The Social Bonds Scale 271 7.1.1 The Security Bond Scale 271 7.1.2 The Intimacy Bond Scale 276 7.1.3 Comparing the Security and Intimacy Bonds 282 7.1.4 Passion and Affective Commitment 283 7.2 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love 284 7.3 Attachment Theory 285 7.4 Demographic and Contextual Variables 286 7.4.1 Gender 287 7.4.2 Age 288 7.4.3 Cultural Background 289 7.4.4 Level of Relationship Formality 290 7.4.5 Relationship Length 291 7.4.6 Type of Service 292 7.4.7 Respondent’s Position/Seniority and Company Size 293 7.4.7.1 Respondent’s Position/Seniority 293 7.4.7.2 Company Size 294 7.5 Generalisability of the Scale 294

Chapter 8 Recommendations and Managerial Implications 296 8.1 Recommendations for Theoretical Development 296 8.1.1 Attachment Theory and Sternberg’s Theory 296 8.1.2 Verifying the Social Bonds Scale 297 8.1.3 Demographic and Contextual Variables 299 8.1.4 New Areas for Research 300 8.2 Managerial Implications 302 8.2.1 Service Providers 302 8.2.2 Professional Services Organisations 305 x

Chapter 9 Conclusion and Limitations 308 9.1 Conclusion 308 9.2 Limitations 310

References 314

Bibliography 339

Appendices 341

Appendix 1 Twelve scales of Social bonds found in the Literature 342 Appendix 2 Interview Guide 346 Appendix 3 Participant Information Sheet 350 Appendix 4 Example of Contact Summary Sheet 352 Appendix 5 Example of Classification of Interview Data under Sub-Themes 355 Appendix 6 Changes to Social Bonds Scale following input from interview data 360 6A Intimacy Bond Scale 360 6B Passion Bond Scale 362 6C Affective Commitment Bond Scale 363 6D Security Bond Scale 364 Appendix 7 Modified Social Bonds Scale following interviews 365 Appendix 8 Final Questionnaire 368 Appendix 9 First Results from Factor Analysis 371 Appendix 10 Factor Analysis conducted on random samples from Hotel Mailings 374 10A Split Sample 1 374 10B Split Sample 2 376 Appendix 11 Post-Hoc Tests 378 11A Age of Service Provider 378 11B Cultural Background 379 11C Relationship Length 380 11D Type of Service 381

TABLES AND FIGURES

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Definitions of Social Bonds in the Literature 29 Table 2.2 Conceptual Descriptions of Social Bonds in the Literature 30 Table 2.3 Elements of the Social Bond 62 Table 3.1 Preliminary Scale of the Intimacy Bond 88 Table 3.2 Preliminary Scale of the Passion Bond 91 Table 3.3 Preliminary Scale of the Affective Commitment Bond 94 Table 3.4 Preliminary Scale of the Security Bond 95 Table 4.1 Positivism and Constructivism as Opposing Paradigms 101 Table 4.2 Research Paradigms in Research Methods Textbooks 102 Table 4.3 Benefits of a Mixed Methods Research Design to the Current Study 106 Table 4.4 Three Archetypes of Methodological Fit in Field Research 107 Table 4.5 Methodologies used in Previous Research Studies of Professional Services Business Relationships 109 Table 4.6 The Variety of Qualitative Interviews 115 Table 4.7 Pilot Interview Participants 120 Table 4.8 Main Interview Participants 123 Table 4.9 Top Three Factors Influencing Survey Response Rates 135 Table 4.10 Business Response Rates to Postal Surveys in Marketing Journals 137 Table 4.11 Pilot Questionnaire Feedback 140 Table 4.12 Removal of Questionnaire Items following Pilot Study 140 Table 4.13 Sources of Measurement Error 148 Table 5.1 Qualitative Research Objectives 150 Table 5.2 Data Analysis and Representation: Phenomenological Research 151 Table 5.3 Coding Scheme 156 Table 5.4 Responses to Question: What are Bonds Based On? 170 Table 5.5 Bases of Similarity between Client and Service Provider 171 Table 6.1 Number of missing data cases per demographic/contextual variable 217 Table 6.2 Type of service provided 224 Table 6.3 Descriptive Statistics – 55 Scale Items 226 Table 6.4 KMO and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity 228 xii

Table 6.5 Key to Security Bond Scale Items 232 Table 6.6 Key to Intimacy Bond Scale Items 232 Table 6.7 Factor Analysis Solution from Hotel Mailing 1 Database 233 Table 6.8 Factor Analysis Solution retested using Hotel Mailing 2 Database 235 Table 6.9 Factor Analysis Solution retested using Professional Services cases 237 Table 6.10 Factor Analysis Solution retested using Non-Professional Services cases 238 Table 6.11 Two Factor Solutions from the EIBTM Database 240 Table 6.12 Descriptive Statistics for the Security and Intimacy Bonds 242 Table 6.13 Security Bond Scale Item-Total Correlations and Internal Consistency 245 Table 6.14 Intimacy Bond Scale Item-Total Correlations and Internal Consistency 245 Table 6.15 Correlation Matrix – Hotel Mailing 1 and 2 Database 248 Table 6.16 T-Test Results for Gender of Respondent 251 Table 6.17 T-Test Results for Gender of Service Provider 252 Table 6.18 ANOVA Results for Similarity of Gender 253 Table 6.19 ANOVA Results for Age of Respondent 254 Table 6.20 ANOVA Results for Age of Service Provider 255 Table 6.21 T-Test Results for Similarity of Age 256 Table 6.22 ANOVA Results for Similar Cultural Background 257 Table 6.23 T-Test Results for Level of Relationship Formality 258 Table 6.24 ANOVA Results for Position of Respondent 259 Table 6.25 ANOVA Results for Size of Respondent’s Hotel 260 Table 6.26 ANOVA Results for Relationship Length 261 Table 6.27 ANOVA Results for Type of Service 263 Table 6.28 Pearson Chi-Square Test Results for Level of Relationship Formality 266 Table 6.29 Multiple Regression results with Social Bonds as predictors of Relationship Length 268

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List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Theoretical Framework 59 Figure 3.1 Mapping Scale Development to the Chapters of the Thesis 97 Figure 6.1 Gender of Respondent 218 Figure 6.2 Age of Respondent 219 Figure 6.3 Position of Respondent 219 Figure 6.4 Hotel Size 220 Figure 6.5 Gender of Service Provider 221 Figure 6.6 Age of Service Provider 221 Figure 6.7 Similarity of Cultural Background 222 Figure 6.8 Level of Relationship Formality 222 Figure 6.9 Length of Relationship 223 Figure 6.10 Distribution of Sample Means for the Security Bond 242 Figure 6.11 Distribution of Sample Means for the Intimacy Bond 243

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

The introduction begins with the theoretical overview for this study which combines the business and marketing literature on social bonds with the social psychology literature on liking and attachment theories. The next section covers the context chosen for the research which is business relationships between clients and professional service providers. The author then sets out her research question, aim and objectives and outlines the research design she has chosen to address these. This is followed by the potential contributions to knowledge which she hopes this study will make. Finally, the author gives a brief overview of the dissertation structure.

1.1 Theoretical Overview

Social bonds have emerged from social psychology literature and have been used by sociologists such as Turner (1970) and McCall et al (1970) to explore family and group interactions. Bonds are among a number of relationship marketing constructs which have been taken from the literature on personal relationships into the literature on business relationships. The ability to form and manage relationships has become recognised as a key part of doing business. According to Gummesson (1981:111) ‘A business relationship is ultimately created and maintained in interaction between people.’ Wilson and Mummalaneni (1986) recognise that a relationship which exists at an interpersonal level strengthens the inter-organisational relationship. Therefore although social bonds develop at an individual level, they are also important to organisations since bonds can provide an incentive to maintain the business relationship.

Social bonds have not received the same level of research attention in the business and marketing literature as other relationship marketing constructs such as trust, commitment and loyalty. As a result of significant research interest, these constructs have become better understood by marketers. However there is still a lack of clarity about the social bond. Brown and Brown (2006) have noted the lack of a clear definition of the term ‘social bond’ since it is commonly used and a number of researchers who study social bonds do not attempt to define them. Social bonds are seen as one of a number of bonds in business relationships by the Interaction and Network Theorists and researchers from the IMP

Group and Nordic School of Services Marketing. However it is not clear how many social bonds there are and there is no accepted theory to identify types of social bonds.

A number of researchers have developed scales to measure the social bond in business and consumer relationships however scale development has not been consistent as some researchers do not acknowledge or build on previous scales to improve our knowledge of this construct. Therefore the literature on social bond development appears fragmented. Social bonds have been found to lead to beneficial outcomes such as customer retention (Seabright et al, 1992), word-of-mouth recommendations (Price and Arnould, 1999), trust (Nicholson et al, 2001) and loyalty and satisfaction (Guenzi and Pelloni, 2004). Therefore it is advantageous to improve our understanding of social bonds due to the positive benefits they can bring to a business relationship.

All the scales found in the literature except one show the social bond to be unidimensional. However other relationship marketing constructs, such as commitment, were initially considered to be unidimensional but have subsequently been found to be multidimensional, for example, Allen and Meyer (1990) conceptualised and tested a three- component model of commitment consisting of affective, continuance and normative commitment. The only multidimensional social bond scale found in the literature (Perry et al, 2002) proposes five social bonds which are not supported by theory. Therefore the literature so far has failed to put forward and test a multidimensional scale of social bonds for business relationships based on a comprehensive theoretical framework.

Most researchers who have developed a social bond scale only briefly mention theory but a few have used exchange theory to support their scale development. Exchange theory is recognised as an important theoretical foundation for relationship marketing which emerged in the 1970s when researchers began to consider marketing as an exchange process. Bagozzi (1974, 1975) saw the exchange as more than just an economic transaction but involving social and psychological needs in forming links between individuals and organisations. Relationship Marketing has sometimes been referred to as a new paradigm (Grönroos, 1994) since the philosophy of marketing changed from a sales/transactional orientation to a relationship orientation.

However there is also a need to explore alternative theories to provide a broader framework for social bond scale development since researchers using social exchange theory have so far not proposed a multidimensional scale. Simpson and Rholes (1998) have noted that the application of attachment theory to adult relationships has attracted more research interest than any other area of social psychology in the 1990s and it continues to attract research attention. The pioneers of attachment theory are recognised as John Bowlby (1973, 1980, 1984) and Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970) who examined child-parent relationships and found attachment to be based on a biological system where the child seeks closeness, safety and security from the parent or primary attachment figure. Bowlby (1973) believed that the experiences of attachment formed during childhood affect the formation of other attachments during adulthood. Attachment theory has continued to be extended into new areas. Researchers such as Hazan and Shaver (1987) have found attachment theory to be useful in understanding love and affectional bonds in romantic relationships.

Mikulincer and Shaver (2003) suggest that attachment can be relevant to non-romantic partners including managers within a business environment. Weiss (1982:173) agrees that attachment may be present in all adult relationships: ‘Might not attachment, perhaps at a low level, be present in most friendships…relationships with physicians and other professionals…for whom there is a genuine regard?’ Attachment has also begun to be researched in the business literature in order to understand how to manage customer relationships effectively and profitably (Paulssen, 2009). Paulssen’s (2009) research showed two distinct dimensions of business attachment, closeness and security, however only security was found to lead to satisfaction, trust and intent to repurchase whereas closeness did not. Mende et al (2013) found that customers’ attachment styles help to explain their preference for closeness in their business relationship with an insurance firm. Thomson and Johnson (2006) found that attachment styles influence consumer perceptions of their relationships with brands and service providers since consumers who are more avoidant or anxious experience more positive emotions and greater satisfaction in commercial relationships.

Conceptual descriptions of social bonds suggest that they may be based on attachment. Liang and Wang (2007:64) describe social bonds as being characterised by ‘self- disclosure; closeness; providing support or advice; being empathetic and responsive; 3 feelings of affiliation, attachment or connectedness; and shared experiences.’ Therefore attachment theory appears to be a natural fit as a theoretical framework to identify social bonds in business relationships and explain how and why they form.

There is evidence in the literature to show that social bonds are also based on liking. The most frequently cited definition of social bonds among researchers developing social bond scales is that of Wilson (1995:13) ‘The degree of mutual personal friendship and liking shared by the buyer and seller.’ Hawke and Heffernan (2006) state that liking creates a personal attachment between individuals. Bonds based on liking are also supported by Gounaris and Venetis (2002) and Nicholson et al, (2001). Love and liking are suggested by some researchers to be separate constructs and by others to be part of the same construct. For example, Rubin (1970) created separate scales to measure love and liking however Sternberg (1986) included liking in his taxonomy of eight different kinds of love.

Graham and Christiansen (2009) found 22 studies which used Sternberg’s Triangular Theory to measure love in personal/romantic relationships. In the marketing literature, Sternberg’s theory has been used by Yim et al (2008) to create a scale of customer-firm affection and by Shimp and Madden (1988) as a framework for conceptualising consumer relations with consumption objects. The theory proposes a three dimensional construct of love as intimacy, passion and commitment. It differs from attachment theory as it does not explain how bonds are formed but it can be used to identify social bonds. Shaver et al (1988) mapped Sternberg’s three dimensions of love onto the three biological systems of attachment theory (attachment; caregiving; and sexuality) showing that the theories are complementary. In addition, the combined theoretical framework of Sternberg’s theory and attachment theory has already been used by researchers such as Yim et al (2008) who found that different social bonds can develop depending on the nature of the business and the importance of staff in the service encounter. For example, intimacy and passion were the main bonds which customers developed for fast-food outlets (where staff play a minor role) but intimacy and commitment were the basis for customers’ bonds with hair salons due to the key personal relationship with the hair stylist.

1.2 Professional Services Business Relationships

Relationship Marketing has led to a move away from the notion that marketing is restricted to the marketing department and towards a philosophy of marketing at the core of the business and practiced by all staff who have contact with the customer. According to Gummesson (1987:14) ‘the marketing that takes place during the interaction (between the service provider and the customer) is often the most important...marketing that a service company does.’ As a result, service providers are called upon to be not only experts in delivering the service but also marketers of the service. Personal relationships at an individual level are especially important in ‘pure’ service settings like professional services where there is no product as the relationship becomes a proxy for evaluating performance (Haytko, 2004). In complex service environments, the personal relationships between professional service providers and clients become the basis of long-standing relationships between the provider and buyer organisations (Lian and Liang, 2007). Amonini et al (2010) found that developing long-term relationships is one of the main strategies of professional service firms competing in the market.

A number of researchers (Beaton and Beaton, 1995; Patterson, 1995 and Frow, 2007) have noted that professional service relationships are substantially under-researched. This is despite the importance of professional services as a sector in the UK economy. HM Treasury’s report (2009) states that professional services account for the largest single share of UK output at 8%. The sector is the largest employer in the UK with 11.5% of total employment. Professional services play a major role in UK trade, accounting for almost £16 billion of the total £29 billion trade in UK services. According to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES, 2012), professional and business services was one of six key growth sectors identified by the Government in 2010 and was again among eight key sectors addressed in its Growth Review in 2011. However it should also be noted that many professional services firms are small and medium businesses (SMEs). According to the Department of Business, Innovations and Skills report (2012), 77% of people employed in professional, scientific and technical services work in SMEs. The author has found that sector reports differ in which services they include as professional services and professional services are sometimes combined with business and other services which makes it difficult to get a comprehensive view of professional services as an industry.

There is general agreement on the lack of clarity of the term ‘professional services.’ According to Thakor and Kumar (2000) there is little agreement on which services are considered to be professional. The United Nations report into professional services (2004:1) describes them as ‘a variety of heterogeneous activities presenting different features.’ Von Nordenflycht (2010) adds that there is also a lack of accepted definition of professional service firm due to a lack of clarity of the term ‘professional’. He found that this has restricted the body of empirical research about professional services since researchers tend to ‘play safe’ by researching into the same industries (such as law and consulting) and so limiting our knowledge of the less recognised professional services. He also criticises researchers who focus on one specific service and then assume the results are applicable to all professional services. Although it is not in the scope of this thesis to develop a definition of professional services, the author will be using existing definitions to guide her in identifying which services are professional services.

1.3 Research Question, Aim, Objectives and Research Design

The main research question is to find out what social bonds exist in clients’ business relationships with professional service providers. In order to answer this question, the aim of the research is to develop a multidimensional scale to measure a client’s social bonds with a professional service provider.

In order to achieve this research aim, the following research objectives have been set:

1. To define social bonds;

2. To find out if social bonds are unidimensional or multidimensional;

3. To critically review two theories (Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love and Attachment Theory) to find out if they provide a theoretical framework for identifying and understanding social bonds in clients’ business relationships with professional service providers;

4. To find out if the social bonds proposed by Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love and Attachment Theory (security, intimacy, passion and commitment) are empirically validated by the data collected;

5. To find out if there are significant differences in the strength of social bonds between groups based on demographic and contextual variables.

In order to answer the research question and achieve the aim and objectives, a multi- method research design has been developed. Firstly the literature has been extensively reviewed in order to define social bonds and examine whether the theories chosen will provide an appropriate theoretical framework for social bond scale development. Secondly, existing social bond scales have been examined to evaluate how or if they can be used in the author’s social bond scale development. Thirdly, in-depth interviews with a variety of professional service providers will give insight into their personal experiences of the theories, proposed social bonds and demographic and contextual variables in managing client relationships. Finally, data from a questionnaire survey distributed to clients of professional service providers will be used to test and verify the social bond scale. The UK hotel industry has been chosen as the population for the survey due to the variety of professional services used by this sector (British Hospitality Association, 2010).

1.4 Potential Contributions

It is the purpose of this thesis to make original contributions to knowledge in the area of social bonds in clients’ business relationships with professional service providers. The author intends to extend our understanding of how attachments form in business relationships. She proposes to develop the first multidimensional social bonds scale to measure clients’ social bonds with professional service providers based on a comprehensive theoretical framework. She intends to contribute towards the under- researched area of professional services business relationships and compare different professional services in her research. Finally, she intends to give guidelines for the practical applicability of her research findings to the management of client relationships by professional service providers and organisations.

1.5 Structure of the Thesis

This Introduction is the first chapter of the thesis. It is followed by Chapter 2, the Literature Review, which establishes the context and structure of business relationships and the particular importance of personal relationships within a services environment. The hotel industry is briefly introduced and professional services are defined for the purpose of this study. This chapter also contains a detailed review of the social bond, its characteristics and outcomes. The theoretical framework which provides the foundation for this study is discussed in detail as well as a brief introduction given to two alternative theories which were considered for the study but rejected.

Preliminary Scale Development is contained in Chapter 3 which focuses on the development of the preliminary social bond scale using secondary data from the literature. The first part of the chapter gives a review of social bond scales already in existence and their relevance to the author’s work. The second part of the chapter covers the first two stages of scale development: defining the key constructs to be measured and generating a pool of items. The conclusion contains a flow diagram which maps the remaining stages of scale development to the relevant chapters in the thesis.

Chapter 4 is the Methodology Chapter which sets out the author’s considerations in selecting the research paradigm for the study. The rationale for the mixed-methods research design is given and the implementation of the two phases of data collection, qualitative and quantitative, is discussed in detail. The author sets out sources of measurement error and how she has addressed these. Research ethics are discussed in relation to the research design and limitations are also given.

Chapter 5 contains the Qualitative Data Findings and Analysis. This chapter sets out the framework used for analysing phenomenological data. Part 1 covers data management, the coding scheme developed and the use of themes to structure the findings. Part 2 includes the interpretation and presentation of the interview data. The discussion combines the author’s interpretation of the findings with the data including significant statements and narrative from the interviews. Frequency tables are also used. The modified social bonds scale is presented in Appendix 7.

The following chapter (6) gives the Quantitative Data Findings and Analysis. Part 1 begins with an overview of the data received from the questionnaire survey which includes descriptive statistics of the respondent sample. Part 2 contains an examination of the data prior to factor analysis followed by the results of the factor analysis which show the final social bonds scale items. Part 3 investigates potential group differences in the respondent sample and provides a brief explanation of the test results which will be discussed further in the Discussion of Findings Chapter which follows.

The Discussion of Findings is presented in Chapter 7. This chapter presents a detailed discussion of the results in relation to the research objectives set out in the Introduction through the triangulation of the findings from primary data collection (qualitative and quantitative) and secondary data (literature). This chapter concludes with a brief discussion on the generalisability of the scale created.

Chapter 8 provides Recommendations and Managerial Implications from the discussion in the previous chapter. Recommendations are given to academic researchers on further research to validate the social bonds scale and extend our knowledge of the theories used, continue to investigate group differences based on demographic and contextual variables and extend the research into new areas. Managerial Implications for professional service providers and professional service organisations set out guidelines for creating social bonds and improving the management of client relationships.

Finally, Chapter 9 consists of the Conclusion and Limitations. The Conclusion summarises the main research results in relation to the research objectives discussed in detail in the Discussion of Findings Chapter. The Limitations section contains a reflective summary of the main limitations of this study and their possible impact on the research.

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This critical review of the literature provides a background to the context and theories which underpin this study of social bonds in professional service relationships. This chapter is divided into four parts. The first part (The Context of the Study) begins by discussing the nature and structure of business relationships, in particular within service organisations, which provide the context within which social bonds form between client and service provider in this study. This is followed by a short overview of the UK’s hotel industry which provides the population for the quantitative phase of the research. The final section briefly covers the characteristics of professional services which is the context for the qualitative phase of the research.

The next section (Relationship Bonds and Social Bonds) begins with a discussion of relationship bonds, since the social bond has been identified by researchers as one of a number of bonds within a relationship. The social bond is discussed in detail as a multidisciplinary concept which has been defined and developed in different bodies of literature, such as psychology, sociology, services, business and marketing. The third section (Characteristics, Demographics and Outcomes of Social Bonds) analyses the characteristics of social bonds, demonstrating the often conflicting views about this construct in the literature. This section also contains a review of the main outcomes of the social bond which shows that this important construct can lead to positive outcomes for individuals and organisations involved in the business relationship.

The final section (2.4) gives a detailed review of Attachment Theory and Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love which comprise the theoretical framework used to support the research in developing a scale of social bonds. Jancic and Zabkar (2002:659) note that the research on marketing relationship management has been ‘burdened’ by over-emphasis on microeconomics and behavioural science and needs to return to its ‘theoretical roots’ (p.666) by introducing new theories from social-psychology. Barnes (1994) has also suggested that it is useful to look to social psychology literature to find the concepts present in a relationship. Granovetter (1985) argues against the economists’ perspective of business relationships such as Williamson’s (1979) transaction cost theory which see 10 social relations as peripheral rather than central to business relations. Therefore in using theories of attachment and liking, the author is intending to redress this balance and bring a new perspective to professional services relationship management. At the end of this chapter, two alternative theories which were considered for the research but rejected, are also discussed.

2.1 THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY

2.1.1 Relationship Marketing and Business Relationships

Relationship marketing literature is generally agreed on the benefits of a long-term relationship to the service provider (Liljander and Strandvik, 1995; Wilson and Mummalaneni, 1986) and, to a lesser extent, the client. Buttle et al (2002:5) state the long- term financial gains: ‘first, if bonds break, and the customers defect, they take with them their future, as yet unrealised, lifetime value; second, the cost of replacing defected customers is significantly more expensive than the cost of retaining them.’ Bonds are therefore important because of their potential to enhance customer relationships and provide an incentive or exit barrier to reduce the risk of termination. In Bruhn’s categorisation of Relationship Marketing Research (2003), bonds can be found under Relationship Constructs together with trust, commitment and loyalty which help to explain customer retention and long-term customer relationships.

Many definitions of relationship marketing take the view that the seller is in control of managing the relationship, for example this definition by Berry (1983:25): ‘Relationship marketing is attracting, maintaining and enhancing customer relationships.’ However this definition by Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995a:399) shows that relationship marketing may be extended to other stakeholders, not just customers and that the effort to maintain the relationship is reciprocal, not one-sided: ‘Relationship marketing is a marketing orientation that seeks to develop close interactions with selected customers, suppliers and competitors for value creation through cooperative and collaborative efforts.’

Bruhn (2003) notes that relationship marketing is interdisciplinary and can be explained by using theories from different bodies of literature such as economics, psychology and social-psychology. It is well documented that relationship marketing has a number of economic, competitive, emotional and other benefits for professional services providers and clients which make it particularly appropriate for professional business-to-business services relationships (Barnes and Howlett 1998; Karantinou and Hogg 2001; Maister 1993).

It is not clear in the literature what constitutes a relationship (Kelley et al, 1983) since they come in many different forms. Bendapudi and Berry (1997) agree that relationship marketing covers a wide range of marketing relationships. Håkansson and Snehota (1995:22) state that every relationship is unique so there is no such thing as a ‘typical relationship.’ There are a multitude of variables which have an impact on a business relationship, among others how often interaction takes place, its intensity, duration, the people and resources involved and the balance of power between the parties. However it is not clear whether a relationship needs to be reciprocal and what the features of a relationship are: retaining a customer, knowing a customer’s details or even locking a customer into an arrangement and making it costly to leave (Barnes, 1994).

Kelley et al (1983) have attempted to find a basic definition of relationship as having an impact on one another, two parties being interdependent, thus if there is a high degree of interdependence, the relationship can be described as close (Iacobucci and Hibbard, 1999). Thomson and Johnson (2006) differentiate between commercial and non-commercial relationships across two main variables: consistency and reciprocity. They tested their hypotheses that non-commercial relationships are more inclined to be consistent and reciprocal than are commercial relationships. They found that reciprocal or consistent relationships are more likely to be committed and more involved. The term ‘commercial friendship’ (Price and Arnould, 1999; Rosenbaum, 2009) is used to differentiate between service provider/customer relationships and personal (non-commercial) friendships.

However there may be an overlap between business and friendship. Suttles (1970) notes that co-workers can become friends and supplement or confirm already existing relations. However Kurth (1970) differentiates between friendship and friendly relations. Friendly relations are formed between people in work relationships and make the people involved more likely to do what is formally expected of them. However a friendship will persist even if the work relationship dissolves since it is formed on other bases. According to Price and Arnould (1999), there are four critical properties of friendship: intimate self- disclosure; voluntary interaction; a communal orientation (the benefit one partner offers is not expected to incur a feeling of obligation on the other - Kurth (1970) disagrees and states that friendship does bear obligations); and an intrinsic orientation. (i.e. not instrumental). In friendships, individuals engage in activities and situations beyond those required by their formal roles. However Grayson (2007) found that the conflict between 13 friendship and instrumentality in business relations can have a negative effect on business outcomes.

According to Berry (1983) there are three elements which must be present in a business relationship: the customer must want the service continually or at least from time to time; the customer must be able to choose the supplier and there must be other suppliers present. Bhagat and Williams (2002:42) define a relationship as; ‘a repeated set of service transactions involving a continual transfer of service benefits to the consumer or client.’ Both definitions imply that the relationship exists because the customer wants it to and it is the customer who benefits from the relationship. Crosby et al’s (1990) research which examines the effect of relationship bonds on relationship outcomes, also takes the customer’s point of view.

However Barnes and Howlett (1998) give a more balanced approach between customer and service provider, stating that a relationship exists if both parties believe it exists and also that it has a special status which both partners recognise. They propose three dimensions based on their notion of a relationship: closeness, emotional content and strength.

2.1.2 Relationship Structure

Pettersen (2001) notes that relationship structure affects an individual’s behaviour, affective responses, motivation and attitude in business relationships. Organisational structure can support or hinder the development of interpersonal ties.

Donaldson and O’Toole (2000) agree that ‘relationship’ may mean different things in different contexts and they have attempted to classify four relationship structures in buyer- seller relationships: bilateral, recurrent, dominant partner and discrete which they believe will assist in developing an appropriate relationship strategy. Dwyer et al (1987) also differentiate between discrete and relational exchange in buyer-seller relationships. In terms of social bonding, discrete transactions are characterised by minimal personal relationships and ritual-like communications while relational exchange recognises the importance of personal relationships and the role of both formal and informal communications. Laing and Lian (2005) identify five relationship formats in professional 14 services, each of which may be identified by certain relationship characteristics: elementary, interactive, embedded, partnering and integration. From elementary to integration, the characteristics increase (closeness and socialisation) or decrease (formality of communication and boundaries).

Mainela (2007) proposes four possible levels of interpersonal relationship in a business environment: reporting relationships (professional and formal); organisational contacts (formal and based on fulfilment of organisational roles and tasks); personal relationships (somewhat formal but involving exchange between acquaintances at an individual level) and friendship relationships (trusting friendships and relationships to well-known individuals). Similarly, Coulter and Ligas (2004) propose the following classification of four relationship types based on a spectrum of more to less professional: professional relationships; casual acquaintances, personal acquaintances and friendships. Their research showed that the four relationship types differed most on the variable of socialising outside work. They also examined the differences in emotional attachment and personal advice seeking among the four types.

Johnson and Selnes (2004) have put forward four levels in their typology of customer relationships: strangers, acquaintances, friends and partners. Each level denotes a stronger and closer relationship that makes switching to another provider less likely. Johnson and Selnes (2004) note that if economies of scale are low, then closer relationships tend to bring more value than distant relationships. It may be argued, that this relates to professional services which have a high personal service component. Haytko (2004) has classified advertising agency-client relationships as: strictly business, business friends and personal. Each category differs across the variables of self-disclosure, knowledge base and outside work interaction. According to Iacobucci and Hibbard (1999) each type of marketing relationship takes a different form and is characterised by different drivers, for example business services such as advertising agency account management and lawyer- client interaction, have a strong relational component.

Lambe et al (2000:212) examine the concept of interimistic relational exchange which they define as ‘a close, collaborative, fast-developing, short-lived exchange relationship in which companies pool their skills and/or resources to address a transient, albeit important, business opportunity and/or threat.’ These relationships have a short life and need to 15 become functional quickly so have less time to develop the mechanisms which govern relationships. The authors explore key relationship marketing concepts and how they behave under this type of relationship structure. It may be argued, that some professional service organisations, such as consulting firms, work in this type of way.

It is useful to see the relationship as a process since its nature may change from more formal in the early stages to more informal and social over time (Sheaves and Barnes, 1996). A number of authors have recorded the process or phases of a relationship. According to Dwyer et al (1987), these are: Awareness, Exploration, Expansion, Commitment and Dissolution. Ford (1980) again takes a processual perspective of relationships through five stages: The Pre-Relationship Stage, The Early Stage, The Development Stage, The Long Term Stage and The Final Stage. At each stage he records the ‘social distance’ between parties.

2.1.3 Relationships in Service Organisations

The nature of services means that relationships are particularly important due to the role that people play in their delivery (Bendapudi and Berry, 1997) and the significant amount of personal interaction (Jones et al, 2000). Berry (1995) confirms that customers are more likely to form relationships with individuals and organisations than products. Researchers have found a number of common characteristics which distinguish services from products (Parasuraman et al, 1985) such as intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity and inseparability (simultaneous production and consumption). It is difficult to generalise across the large number of service industries since they are very different (Patterson and Smith 2001a). Bhagat and Williams (2002) agree that due to the heterogeneity of the services industry, each type of service is specific and needs its own marketing approach. The findings of Butcher et al’s (2002) study appear to support this as customers from three different service settings had different expectations of their service providers. The employee’s job enthusiasm was most important to customers of a healthcare service provider while feeling comfortable was most important to customers of a hairdressing salon. Both enthusiasm and comfort were found to be important to café customers. Patterson and Smith (2003) also found that different switching barriers are important to prevent customers leaving the relationship depending on type of service: loss of a friendly

16 interpersonal relationship was more important in medical services and hairdressing but the need to explain personal preferences was more important in travel services.

Shostack’s (1977) Tangibility Spectrum shows that very few products are wholly tangible and few services wholly intangible, rather there is a spectrum from tangible dominance (such as soft drinks and automobiles) to intangible dominance (teaching and consultancy). According to Haytko (2004) in ‘pure’ service environments where there is no physical product to evaluate, the personal relationship between individuals becomes the proxy for evaluating performance. Lian and Liang (2007) found that in complex service settings, professional service providers act as boundary spanners to form personal relationships with clients which become the foundation of long-term relationships between the buyer and provider organisations.

Bhagat and Williams (2002) note that frameworks to classify services mainly focus on three dimensions: people-related factors, structural factors and factors which are part of the service encounter. Bendapudi and Berry (1997) have found four similar variables which influence customers’ motivation to remain in a relationship: environmental factors, partner factors, customer factors and interaction factors. Indeed a review of social relationships in the social psychology literature (Holmes, 2000) also notes similar factors which influence the interdependence within the relationship: The characteristics of person A (goals, attitudes, expectations, personality); the characteristics of person B; and the conjunction or intersection of the partners’ attributes within a given situation. In a professional services context, Halinen (1994) found the following contextual factors affecting the development of advertising agency-client relationships: Environmental factors; Company factors; Individual and Group factors and Task factors.

Interestingly, the industrial marketing literature also has a similar set of variables impacting on the interaction between buyer and seller (Wilson and Mummalaneni, 1986), namely: the interaction process and its components; the parties involved; the macro- environment and the atmosphere of the relationship. Therefore it appears that these factors may be common to different types of relationships and not just those relating to services.

Berry (1995:237) notes that customers may be interested in having a relationship with providers of high-involvement services due to their ‘importance, variability, complexity 17 and involvement.’ Crosby et al (1990) note that these characteristics are present in professional services. They (ibid, 1990) also state the importance of the environment as a factor impacting on the customer wishing to have a relationship as an environment which is changeable and risky can influence the way that customers behave. The nature of the market environment has been suggested as an important factor in the development of the social bond (Saxena, 2006:275): ‘Personal relationships can decline rapidly when market forces make further transactions economically impossible. On the other hand, when a purely formal relationship ends, the personal ties can continue, even if they are largely dormant. These pave the way for future interaction processes.’

2.1.4 The UK Hotel Industry

The UK hotel industry has been chosen as the context for the quantitative study for three main reasons. The first is that hotels, which are categorised as part of both the Tourism and Hospitality industries (British Hospitality Association, 2010, 2011, 2013) have been found to use a number of different professional services. According to BHA (2010), the hospitality industry provides indirect supply-chain employment to 675,000 people in three key industries, one of which is business services. The professional business services used by the hospitality industry include market research, management consultancy, computer, financial services, architectural and technical consultancy, advertising, legal, accountancy and real estate (BHA, 2010). A number of professional services firms (such as PwC, 2013; Deloitte, 2013; Ernst and Young, 2013; NatWest, 2013; Barclays, 2012) have practices devoted to the hospitality and leisure sector which includes hotels, showing the importance of clients in this sector as a revenue stream.

A second reason for selecting the hotel industry for this study is that hotel senior decision makers can be both clients and service providers. They can buy professional services as described in the previous paragraph but they are also service providers to hotel guests, business customers such as event managers and others using the hotel’s services. Therefore the results of the author’s research could be of interest to them since they may also want to know how to develop social bonds with their own customers. Larson and Poist (2004) found that an interest in the survey topic was rated the second highest factor to increase response rates in a business customer survey.

The third reason for choosing the hotel industry for the research was due to the size and importance of the Tourism and Hospitality industries to the UK economy. A benchmarking study of the UK Travel and Tourism industry by the World Travel and Tourism Council (2012) shows that the industry is forecast to grow at an annual average of 4.1% per year compared to 2.3% growth per annum for the total economy between 2012-2022. However according to PwC’s forecast (2012), growth will vary as London should continue to do well but hotels in the regions are likely to experience weaker demand. In 2012, 44% of hotels reported an increase in business and 15% reported a decline and in 2013, 59% of Hospitality and Tourism employers forecast an increase in sales in 2013 while 9% forecast a decrease in sales (People1st, 2013).

A report by the British Hospitality Association (BHA, 2011) shows hospitality to be important across the UK in contributing to local economies through job and wealth creation. The hospitality industry is Britain’s fourth largest industry with 8.4% of total employment (1 in 12 jobs) and provides 2.68 million jobs of which 17% are hotel-related (BHA, 2013). From 2010-2012, 153,000 new jobs were created in the industry and in a recent report, the BHA (2013) set out its recommendations to the government to implement an agenda, creating an additional 300,000 jobs in the hospitality industry by 2020.

According to the British Hospitality Association, there are around 45,800 hotels in the UK and the UK hotel industry’s annual turnover is £40 billion (Hotel Industry Magazine, 2013). Almost two-thirds of the hotels in the UK are independent (Hotel Industry Magazine, 2013). Throughout the 2000s, £25 billion was invested into hotels with 1,100 new hotels being created and extensive refurbishment of existing hotels (BHA, 2011). However there has also been a decline in small hotels and guest houses particularly in resort areas (Hotel Industry Magazine, 2013) with People1st reporting 910 hotel closures in 2011. The UK Hotel sector is mainly made up of small businesses; 86% of hotels employ 49 or less employees with the remaining 14% employing 50-99 employees (9%) and only 5% employ over 100 employees (People1st, 2013).

2.1.5 Professional Services

In the current study, the hotel industry provides the client perspective and the professional services industry has been selected for researching the seller-side of the business relationship. There are two main reasons for choosing professional services for the research. Firstly that it is considered to be under-researched as an industry (Beaton and Beaton, 1995; Patterson, 1995 and Frow, 2007) and studies that do exist tend to focus on traditional professional services like law and ignore the less recognised professional services (Von Nordenflycht, 2010). In addition, there are few studies that compare different professional services (Von Nordenflycht, 2010). The second reason is the suitability of professional services for a relationship approach as the value of the people delivering them is increased due to the services’ intangibility, complexity and need for customisation (Crosby et al, 1990). In addition, clients often lack a deeper knowledge about the service (Crosby et al, 1990) so the quality of the personal relationship can determine repeat purchase and satisfaction (Solomon et al, 1985).

However there is disagreement in the literature on which services can be categorised as professional services (Thakor and Kumar, 2000) which is related to the lack of a commonly accepted definition of professional services (Von Nordenflycht, 2010). Therefore it is important to establish which definition will be used for this study. The author has used Gummesson’s definition (1980) and updated it using more recent sources such as the United Nations report on professional services (2004). Gummesson (1980) defined professional services as having the following characteristics: they are provided by qualified and accredited professionals who act as advisors; they perform a discrete function so are easily identifiable e.g. a lawyer; they have specialist knowledge to solve problems within their area of expertise; and professional bodies and codes to regulate their practice. His definition is supported by the United Nations (2004:7) which recognises professional services as either having: ‘no manual labour component or [as being] associated with established professions.’ The UN’s Negotiating Group on Services (NGS) has also highlighted the knowledge and ability of the supplier to address the client’s needs as an important characteristic of professional services. The UN report (2004) recognises, like Gummesson (1980), that certain professional service providers require a license or accreditation to practice (for example, lawyers, accountants and architects) however it also

20 recognises so-called ‘free exercise professions’ (p.3) which are not accredited (for example, marketing, IT and events management).

The concept of professional services has changed since Gummesson’s (1980) definition and the United Nations (2004:7) recognises that the classification of professional services ‘cannot be static since with time different occupations can achieve that status or be recognized as professional’. One of the changes in recent years has been a consolidation of professional services into corporate organisations (Vermaak and Weggeman, 1999). The United Nations (2004) has also recognised that the global market for some professional services is dominated by large professional services firms from developed countries, such as the Big 4 firms1.

However it should be recognised that it is mostly smaller firms which provide professional services. The United Nations (2004) report into Trade and Development aspects of professional services and regulatory frameworks establishes that most professional services in developing countries are characterised by dual markets: a small number of modern and qualified professional services firms, usually linked to international networks, are catering to large domestic and international clients; while a large number of professional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual practices continue to attend to the needs of other SMEs in the domestic economy. Von Nordenflycht (2010) gives three characteristics of a professional service firm which are: knowledge intensity, low capital intensity and a professionalised workforce.

A characteristic highlighted by the UN’s Negotiating Group on Services which is highly relevant to this study but not mentioned in Gummesson’s (1980) definition above is that personal contact must exist between the supplier and recipient of the service. The UN’s report (2004) sets out that professional services present significant differences concerning the provider-client relationship. Some firms develop long-term client relationships, since they are associated with high initial costs of learning about clients’ systems (e.g. auditing) or maintenance and upgrading is required (such as IT services). In contrast, other professional services are supplied in discrete bundles as projects, for example architectural

1 Big 4 Firms are the four largest global professional service firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. 21 and engineering services, and a third type of service such as advertising, is characterised by high client turnover and short-term relationships.

2.2 RELATIONSHIP BONDS AND SOCIAL BONDS

2.2.1 Relationship Bonds

Bonds are a multidisciplinary concept and research on bonds can be found in a number of bodies of literature such as: chemistry (Xie et al, 2005); biology (Bardet et al, 2007); psychology (Ainsworth, 1989); sociology (Turner, 1970; McCall, 1970); business (Ahmad and Buttle, 2001); marketing (Dash et al, 2009); politics (Devetak and Higgott, 1999); criminal deviancy (Hirschi, 1969); human resources and organisational behaviour (Cooper, 2010) and health (Peltier and Scovotti, 2004).

According to Liljander and Strandvik (1995:162) ‘A relationship is characterized by the existence of some kind of bonds between the customer and the firm.’ Easton and Araujo (1986:11) concur ‘At its most fundamental a bond must exist, in however weak a form, when economic exchanges take place between supplier and customer.’ Reynolds et al (2009) postulate, that business relationships are influenced by a number of bonds (social, cultural, technological, political and economic) which determine the value of the relationship in terms of costs and benefits.

The relationship is the context for bonds to develop. Sociologists Turner (1970) and McCall (1970) wrote their conceptual studies about family relationships in which bonds are seen as being the substance of relationships, bringing people together, and part of social organisation and basic group processes. However the bonding frameworks proposed by Turner (1970) and McCall (1970) have not been critically analysed in the business and marketing literatures. Researchers such as Wilson and Mummalaneni (1986) have chosen to include some bonds but not others in their own research without explaining why.

Arantola’s (2002) conceptual review of the literature on bonds stated that bonds have become central to the study of relationship marketing but there does not appear to be an accepted definition or theory of bonding. Other researchers such as Wendelin (2002) and Brown and Brown (2006) agree that bonds have suffered from a lack of clarity in concept definition. Brown and Brown (2006) have noted that this is the case across disciplines for both bond and social bond, even in book chapters and academic journal articles where bonds are the primary concept under study. They suggest that the common usage of the 23 term bond has led to a lack of clear definition in research. They also suggest that the term relationship has suffered from the same lack of clarity. Halinen (1997) notes a lack of cross-referencing and common terms used among researchers when referring to business relationships. In addition, terms such as tie, link and attachment are used synonymously with bond (Wendelin 2002).

It is not clear from the literature how many or what type of bonds exist. Liljander and Strandvik (1995) have identified ten different bonds. Arantola’s (2002:106-7) appendix contains eighteen different bonds although their definitions overlap. For example, emotional bond is defined as ‘high level of trust’ but trust also appears as a separate bond; relational bond appears as separate from attraction, commitment and trust, which are also described as ‘relational bonds’. In addition, a number of researchers in the marketing and business literature have created a relational or relationship (used synonymously) bond scale (Smith, 1998; Lin et al, 2003; Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002; Dash et al, 2009). However these scales are limited to two or three bonds, with structural bonds (occurring at an organisational level) and social bonds (at an individual level) included in all the scales. Functional (task-related) bonds and economic bonds appear only in one of the scales.

Easton and Arujo (1986) believe that there are a number of bond dimensions such as social and technical which may differ among people according to their view of the relationship. Ahmad and Buttle (2002:566) found in their case study research into bonds that ‘relationships were built and strengthened by different combinations of bonds, links or ties’ which develop at different levels and become more complex over time.

Liljander and Strandvik (1995) believe that bonds differ depending on the type of business relationship, for example six bonds exist in the industrial markets: social, technological, knowledge, planning, legal and economic and four bonds in relationships between service provider and consumer: geographical, cultural, ideological and psychological. Liljander and Strandvik (1995) have also identified two groups of bonds: those created and managed by the service provider and those existing in the client’s mind. Those managed by the company are legal, economic, technological, geographical and time bonds which ‘constitute effective exit barriers for the consumer’ (ibid, 1995:152). They cannot be easily influenced by the customer and are more likely to be perceived negatively. However according to Liljander and Strandvik (1995), a second group of bonds exists and these are 24 more likely to be perceived positively by the customer: knowledge, social, cultural, ideological and psychological bonds. These are proactively created by the service provider but the customers will decide how important they are. These bonds ‘make the service episodes more individual and business transactions smoother’ (ibid, 1995:154).

Relationship bonds have been described as exit barriers or switching costs preventing the client from leaving the relationship (Arantola, 2002). Morgan and Hunt (1994:24) define relationship termination costs as ‘all expected losses from termination and result from the lack of comparable potential alternative partner, relationship dissolution expenses and/or substantial switching costs.’ Fornell (1992:11) defines switching barriers as ‘all costs (financial, psychological, learning etc. associated with deserting one supplier in favour of another.’ Kuenzel and Krolikowska (2008a) found the psychological bond to be an effective switching barrier which impacted positively on clients wanting to remain with their auditor, purchase additional services and give positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

2.2.2 Social Bonds

The author decided to focus her study only on social bonds since her review of the literature showed that this is the most common type of bond included in marketing studies however there is a lack of clear definition and measurement of this important relationship construct. Therefore the author decided to make a contribution in this area. Liljander and Strandvik (1995) and the Interaction and Network Theorists, IMP Group and Nordic School of Services Marketing categorise the social bond as one of a number of different bonds in a relationship.

Social bonds are vital to social relationships and social organisation (Bardet et al, 2007). According to Crotts et al (1998:130) ‘Social psychologists have used social bonding to investigate friendships, sexual relationships, family and group interactions.’ The social bond has also been researched in the context of business relationships (Berry, 1995; Dwyer et al, 1987; Paulssen, 2009; Wilson, 1995). Kasouf et al (2006:36) note that ‘the ability of two organizations to coordinate activities and develop an effective relationship is driven by the many discrete but interrelated interactions among individuals.’ It is these relationships at a personal level which lead to actions at an organisational level such as investments. 25

Within organisations, people take on the role of key contacts (Bendapudi and Leone, 2002) or boundary-spanning positions (Michaels et al, 1987), as the main point of interaction between two firms. It is important that there is personal chemistry between individuals in these roles as without this bond, relationships may not develop or last into the future (Andersen and Kumar, 2006). Liljander and Strandvik (1995:153) illustrate the social bond by putting it into the context of a bank: ‘Social bonds exist when the customer and the service personnel know each other well, contact is easy, there is mutual trust.’

Bendapudi and Berry (1997) suggest that social bonds can be developed both within the formal roles of client and service provider at work and also outside work. They argue that bonds build outside the formal working relationship, such as when the customer and provider volunteer together for a common cause, may be more influential and less predictable than, for example, the giving of branded merchandise such as a desk calendar.

2.2.3 Defining Social Bonds

The author has presented a number of definitions of social bonds from the literature (see Table 2.1 on page 29) which show areas of similarity but also difference regarding this concept. These are discussed in this section. She has also found a number of conceptual descriptions of the social bond (see Table 2.2 on page 30) which are more detailed in showing its characteristics. As may be seen, several descriptions use similar terminology, for example liking and closeness are seen by a number of researchers to be related to the social bond. Many definitions of the social bond define the concept as a positive interaction between two parties or positive interpersonal relationship (Turnbull and Wilson, 1989; Buttle et al, 2002; Halinen, 1997; Arantola, 2002 and Doney et al, 2007).

Sociologists Turner (1970) and McCall (1970) imply that the social bond may be the same as the personal/interpersonal relationship however other researchers have found the social bond to be one of the relationship variables and not the relationship itself. For example, the social bond has been explored as a dimension of relationship quality (Smith, 1998; Crosby et al, 1990; Lang and Colgate, 2003). This is in agreement with the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group’s approach in finding that bonds are one of the many dimensions of relationship quality (Myhal et al, 2001). The social bond has also been proposed to be a component of service quality (Peltier et al, 1998) and perceived service quality (Patterson 26 and Smith, 2001a) however in both cases, it is not clear how their scale was developed and which literature sources were used. Therefore the author has to conclude that it is not possible to confirm that social bonds are a dimension of service quality or perceived service quality.

The social bond is defined by some researchers as similar to other already recognised concepts such as rapport and tie strength. Lin et al (2003) suggest that rapport could be part of the social bond but Crosby et al (1990) found rapport to enhance social bonding. The tie strength construct is also seen as being different to the social bond (Stanko et al, 2007). Social bonds are defined as a construct composing of personal interactivity, affect and feelings of personal closeness. However tie strength is seen to be composed of four main dimensions (Granovetter, 1973): relationship length, mutual confiding, reciprocal services and emotional intensity) and has been specifically researched in the context of information sharing activities (Rindfleisch and Moorman, 2001).

Social bonds based on liking is the most popular definition used by researchers in social bond scale development, in particular Wilson’s (1995:13) definition ‘The degree of mutual friendship and liking’ used by Crotts et al (1998), Dash et al (2009), Liang and Wang (2007), Mavondo and Rodrigo (2001) and Cater and Zabkar (2009). Bonds based on liking are also supported by Gounaris and Venetis (2002). According to Hawke and Heffernan (2006:141), ‘Liking establishes a personal attachment between individuals’ and Nicholson et al (2001) refer to interpersonal liking as an emotional bond. There is also support from the Social Network literature as according to Proenҫa and Castro (1998) social bonds are friendship and liking.

Liking is categorised by some researchers such as Sternberg (1987) as a type of love and according to researchers such as Shaver et al (1988), love has been found to be similar to attachment. Mayseless and Popper (2007) state that attachment is similar to bonding. Indeed a number of researchers use these terms interchangeably. Armsden and Greenberg (1987:428) define attachment as ‘an enduring affectional bond of substantial intensity.’ Ainsworth (1989:711) defines an affectional bond as ‘a relatively long-enduring tie in which the partner is important as a unique individual and interchangeable with none other.’ She proposes that some friendships are close and enduring and can be based on affectional

27 bonds. According to Weiss (1974), attachment bonds are only present in relationships perceived as emotionally significant

From an extensive review of the literature, the author has found that social bonds are created, maintained and terminated between people during interaction. They are motivating factors to maintain a relationship. They explain the nature/basis of the personal attachment in a relationship. Social bonds are the characteristics of a personal relationship which are valued by one or more parties thereby creating an attachment. They create personal reasons why individuals wish to continue the relationship as opposed to organisational reasons for the existence of the relationship.

The author proposes the following definition of social bonds, based on the secondary literature reviewed and the theories used in the current research which are discussed in section 2.4:

Social bonds are personal ties based on liking and attachment which provide an incentive to maintain a relationship.

Table 2.1 Definitions of Social Bonds in the Literature Definition of Social Bond Author Literature ‘(Family) interaction’ Turner, 1970 Sociology ‘Positive interpersonal relationships between buyer Turnbull and Wilson, Industrial Marketing and seller’ 1989 and Purchasing Group ‘The degree of mutual personal friendship and Wilson, 1995; Marketing liking shared by the buyer and seller’ Used by Liang and Wang, 2007 Crotts and Aziz, 1998 Tourism ‘Personalized service delivery and the Berry and Services Marketing transformation of customers into clients’ Parasuraman, 1991 ‘Social bonding results from group members’ Macchiette and Roy, Services Marketing mutual admiration of a phenomenon; concerned 1992 with affiliation through sharing special interests’ ‘Strong personal relationships between interacting Halinen, 1994 Industrial Marketing individuals’ and Purchasing Group ‘Social bonds are defined as investments of time Thao and Swierczek, Marketing and and energy that produce positive interpersonal 2008 Logistics relationships and collaborative practice between partners’ ‘Personal characteristics (of the salesperson), Crosby et al, 1990 Marketing relational exchange characteristics and outcomes of the exchange [are] believed to be involved in social bonding’ ‘Personal ties or linkages forged during interaction Wang, 2008, based on Sociology at work’ Turner, 1970 Smith 1998 based on Turner 1970 ‘Investments of time and energy that produce Rao and Perry, 2002 Marketing positive interpersonal relationships between the Perry, Cavaye and partners’ Coote 2002 ‘A tie between two or more individuals that is Brown and Brown, Psychology stable over time and across contexts’ 2006 ‘An outgrowth of personal relationships that Cann, 1998 Marketing develop between the parties involved from both the buyer and seller organization’ ‘The degree to which certain ties link and hold a Han 1991 used by Marketing buyer and seller together closely in a personal Rodriguez and Wilson (emotional sense)’ 2002 ‘The ties that are created between the interacting Venetis and Ghauri, Marketing individuals of the two partner organizations’ 2004 ‘The bonding that takes place between individuals Dash et al, 2009 Marketing (i.e. the buyer and seller). During social bonding, individuals are bonded together via the organizational members’ personal and social relationship with their counterparts in a particular firm’ ‘The degree of reciprocal friendship and personal Mavondo and Rodrigo Services liking between the buyer and the salesperson’ 2001 used by Guenzi and Pelloni, 2004

Table 2.2 Conceptual Descriptions of Social Bonds in the Literature

‘Social bonds include feelings of liking, acceptance, friendship, social interactivity and so on’ (Gounaris and Venetis, 2002:642)

‘Close friendships’ or ‘closeness in the relationships’ (Ahmad and Buttle, 2001:568)

‘Social bonds refer to the human side of the business service, including personal contacts, liking and trust’ (Cater and Zabkar, 2009)

‘Social bonds include familiarity, friendship and personal confidence’ (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002)

‘Personal social bonds develop through subjective social interactions’ (Crotts et al, 1998:130)

‘Personal factors, such as trust and satisfaction with the relationship partner, play an important role in developing social bonding’ (Dash et al, 2009:149)

‘Personal interest [taking an interest in the other person] is similar to... social bonding’ (Gremler and Gwinner, 2008:316)

‘Social benefits have been presumed to include feelings of familiarity, personal recognition, friendship, rapport, and social support’ (Barnes, 1994 and Berry, 1995 cited by Gwinner et al, 1998:102)

‘Liking establishes a personal attachment between individuals’ and ‘Social bonding ‘encircle[s] interpersonal liking’ (Hawke and Heffernan, 2006:141)

‘Interpersonal liking as the emotional bond developed between individuals’ (Nicholson et al, 2001)

‘The more interdependent are two business partners, the closer their relationship’ (Iacobucci and Hibbard, 1999:24)

Also link between closeness and like-mindedness (Iacobucci and Hibbard, 1999)

Social bonds include ‘linking of personal selves or identities through self-disclosure; closeness; providing support or advice; being empathetic and responsive; feelings of affiliation, attachment or connectedness; and shared experiences (Liang and Wang, 2007:64)

Social bonds include ‘closeness, liking, and a cooperative orientation among interacting individuals’ (Nielson, 1996)

‘Parallel to the concept of closeness, social bonds characterize close personal relationships...the dimension of social bonding includes self-disclosure, liking for the other person, and a cooperative orientation that partners bring to the interaction’ Nielsen, (1998:443)

2.2.4 Bonds in Professional Services Relationships

It has already been established that the professional services sector is an appropriate context to study relationships due to the complex nature of the services and the importance of people in the service provision. However Easton and Araujo (1986) have noted that companies with high bond strength are mostly chosen for research into organisational relationships. Indeed high bond strength is generally a feature of relationships chosen for empirical research in this area such as strategic alliances (Rodriguez and Wilson 2002) and franchiser/franchisee relationships (Perry et al 2002). This is especially the case in the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group literature which has emerged from the study of industrial business-to-business relationships. However it may be argued that bonds need to be explored in a variety of relationship contexts (both strong and weak) in order to gain a fuller understanding of how they work.

Rodriguez and Wilson (2002:68) define interdependent relationships as ‘characterized not by individual actors having control over the outcome of the exchange, but by both actors being dependent on the relationship itself.’ In professional services relationships, there may be less dependency since the termination of the relationship is unlikely to impact significantly on the client’s core business as the services provider generally has a portfolio of clients so the one client, although an important source of revenue, is unlikely to impact significantly on the business.

Studies into bonds in a professional services context have indicated that the social bond is particularly important (Kuenzel and Krolikowska, 2008b; Seabright et al., 1992). According to Patterson (1995: 170) ‘professional business services in particular…involve establishing and maintaining more enduring bonds with…customers.’ Dash et al (2009:147) confirm that strong customer relationships are particularly significant in this context due to the ‘intangible, ephemeral and often interpersonal nature of the service delivery process.’ Havila and Wilkinson (2002) add that social bonds are central to trading relationships which involve high levels of personal service and the authors give the examples of advertising, market research and law firms. Therefore it would appear that professional services are not only an appropriate context for the study of business relationships as suggested earlier but also for research into social bonds.

2.3 SOCIAL BONDS: CHARACTERISTICS, DEMOGRAPHICS AND OUTCOMES

2.3.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL BONDS

This section of the literature review discusses the key characteristics of bonds which is an important consideration in developing a scale to measure the social bond. Researchers do not always agree on these characteristics and this may be because of the context-specific nature of bonds. It is possible that bonds may be one-sided or reciprocal depending on the power balance in the relationship since relationships exist in a variety of different forms (Turnbull et al, 1996). Arantola (2002) has also referred to this in her conceptual exploration of bonds, since she found contradictions in the literature which may be explained by the complexity of variables which are inherent in each relationship. These variables may be present at an individual personal level such as gender (Smith, 1998) and position (Seabright et al, 1992). They may also be present at an organisational level such as length of relationship (Levinthal and Fichman, 1988) and nature of relationship such as a strategic alliance (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002).

The macro and micro environment also have a bearing on the relationship, for example, the level of competition in the market, the balance between supply and demand and for some professional services such as auditing, there are restrictions in place to limit the development of social bonds since they are seen to hinder the objectivity and independence of the auditor (Auditing Practice Board, 2011). The external environment is a broad and complex area to examine and outside the scope of the author’s study. However the type of professional service was included as a variable in the research.

In business-to-business research, bonds have been explored empirically in a variety of industries such as: US-Mexican strategic alliances (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002), buyers and suppliers in the truck producing industry (Wendelin, 2002), Australian franchisers on the effect of technology on relationships with their franchisees (Perry et al, 2002) and a case study of a Scandinavian advertising agency-client relationship (Halinen, 1997). Bonds have also been researched in the context of professional services such as client-auditor relationships by Seabright et al (1992) and Levinthal and Fichman (1988).

2.3.1.1 Reciprocal or from the Client’s Perspective

The social psychology literature (e.g. Turner, 1970) and the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group literature (Barnes et al, 2007) state that bonding is based on reciprocity. However in the business literature, one of the most important characteristics of bonds on which researchers still disagree is whether they exist from both service provider and client’s point of view (Seabright et al, 1992; Halinen, 1997; Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002) or whether only the client’s point of view is important (Fornell, 1992; Liljander and Strandvik, 1995; Arantola, 2002). Bonds as a two-way interaction between client and service provider have been defined by Seabright et al (1992:126) as ‘a counterforce to change [or] an inertial or binding force between exchange partners that can lead to the maintenance of an existing relationship to the exclusion of alternatives.’ However the alternative view proposes bonds as switching costs/switching barriers from the customer’s point of view “The strength of the relationship should be investigated by studying the customers’ bonds with and commitment to the company.” (Liljander and Strandvik, 1995:163).

Turner (1970) notes that mutual bonding does not mean that each party is tied to the other by the same kind of bond – the nature of the bond may be different for each person involved. For example, Turner (1970) notes that in relationships in which there is an unequal balance of power, different bonds will form the basis of the attachment for the stronger member and the weaker member. Research into the social bond from both sides of the relationship has included buyer and seller (Smith, 1998); managers in strategic alliances (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002); advertising agencies and their clients (Venetis and Ghauri, 2004); and Australian and Chinese companies doing business together (Mavondo and Rodrigo, 2001). O’Malley and Harris (1999) found that clients tend to describe their relationships with solicitors as friendships while solicitors view the relationships as purely professional.

Studies of social bonds from one side of a relationship have tended to take the customer’s point of view (Lin et al, 2003; Liang and Wang, 2007; Peltier and Scovotti, 2004; Patterson and Smith, 2001a; Cater and Zabkar, 2009) but Rosenbaum’s (2009) study looks at the nature of commercial friendships from the employee’s point of view. Through

33 interviews with employees at a restaurant, findings showed that employees not only provided social support to customers such as the elderly or recently bereaved who were in particular need of social contact but also benefitted from the social contact themselves. One employee remarked (Rosenbaum, 2009: 62) ‘I feel like I have stability working here. I have security. I have a family of regulars and other employees here. It’s this feeling of closeness, happiness and family that I get from working here.’

2.3.1.2 Social Bonding as a Marketing Activity – the Service Provider’s Perspective

In the business environment, bonding has been seen as a marketing activity (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991; Wang, 2008). Buttle et al (2002:3) refer to ‘customer bonding activities’; Liang and Wang (2006:119) refer to ‘relationship bonding tactics’, Gounaris and Venetis (2002:637) use the term ‘customer bonding techniques’ and Cann (1998:398) refers to ‘bond[ing] socially with the customer.’ Saxena (2006:264) also refers to social bonds as ‘active processes.’ Palmatier et al (2007) believe bonding to be relationship enhancing activities which strengthen customer relationships. However Iacobucci and Hibbard (1999) note that if a firm believes it has developed a relationship with a customer, the customer may not share the same point of view of the relationship.

Cross and Smith (1995) also present customer bonding as a marketing technique. They (ibid, 1995) propose five degrees of customer bonding which are hierarchical and increase the strength of the bond between customer and advertiser (awareness bonding; identity bonding; relationship bonding; community bonding; and advocacy bonding) however it is not clear from their book how this framework has been developed. They (ibid, 1995:54) define ‘customer bonding’ as ‘the process through which …the Customer and …the Advertiser develop and sustain a trusting, mutually rewarding relationship.’ Their definition takes into account that bonding is different for the customer (1995:54) ‘the decision process that goes into selecting the organizations he will buy his goods and services from or donate his hard-earned money and time to’ and the advertiser (1995:54) ‘a long-term strategic vision that will empower and inspire every element in the marketing mix.’

De Wulf et al (2001) created a model based on psychological ties which are created through relationship investments such as direct mail, preferential treatment, interpersonal 34 communications and tangible rewards. They cite Blau’s social exchange theory (1964) on reciprocity, since if the customer perceives a high level of investment on the part of the service provider, he/she is likely to feel the need to reciprocate by continuing to patronise the same provider. These marketing tactics are seen to be a differentiating factor, for example interpersonal communications between retail employee and customer are seen to play a crucial role in the perception of relationship investment.

In the context of selling, Geiger and Turley (2005:264) have noted that socialising behaviours, defined as ‘client-related activities engaged in by industrial and services sales personnel that take place outside the normal business environment’ are a part of the social bond. However they have noted the ethical implications of this type of activity, in particular, large hospitality budgets for cultivating client relationships. According to Geiger and Turley (2005), many companies have codes of conduct which govern what is and is not acceptable. More recently, the Bribery Act of 2012 has made companies who are involved in lavish hospitality a possible target for the Senior Fraud Office (King, 2012).

According to Berry (1995), bonds exist on many levels just as relationships exist on many levels. Berry and Parasuraman (1991) recognise three levels of bonding in customer retention strategies. These are from the point of view of the firm looking to build a relationship with the customer:

1. Financial;

2. Social;

3. Structural.

Berry and Parasuraman (1991) suggest that there is an order in which these bonds develop. The financial bond develops first with price being the main focus. The financial bond is the weakest bond in this hierarchy, since if the customer is only concerned with price, s/he will switch easily to a cheaper competitor therefore it is necessary to build on this bond. Secondly, the bond develops to encompass the social aspect as well as the financial, with interpersonal relationships and tailored customer communications. Thirdly, the structural form of the bond develops with a focus on mutual investments and partnership between customer and supplier. The structural bond offers value-added solutions which are difficult

35 to find elsewhere hence binding the customer to the company. Barnes (1994:563) concurs, that the structural bond is the highest form of bond as ‘the buyer is locked in, a captive customer, because the costs involved in making the break cannot be justified.’

According to Berry (1995), bonds can be used to create customer loyalty however there are different bonds applicable to different situations (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). For example, where the degree of service customisation is low and the potential for sustained competitive advantage is low, the financial bond may be used to capture customer loyalty through pricing incentives. When the level of service customisation and potential for sustained competitive advantage are medium, the social bond will be the basis of building relationships. Finally, where service customisation and sustained competitive advantage are high, the structural bond is recommended. The important point to note is the difference between the social bond which relies on individuals building relationships and the structural bond where ‘the customer’s problem is built into the service-delivery system’ (Berry, 1995:241) and the focus is on the customer’s relationship with the firm.

However Ahmad and Buttle (2001:566) disagree that structural bonds are stronger than social bonds since social bonds provide an opportunity to gather valuable market intelligence from the client ‘about competitors’ activities, customers’ future business plans and customers’ competitors’ activities.’ This information could then be used to create a structural bond tailored to the customer’s needs. Rodriguez and Wilson (2002:68) also found that it is the process of creating social bonds that ‘transforms the relationship into one of value.’

Wang (2008) refers to Berry and Parasuraman’s (1991) framework of bonding and recognises social bonding as part of the relationship marketing effort made by an organisation. She found that of the three bonding tactics, financial, social and structural, social bonding tactics had the greatest significance in determining positive relationship outcomes. Noble and Phillips (2004) also refer to this framework since they suggest that the benefits consumers receive when engaging in relationship marketing tactics motivate them to engage in these tactics.

2.3.1.3 Positive and Negative Bonds

Positive bonds are those which are based on dedication (Bendapudi and Berry, 1997) and on a genuine desire to continue the relationship. Social bonds can be seen as a relationship benefit (Gwinner et al, 1998; Patterson and Smith, 2001b; Kinard and Capella, 2006; Liljander and Roos, 2002). Liljander and Roos (2002:597) explain that ‘because relationship benefits act as bonds that tie customers to the service provider, there appear to be few conceptual differences between relationship benefits and positive relationship bonds.’ For some customers, the exchange itself and not just the outcomes is seen as a valuable part of the exchange.

Bonds can also be seen as being negative in the literature. According to Bendapudi and Berry (1997), when one party believes it cannot terminate the relationship because of economic, social or psychological costs, relationship maintenance is based on constraint. Thereby individual social bonds which develop may be seen as negatively affecting the organisational relationship. They may lead to the relationship being maintained for the wrong reasons, for example a service provider may create a situation where the customer is dependent on the company. If the customer feels dependent on the provider, s/he may feel constrained to maintain the relationship and this can form an exit barrier. However, according to Hazan and Shaver (1994:13), personal attachment can help to maintain an unsatisfying relationship ‘Even a burdensome and unsatisfying relationship can contribute to one’s sense of security.’

The social bond can act as a switching cost in a long-term relationship preventing a buyer going to an alternative supplier (Nicholson et al, 2001:12-13) ‘due not only to the comfort factor of the friendly working relationship but also to the mental, emotional, and monetary costs associated with having to establish a new relationship.’ Patterson and Smith (2001a) agree that the social bond can be seen as an important barrier to the customer leaving the relationship and also cite the comfort and friendliness of the current relationship as being a barrier to leaving. Establishing a new relationship takes time to build social bonds as well as there being a perceived risk that the new service provider may not perform the service as well as currently being received. Burnham et al (2003) found evidence of eight different switching cost facets, one of which was the cost of personal relationship loss (relational switching costs). This was described as breaking the bond of familiarity and comfort 37 established through ongoing relations with employees of the incumbent service provider (Burnham et al, 2003).

2.3.1.4 Strong and Weak Bonds

Relationship strength, according to Liljander and Strandvik (1995:159) is linked to ‘the degree of commitment that the customer feels for the service provider, the degree to which s/he concentrates his/her purchases to the firm and the bonds that exist between him/her and the firm.’ Easton and Araujo (1986:12-13) define bond strength as ‘the capacity to withstand a disruptive force’ and they draw an analogy between testing the strength of physical bonds such as adhesives and relationship strength between people to see when they break. Time is also an important factor as if the ‘force is applied gradually there is time for the partners, individually or together, to adapt their relationship to meet and withstand it.’ They (1986:14) state that it is necessary to test bonds ‘otherwise one is confined to simply listing the existence and characteristics of bonds without necessarily knowing how important they are relatively and absolutely.’

Easton and Araujo (1986) believe that weak bonds may exist for three reasons: when there is no regular contact or purchase; when customers do not wish to develop strong bonds, for example to have greater flexibility or when purchasing small volumes of non-essential goods. Granovetter (1973) found that weak ties may be preferable to strong ties in sharing information and creating innovation. He (ibid, 1973) found that people who have strong ties stay together and information received through this network is likely to be redundant but a weak network where people are loosely connected can provide new information and be a channel for innovation. However Hansen (1999) found strong ties can facilitate the transfer of complex information and tacit knowledge.

The Strength of Ties literature focuses on the differences between strong and weak ties among individuals in a network or dyad. Granovetter (1985:481) writes about the ‘problem of embeddedness’ and what can happen when there is a lack of social interaction in the business relationship (under-socialization) as well as over-socialization. Uzzi (1997) also found that in over-embedded relationships, friendship and obligations can get in the way of effective business practice. Brass et al (1998) went further to say that social networks can promote unethical behaviour and conspiracies. Indeed Adler and Kwon (2002) have 38 concluded that as bonds in network relationships become stronger, then the relationship becomes more valuable than the business opportunities available to the network. Thus bonds can become a constraint to business.

2.3.1.5 Levels of Bonding

Bonds are generally seen as existing on different levels (Wilson and Mummalaneni, 1986; Tellefsen and Thomas, 2005). The different levels recognised by researchers include: the organisational level (Möller, 1985; Wilson and Mummalaneni, 1986); the intermediate level between teams working together (Campbell, 1985; Newell et al, 2004) and the individual level (Wilson and Mummalaneni, 1986; Tellefsen and Thomas, 2005). Tellefsen and Thomas (2005) argue that the antecedents to bonds at an organisational level are different from the antecedents to bonds which take place between individuals. In addition, their findings showed that the individual bond has an impact on the organisational bond and an individual remaining in a role could increase the inter-organisational bond. Rao and Perry (2002) confirm that social bonds are personal rather than organisational however they are developed through social exchange both through formal organisational interaction and personal contact. Nicholson et al (2001) also agree that bonds may be between individuals in a firm; between an individual and a firm and between individuals working for different firms.

More recently, customer to customer bonds have also begun to be explored. Guenzi and Pelloni (2004) found that by allowing close bonds to form between a company’s customers, this increases the risk of switching if a customer’s friend changes service provider. However the study revealed that this risk is mitigated by the existence of a relationship between the customer considering a change and the service employee. It was found that overall customer satisfaction with the service provider was not an effective barrier to a customer leaving however the existence of another personal relationship (with an employee) was a barrier to switching to another provider.

2.3.1.6 Relationship-specific or Mobile

Wilson and Mummalaneni (1986) state that a bond is a specific investment in a relationship which cannot be transferred to another relationship. However Adler and Kwon (2002) have found social bonds to be transferable and able to be used for different purposes, for example, giving work and non-work-related advice. Easton and Araujo (1986:18) state that once bonds have formed, ‘re-bonding’ can take place and indeed ‘residual bonds’ remain after a relationship has terminated. Havila and Wilkinson (2002) agree that social bonds cannot be destroyed even when the relationship formally ends due to the individuals’ awareness that they may trade again in the future.

Nicholson et al (2001) propose that firms should consider how the liking a buyer has for a sales rep can be transferred to a new sales rep. In addition, where there is liking, firms need to keep sales reps assigned to buyers for the long-term in order to maintain benefits from these relationships. Andersen et al (1996) found that people transfer characteristics of a significant other to a work partner if they share key common characteristics. The feelings for the significant other get activated when the work partner bears a resemblance to the former.

Professional service organisations rely on their staff to provide a high level of personal service which includes knowledge-sharing and the maintenance of social bonds (Halinen, 1994). In the context of auditing firms such as the Big 4, a proportion of audit firm management will leave to join the client organisation and should they do so on good terms, this could develop into a meaningful social bond in the future. In addition, former employees who leave on good terms may be happy to recommend their former employer to their new company. Thus alumni are a significant source of revenue to large professional service firms such as the Big 4 audit firms which invest in alumni programmes in order to maintain the ‘business relationship energy’ (Havila and Wilkinson, 2002:191) which can bring significant benefits to the business.

2.3.2 DEMOGRAPHIC/CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES AND SOCIAL BONDS

The author’s review of the literature uncovered a number of demographic and contextual variables which have been found to have an influence on the strength of social bonds. Although it is beyond the scope of this study to cover all of these in detail, the author has briefly discussed the variables she has decided to include in her study. The author chose variables which appeared likely to make an impact on social bonds based on her review of the literature.

2.3.2.1 Length of relationship

A bond may be seen in the context of relationship marketing theory as a construct which develops over time (Halinen, 1997). In the attachment theory literature, Bowlby found that the process of forming an attachment takes two or three years on average (Bowlby, 1979). In their studies of auditor-client relationships, Levinthal and Fichman (1988) and Nasser and Wahid (2006) found that the longer the relationship continues, the less likely it is to end. Fichman and Levinthal (1991) found that audit relationships begin with a honeymoon period in which bonds are one of the assets which maintain the relationship. Nicholson et al (2001:12) included length of relationship as an important variable in their study since ‘clearly the relationship of one year between buyer and sales rep is going to be qualitatively different from one where the same people have worked with each other for years.’ However Easton and Araujo (1986) state that since relationships change over time, its length cannot be a good predictor of its strength. Adler and Kwon (2002) also note that social bonds need to be renewed and reconfirmed in order to maintain their effectiveness.

2.3.2.2 Gender, Age and Position

Smith’s (1998) empirical study of bonds in buyer-seller relationships tested for gender differences among four dyads: male suppliers-male buyers, male suppliers-female buyers, female suppliers-male buyers and female suppliers-female buyers. Gender was not found to have significant impact on social bonds. However the preliminary interviews in Smith’s (1998) study appeared to indicate there may be some issues which could pose barriers to effective male-female buyer-seller relationships such as age and sexuality.

Byrne’s (1971) similarity-attraction paradigm is based on individuals being attracted to other individuals who are similar to themselves. One of these similarities could be age but the author was unable to find empirical research which tested the effect of similar age on social bonds in a business relationship. However Lambert-Pandraud and Laurent (2010) found that older consumers form an attachment to brands for longer and prefer well- established brands while younger consumers tend to change their preferences more often. They found that consumers initiate long-term attachment at any age but older consumers have relationships of longer duration. This is because affective bonds develop over time as a result of their personal history and usage of the brand or product. Consumers’ memories of using the brand can also strengthen their attachment. Therefore older clients may develop stronger social bonds with service providers due to the history of their working relationship and if memorable experiences have occurred during that time.

The literature has shown that the respondent’s position may be a differentiating variable in the strength of bonds. Bonds develop at different levels in the organisation (Halinen 1997). Seabright et al (1992) found that the individual attachment of the Chief Financial Officer decreases the likelihood of the auditor-client relationship ending even when there is a change in the client’s resource needs. However the Chief Executive Officer’s attachment was not significant since the CEO is not directly responsible for the finance function and is not involved in the working relationship.

2.3.2.3 Culture

The impact of national culture on social bonding has shown interesting results. Williams et al (1998) found that individualist national cultures have a less personal orientation while a collectivist national culture has a stronger need for interpersonal orientation. Dash et al (2009) have similarly found that Indian banking business customers (low individualism) have stronger social bonds than Canadian banking customers (high individualist culture). However Rodriguez and Wilson’s study (2002) on bonding in strategic alliances between US (individualist) and Mexican (collectivist) partners did not find a significant different in managers’ strength of social bonds towards each other.

Patterson and Smith (2001a) examined social bonds in Thai culture where harmonious relationships are important however they note the difficulty of establishing social bonds in 42 certain professional services relationships due to the higher social status of the service provider. The authors (ibid, 2001a) explain that due to the hierarchical nature of social standing in Thailand, a friendship-type relationship with a doctor or travel agent is not possible since their occupation is likely to be more prestigious than that of their clients. Armstrong and Seng (2000) compared the differences between relationship marketing and guanxi which is an important concept in Chinese business relationships. In guanxi, the personal relationship develops before the business relationship and researchers have noted different features of this type of highly involved relationship which are not prevalent in Western business relationships such as ingenuity, creativity and flexibility cultivated through a person’s network of connections (Leung et al, 1996). Therefore guanxi is seen as being a particular Chinese cultural phenomenon and not the same as the social bond.

2.3.2.4 Type of Service and Company Size

Type of service may also have an impact on the development of social bonds (Patterson and Smith, 2001a) as social bonds were found to have an impact on commitment in hairdressing and automotive services but not in travel services. Yim et al (2008) found that different social bonds can develop depending on the nature of the business, for example, intimacy and passion were the main bonds which customers developed for fast-food outlets but intimacy and commitment were the basis for customers’ bonds with hair salons. This was suggested by the authors (Yim et al, 2008) to be due to the importance of people in the service encounter. People serving at fast-food restaurants play a smaller role therefore passion for the restaurant becomes a stronger bond while the personal relationship with the hair stylist is more important therefore customers are committed to that person.

Levinthal and Fichman (1988) found that smaller organisations are more likely to change their auditor than larger clients. Among the reasons given were that smaller businesses are more likely to dissolve than larger businesses and smaller firms are more likely to experience changes which can impact on their resource requirements and so a change in auditor may be required. However as discovered by Seabright et al (1992), individual attachments can form an effective barrier to prevent a change in auditor.

2.3.3 OUTCOMES OF SOCIAL BONDS

Bonds are seen to be beneficial in strengthening the relationship and making it more stable and long-term (Halinen, 1994). However social bonding is not an end in itself in business since it needs to support not only personal preferences but also the goals of the organisation. In the workplace, these outcomes may be personal or professional or a combination of both. According to Nahapiet and Ghoshal, (1998) positive internal relationships are important to organisations because they are fundamental to creating intellectual capital. However since social bonds develop at an individual level, the positive outcomes could cease when there is a change of person providing the service. Paulin and Ferguson (2000) found that changing account managers in a professional services context impacted negatively on client satisfaction, service quality, purchase intentions and willingness to recommend the service provider. In addition, clients who had experienced a change of account manager stated that they were more likely to switch to another provider. This section discusses the main outcomes of social bonding which show the importance of this relationship construct in managing business relationships.

2.3.3.1 Social bonds as an Antecedent to Value

Where there are low economies of scale and the firm cannot compete on price, Johnson and Selnes (2004) suggest that value can be created through the creation of closer relationships. Closer relationships have been found to increase the costs that a competitor incurs to get the customer to switch from the incumbent firm (Johnson and Selnes, 2004; Fornell, 1992). In addition, the incumbent firm itself bears increased costs when moving the customer from an acquaintance into a friendship through investing in the relationship (Johnson and Selnes, 2004; Bendapudi and Berry, 1997). However Ulaga and Eggert (2006) found that relationship benefits are among key differentiators in buyer-seller relationships and the supplier’s service support and personal interaction were more valued by customers than cost considerations. Wilson (1995) and Liu (2006) have also suggested social bonds to be an antecedent to relationship value.

2.3.3.2 Social bonds as an Antecedent to Customer Retention

According to Buttle et al (2002:3) ‘customer satisfaction with product and service is no longer enough to guarantee customer retention.’ They (ibid, 2002) state that it is necessary to develop bonds with customers in order to retain them. Liljander and Strandvik (1995) state that bonds act as a barrier preventing the customer from switching service providers even when the service provided is of low quality. Wathne et al (2000) agree that interpersonal bonds between boundary spanning personnel lower the likelihood of switching to another service provider. Johnson and Selnes (2004) also found that the progression of an exchange relationship towards friendship lowers the probability of customers switching to a competitor as the need to find alternatives is reduced. Nicholson et al (2001) found liking to be an affective bond which enhances both perceived and real switching costs and can prevent switching to an alternative supplier. The friendly working relationship (Nicholson et al, 2001) and emotional costs act as a barrier to beginning a new relationship.

2.3.3.3 Social bonds as an antecedent to Loyalty and Word-of-Mouth Recommendations

According to Berry (1995), social bonds can be used to create customer loyalty through personalisation and customisation of the relationship in particular when competitive differences are not strong. In addition Lin et al (2003) found that the social bond is most significant in creating loyalty in a physical environment but other bonds (economic and structural) are more important for developing online customer loyalty. Yim et al (2008) found that intimacy and passion are the two social bonds which build customer loyalty. Price and Arnould (1999) found that commercial friendships led to a greater likelihood of recommendation (positive word of mouth) which is recognised as a dimension of loyalty. Murray (1991) has also noted the importance of word of mouth recommendations in the context of professional services since they carry greater risk as they are difficult for customers to evaluate, having high experience and credence qualities

2.3.3.4 Social bonds as an Antecedent to Trust

Nicholson et al (2001) have found the social bond based on liking to be an antecedent of trust. Bendapudi and Berry (1997) have also shown social bonds to be an antecedent of trust. However Gounaris and Venetis (2002) found customer bonds to be an antecedent of trust in the early stage of a relationship but when the relationship matures, the effect of bonds declines and instead quality becomes more important.

2.3.3.5 Social bonds as an Antecedent to Satisfaction

In Peltier and Scovotti’s study (2004), the social bond was the most influential factor in impacting on customer satisfaction in healthcare relationships. Thomson et al (2005) also believe that emotional attachment (which includes bonding) is likely to impact positively on satisfaction. Guenzi and Pelloni (2004) found that customer relationships with front- line employees positively affect customer satisfaction and loyalty towards the firm. Customer-employee relationships can be a barrier to customers leaving the firm when other customers, who they have become friendly with, leave. According to Price and Arnould (1999), there is a positive correlation between friendship towards the service employee and overall service satisfaction. Gremler et al (2001) also found a positive relationship between the interpersonal bond (friendship with the service employee) and overall satisfaction.

2.4 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

One of the challenges of researching the marketing and services literature on bonding is that a number of books and papers on the subject do not offer any theoretical framework to explain social bonds (Buttle et al, 2002; Cann, 1998; Gounaris and Venetis, 2002; Thao and Swierczek, 2008). Arantola’s (2002) conceptual study of the literature on bonds proposes a definition of bonds, gives a classification of bond types and discusses the development of the concept and its characteristics. However it does not mention theoretical frameworks in relation to bonds. Chapter 3 on Preliminary Scale Development in this thesis gives an analysis of twelve existing scales of social bonds however nine of these are not based on a comprehensive theoretical framework. The theoretical framework is important as it provides a particular perspective through which to examine social bonds, as the concept under investigation. It can help to focus the research, analyse the findings and offer new insights into the areas being examined. The theoretical framework should frame or inform every aspect of the research (Trent University, 2013).

The author will use two existing social-psychology theories as her theoretical framework to develop her scale of social bonds: Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love (1997) and Attachment Theory. Both theories will be analysed in detail in this chapter. The reasons why these theories were chosen to support the current research are briefly summarised below:

 Existing definitions and descriptions of the social bond (see 2.2.3 of this Literature Review) show this concept to be related to liking and attachment;

 Attachment theory has been widely used to explain how people form attachments to fulfil their emotional needs and provides a solid framework to explain how and why social bonds form;

 The theories are well-established, compatible (Shaver et al, 1988) and have been tested in previous studies (e.g. Yim et al, 2008) but have not been used so far in social bond scale development so can offer new insights into this concept;

 The theories are able to offer support for a multidimensional scale of social bonds by offering four potential social bonds: intimacy, passion and commitment (Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love) and intimacy and security (Attachment Theory).

2.4.1 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

A number of theories of love have been proposed in the social-psychology literature. One of the most popular theories which has been found to be reliable as a tool to measure love (Graham and Christiansen, 2009) and applicable in examining customer relationships in a services environment (Yim et al, 2008) is Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love. Sternberg’s theory (1986) encompasses liking as a type of love and liking is recognised in the literature to be a significant driver of relationship maintenance and the development of emotional bonds (Nicholson et al, 2001). According to Buss (1988:109) love is a naturally occurring social category which may blend into the categories of liking, friendship or passion: ‘Empirical work is needed to identify the fuzzy boundaries of each category, their relations to each other and the transition zones between them.’ Since love is compared to liking in the literature (Rubin, 1970; Sternberg, 1987; Davies and Todd, 1982), love theory may be seen to be relevant in explaining business relationships based on liking. Therefore there is scope for testing love theories to see whether they can be applied to relationships in a business environment.

Sternberg’s (1986) Triangular Theory of Love suggests that love is composed of three components: Intimacy (described as ‘feelings of closeness, connectedness and bondedness’ p.119) which is based on emotion; Passion (‘romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation’ p.119) which is based on motivation; and Decision/Commitment (‘the short-term ... decision that one loves someone...and...the long-term...commitment to maintain that love’ p.119) which is based on cognition. Intimacy, passion and commitment have also been confirmed as a three-dimensional prototype of love by Aron and Westbay (1996) who carried out a factor analysis of Fehr’s (1988) 68 items based on a prototype of love and found the same three dimensions.

Sternberg and Grajek (1984) propose that their theory of love is consistent across different types of relationship such as romantic, family and friendship. Sternberg (1986) provides a 48 taxonomy of eight kinds of love and one of these types of love is ‘liking’. Wilson’s (1995:339) definition of the social bond ‘the degree of mutual personal friendship and liking shared by the buyer and seller’ is most commonly used among researchers developing social bond scales.

2.4.1.1 Intimacy

According to Sternberg (1986) intimacy is characterised by bondedness and connectedness and is a highly significant feature of long-term relationships. Intimacy has been defined by Hatfield (1988) as a companionate love characterised by friendship, understanding and a concern for the welfare of the other. Intimacy has been described as a social bond by Coulter and Ligas, (2004). Intimacy is similar to or synonymous with closeness which has also been recognised as a social bond in the literature (Ahmad and Buttle, 2001; Liang and Wang 2007; Nielson, 1996; Nielson 1998) and was found by Marsden and Campbell (1984) to be the best indicator of the strength of friendship ties. According to Parks and Floyd (1996) closeness and intimacy are the two most common root terms in the study of personal relationships. However Beetles and Harris (2010) note that while commitment has been extensively explored, intimacy has not attracted the same level of research attention in the services marketing literature. According to Holmes (2000) the most successful relationships are ones where partners have a similar view on closeness or intimacy.

2.4.1.2 Passion

Passion and intimacy are included in Davis and Latty-Mann’s (1987) Relationship Rating form to measure love and friendship. Davis and Todd (1982) extensively review the literature on love and friendship and compare features of these relationships, showing that they share some common elements however they differ in the depth of passion. While love is said to be characterised by ‘fascination, exclusiveness and sexual desire’ (Davis and Todd, 1982:79), friendship involves passion to a lesser extent. Sternberg’s (1986) taxonomy of eight kinds of love also confirms that ‘liking’ as a type of love lacks passion but contains a high level of intimacy. However passion was found to be an important dimension of strong, affectionate bonds between customers and staff and customers and firms in a services context (Yim et al, 2008) and a key dimension of love towards a brand 49

(Albert et al, 2008). Passion can also be said to be similar to emotional intensity, which Granovetter (1973) found to be one of the four dimensions of tie strength.

According to Vallerand et al (2003), passion has received little attention in the psychology literature and their research into passion towards activities (rather than passionate/sexual relationships) provides additional insights into passion as a concept within a business environment. Vallerand et al (2003) have found interpersonal relationships to be a type of passionate activity. Passion is ‘a strong inclination toward an activity’ (Vallerand et al, 2003:757) which people participate in to satisfy basic psychological needs such as autonomy ‘a desire to feel a sense of personal initiative; competence ‘a desire to interact effectively with the environment’; and relatedness ‘a desire to feel connected to significant others’.

Vallerand et al (2003) differentiate between passion and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Passion is suggested to be internalised in the person’s identity however intrinsic motivation is seen as emerging from the person-task interaction. Extrinsic motivation involves engaging in an activity to obtain something outside the activity and is not related to liking as is passion. Harmonious passion at work was found to be positively related to affective commitment (Forest et al, 2011)

2.4.1.3 Commitment

Commitment is the third of Sternberg’s dimensions of love (Sternberg, 1986). Hirschi, (1969), McCall (1970) and Wilson and Mummalaneni, (1986) have all included commitment as a social bond in their respective social bonding framework. Kelley et al, (1983) confirms the close relationship between love and commitment. Individuals’ emotional attachments to a person have been found to predict their commitment to the relationship with this person (Thomson et al, 2005). A number of researchers (Perry et al, 2002; Mavondo and Rodrigo, 2001; Allen and Meyer, 1990; Sharma et al, 2006) also relate social bonds to affective commitment. Seabright et al (1992) found that individual bonds between contact persons play a significant part in building commitment.

Meyer and Smith (2000:320) found that affective commitment ‘reflects an emotional attachment to…an organization’ and Gruen et al (2000:37) found that it reflected an 50 individual’s ‘psychological bond’ with the service provider. Affective commitment is defined as the sense of unity binding buyers to suppliers (Kim and Frazier, 1997). Geyskens et al (1996) suggest that affective commitment reflects how much the parties involved like to maintain their relationship. In her study of commitment in professional services relationships between clients and lawyers, Frow (2008) found that affective commitment was most often mentioned than other types of commitment. Kumar et al (1994) found that affective commitment has more positive outcomes than calculative commitment which is based on weighing up the costs and benefits of leaving a relationship. They (ibid, 1994) found that the consequences of affective commitment include a willingness to invest more in the relationship, an increased level of performance and resistance to opportunistic behaviour.

Evanschitzky et al (2006) found that service providers need to focus on enhancing affective commitment through customer attachment rather than economic incentives which are less important in ensuring long-term customer loyalty. Affective commitment was found to lead to loyalty as repurchase intentions and repeat patronage behaviours. Fullerton (2003) also found that affective commitment has a more significant impact on customer retention than continuance commitment. Affective commitment has a positive effect on advocacy and willingness to pay more for the service. However some researchers such as Cater and Zabkar (2009) suggest that commitment is a separate concept from social bonds and have shown that social bonds have a positive influence on affective commitment.

Lund (1985) found a high degree of conceptual overlap between love and commitment. Fullerton (2003:334) states that ‘when consumers come to like (or, in some cases, love) brands or service providers, they are experiencing the psychological state of affective commitment.’ Mummalaneni and Wilson (1991) found that buyers and sellers who have a strong personal relationship are more committed to maintaining the relationship than less socially bonded partners. Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995b) propose that a relationship which creates value through partnership between service provider and customer is likely to create a bond which enhances the relationship and leads to greater commitment. The consumer then reduces his/her choice of service provider and becomes less likely to do business elsewhere.

Halinen (1997:263) found that personal relationships have an impact on commitment in the context of advertising agency and client: ‘the existence of strong personal relationships and an intensive inter-firm network of personal relationships proved to be important antecedents of commitment.’ Buttle et al (2002) have commented that commitment may emerge if both sides have a positive view of the social bond. Mummalaneni and Wilson (1991) found a difference in the level of commitment to the relationship between buyers and sellers with a strong personal relationship (who were more committed) and those with a weaker social bond (who were less committed). In their study of auditor-client relationships, Seabright et al (1992) found that the social bond of the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accountant with the auditor is significant in preventing relationship dissolution.

2.4.2 Attachment Theory

Attachment theory has been widely recognised as providing a framework for understanding love and the development of affectional bonds (Hazan and Shaver, 1987; Ainsworth, 1989). Bowlby (1980:442) states that ‘intimate attachments to other human beings are the hub around which a person’s life revolves.’ Attachment theory has its roots in psychology and related literatures such as psychoanalysis and is based on the most primitive and basic relationship, that between mother and child (Parkes et al, 1991:1):

‘The human infant’s attachment to it mother (or other primary caregiver) is a prerequisite for survival and a test-bed for all the other attachments he or she will make. Out of this first relationship stems a set of expectations and assumptions which will influence subsequent relationships – and which will not easily be changed – or so attachment theory and the research which spawned it implies.’

Two researchers have been particularly recognised for their work in this field. John Bowlby (1973, 1979, 1980, 1984) was influenced by the bonding behaviour of birds and mammals in his insight into the inborn need for a mother figure and the harmful effect on the child when the mother is absent or avoidant. Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970) conducted experiments to discover the impact of separation from the mother on the child. Attachment theory is concerned with the proximity of the mother or primary

52 attachment figure: ‘when I am close to my loved one I feel good, when I am far away I am anxious, sad and lonely’ (Holmes, 1993:67).

Attachment theory implies that beliefs and feelings about the self are determined in part by the responsiveness of the caregiving environment to individual needs for comfort and security (Bowlby, 1973:238):

‘Confidence that an attachment figure is, apart from being accessible, likely to be responsive, can be seen to turn on at least two variables: a) whether or not the attachment figure is judged to be the sort of person who in general responds to calls for support and protection; [and] b) whether or not the self is judged to be the sort of person towards whom anyone, and the attachment figure in particular, is likely to respond in a helpful way.’

Bowlby (1973:202) proposed that the attachment style and mental models of self and social life evolve from infancy and continue into adulthood: ‘confidence in the availability of attachment figures, or lack of it, is build up slowly during the years of immaturity – infancy, childhood and adolescence – and that whatever expectations are developed during those years tend to persist relatively unchanged throughout the rest of life.’ Researchers expanding the work of Bowlby into new areas such as romantic and peer relationships agree that the effects of childhood attachment relationships extend into adulthood (Bartholomew and Shaver, 1998). Indeed Weiss (1982:173) proposes that attachment may be present in all adult relationships ‘in which there is affection, solicitude and desire for continued contact. Might not attachment, perhaps at a low level, be present in most friendships…relationships with physicians and other professionals…for whom there is a genuine regard?’

Ainsworth (1982) notes that there is one principal attachment figure and that there can also be secondary attachment figures. She describes an attachment figure as: ‘a uniquely valued person, not interchangeable with anyone else who might play a similar role (Ainsworth, 1991:44). This could be similar to the model of key account management in an organisation when one person takes care of the relationship on behalf of the organisation and is the main point of contact for the client. In addition, Mayseless and Popper (2007) refer to attachment as a spectrum which suggests that attachment can be stronger such as 53 the attachment of a child for a parent and weaker such as the attachment of a client for a service provider. Ainsworth and Bell (1970:50) distinguish between attachment (which is long-lasting) and attachment behaviour (which is more temporary and could be affected by the situation or environment):

‘An attachment may be defined as an affectional tie that one person or animal forms between himself and another specific one—a tie that hinds them together in space and endures over time. The behavioral hallmark of attachment is seeking to gain and to maintain a certain degree of proximity to the object of attachment, which ranges from close physical contact under some circumstances to interaction or communication across some distance under other circumstances.

Attachment behaviors are behaviors which promote proximity or contact. In the human infant these include active proximity- and contact-seeking behaviors such as approaching, following, and clinging, and signaling behaviors such as smiling, crying, and calling.’

Ainsworth (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970:50) conducted experiments with one year old children in a controlled situation when their mother left the room and they were subjected to stressful episodes such as a stranger approaching them. The reaction of the babies was then observed on the mother’s return. The findings of these experiments showed three different attachment styles of children to their mother: secure, avoidant and anxious. Research into the impacts of these attachment styles in various contexts has produced a significant body of literature. For example, Hazan and Shaver (1987) used Ainsworth’s findings to devise a self-report questionnaire for adults to show the relationship between attachment styles and adult relationships. Their research tested the attachment theory approach to adult romantic love.

Hazan and Shaver (1990:270) developed their ideas of attachment theory beyond love and romantic relationships: ‘attachment theory is not limited to love. It explains where and how love fits into the broader context of human functioning.’ According to Hazan and Shaver (1990) attachment theory can also accommodate relationships at work. They (ibid, 1990) suggest that work can be seen as the childhood equivalent of play and exploration as adults tend to seek proximity to an attachment figure and move away from that figure to 54 explore their environment. Hazan and Shaver (1990) found attitudes to work to correspond with the three attachment styles of secure, anxious and avoidant (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970). Adults who had a secure attachment style reported a secure orientation towards work, with a high rating of success, satisfaction and fewer work-related anxieties. Anxious-ambivalent adults on the other hand used their work to satisfy attachment needs and preferred to work as part of a team, wanting to please others and unable to finish a project or meet deadlines. Finally, the avoidant adults preferred to work alone and used work as an excuse to avoid socialising, finishing projects or taking holidays.

Mayseless and Popper (2007:74) argue that the dynamics of attachment can be extended to: ‘the variety of different efforts that individuals engage in to maintain a sense of security.’ Attachment is based on ‘a universal need to belong; a pervasive drive to form and maintain lasting, positive and significant interpersonal relations such as affiliation with peers, close friendships, romantic ties, and group membership.’ They (ibid, 2007:81) used attachment theory to examine attachments between leaders and followers where the leader is strong and wise, offering security and protecting and advising the follower ‘especially in times of turmoil and danger.’

Mayseless and Popper (2007:78) propose that:

‘A school or college, a work group, a religious group or a political group can come to constitute for many people a subordinate attachment “figure,” and for some people a principal attachment “figure.” In such cases, it seems probable, the development of attachment to a group is mediated, or at least initially, by attachment to a person holding a prominent position within that group.’

Mikulincer and Shaver (2003) agree that attachment strategies can be directed at non- romantic partners including managers within a business setting and even groups and organisations. It is argued that attachment theory may be particularly well suited to explain social bonds in professional services business relationships since ‘the lack of concreteness of many services increases the value of the persons responsible for delivering them’ (Crosby et al, 1990: 68). According to Weiss (1982), adults’ attachments to peers are characterised by seeking out attachment figures when under duress, by experiencing anxiety when these figures are inaccessible, and by feeling comforted in their company. Again, this phenomenon could also apply to business relationships, in the client relating to

55 the service provider as a wiser father or mother figure and the attachment system being activated when difficulties arise at work: ‘It is likely that such transference would most often occur when individuals feel themselves inadequate to the challenges confronting them and seek a strengthening alliance’ (Weiss, 1991:75).

A number of researchers (Ainsworth, 1982; Weiss, 1982; Hazan and Shaver, 1994; Mikulincer and Shaver, 2003; Mayseless and Popper, 2007 and others) have suggested three features which define attachment in a relationship: the first is safe haven which is based on turning to the attachment figure for reassurance, comfort and protection; the second is secure base which is founded on the attachment figure being available and reliable; and the third is proximity maintenance which is based on wanting to be close to the attachment figure and resisting separation.

These features have been used by researchers to create scale dimensions based on attachment theory. For example, Paulssen (2009) created a construct called business attachment with two dimensions: secure attachment (the ability and willingness to rely on business partners) and close attachment (the ability and willingness to develop personal bonds with business partners). According to Paulssen (2009), in personal relationships, secure and close attachment are closely related but in business-to-business relationships these constructs are separate. He tested his business attachment scale and found that secure attachment impacts on trust, satisfaction and loyalty intentions but close attachment does not. Paulssen (2009) refers to the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group literature to support this result as researchers found that some customers prefer closer business relationships while others prefer more distant relationships (Witkowski and Thibodeau, 2009).

Thomson and Johnson (2006) found that attachment styles influence consumer perceptions of their relationships with brands and service providers. They used two of the attachment styles from the literature, avoidant (how comfortable people are in close relationships) and anxious (how prepared people are to depend on others in close relationships) in their study of consumer relationships. Thomson and Johnson (2006) found that consumers with higher scores on avoidance and anxiety dimensions experienced more positive emotions and greater satisfaction in commercial relationships. This is supported by Rosenbaum (2009)

56 who has suggested that commercial friendships can become important to customers’ personal lives.

Mende et al’s (2013) study in the context of insurance services found that customers with attachment anxiety prefer to be closer to the insurance firm but those with attachment avoidance prefer to be more distant. They suggest that the insurance firm may segment its customers based on attachment style, with anxious customers receiving more frequent contact than avoidant customers but also bearing in mind the impact of additional marketing costs on customer profitability.

Bretherton (1996) found that secure attachment is associated with a more emotionally open and fluent communication style within the relationship. Collins and Read (1990) and Hazan and Shaver (1987) found that secure individuals were found to have more trusting, happy, intimate, and friendly close relationships with others. Mikulincer (1998) also found a relationship between security and intimacy as did Hatfield (1988) who suggests that how much companionate love we feel for others should be a direct function of how secure and pleasant we find their company to be. Madey and Rodgers (2009) found that secure attachment leads to intimacy and commitment which predict greater relationship satisfaction.

2.4.3 Combining Sternberg’s Theory with Attachment Theory

According to Yim et al (2008:743) ‘both attachment theory and Sternberg’s love theory define people’s affectionate bonds with other people.’ Sternberg (1997:33) also recognises that his Triangular Theory of Love can be combined with attachment theory to try to explain ‘the complexity of love.’ Indeed Bowlby (1979:69) described the relationship between love and attachment:

‘Affectional (attachment) bonds and subjective states of strong emotion tend to go together...the formation of a bond is described as falling in love, maintaining a bond as a loving relationship and losing a partner as grieving over someone.’

Shaver et al (1988) mapped Sternberg’s three dimensions of love (intimacy, commitment and passion) onto the three biological systems of attachment theory (attachment, 57 caregiving and sexuality). The smooth operation of the three systems is vital to forming and maintaining intimate, satisfying and long-lasting relationships (Shaver and Mikulincer, 2006).

Following her review of the literature, the author has mapped the four social bonds she is proposing to use for her research (intimacy, passion, affective commitment and security) onto Shaver et al’s (1988) framework below. Figure 2.1 on the next page shows how the four social bonds fit into the combined theoretical framework of attachment theory and Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love. Attachment theory supports the bonds of security and intimacy and Sternberg’s theory supports the bonds of intimacy, passion and commitment. However the author has replaced Sternberg’s original commitment dimension with affective commitment as the literature has indicated that it is more likely to be a social bond.

As may be seen in the model, the author has mapped the security bond to attachment since this construct is underpinned by a secure base and safe haven which are features of attachment as previously discussed. The intimacy bond is supported by both the attachment system (as proximity-seeking is a feature of attachment) and the care-giving system which reflects the nature of the bond as given in the literature: ‘Intimacy involves feeling understood, validated, cared for and closely connected with another person’ (Reis and Shaver, 1988:385). The passion bond is supported by the sexuality system however it will be necessary to consider in scale development how passion/sexuality can be transferred into a business environment. Finally, the new affective commitment bond is supported by the attachment and care-giving systems which Shaver et al (1988) also show as supporting Sternberg’s commitment dimension. Affective commitment is based on liking which has been found to be a type of love (Sternberg, 1986) therefore it appears to be better supported by the theoretical framework than commitment.

Figure 2.1 Theoretical Framework

Authors Attachment Care giving Sexuality

Sternberg (1986) Intimacy and Commitment Passion

Krolikowska Security bond Passion bond

Intimacy bond

Affective commitment bond

(Adapted from Shaver, Hazan and Bradshaw, 1988) Previous Conceptions of Love Components Compared with Attachment Theory’s Attachment, Care-giving and Sexuality Components

2.4.4 Alternative Theories

The author reviewed two alternative theories which could have been used as the theoretical framework for this study however they were rejected in favour of attachment and liking theories. The author will briefly outline the alternative theories and the reasons why they were not chosen for her research.

2.4.4.1 Social Exchange Theory

Jancic and Zabkar (2002:666) refer to social exchange theory as ‘one of the more important foundations of marketing theory building...especially in connection with marketing relationships.’ Social Exchange Theory has been used by researchers who have developed unidimensional scales of social bonds (Smith, 1998; Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002). Social exchange theory does not identify types of social bonds however it does provide an explanation of why bonding may occur – that it is based on rewards obtained or expected to be obtained from a relationship. It provides a cognitive or instrumental basis for bond development. This can be said to be the opposite motive to attachment theory and liking which have an emotional or affective basis. However, according to Blau (1964) social exchange underpins relationships between individuals including those with intimate attachments.

Social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) is based on costs (negative bonds) and rewards (positive bonds) involved in a relationship. The relationship parties evaluate the costs incurred versus the rewards gained from the relationship. In addition, they compare this relationship to alternative relationships to evaluate whether the exchange is a favourable one. A favourable relationship is one where the party receives particular rewards which cannot be obtained elsewhere. It is important to state that social exchange theory can play a role in love and friendship and not just business however it differs from love in that its focus is on benefits of extrinsic value (Blau, 1964).

Social exchange theory recognises the social bond as part of an exchange relationship in which the bond may lead to a reward or in cases where the relationship is enjoyable, the bond itself may be the reward. A number of researchers who have developed scales of social bonds have used social exchange theory to underpin their scale development (Smith, 60

1998; Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002; Mavondo and Rodrigo, 2001). The exchange of gifts has been mentioned as leading to friendship bonds (Blau, 1964) and this appears as an item in Lin et al’s (2003) scale of the social bonds: ‘I can receive greeting cards and gifts on special days.’ The theory postulates, that the receiver of the gifts would feel obliged to return the favour and maintain the relationship.

Social exchange theory has not been used in the current study because it seems more appropriate in identifying social benefits rather than social bonds since social benefits have a more instrumental basis compared to social bonds which have an affective basis. Sweeney and Webb (2007) used social exchange theory to support their scale of social benefits which includes items based on working together and sharing information. Gwinner et al (1998) also developed a scale of social benefits based on familiarity and recognition which shows that the social aspects of a relationship can be viewed as benefits from the customer’s perspective. However social benefits are not the same as social bonds which are based on liking and attachment.

2.4.4.2 Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory

Hirschi’s social control or social bonding theory (1969) was developed in order to understand social conformity (i.e. the bond between the individual and society) in the context of juvenile delinquent behaviours. Hirschi (1969) presents four social bonds which tie the individual to family and others in society and prevents him or her from committing criminal acts. According to Hirschi (1969), there are four social bonds: attachment - which involves sensitivity to opinions of others; commitment - when people care about what they might lose when they engage in deviant behaviour; involvement - in activities which support the social norm, giving less opportunity to become involved in deviant behaviour; and belief - in society’s norms which means the person will be more likely to conform to them. Chriss (2007) shows how the four social bonds operate at different levels:

Table 2.3 Elements of the Social Bond

Level Element Description

Behavioural Involvement Time spent in conventional activities

Cognitive Commitment Rational calculation of the costs of lawbreaking for future goals

Affective Attachment Emotional closeness to family, peers and schools

Evaluative Belief Ideas that support a conventional orientation

(adapted from Hirschi (1996) and Livingston (1996) cited by Chriss (2007:692)

Chriss (2007) discusses how Hirschi’s (1969) theory may be helpful in trying to understand the social system of the workplace as well as the wider social system which individuals inhabit. Social bonding takes place within a system which is oriented towards the goal of maintaining the system and its equilibrium. Therefore the people within it should be motivated to support the system through the mechanisms of socialisation and social control. There are expectations of people to behave a certain way in society and the workplace in order to support the system. Social control supports socialisation in preventing people from deviation.

Within the workplace, social bonding will have certain restrictions or norms which individuals are expected to adhere to. Social bonding theory has been used to explain ethical rule breaking by employees (Sims, 2002). The greater the social bond, the more likely a person will conform to society’s expectations or in the work environment, to organisational expectations. This theory has relevance to the development of the social bond in a business environment since the individuals involved in the relationship may be motivated by maintaining the status quo and conforming to organisational expectations in developing a social bond.

Hirschi’s social bonding theory (1969) was not used in this study as the theory suggests that bonds which develop are a means to restrict and constrain the individual’s behaviour. While this is a positive outcome in the setting of juvenile delinquency as bonds act as a barrier to committing crime, it may be argued that it is not necessarily a positive outcome in business. Bendapudi and Berry (1997) suggest that relationships based on dedication

62 should lead to a greater willingness to build the relationship and reduce inclination to seek alternative partners. However a relationship based on constraint and expectations of people to behave a certain way may not be enjoyed by the individuals involved so they may be less likely to invest emotionally in these relationships. Organisations may try to control business relationships as part of their strategy and at a junior level, organisational norms and expectations may need to be more firmly reinforced due to a lack of experience in managing client relationships. However at more senior levels, individuals value the autonomy of managing the relationship themselves, benefitting at an individual level from the relationship and not necessarily conforming to every rule. This is supported by Pierce et al (2004) who argue that responsibility, caring and nurturing are enhanced by the individual’s sense of ownership, in this case, ownership of the business relationship. Therefore the author selected the theories of attachment and liking since these appeared to support business relationships based on dedication rather than constraint.

Conclusion

The literature review has brought together the context of the study: business relationships between clients and professional service providers with the central construct of the social bond and the theoretical framework of attachment and liking. These are the key areas on which the research question is based and provide the scope for the study.

The literature has been reviewed in order to gain an understanding of the context of the study which is business relationships in a services environment and more specifically, professional services relationships. Definitions of professional services have been discussed since researchers differ in defining this term and in identifying the characteristics and types of professional services. The social bond has been identified as one of the relationship bonds. Definitions and conceptual descriptions of the social bond are presented and discussed and the main characteristics and outcomes of social bonds are established. Where literature has been available, the author has tried to contextualise this discussion specifically within professional services. The final part of the literature review sets out the theoretical framework which includes a detailed review of Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love and attachment theory. The compatibility of these theories is also confirmed. In addition, two theories which were not chosen for the study are briefly reviewed in order to provide a rationale for the choice of theoretical framework. 63

The Literature Review has provided a foundation for the study of social bonds in clients’ relationships with professional service providers. The next chapter sets out the Preliminary Scale Development which begins with a review of social bond scales already in existence and an evaluation of how the existing scales can be used in the author’s work. This is followed by the author’s own process of building her preliminary social bond scale from the literature.

CHAPTER 3 PRELIMINARY SCALE DEVELOPMENT

The development of a multidimensional scale to measure social bonds is the main aim of this study. Scale development takes place in three phases as described below:

Phase 1 The Preliminary Scale following analysis of secondary data collected from a review of the literature which is presented in this chapter (Tables 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4); Phase 2 The Modified Scale following analysis of the qualitative data collected from the interview stage of the research which is shown in Appendix 7; Phase 3 The Final Scale following exploratory factor analysis conducted on the quantitative data collected through the questionnaire survey which is shown in Chapter 6 Tables 6.5 and 6.6 on page 232.

Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to begin the process of scale development and present the outcome of this phase of the research in the form of a preliminary scale of four social bonds. DeVellis (1991:7) has noted that ‘measuring elusive, intangible phenomena derived from multiple, evolving theories poses a real challenge to social science researchers.’ It is this challenge which the author has undertaken since the social bond is a latent variable which cannot be measured by observation and may be explained by using different theories as discussed in the Literature Review.

DeVellis (1991:9) endorses the development of ‘a carefully constructed and validated scale’ when the researcher cannot use behaviour to observe the phenomenon. Hair et al (1998) describe a summated (or multi-item) scale as representing the multiple aspects of a concept in a single measure. Both DeVellis (1991) and Churchill (1979) recommend the creation of multi-item scales in preference to single-item scales since the former can overcome challenges in measurement. Individual item scales, according to Churchill (1979), can have a low correlation to the item being measured and also relate to other attributes; they can usually distinguish only a small number of groups; and can have significant measurement error, lacking reliability when used repeatedly. Churchill (1979) proposes multi-item scales which reduce these problems: the uniqueness of items can be averaged out in combination with other items; it is easier to distinguish between people 65 over a larger number of items; and multiple items tend to increase reliability and reduce measurement error. Hair et al (1998) and Spector (1992) agree that measurement error can be reduced by using multiple indicators which reduce reliance on a single response and allow random errors of measurement to average out.

According to Spector (1992) in developing a construct, it is helpful to base the conceptual and scale development effort on work that already exists. Unless the construct is totally new, there will be discussions and possibly empirical research in the literature such as existing scales available. The literature should serve as a starting point for prior conceptual definitions, construct definitions and operationalising the construct. Spector (1992) suggests that scale development can help refine a popular construct that has not been sufficiently developed in the literature. The author would suggest that social bonds is such a construct.

Therefore the first part of this chapter (3.1) reviews the existing scales which have been developed to measure the social bond. Eleven out of the twelve scales included in the analysis measure the social bond as a unidimensional construct. The exception is Perry et al (2002) who propose a multidimensional scale of five bonds however it is not clear how these bonds have been developed and no theory is given. Only three of the twelve existing scales have used underlying theoretical frameworks which are based on social or behaviourist exchange theory. The authors of the remaining nine scales briefly mention theory but do not document how it supports the scale development work. There is no scale in existence which uses Sternberg’s Theory of Love or attachment theory as its theoretical framework. A summary of the key features of all twelve scales may be found in Appendix 1. Two further scales of the social bond were found but these were not included in the analysis since they have serious shortcomings and these are discussed following the review of the twelve scales.

The second part of this chapter (3.2) contains the first two stages of scale development as set out by DeVellis (1991) and Churchill (1979). The first step is defining the construct to be measured. The Literature Review gives details of how the social bond construct has been defined and described. However this chapter focuses on the four social bonds: intimacy, passion, affective commitment and security and how these have been defined by

66 the author. An outline is given of the content, population and setting for the new social bonds scale to be developed.

The second step of scale development is generating a sample of items. Since the author is using Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love (1986, 1997) as her theoretical framework, she has reviewed Sternberg’s own scale and items developed for intimacy, passion and commitment. The author has included her own work in this chapter in creating new items for the social bonds from the literature. This has been necessary in particular for the bond of passion for which Sternberg’s items are inappropriate for use in the context of professional services relationships. In addition, the decision to focus on affective commitment has meant that Sternberg’s scale of general commitment is no longer appropriate as a measurement tool and therefore new scale items had to be created. Finally, the author reviewed a variety of scales based on attachment theory including Paulssen’s (2009) Secure Attachment Orientation in Business Relationships, Collins and Read (1990) Adult Attachment Scale (Depend dimension), Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) Security of Attachment, Asendorpf and Wilpers (2000) Security of Attachment and Hazan and Shaver (1987) Secure Prototype. However she was not able to find an appropriate scale to use for the security bond so she devised the scale items herself based on the attachment theory literature.

In developing her preliminary scale of the social bond, the author found a number of sources useful, in particular DeVellis (1991), Churchill (1979) and Peter (1981). These authors provide a useful guide to the process of scale development. In addition, they cover important areas which the researcher needs to consider during the process of scale development such as construct validity. It was important to cross-reference different sources on scale development since researchers can have different views on this process. In particular, cross-referencing Churchill’s (1979:66) ‘Suggested Procedures for Developing Better Measures’ against DeVellis’ (1991) Chapter 5 Guidelines in Scale Development provided the author with a framework for her scale development process.

1. Belonging/acceptance 2. Friendship 3. Empathy/concern 4. Interest in family/personal life 5. Looking out for each other

The author has not found another study which has tested this scale however Dash et al (2009) used Smith’s (1998) scale in developing their Social Bonding scale. The author found Smith’s (1998) scale to be useful when developing her own scale for the intimacy bond. She used this scale to cross-check against the items developed for intimacy by Sternberg (1986) and other researchers. The scale does not offer items for passion, commitment or security bonds.

3.1.2 Social Bonds as part of Perceived Service Quality (Patterson and Smith, 2001a)

Patterson and Smith (2001a) developed a model which tested the relationship between the social bond and relationship commitment in five different service industries. According to Patterson and Smith (2001a:92-93), bonds develop as a function of ‘feelings of being regarded as a valued customer, being recognized, treated as a friend or indeed any interpersonal contact with the service firm that is accompanied by a pleasurable experience and /or the gratification of one’s self-esteem’ Their model is supported by Skinner’s (1958) behaviourist exchange theory which is based on rewarding customer behaviour which leads to it being repeated.

Social bonds are tested as an antecedent to commitment together with technical service performance and communication which make up perceived service quality. It was found that the social bond leads to commitment in some industry settings (hairdressers and auto service mechanics) but not in others (retail banking, travel agents or medical services). Respondents were recruited from Bangkok, Thailand and Patterson and Smith (2001a) agree that it is likely culture had an impact on social bonds. Data was collected from 20 qualitative interviews and 52 diary completions concerning the respondents’ relationship with a service provider of their choice. This was followed by a cross-sectional survey completed by 155 respondents using a self-administered questionnaire.

Sample items are given for the social bond factor. The scale is developed only from the customer’s perspective. It is not clear exactly how this scale was developed as Patterson and Smith (2001a) put social bonds together with technical performance and formal communications and give example journal articles for all the eighteen items together. They state that the qualitative interviews also produced some items but it is not clear which ones.

1. My (service provider) usually takes an interest in me.

2. My (service provider) is never too busy to be contacted

3. My (service provider) has my best interests at heart.

4. Treats me as an individual not just another customer.

5. Treats me like a personal friend.

Some of the scale items appear to be similar to items of intimacy (My service provider has my best interests at heart) and secure attachment (My service provider is never too busy to be contacted) but the author has not used this scale since it is not clear how the items were developed.

3.1.3 Social Bond dimension in a scale of Relational Bonds (Lin et al, 2003)

In this empirical study, social bonds are included in a scale of Relational Bonds and associated items. The three dimensions of relational bonds are: economic bonds, social bonds and structural bonds. The research focuses on the three bond dimensions and their influence on trust and commitment. According to Lin et al, (2003:106) the social bond ‘focuses on service dimensions that contain interpersonal interactions and maintain customer loyalty through friendship’ – staying in touch with customers, rapport, social support, recognising the uniqueness of each customer. The social relational bond factor contains items which emphasise friendship and social interaction with customers (Lin et al, 2003). The authors (ibid, 2003) refer to Relationship Marketing theory in general but do not specify a theory for their research.

Lin et al (2003) clearly set out the process for developing their scale. First, secondary literature was used to construct a pool of items for various relationship bonding strategies.

Then the Delphi technique was used to revise the developed relational bond measurement scale. 24 items were adopted following the above two stages. Then the scale was refined using a pilot test through the internet with a sample of 430 respondents. An item-to-item correlation analysis was performed and items that had no loadings higher than 0.4 were removed. Exploratory factor analysis was performed using the Varimax rotation method and three factors were selected. Items that had factor loadings greater than 0.4 on two or more factors were removed from the measurement. Five items were deleted which resulted in 19 items. The reliability score (co-efficient alpha) for the social bond was 0.90 suggesting a high internal consistency. Each item is supported by the literature.

A field survey of financial services customers was conducted in Taiwan. 900 questionnaires were mailed out using a convenience sampling approach and 364 usable questionnaires received (40% response rate). Secondly, the population of members of two of the most popular portal sites in Taiwan were sampled for the survey and 454 responses collected.

Relational Bonds and Associated Items (adapted from Lin et al, 2003:112)

Social Bonds (6 items) Referent sources

1. Keeps in touch with me Berry (1995), Dibb and Meadows (2001)

Tzokas, Saren and Kyziridis (2001)

Crosby et al (1990)

2. Concerned with my needs Dibb and Meadows (2001)

Tzokas, Saren and Kyziridis (2001)

Crosby et al (1990)

3. Employee helps me to solve my personal problems Gwinner et al (1998)

4. Collects my opinion about services Delphi technique

5. I can receive greeting cards and gifts on special days Berry (1995), Crosby et al (1990)

6. Offers opportunities for members to share opinions Berry (1995), Zeithaml and Bitner (1996)

Lin et al’s (2003) social bonds scale emphasises social interaction with customers as a service dimension of a marketing relationship (e.g. I can receive greeting cards and gifts on special days). It does not appear to support social bonds as part of a working relationship between professional service providers and clients therefore the scale has not been used.

3.1.4 Social Bond as a Measure of Buyer-Seller Relationships (Crotts et al, 1998)

Crotts et al’s (1998) study tests the relationship between the social bond and other measures of buyer-seller relationships as antecedents to commitment. Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to small tourism businesses in New Zealand. Social bonds were found to have the highest explanatory power of all the other variables (trust, performance satisfaction, comparison level to alternatives, cooperation, adaptation, non- retrievable investments) in explaining commitment.

The social bond appeared as a single item scale. The limitations of single item scales have been discussed in the introduction to this section.

Generally, I find this tour wholesaler pleasant to work with

This one item scale does not represent the complexity of social bonds however the idea behind this item was used for an item in the passion bond scale: ‘I very much enjoy working with my service provider’.

3.1.5 Social Bond as part of Relationship Bonding (Rodriguez and Wilson, 2002)

Rodriguez and Wilson (2002) developed a model to test the relationship between social bonds, structural bonds, trust and commitment. The model is based on the interdependency of two parties, underpinned by social exchange theory and resource dependence theory, in the context of strategic alliances between Mexican and US managers. Rodriguez and Wilson (2002:55) describe social bonding as ‘psychological determinants [which] encompass resources that are emotional or affective in nature. As such, social bonding entails familiarity, friendship, and personal confidence built through interpersonal

72 exchange. It measures the strength of a personal relationship and may range from business to close, personal ties. The maintenance of the relationship implies a great degree of self- disclosure, concern for the partner, and presence of liking for the other person.’ Social bonding was found to be a critical mediator in building trust and commitment. It was found to transform the structure of dependency into interdependency.

The 3-item 7-point Likert scale was developed based on Han’s (1991:57) definition of social bonding as ‘the degree to which certain ties link and hold a buyer and seller together closely in a personal (emotional sense)’. The social bonding factor correlation was .67 and Cronbach’s Alpha .80

1. In a personal sense, how closely are you and this partner tied? 2. If I were to drop this partner, I would lose a good business friend 3. I have excellent social relations with this partner.

Dash et al (2009) use Rodriguez and Wilson’s scale in developing their own scale of the social bond. The ideas of ‘closeness’ and ‘social relations’ were used in the author’s intimacy bond scale.

3.1.6 Social Bonding as part of Relational Bonding (Dash et al, 2009)

Dash et al (2009) developed a model testing the relationship between the social bond and commitment, moderated by individualism (culture) in the context of a commercial bank and its corporate customer. The authors (ibid, 2009:149) refer to social bonding as: ‘The bonding that takes place between individuals (i.e. the buyer and seller). During social bonding, individuals are bonded together via the organizational members’ personal and social relationship with their counterparts in a particular firm.’ They also refer to Wilson’s (1995:339) definition of social bonding: ‘The degree of mutual personal friendship and liking shared by the buyer and seller.’ The authors found that the social bond is more important in a low individualism culture (Indian culture) and the structural bond is more significant in a high individualism culture (Canadian culture).

Dash et al (2009) developed a four item Likert type scale to measure the social bond which was adapted from Rodriguez and Wilson’s (2002) and Smith’s (1998) scales both of which

73 have already been discussed. The scale is developed from the perspective of the corporate customer who is asked to rate how important are the following characteristics in terms of continuing his/her relationship with the bank? (Scale 1= very important, 7 = very unimportant):

1. Friendship between you and your bank representative. 2. Establishing a personal relationship with you and your bank representative. 3. Sharing of personal advice or support with your bank representative. 4. Feelings of belongingness or acceptance between you and your bank representative.

The four items are similar to Smith’s scale (1998) and Rodriguez and Wilson’s (2002) scales which have been used to cross-check the intimacy items taken from Sternberg’s scale.

3.1.7 Social Bond Scale (Venetis and Ghauri, 2004)

Venetis and Ghauri (2002) combine the business-to-business marketing literature with the service quality literature to examine if relationship factors (such as social bonds) lead to long-term customer relationships. Social bonds and structural bonds are categorised under relational bonds. They use Turnbull and Wilson’s (1989) definition of social bonds as the interpersonal relationship between the buyer and the seller. The research was conducted in the advertising sector among advertising agencies and their clients. Venetis and Ghauri (2002) used Halinen (1994) and Wilson’s (1990) research to measure the social network between parties and the degree of personal affection. After purification, two items remained which measure the frequency and intensity of interaction. However, Marsden and Campbell (1994) found that these items measure tie strength not social bonds therefore this scale is not being used in the study.

3.1.8 Social Bonding tactics as part of Relationship Bonding tactics (Liang and Wang, 2007)

Liang and Wang (2007:63) developed a model showing the ‘behavioural sequence’ of relationship bonding tactics (mediated by relationship investment) relating to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction, in turn, relates to behavioural loyalty, mediated by trust and commitment. Relationship bonding tactics are categorised into three types in line with Berry and Parasuraman’s (1991) framework: financial bonding tactics; social bonding tactics; and structural bonding tactics. Relationship bonding is used in the article to mean an ongoing marketing process (Liang and Wang, 2007). The survey was carried out in Taiwan with people who attended information education courses run by two organisations. It is not clear how the items in the social bonding scale were developed. Cronbach’s Alpha is high at 0.87.

1. PC School often mails information with relevant activities or services to its members. 2. PC School often has personal conversations and develops good relationships with its members actively. 3. PC School often takes care of members’ needs and preferences actively. 4. PC School often inquires about members’ personal welfare actively.

The scale is based on the perception of the school itself (organisational) and not at an interpersonal level therefore the items were not relevant to the development of the social bonds scale by the author.

3.1.9 Social Bonding Scale (Mavondo and Rodrigo, 2001)

Mavondo and Rodrigo (2001) developed a model in which social bonds appear as an antecedent of a business relationship which impact on interpersonal commitment and interorganisational commitment. The authors use relational theory, channel relationships, buyer seller relationships, network theory and social exchange theory in developing their model. Wilson’s (1995:339) definition of social bonding is used ‘the degree of mutual personal friendship and liking shared by the buyer and seller.’ The population of interest was Australian businesses doing business with China and Chinese businesses doing business with Australia and aimed at the CEO or individual managing the company’s relationship.

Mavondo and Rodrigo (2001) do not disclose how the social bonding scale was developed but refer to all the scales in general in their Methodology as being developed from past literature, adapted from past literature or new scales developed through in-depth interviews with Australian and Chinese companies. A 5-point Likert type scale was developed to measure social bonding (Cronbach’s Alpha 0.82).

1. I often interact with my partner on a social basis outside of work.

2. My partner and I are able to talk openly as friends.

3. I consider my partner as being almost as close to me as family.

4. If I were to change business partners, I would lose a good business friend in my current partner.

5. I would consider whether my partner’s feelings would be hurt before I made an important decision.

The relationship between social bonding and interorganisational commitment; interpersonal commitment; face; trust and co-operation were supported. The relationship between social bonding and time duration; and social bonding and reciprocity were not supported. This scale was not used by the author since there is uncertainty on how it was developed.

3.1.10 Social Bond Scale (Peltier and Scovotti, 2004)

Peltier and Scovotti (2004) developed a social bond scale in the context of healthcare relationships. They (ibid, 2004) used the literature and discussions with key informants to develop items for their scale to measure the social bond. All questions were rated on a scale from 1 = very dissatisfied to 5 = very satisfied. The data was collected from the client side.

Items Source

Friendliness of counsellor Peltier, Boyt and Schibrowsky (1998)

Honesty of counsellor Peltier, Boyt and Westfall (1999)

Level of caring or concern

How well counsellor communicated with you

Respect you received

Confidentiality maintained by counsellor

Items Source

How well your questions were answered Not clear how these items were developed

How well she/her listened to your concerns panel

How well she/he listened to your goals

Understanding of your problems and needs

How well informed you feel you were

This unidimensional scale was developed from the client’s perspective, rating the interaction rather than the relationship with the healthcare professional therefore it was not used by the author to develop her scale.

3.1.11 Social Bonds (Cater and Zabkar, 2009)

Cater and Zabkar (2009) developed a model of commitment in professional services relationships in the business-to-business market. The model sets out three antecedents to commitment (social bonds, trust and satisfaction) and social bonds as related to three types of commitment: affective, normative and calculative. The three types of commitment were related to loyalty. The authors used definitions by Wilson (1995:339) ‘the degree of mutual personal friendship and liking shared by the buyer and seller’ and Perry et al (2002:76) ‘investments of time and energy that produce positive interpersonal relationships between the partners.’ The context of the research was market research services and the perspective taken was the customer’s point of view.

Cater and Zabkar (2009) developed a 3-item scale for the social bond adapted from the scale created by Mavondo and Rodrigo (2001) discussed earlier in this section. Social bonds were proved to be as an antecedent to affective commitment but this was not supported for normative and calculative commitment.

1. Our contact person and I are able to talk openly as friends. 0.68 2. We talk only about business matters. 0.38 3. I know his/her life outside work. 0.30

These social bond items appear to relate to the intimacy bond and they were used by the author to cross reference against Smith’s (1998) and Sternberg’s (1997) scales.

3.1.12 Social Bonds Scale (Perry et al, 2002)

Perry et al (2002) created their General Model of social and technical bonds in a relationship within a business system. The model was developed from the existing literature on relationships in industrial networks and shows that all five bonds are related and each bond has an impact on one of the other bonds.

Five Social Bonds/Development of measures – 3 or 4 items per bond

Equity (Kumar et al, 1995 and Oliver and Swan, 1989)

Trustworthiness (Morgan and Hunt – trust)

Conflict (Kumar et al, 1992 and Anderson and Narus, 1990)

Benevolence – not given

Commitment (Morgan and Hunt – commitment)

However there is no theory to explain why these five social bonds are the only bonds in existence. Although commitment is one of the bonds included in the author’s research, the paper does not include the items developed for each one. In addition, she has never seen this scale referred to in any other paper and the bonds included are not ones commonly found in the literature (with the exception of commitment). Therefore the author is not using the bonds suggested by this scale since it has not been developed in a rigorous way, neither being based on theory nor empirical research. DeVellis (1991:51) states the importance of theory as an aid to clarity in scale development and ‘the importance of [the scale] being well grounded in the substantive theories related to the phenomenon to be measured.’

3.1.13 Scales not included in the Analysis

3.1.13.1 Social Bonds as part of Customer Bonding (Gounaris and Venetis, 2002)

Gounaris and Venetis (2002) developed items for their customer bonding scale based on Halinen (1994) and Wilson (1990). In their conceptual model, customer bonding and service quality were shown as antecedents of trust mediated by the length of the relationship, leading to relationship intentions. Customer bonding consisted of three factors: interpersonal bonds, contractual bonds and integration bonds. 16 statements were developed and customers rated their responses on a 5-point Likert scale: 1= strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Gounaris and Venetis (2002) differentiate between personal bonds and contractual bonds in their study. Interpersonal bonds and Integrative bonds items have been included in the preliminary scale however Contractual bonds are based on instrumental factors such as contractual agreements and internal policies so have not been included in the social bonds scale.

Factors produced by the analysis Items loading on each factor Loadings

Interpersonal bonds – 6 items Personal relationship 0.763

Personality match 0.721

Classified information 0.640

Agency adjusts to client’s needs 0.629

Knowledge exchange 0.615

Investment of the agency 0.564

Contractual bonds – 3 items e.g. Contractual agreements not relevant to the social bond scale

Integration bonds - 2 items Contact frequency 0.886

Intensity contact 0.840

The author has not included this scale in her overview of social bond scales since this scale appears to combine the social and knowledge bonds and there appears to be a mixture of items both from an organisational and individual perspective in the interpersonal bond scale.

3.1.13.2 Social Bonds as part of Customer Relationships (Thao and Swierczek, 2008)

Thao and Swierczek (2008) developed the following items for social bonds as part of their conceptual framework which has social bonds as a dimension of customer relationships, which mediate between internet barriers and benefits, and customer loyalty. Their model was tested among small to medium travel agencies in Vietnam, as business customers to their service suppliers:

1. More exchange information with suppliers 2. Trust on service suppliers 3. Business relationship strengthened 4. Considerable efforts went into building business with suppliers 5. More dependent on strategic suppliers

However it is not clear in their study how these items have been developed and there is no reference to any of the previous literature which has attempted to measure social bonds such as Smith (1998). The author would argue that the scale has not been developed in a robust way and the items appear to be generally related to customer relationships but not to social bonds.

3.2 STAGES OF SCALE DEVELOPMENT

3.2.1 Stage 1 Defining the Construct to be measured

Churchill (1979), DeVellis (1991) and Hair et al (1998) agree that the first step in developing a scale is to ‘specify the domain of the construct’ (Churchill, 1979:66) or establish what the researcher wants to measure (DeVellis, 1991). In her literature review, the author found a number of definitions already existing of the social bond (see Literature Review, Table 2.1, page 29) however as discussed, there is some disagreement about the nature of social bonds and the number and type of social bonds in existence. Twelve scales which measure the social bond were found from a review of the literature and these are summarised in Appendix 1.

DeVellis (1991) has also suggested that theory is useful at this early stage in clarifying the construct under study. The author has chosen two theories to assist her in defining and identifying social bonds: attachment theory and Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love. These theories have been shown to be related in the literature (Hazan and Shaver, 1987) and are discussed in section 2.4 of the Literature Review.

Social bonds as a multidimensional construct is supported by Sternberg’s (1986) Triangular Theory of Love and attachment theory. The social bond has been frequently defined as ‘the degree of mutual personal friendship and liking’ (Wilson, 1995, p.339), a popular definition used by a number of researchers in this area (Liang and Wang, 2007; Cater and Zabkar, 2009; Mavondo and Rodrigo, 2001; Guenzi and Pelloni, 2004). Liking is seen as being a type of love in the literature by Sternberg (1986) who proposes three dimensions to measure different types of love: intimacy, passion and commitment. Shaver et al (1988) agree that love is not a unidimensional phenomenon. Sternberg’s theory is useful to the author since one of the aims of scale development is to propose different social bonds which exist in a professional services context.

Sternberg’s (1986) Triangular Theory of Love suggests that love is composed of three components: Intimacy (described as ‘feelings of closeness, connectedness and bondedness’ p.119) which is based on emotion; Passion (‘romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation’ p.119) which is based on motivation; and Decision/Commitment (‘the 81 short-term ... decision that one loves someone...and...the long-term...commitment to maintain that love’ p.119) which is based on cognition. Attachment theory offers support for two social bonds: closeness (proximity-seeking) and security (secure base) – Paulssen (2009).

3.2.1.1 Proposed Definition

Having reviewed the existing definitions and conceptual descriptions of social bonds and aided by the theories discussed above, the author has developed the following definition of social bonds for her research:

Social bonds are personal ties based on liking and attachment which provide an incentive to maintain a relationship.

By defining the construct, the researcher has indicated its boundaries therefore this definition will be used in deciding whether or not existing scales measure the social bond. In addition, DeVellis (1991) notes the importance of considering the specificity of the scale in three main areas: content, setting and population.

3.2.1.2 Content

The researcher has used Sternberg’s Theory and attachment theory to suggest four new social bonds:

1. Intimacy (Sternberg’s intimacy dimension and attachment theory both support the bond of intimacy); 2. Affective Commitment (Sternberg’s commitment dimension has been changed by the author to affective commitment. The reason why is discussed further in this chapter); 3. Passion (Sternberg’s passion dimension has been adapted to suit a business environment); 4. Security (Attachment theory supports the bond of security).

The following definitions are proposed for the four social bonds. These were selected from definitions found during a review of the literature. Further definitions found for the four bonds are discussed in section 3.2.2 Generating a Sample of Items:

1. Intimacy bond ‘Intimacy involves feeling understood, validated, cared for and closely connected with another person’ (Reis and Shaver, 1988:385) – see discussion of definitions on pages 85- 88.

2. Passion bond ‘Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, that they find important, and in which they invest time and energy’ (Vallerand et al, 2003:757) – see discussion of definitions on pages 89-91.

3. Affective Commitment bond ‘Affective commitment expresses the extent to which parties like to maintain their relationship with specific partners’ (Geyskens et al, 1996:303) – see discussion of definitions on pages 92-93.

4. Security bond Secure attachment is based on perceiving the other party to be responsive, stable, consistent and accessible (based on Paulssen, 2009 and Weiss, 1974) – see discussion of definitions on pages 94-95.

3.2.1.3 Setting and Population

The scale has been developed for use in a business-to-business setting. The author’s aim was to develop a scale of social bonds which is generalisable across professional services. The population specified for this scale is the clients of professional service providers. As can be seen from the previous scales already developed (see Appendix 1) the customer’s view is mostly taken in the research. Only three studies take a dyadic perspective of social bonds. In the author’s own research, the qualitative interviews take the perspective of the service provider and the quantitative questionnaire survey is from the client’s point of view. The most valuable research is from the client’s side since the service provider is being paid to fulfil the client’s requirements and it is of interest to the service provider to know the client’s opinions about social bonds.

3.2.2 Stage 2 Generating a Sample of Items

Churchill (1979) and DeVellis (1991) agree that the next stage after defining the construct is generating a pool of items which relate to the construct under study, the social bond. DeVellis (1991) notes that it is not possible or even advisable to include every item which relates to the construct however it is important to choose items which reflect the scale’s purpose:

The scale should include items to measure the four social bonds from the client’s perspective. These items should reflect the bonds which the client develops for the provider at an individual level during the course of their working relationship in a professional services environment.

The author’s first task was to search the literature to find scales used by Sternberg (1986, 1997) in his Triangular Theory of Love. The author also found a number of scales of social bonds already developed in relevant academic journals, in particular marketing journals; services journals and other social sciences journals, which have already been discussed in section 3.1 of this chapter. According to Spector (1992) if scales exist to measure the construct of interest, the content of these existing scales may help scale development.

3.2.2.1 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love Scale (1986, revised 1997)

The author reviewed Sternberg’s article (1986) in which he proposes the Triangular Theory of Love and his later paper (1997) in which he tests his theory and proposes some modifications to the scale based on his findings. The author has taken note of these modifications in the items used from Sternberg’s scale. She also reviewed conceptual and empirical studies by other researchers who used Sternberg’s theory in different contexts (Yim et al, 2008; Madey and Rodgers, 2009; Shimp and Madden, 1988).

Sternberg’s theory offers three dimensions to the social bond scale: intimacy, passion and commitment. These dimensions are also recognised in Aron and Westbay’s (1996) research into dimensions of the prototype of love. In addition Fletcher et al (2000) tested both Sternberg’s (1986) original and new scales and found good support for Sternberg’s model. The author examined Graham and Christiansen’s (2009) meta-analysis of 84 reliability generalisation which tested the robustness of the scale as a measurement tool. They (ibid, 2009) compared five commonly used scales to measure romantic love. Sternberg’s scale (all three dimensions together) reported an average score reliability of .978 which was the highest of all the five measures examined in Graham and Christiansen’s (2009) study. The individual scales for intimacy, passion and commitment also exhibited good overall reliability with average reliability coefficients above .9. Therefore the author began her scale development by reviewing Sternberg’s (1997) scales for these three potential social bonds.

3.2.2.2 The Social Bond of Intimacy

The author reviewed a number of definitions of intimacy to help her understand this concept. Reis and Shaver’s (1988) definition was chosen as the main definition for this study as it appeared to identify the main characteristics of intimacy as a discrete concept and as a bond however the other definitions also helped the author in her work on developing the preliminary intimacy scale items:

Definitions of intimacy found in the literature

‘Intimacy involves feeling understood, validated, cared for and closely connected with another person’ (Reis and Shaver, 1988:385).

Sternberg (1997:315) ‘Intimacy refers to feelings of closeness, connectedness and bondedness in loving relationships. Thus it includes within its purview those feelings that give rise, essentially, to the experience of warmth in a loving relationship.’

Hatfield (1988:205) defined intimacy as ‘A process in which people attempt to get close to another; to explore similarities (and differences) in the way they think, feel and behave.’

Davis and Todd (1982:83) Intimacy is part of friendship. Intimacy is confiding and understanding. ‘intimate in the sense of sharing experiences by virtue of doing things together and, in many cases, by virtue of confiding in each other’.

Intimacy and closeness are often used interchangeably in the literature (Miller and Lefcourt, 1982) and the author found a useful paper ‘Meanings for closeness and intimacy in friendship’ (Parks and Floyd, 1996) which compared intimacy and closeness. She cross- checked the items developed for intimacy against those found in this research. According to the survey findings, about half the respondents view intimacy and closeness to be

85 synonymous and around a quarter of participants viewed intimacy as having a romantic or sexual dimension. The author has kept intimacy as the name of the concept as used by Sternberg although this term was not used during the interviews or in the questionnaire items. Closeness was used instead as it appears to be a more acceptable term than intimacy especially in business as intimacy may imply a more intense form of closeness (Parks and Floyd, 1996).

The author used as her starting point the scale items developed by Sternberg for his Triangular Theory of Love, in particular the twelve items which appear in his 1997 paper which validates his triangular love scale. However some of the items have had to be removed due to their inappropriateness in a business context e.g. see item 9 below.

Items from Sternberg Triangular Love Scale (1997:318) Intimacy 1. I have a warm and comfortable relationship with ______. 2. I experience intimate communication with ______. 3. I strongly desire to promote the well-being of ______. 4. I have a relationship of mutual understanding with ______. 5. I received considerable emotional support from ______. 6. I am able to count on ______in times of need. 7. ______is able to count on me in times of need. 8. I value ______greatly in my life. 9. I am willing to share myself and my possessions with ______. 10. I experience great happiness with ______. 11. I feel emotionally close to ______. 12. I give considerable emotional support to ______.

She cross-checked these against the ten clusters for intimacy developed by Sternberg and Grajek (based on Rubin’s loving and liking scales (1970) and close-knit relationship scale of Levinger et al (1977). These appear to be very similar to the above:

1. Desire to promote the welfare of the loved one 2. Experienced happiness with the loved one 3. High regard for the loved one 4. Being able to count on the loved one in times of need 5. Mutual understanding with the loved one 6. Sharing of one’s self and one’s possessions with the loved one 7. Receipt of emotional support from the loved one 8. Giving of emotional support to the loved one

9. Intimate communications with the loved one 10. Valuing of the loved one in one’s life

The author also cross-checked Sternberg’s items against the five-item Social Bond scale by Smith (1998) which was relevant to the definition of intimacy (see below). Since Smith’s scale was developed for business relationships (buyers and sellers) the language used to phrase the items is more appropriate for use in a business context.

1. Feelings of belonging/acceptance 2. Friendship 3. Empathy/concern for the other’s wellbeing 4. Interest in each other’s family or personal life 5. Looking out for each other’s best interest

The author used Maxwell’s (1985) research ‘Behaviour of lovers: Measuring the closeness of relationships’ in developing further items based on her scale for measuring closeness in relationships:

1. Giving and receiving help 2. Sharing attitudes and values 3. Behaving naturally and showing one’s true feelings

Related literature has also been consulted in verifying the items included in the intimacy scale, for example Self Disclosure. Derlega et al (1987) state that mutual disclosure is important in establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. In order for the relationship to work well, the customer needs to disclose to the salesperson in order for issues to be solved and likewise, the salesperson needs to reciprocate otherwise the relationship is seen to be unhealthy (Derlega et al, 1987). Responsiveness to personal disclosure has a significant impact on intimacy (Reis and Shaver, 1998).

Other items found in the literature include empathy/concern for the other’s well-being. Bejou and Palmer (1998) believe that empathy is central in developing and enhancing relationships. Saxena (2006) also found empathy to be a social bond. Looking out for the client’s best interest was also found in Patterson and Smith (2001a).

Sharing of humour or light-hearted banter also gained support from Cooper (2010:1088), humour is ‘a social activity [with] implications for interpersonal dynamics and relationships in organizations.’ In her literature review on humour (ibid, 2020:1090), she postulates that many researchers study humour as a ‘social phenomenon’ and that humour is related to four processes: affect-reinforcement, perceived similarity, self-disclosure and hierarchical salience. Bradney (1957) found that humour had an impact on sales associates being able to develop bonds with their co-workers.

Finally, intimacy is seen to correspond to the attachment and care-giving systems in attachment theory therefore the attachment literature has also been consulted in developing the preliminary scale. The author created the following preliminary scale for the bond of intimacy based on secondary data from the literature:

Table 3.1 Preliminary Scale of the Intimacy Bond

1. I share personal information about myself with ______.

2. ______shares personal information about him/herself with me.

3. I have a relationship of mutual understanding with ______.

4. ______and I share humour or light-hearted banter.

5. ______and I share personal advice

6. ______and I support each other.

7. ______and I help each other.

8. My views are accepted by ______.

9. I have a close connection with ______.

10. I care about the well-being of ______.

11. I look out for ______’s best interest.

12. ______and I know each other well.

13. ______and I share interests or activities.

14. ______and I share attitudes or values.

15. ______and I talk about our business relationship.

16. I behave naturally with ______and show my true feelings.

17. I have a warm relationship with ______.

18. I have a comfortable relationship with ______.

19. I interact easily with ______.

3.2.2.3 The Social Bond of Passion

It was important for the author to define passion since Sternberg’s (1986:119) definition (see below) was not appropriate for this study of passion in business relationships. The main definition of passion for this study was found in Vallerand et al (2003:757) ‘Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, that they find important, and in which they invest time and energy.’ This definition fitted the context of client working with a professional service provider in a business environment. As will be seen further in this section, Vallerand et al’s work was crucial to the development of the preliminary passion scale. There were also other definitions and descriptions of passion found in the literature which were consulted when developing the items for the author’s scale.

Definitions of Passion found in the literature

‘Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, that they find important, and in which they invest time and energy’ (Vallerand et al, 2003:757)

‘Romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation’ (Sternberg, 1986:119)

‘Delight’ (Hatfield, 1988)

‘Vitality and excitement’ (Shaver and Mikulincer, 2006)

The author reviewed the items for Passion in Sternberg’s (1997) scale however as can be seen on the next page, many items are romantic or sexual in nature and are therefore inappropriate to be tested in a study of business relationships.

Items from Sternberg Triangular Love Scale (1997:318) Passion 1. I cannot imagine another person making me as happy as ______does. 2. There is nothing more important to me than my relationship with ______. 3. My relationship with ______is very romantic. 4. I cannot imagine life without ______. 5. I adore ______. 6. I find myself thinking about ______frequently during the day. 7. Just seeing ______is exciting for me. 8. I find ______very attractive physically. 9. I idealize ______. 10. There is something almost ‘magical’ about my relationship with ______. 11. My relationship with ______is very ‘alive.’ 12. I especially like giving presents to ______.

It was necessary to return to the literature in order to operationalise passion in a business context. The author conducted a review of the literature into passion and came across a number of scales measuring passion such as Hatfield and Sprecher's (1986) Passionate Love Scale and Brehm’s (1988) Seven stages in the development of Passionate Love however these were limited in their usefulness since again, they were not appropriate for a business context.

The most valuable work the author found was that of Vallerand et al (2003) who developed a scale to measure harmonious and obsessive passion towards activities. Although the items in this scale are not suitable for use in a business relationship context, the author has used their definition of passion and also used their descriptions of harmonious passion in the literature review and based some of her items on this description. Vallerand et al (2003) researched into activities people are passionate about and the moderating effect of passion on the relation between activity engagement and positive affect (Mageau and Vallerand, 2007). Vallerand et al (2003) include interpersonal relationships as a type of passionate activity.

According to Vallerand et al (2003:257), ‘passion is a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, find important, and in which they invest significant time and energy’. The dimension of value is important as it separates passion from interesting but unimportant activities. Harmonious passion drives the individual to choose to engage in his or her activity. The individual thus voluntarily gives time and energy to the activity while

90 remaining in control of his or her engagement. Harmonious passion is in harmony or in balance with other life areas. In contrast, obsessive passion is characterised by an internal pressure to practice the activity. The individual has lost control over the activity and feels a constant pressure or an internal compulsion to engage in it. The activity takes a disproportionate place in the individual’s identity and daily life, which in turn generates conflicts between the passionate activity and other life areas. Obsessive passion can even make the person dependent on his or her activity. The author has mainly used Vallerand et al’s (2003) description of harmonious passion to develop items for her scale.

Table 3.2 Preliminary Scale of the Passion Bond

1. I very much enjoy my business relationship with ______.

2. My business relationship with ______is very important to me.

3. ______is the ideal business partner to work with.

4. There is something special about my business relationship with ______.

5. I am willing to invest time and energy in my business relationship with ______

6. I actively engage in my business relationship with ______

7. I am happy when my business relationship with ______is going well.

8. I am enthusiastic about my business relationship with ______.

9. I choose to participate in this business relationship with ______.

10. I want to be actively involved in this business relationship with ______.

11. My business relationship with ______means something to me.

3.2.2.3 The Social Bond of Affective Commitment

As before, the author began developing her scale by reviewing Sternberg’s scale for the Commitment dimension as part of his Triangular Theory of Love. Some of the items were not suitable for use in a business context e.g. Items 7 and 8.

Items from Sternberg Triangular Love Scale (1997:318) Commitment 1. I will always feel a strong responsibility for ______. 2. I expect my love for ______to last for the rest of my life. 3. I can’t imagine ending my relationship with ______. 4. I view my relationship with ______as permanent. 5. I would stay with ______through the most difficult times. 6. I view my commitment to ______as a matter of principle. (Item removed following Sternberg’s research 1997) 7. I am certain of my love for ______. 8. I have decided that I love ______. 9. I am committed to maintaining my relationship with ______. 10. I view my relationship with ______as, in part, a thought-out decision. (Item removed following Sternberg’s research 1997) 11. I could not let anything get in the way of my commitment to ______. 12. I have confidence in the stability of my relationship with ______.

However, the author carried out further research into the concept of commitment and found that this concept has many definitions and different types of commitment have been recognised. Commitment has been recognised in the literature (Louis and Lombart, 2010; Fullerton, 2003; Morgan and Hunt, 1994) as having an instrumental basis (continuance, cognitive and calculated commitment) or an affective basis (affective commitment).

Shaver et al (1988) are uncertain if all types of commitment are a component of love. Since commitment is a broad concept, it is proposed that only part of commitment may be relevant to love and the literature shows that this is likely to be affective commitment. Sternberg (1987) has mentioned that commitment is the cognitive element of love however there is support in the literature (see Literature Review pages 50-1) that it is affective commitment and not cognitive commitment which is related to love. The author found a 92 number of definitions of affective commitment (see below) which appear to imply that it is linked to attachment and liking. Geyskens et al’s (1996) definition was chosen since it clearly states that liking is the basis of maintaining the relationship:

Definitions of Affective Commitment in the literature

‘Affective commitment expresses the extent to which parties like to maintain their relationship with specific partners’ (Geyskens et al, 1996:303)

‘Commitment is considered an affective or emotional attachment’ (Allen and Meyer, 1990: 2)

Affective commitment ‘is an affect-focused attitude...that represents the emotional bond between an employee and his or her organization’ (Dvir et al, 2004)

‘Attachment due to liking and identification’ (Cater and Zabkar, 2009:786)

‘A desire-based attachment to the organization’ (Bansal et al, 2004:236) – binding the customer to the service provider out of desire

Affective commitment ‘includes a desire to develop and strengthen a relationship with another person or group because of familiarity, friendship and personal confidence build through interpersonal interaction over time’ (Sharma et al, 2006:65, 69)

‘A generalized sense of positive regard for, and attachment to, the organization’ Konovsky and Cropanzano, 1991: 699)

Affective commitment ‘is based on liking and identification’ (Fullerton, 2003:334).

Therefore the author has decided to develop a scale of affective commitment rather than a general commitment scale as proposed by Sternberg (1997). The definitions above and evidence from the literature show that it is more likely that affective commitment is a social bond based on liking and attachment than other types of commitment. Evanschitzky et al (2006) found that affective commitment can be developed through customer attachment rather than economic incentives. Arriaga and Agnew (2001:1192) refer to affective commitment as an ‘affective bond’ which develops ‘as partners become increasingly dependent and reliant on each other.’ The author based her scale on other affective commitment scales found in the literature, in particular, Cater and Cater, 2009; Kumar et al, 1995 and Theron et al, 2008.

Table 3.3 Preliminary Scale of the Affective Commitment Bond

1. I care about maintaining my business relationship with ______.

2. I would be happy to remain with this business partner for the foreseeable future.

3. My positive feelings towards ______are a major reason for continuing our business relationship.

4. I continue to work with ______because he/she is pleasant to work with.

5. I want to remain a customer of this business partner because I enjoy our business relationship.

6. I like working with ______so I want to continue the business relationship.

7. I am happy to invest time in maintaining my business relationship with ______.

8. I like ______and this influences my decision to stay in this business relationship

9. I would not switch from this business partner because I appreciate our business relationship.

10. I have a positive regard for ______and this makes me committed to our business relationship.

3.2.2.4 The Social Bond of Security

The fourth social bond proposed is not found in Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love but supported by attachment theory which is said to be based on three criteria (Weiss, 1982): a person wants to be with another person under stress; a person derives comfort and security from the attachment figure and the person is upset when the attachment figure becomes inaccessible. Love and attachment are seen as being different ‘attachment however should not be considered to be a more technical term for love’ (Weiss, 1982:179).

The author reviewed a number of attachment scales in the literature in order to find an appropriate scale which could be used or adapted for use in this study. Scales included: Paulssen’s (2009) Secure Attachment Orientation in Business Relationships, Collins and Read (1990) Adult Attachment Scale (Depend dimension), Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) Security of Attachment, Asendorpf and Wilpers (2000) Security of Attachment and Hazan and Shaver (1987) Secure Prototype. However none of the scales reviewed were appropriate for use in this study since attachment style scales included not only the dimension of security but also anxiety and ambivalence which were not considered to be 94 social bonds. In addition, the scales tended to reflect the respondent’s internal reflection on his/her own general preferences in attachment e.g. I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on others (Collins and Read, 1990). However the author required a scale for the respondent to rate security within a relationship with a professional services provider. Therefore she had to devise her own scale based on the attachment literature.

She also had to combine different sources of literature to develop a definition for security based on attachment. She used Paulssen (2009) and Weiss (1974) to develop a definition which reflected the nature of the security bond in business relationships.

Definitions of Security found in the literature

Secure attachment is based on perceiving the other party to be responsive, stable, consistent and accessible (based on Paulssen, 2009 and Weiss, 1974)

Attachment is based on the uniqueness of the attachment figure and sustaining relationships that are valuable and have intrinsic meaning (Marris, 1982)

The author developed her preliminary scale of the Security Bond following a review of the attachment theory literature including Bowlby (1973, 1979, 1980, 1984); Ainsworth (Ainsworth and Bell, 1970; Ainsworth, 1982, 1989, 1991); Hazan and Shaver (1987; 1990; 1994); Paulssen (2009); Weiss (1974; 1982, 1991); Mayseless and Popper (2007) and Marris (1982).

Table 3.4 Preliminary Scale of the Security Bond

1. I have a secure business relationship with ______.

2. In an emergency situation, I know I can contact ______.

3. ______is responsive to my needs.

4. ______is accessible when I need to contact him/her.

5. I am confident that ______would help me if required.

6. I know I can depend on ______.

7. I have found ______to be a reliable business partner.

8. ______provides a consistent service.

9. ______keeps in touch with me.

10. I am able to count on ______in times of need.

11. ______is available when I need her/him.

The author was faced with a number of challenges in developing her scales. Firstly, she found items which belong to more than one bond such as value. Value appears to be a dimension which overlaps across intimacy and passion (Vallerand et al, 2003) as well as security (Marris, 1982) so the author removed all items which contained the concept of value e.g. I am valued by ______.

Another challenge was that the wording of items was not appropriate in a business context. Some items in Sternberg’s scale which are suitable for romantic relationships (especially in the passion scale) had to be removed. Other items had to be adapted to a business context e.g.

There is something almost ‘magical’ about my relationship with ______was changed to: There is something special about my business relationship with ______.

Conclusion

The author has reviewed twelve scales of the social bond already in existence and a further two not included in the analysis due to their limitations. She has created a preliminary scale for each of the four proposed social bonds based on the literature. The author has adapted the frameworks proposed by Churchill (1979) and DeVellis (1991) for scale development. Stages 1 and 2 are covered in this chapter and the remaining stages are covered in subsequent chapters as shown in the flow diagram on the next two pages.

Figure 3.1 Mapping Scale Development to the Chapters of the Thesis

Thesis Chapter Scale Development

Chapter 3 Stage 1 Define the construct to be measured

Preliminary Scale Development Definitions adopted for four social bonds: Intimacy, passion, affective commitment and security (p.83)

Stage 2 Generate a sample of items (literature) Chapter 3 Preliminary scale of 51 items: Preliminary Scale Development 19 intimacy bond items (p.88); 11 passion bond items (p.91); 10 affective commitment items (p94); 11 security bond items (p.95)

Stage 3 Generate a sample of items (interviews) Chapter 5 Modified scale of 67 items: Qualitative Findings and Analysis 20 intimacy bond items (p 361); 15 passion bond items (p.363); Appendix 7 13 affective commitment items (p 364); 19 security bond items (p.365)

Chapter 4 Stage 4 Determine format for measurement 5-point Likert Scale Strongly Disagree – Strongly Agree (p.132) Methodology

Stage 5 Collect data from a pilot sample Chapter 4 11 items removed from scale (p.140-141) + 1 further item removed as Methodology inappropriate for the respondent sample Reduced scale of 55 items for testing in main survey (p. 366-67): Appendix 8 17 intimacy bond items; 13 passion bond items; 11 affective commitment bond items; 14 security bond items

Thesis Chapter Scale Development

Chapter 6 Stage 6 Collect data from a development sample

Quantitative Findings and Analysis Final scale of 13 items following factor analysis (p.232): 7 security bonds items and 6 intimacy bond items

Stage 7 Evaluate the scale’s reliability and validity Chapter 6 Reliability: Item-total correlations & internal consistency (p.243-5) Quantitative Findings and Analysis Validity: Content validity, criterion validity, construct validity and discriminant validity (p.246-8)

CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY

Introduction

Following the development of the Preliminary Scale, this chapter presents the author’s research design for her primary data collection. She discusses and justifies her choice of research paradigm supported by the research methodology literature. She then sets out her approach and methods chosen for the research. The qualitative and quantitative phases of the multi-methods design are presented and discussed in detail including the limitations faced by the author in collecting her data. The author then addresses measurement error which can occur in the research process. Reliability and validity will be covered in the Quantitative Findings and Analysis Chapter. Finally, the issue of research ethics will also be discussed.

4.1 Research Paradigm

Before discussing the choice of research paradigm, it is important to establish its role and influence on the research and the researcher. According to Kuhn (1996:109) ‘nature is too complex and varied to be explored at random’ so the paradigm provides the world view or belief system that guides researchers (Guba and Lincoln, 1989). Guba (1990) states the difficulty of defining ‘paradigm’ which has been used in different ways by researchers. LeCompte and Schensul (1999:41) define paradigm as ‘a way of looking at the world; interpreting what is seen; and deciding which of the things seen by researchers are real, valid, and important to document.’ Collis and Hussey (2009) and Creswell (1998) state that the paradigm is more than a philosophical framework as its assumptions have significant implications for the implementation of the research.

Kuhn’s book The Structure of Scientific Revolution is credited by some researchers (such as Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998) as being influential in establishing the importance of paradigms in social sciences research. Kuhn (1996) sets out a model or pattern for the development of science based on the notion that in order for science to be practiced, there must be one main paradigm or world view in place. A paradigm sets out the problems to be solved for the scientific community thus focusing scientific work which would otherwise be a random collection of facts. However when scientists come across an 99 anomaly or significant problem which cannot be solved under the existing paradigm, science goes into a state of crisis. One of the ways in which ‘normal science’ can be restored is by a competing paradigm which may be accepted by the community if it is able or has the potential to solve the problem. Thus Kuhn concludes that science does not progress through cumulative additions of knowledge but through scientific revolutions. A revolution leads to a paradigm shift which imposes a new world view on the community which drives science forward and sets out a new set of problems to be solved.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions aims to show the process of science in a historical context and not just its outcomes. Kuhn (1996) makes a distinction between the natural sciences which are subject to scientific revolutions leading to paradigm shifts and social sciences which by nature have a wider research perspective, are much less limited by paradigms and borrow techniques from natural sciences. Lather (1990) observes that Kuhn’s model of scientific change is rooted in the history of the natural sciences and the author agrees that social sciences do not feature prominently in his book. However some researchers (like Lincoln and Guba, 1985) have noted a paradigm shift away from positivism towards the alternative paradigm of constructivism. Yet as will be seen later on in this section, there appear to be an ever-wider choice of paradigms available to the social scientist.

The paradigm debate dates back to the mid-nineteenth century (Hammersley, 1992) and involves the positivist/empiricist model which underpins quantitative research and the constructivist/phenomenological model which underpins qualitative research. Research methods authors such as Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998:3) refer to these debates as ‘paradigm wars’ as the two paradigms were generally seen as being incompatible. Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998:18) name this period ‘The Monomethod or purist era’ since only one paradigm and method was exclusively used. This phase continued until the 1950s, with the dominant method being quantitative (Hammersley, 1992).

However by the 1960s, qualitative methods were becoming more popular in sociology and psychology (Hammersley, 1992). Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) record the second phase in the evolution of methodological approaches, namely the emergence of mixed methods, from 1960s - 80s. During this period, studies emerged which used both qualitative and quantitative methods in various combinations: in sequence or in parallel; as equally 100 important in the research design or one method being dominant and the other less dominant; or designs with multilevel use of approaches (Creswell, 1998). The fall of logical positivism (Howe, 1988) added weight to the argument that it was no longer an ‘either/or’ debate. Researchers such as Deshpande (1983) suggested that positivism and constructivism are at opposite ends of a spectrum rather than exclusive and unrelated world views and that the research methodology may combine some of their philosophical assumptions. Researchers such as Howe (1988) and Reichardt and Rallis (1994) suggest that there is no incompatibility between qualitative and quantitative methods and that both methods may exist within a ‘compatibility thesis.’ On the other hand, Guba and Lincoln (1989) are often cited as key proponents of the incompatibility view as they believed that joining the two paradigms together would cause epistemological problems.

A number of research methods textbooks continue to depict positivism and constructivism as polar opposites as shown in Table 4.1 below:

Table 4.1 Positivism and Constructivism as Opposing Paradigms

Philosophical Assumptions Positivism Constructivism Epistemology Researcher and object of the Researcher and object of the research are independent research are inseparable Axiology Inquiry is value-free Inquiry is value-laden Ontology Naïve realism (an objective, Relativism (multiple social external reality separate realities as seen by the from the researcher) participants) Methodological Can separate causes from Impossible to distinguish assumption effects. Categories are causes from effects as they isolated beforehand. shape each other. Categories are identified during the process.

Process is deductive Process is inductive

Research is context-free Research is context-bound

Generalisations lead to Patterns and/or theories are prediction, explanation and developed for understanding understanding

(Adapted from Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998:23 and Collis and Hussey, 2009)

101

According to Guba (1990) a paradigm may be characterised by the response to three basic questions:

1. What is the nature of reality? (Ontology); 2. What is the nature of the relationship between the knower and the known? (Epistemology); 3. How should the enquirer go about finding the knowledge? (Methodology).

Creswell (2007) adds a fourth philosophical assumption:

4. What is the role of values? (Axiology).

Table 4.1 depicts a clear distinction between positivism and constructivism, based on opposing views on the four philosophical assumptions which enable the researcher to choose one paradigm or the other. However House (1994:16) has stated that ‘neither of these so-called paradigms is fully adequate’ and Hammersley (1992:172) agrees that ‘the distinction between quantitative and qualitative approaches does not capture the full range of options that we face.’ However authors on research methods do not agree on the choices of paradigms available to researchers. At least six different paradigm choices are given in current research methods textbooks which are summarised below:

Table 4.2 Research Paradigms in Research Methods Textbooks

Guba (1990) Tashakkori and Bryman and Saunders et Blumberg et Creswell (2009) Teddlie (1998) Bell (2003) al, (2003) al, (2008) Positivism Logical Positivism Positivism Positivism Positivism Postpositivism Postpositivism Postpositivism Constructivism Constructivism Interpretivism Interpretivism Interpretivism Constructivism Pragmatism Pragmatism Pragmatism Critical Theory Advocacy/ Participatory Realism Realism Realism

As may be seen above, three of the four authors still include (logical) positivism as a choice of paradigm despite its well-recognised demise (Phillips, 1990; Howe, 1988). Reichardt and Rallis (1994) suggest that logical positivism and postpositivism are sometimes confused leading to the mistaken assumption that logical positivism is still in

102 use. Postpositivism is seen as the natural successor of positivism, a modified version which acknowledges that absolute truth cannot be found (Phillips and Burbules, 2000); the researcher cannot be fully independent of the object of the research (Guba, 1990) and a move away from reliance on quantitative methods to multiple methods and sources to help achieve realistic and objective inquiry (Guba, 1990). However, according to Creswell (2009), postpositivism still follows the scientific method of positivism which starts with theory; data is collected which supports or rejects the theory; then revisions are made before retesting the theory.

More recently, Bryman and Bell (2003) and Saunders et al (2012) have discussed realism as a paradigm which shares similarities with postpositivism such as the belief in a scientific approach to collecting data (as described by Creswell above) and an external reality independent of our thoughts. According to Saunders et al (2012) there are two forms of realism: direct realism is based on understanding the world by experiencing it through our senses and critical realism which argues that we experience sensations and not the world itself which is constantly changing. Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) depict the postpositivism paradigm as based on the ontology of critical realism and Trochim (2006) states that critical realism is a postpositivist philosophy. Therefore is appears that postpositivism and critical realism are related however since there are also other forms of realism (such as direct realism described above), it may not be assumed that realism and postpositivism are the same paradigm.

Constructivists such as Guba (1990) believe that the positivist and postpositivist paradigms are inherently problematic and need to be replaced by an alternative paradigm which advocates relativism (multiple realities), subjectivist interaction and a qualitative methodology. Constructivist researchers focus on the historical and cultural context of the participants; rely on the participants’ subjective views of the situation under study; recognise their own impact on the research and interpret the meanings of others to develop theory (Creswell, 2009).

The advocacy and participatory paradigm emerged in the 1980s and 1990s to provide an alternative to positivism and postpositivism in calling for a research agenda to address the issues of marginalised people (Creswell, 2009). These researchers felt that constructivism did not do enough to address the important social issues such as inequality which needed 103 to become the focal point of the research to bring about change and improve people’s lives. Inquiry was seen as a political act (Guba, 1990) since the choice of values for the research could empower and enfranchise or disempower and disenfranchise, depending on whose perspective was being taken. Critical theory is seen as related to this paradigm; some researchers state that critical theory is the umbrella paradigm containing all ‘ideologically oriented enquiry’ (e.g. Guba, 1990:23) while others like Creswell (2009) state that the advocacy and participatory worldview contains critical theory.

However Hughes and Sharrock (1997) suggest that some contemporary researchers have bypassed ontological and epistemological issues and taken a pragmatic world view, which allows the researcher to choose the research method(s) according to the nature of the research problem. House (1994:20) states that ‘all research methods are everyday work tools’ and adds that in the past, method has been over-emphasised at the expense of content or the subject of the research. Although he is known for his contribution to postpositivist philosophy, Popper (1992:15) has said that ‘Philosophers are as free as others to use any method in searching for truth.’ Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) document the emergence of mixed model studies in the 1990s where qualitative and quantitative methods were used at different stages of the research, working closely together to inform the research. The methods were much more fully integrated in these studies and the philosophy ‘what works’ supported a different paradigm based on pragmatism.

Well-recognised research methods authors such as Creswell (2009) and Patton (1990:39) advocate pragmatism as a ‘paradigm of choices [which] rejects methodological orthodoxy in favour of methodological appropriateness’ since different methods are appropriate for different situations. Hammersley (1992:172) also agrees that the selection of position on various issues should be based on ‘the purpose and circumstance of the research’ rather than an unswerving commitment to a particular paradigm or methodology. The author agrees with Patton (1990) who prefers pragmatism which increases the options available to researchers as researchers can use both qualitative and quantitative data to provide the best understanding of a research problem. Pragmatists, like constructivists, acknowledge that research takes place in a social, historical, political context. Pragmatists believe in an external world like the positivists and a subjective world such as the constructivists.

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Therefore pragmatism was the author’s choice of research paradigm. The author agrees with Reichardt and Rallis (1994) who argue that the incompatibility thesis is based on inaccurate accounts of the differences between the postpositivist and constructivist paradigms which share fundamental values. Similarly, Hammersley’s (1992) chapter on ‘Deconstructing the Qualitative-Quantitative Divide’ takes apart the traditional differences between positivism and constructivism to show that there is considerably more similarity between the two opposing paradigms and researchers can take different positions on more than one dimension.

4.2 Mixed Methods Research

The pragmatist paradigm supports the use of multiple research methods and these may be required when researching a complex social reality (House, 1994). According to Creswell and Plano Clark (2011), the last decade has brought about an increase in mixed methods approaches to research, particularly in social sciences. According to Johnson et al (2007:123) ‘Mixed methods research is the type of research in which a researcher or team of researchers combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (e.g. use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) for the purposes of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration.’ Mixed methods research does not refer to just the mixing of qualitative and quantitative methods but ‘it is a separate methodological orientation with its own worldview, vocabulary and techniques’ (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2003:x).

Reichardt and Rallis (1994) suggest that two methods can be better than one as they overcome each other’s weaknesses and limitations and inform each other. Qualitative methods are ‘more suited for theory construction or generation’ (Deshpande, 1983:107) and analyse and develop the meaning of social reality from the participants’ perspective (Reichardt and Rallis, 1994). They rely on exploring questions which are more open- ended, assuming less in advance including which variables are relevant (House, 1994). On the other hand, quantitative methods are ‘for theory verification or testing’ (Deshpande, 1983:107) and seeking to understand relationships (Reichardt and Rallis, 1994). They assume the relevant variables can be identified in advance and validly measured and use mathematical models as simplified representations of the problems being studied. The

105 results depend on concise analysis of data as well as the fit between the model and the problem (House, 1994).

Greene et al (1989) undertook a review of over 50 studies employing mixed methods. The authors identified five potential advantages of using mixed methods as follows and the author has recorded how her own study benefitted from these advantages:

Table 4.3 Benefits of a Mixed Methods Research Design to the Current Study

Green et al’s (1989) Five Description of Advantage Benefit to current study potential advantages of mixed methods research Initiation Discovering new insights through Qualitative interview data provided new contradictory findings insights into liking and attachment as well as new insights into the four social bonds from the interviewees’ own perspective Triangulation Testing the convergence and Data triangulation (secondary and validity of results primary data); theory triangulation (attachment and liking theories); and methodological triangulation (qualitative and quantitative)* Complementarity Providing added depth and Qualitative data used to support and clarification to findings explain the quantitative findings. Interview data has been used to gain a deeper understanding of the social bond scale items. Development Using the results of first method to Qualitative data used to support or reject inform and design second method the items in the preliminary scale developed from the literature and create new items based on the interview data Expansion Extending the breadth and scope of The two methods combine to provide the research rich data from the interviews to extend and modify the preliminary scale and quantitative data which enabled the scale to be tested and generalised among a larger sampling frame. *These three ways in which researchers can triangulate their methods and information were introduced by Denzin (1978). He also mentioned a fourth way: Investigator triangulation (the use of different researchers in the research process) however this was not used by the author.

4.3 The Effect of Theory on Research Design

According to Edmonson and McManus (2007) the research design needs to take into account methodological fit to ensure quality of field research. In particular, they present guidelines on how to align theory, according to its level of maturity of development, with appropriate methods (see Table 4.4 on the next page)

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Table 4.4 Three Archetypes of Methodological Fit in Field Research

(Edward and McManus 2007: 1158)

Edmonson and McManus (2007) state that mature theory presents well-developed constructs and models that have been studied over time in different contexts by a variety of researchers. The research focuses on refining, elaborating, clarifying or challenging existing theory. Quantitative data and surveys are suggested as appropriate for collecting data for a study which is based on mature theory. Nascent theory, in contrast, explores topics for which little or no prior theory exists. An inductive approach is suggested to generate tentative answers to novel questions using interviews, observations and ethnography to generate open-ended enquiry. Grounded theory and longitudinal research would fit the requirements of these studies.

Intermediate theory, positioned between mature and nascent, draws on prior literature often from separate fields to propose new constructs and theoretical relationships.

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Although the research questions may allow the development of testable hypotheses, similar to mature theory research, one or more of the constructs involved is often still tentative, similar to nascent theory research. Deshpande (1983:107) suggests that ‘while attempting to build a new theory or make an innovative theory construction contribution, a marketing scientist would be well advised to carefully study and then put into practice qualitative methods. Once the theory has been developed or grounded, the application of quantitative methods would be more appropriate.’

The author would categorise her research as intermediate theory since it is based on well- known theories of attachment and liking however the context of professional services is new so the theory needs to be explored and re-defined in this particular context. Such studies (e.g. Cater and Zabkar, 2009; Garry, 2008; Venetis and Ghauri, 2004) often integrate qualitative and quantitative data to establish external and construct validity of new measures, in this case, the scale of social bonds. The author’s research design incorporates a number of the characteristics of intermediate theory which is given in Edmonson and McManus’ (2007) framework above:

 the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in the research design through the use of interviews and a survey;  the development of a new scale to measure four new social bonds - the development of this new measurement tool has involved exploratory work in its early stage (qualitative) followed by testing in its later (quantitative) stage;  the development of a provisional theory of social bonds integrating previously separate bodies of work (social bonds literature with attachment theory and Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love).

It is important to take into account the state of the theory when selecting research methods as when the methodological fit is low, Edmonson and McManus (2007) report that results can reduce the potential contribution to the literature. For example, if only quantitative data is collected, this can lead to new constructs and measures which lack reliability and external validity and if qualitative data only is collected then insufficient support for a new theory lessens the potential contribution of the research.

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Table 4.5 Methodologies used in Previous Research Studies of Professional Services Business Relationships

Author Journal Subject of research Research Design Type of method/s used Frow Journal of A study of the A grounded theory One law firm was selected. (2007) Marketing meaning of approach using an In-depth interviews were Management commitment used by inductive qualitative conducted among lawyers and their research design relationship dyads using a clients laddering technique. Garry Journal of A study of the role of A two-stage Solicitors and clients were (2008) Services affect and corporate methodology chosen from various-sized Marketing customer expertise incorporating law firms for interview. A within legal services exploratory questionnaire was interviews and a developed and posted to survey 460 lawyers and 460 managing directors of SMEs. Haytko Journal of the A study of firm-to- A phenomenological Advertising agency (2004) Academy of firm and interpersonal approach was account managers were Marketing relationships of followed chosen at several levels Science advertising agency incorporating from three different account managers qualitative advertising agencies. Two interviews. or three onsite interviews were conducted with each interviewee and a follow- up telephone interview in several cases. Hawke International A study of A case study Dyadic relationships of and Journal of Bank interpersonal liking in methodology was bank lenders at a major Heffernan Marketing lender-customer adopted. international bank and their (2006) relationships in the customer. In-depth banking industry interviews were conducted and short questionnaires were completed at the end of each interview. Karantinou Journal of A study of A qualitative Three large multinational and Hogg Services relationship approach was used consulting organisations (2009) Marketing development in and six client organisations management were involved. Fifteen consultancy consultants from different levels of hierarchy and six clients took part in in- depth interviews. Lian and Industrial A study of the way in A combination of A questionnaire survey of Liang Marketing which personal qualitative and HR Directors of FTSE 350 (2007) Management relationships affect quantitative methods companies and a sample of the process and 40 public sector outcomes of organisations followed by purchasing health in-depth case studies services within seven purchasing dyads (16 interviews and relevant supporting documentation)

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The author’s review of twelve social bonds scales (see Appendix 1) revealed that five out of the twelve studies used a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) research design. The remaining seven studies used a solely quantitative methodology in the form of a questionnaire survey. In addition, the author took a random sample of journal articles in which empirical research was conducted in the context of professional services business relationships. She was interested in the different methodologies adopted by researchers working in a similar research context to her own and these papers are shown in Table 4.5 above to illustrate the approaches used. As can be seen, interviews and questionnaire surveys are used either in combination or individually (as the sole method) in all of the studies therefore it would seem that the author’s chosen research methods may be commonly used by researchers working in the area of relationship marketing within a professional services context.

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4.4 PHASE 1 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

4.4.1 Definitions and Purpose

Qualitative research was used in the first phase of the research design. Qualitative research has been variously defined but the two detailed definitions below appear to cover the content (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005) and process (Creswell, 2007) and together give a good overview of what this type of research entails:

‘Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a set of interpretative, material practices that make the world visible. These practices transform the world. They turn the world into a series of representations, including field notes, interviews, conversations, photographs, recordings, and memos to the self. At this level, qualitative research involves an interpretative, naturalistic approach to the world. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.’

(Denzin and Lincoln, 2005:3)

‘Qualitative research begins with assumptions, a worldview, the possible use of a theoretical lens, and the study of research problems inquiring into the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. To study this problem, qualitative researchers use an emerging qualitative approach to inquiry, the collection of data in a natural setting sensitive to the people and places under study, and data analysis that is inductive and establishes patterns or themes. The final written report or presentation includes the voices of participants, the reflexivity of the researcher, and a complex description and interpretation of the problem and it extends the literature or signals a call for action.’

(Creswell, 2007:37)

Creswell (2007) gives a number of ways in which qualitative research can be used in a research study and four of these ways are particularly relevant to the author’s research. Firstly, she has used qualitative interviews to study a group prior to identifying variables which can then be measured using a quantitative approach. Secondly, she has used qualitative research to explore a problem without relying solely on predetermined information from the literature. Thirdly, she has benefitted from a qualitative approach to understand the context in which participants in a study address the problem. Finally, she

111 has used qualitative research to develop theories when partial or inadequate theories exist for existing populations or existing theories do not adequately capture the complexity of the problem being examined.

4.4.2 Research Approach

The purpose of this phase of the research was not wholly exploratory because conceptual categories were pre-established from existing theory. According to Creswell (2007), the theoretical assumptions which shape the research should be made explicit. These have been set out in the Literature Review and Preliminary Scale Development chapters. However the qualitative phase provided the opportunity to collect new data to support the four bonds suggested by the theoretical framework and to support the scale items created, adapted or taken from the literature for each bond construct. It also gave the opportunity to generate new items for the scale from the qualitative interview data.

Creswell (2007) recommends choosing a recognised approach to qualitative inquiry and following its guidelines and procedures. He suggests five different approaches to qualitative inquiry which are: Phenomenology, Narrative Research, Grounded Theory, Ethnography and Case Study. The phenomenological approach has been chosen which is based on ‘the meaning for several individuals of their lived experiences (sic) of a concept or phenomenon’ (Creswell, 2007:57). Phenomenologists focus is on what participants have in common, which in this case, is their experience as a professional service provider of business relationships with clients. The qualitative researcher identifies a phenomenon which is social bonds and how participants identify, describe and rate the importance of these within the context of reflecting on different business relationships. Moustakas (1994) says this approach is appropriate when trying to develop a deeper understanding about features of this phenomenon. The author used qualitative research to get a better understanding of social bonds and their characteristics and develop further items to operationalise bonds which were then tested in the second, quantitative phase of the research. Most commonly, the research problem fills a gap in the literature (Creswell, 2007) and this phenomenological study was designed to gain a greater understanding of social bonds as described by professional services providers.

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Narrative research was rejected as an approach for the qualitative research since the researcher is required to collect extensive information about an individual participant (Creswell, 2007) and use various sources of data to reconstruct his or her life story. The author did not have this level of access to the interviewee and the research requires a broader range of participants discussing business relationships so comparisons can be made. It is not necessary to have a full understanding of the interviewee’s background and personal life.

Grounded theory has been rejected since it is recommended when a theory is not available (Creswell, 2007). The process involves the researcher moving between theory and data and the theory is ‘grounded’ in the data from participants who have taken part in the process. In the case of this research, the theory is already in existence and the researcher is using the interviews to find support for the theory and to generate items for a preliminary scale of social bonds prior to testing in a quantitative survey.

Ethnographic research involves a focus on an entire cultural group and the process often involves participant observation and immersion into the daily lives of people (Creswell, 2007). The researcher used to work in a professional services firm (1994-2003) and had the opportunity to observe people’s behaviour, language and interactions however the current study does not require this deep immersion into group culture. The researcher has involved participants who share certain common experiences (such as developing client relationships) however as they represent various professional services and organisations, an ethnographic approach would not be possible.

The case study, as a type of methodology, uses a single case or multiple cases to understand an issue within a bounded system through in-depth data collection using multiple sources of information (Creswell, 2007). With this type of research, there is a reluctance to generalise between cases since it is felt that each one represents a unique situation. Since the researcher is using interviews as the only qualitative method and intends to seek common perspectives among the interviewees, the case study has been rejected as a methodology for this research.

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4.4.3 Interview Development

Patton (2002) states that first person descriptions are the best way of understanding the phenomena under investigation. According to Creswell (2007) terms used by participants are particularly important in qualitative research and one of the most important jobs of the qualitative researcher is to interpret the phenomena as seen by those being studied (Bryman, 2000). Burgess (1982:107) suggests that interviews offer researchers the opportunity to ‘probe deeply to uncover new clues, open up new dimensions of a problem and to secure vivid, accurate inclusive accounts that are based on personal experience.’

In addition, the author took the following three factors into account when choosing to use interviews over other qualitative methods. Firstly, the type of participant since Malhotra and Birks (2003) recommend in-depth interviews for professional people and those with hectic schedules. The second consideration was the author’s preference and experience. The author has worked in a Big 4 professional services firm for nine years and has considerable experience of working alongside the firm’s partners and managers and speaking to clients therefore she felt confident in using this form of data collection. The third factor was the best type of interaction to collect the data required. Malhotra and Birks (2003) recommend interviews rather than focus groups where individual reflection is required since a group interview does not allow time for reflection.

Rubin and Rubin (2005) have produced a framework which shows which type of interview is recommended depending on its purpose (see Table 4.6). The author has indicated in bold the two main purposes of her interviews. The author was working within two categories specified by Rubin and Rubin (2005). Her interviews involved theory elaboration which was used to explore how liking and attachment are seen by the interviewees. In addition, concept clarification was used by asking interviewees to define and describe the four social bonds.

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Table 4.6 The Variety of Qualitative Interviews

Narrowly Focused In Between Broadly Focused Scope Scope Focused Mainly on Concept Theory Elaboration Ethnographic Meanings and clarification interpretation Frameworks In Between Exit interview Oral histories Life history Organizational culture Focused Mainly on Investigative Action research Elaborated case Events and interviewing Evaluation research studies Processes (Rubin and Rubin, 2005:4)

4.4.3.1 The Semi-Structured Face-to-Face Interview

Saunders et al (2012) differentiate between structured, semi-structured and unstructured types of interview. The author selected the semi-structured interview as the best fit for her research. Semi-structured interviews are a common qualitative research technique, with the sequencing of questions varying according to the circumstances and progress of each interview. The author’s interview guide (see Appendix 2) contains both pre-prepared themes and key questions and has some flexibility built in to open the conversation to follow up interesting new areas related to the research. Beetles and Harris (2010) used semi-structured interviews when discussing intimacy in service relationships with consumers.

According to Rubin and Rubin (2005), the interviewer intentionally introduces a limited number of topics and encourages the interviewee to elaborate on these. These topics have been considered beforehand and included in an interview guide. An interview guide assists the researcher in collecting standardised data from interviewees and questions can be revised as new ideas occur following an interview (Daymon and Holloway, 2002). Rubin and Rubin (2005) suggest that researchers work out main questions, probes and follow- ups. Main questions introduce the topic, probes encourage more depth and detail and follow-up questions ask the interviewee to expand on key words, ideas and themes already mentioned which the interviewer feels is important to the research. Follow up questions are important in clarifying gaps and omissions and gaining clarity and precision.

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In addition, the use of examples from the interviewees’ experiences were encouraged since ‘concrete illustrations help ground the answers in the experience of the interviewees in ways that provide nuance and precision, context and evidence all at the same time’ (Rubin and Rubin, 2005:37). The examples also helped in clarifying whether the interviewee has understood the concepts being discussed. Words may have different meanings to different people and some people may use similar words to mean others, for example, commitment may be used synonymously with loyalty as these are similar concepts. Therefore examples are useful in illustrating the meanings which the interviewee intends. Rather than naming the social bonds for example, the interviewee was encouraged to describe them and the researcher would then provide the label for the concept. Although the interviewees should be experienced in participating in business relationships and forming social bonds, they are not expected to be knowledgeable in the literature of social bonds or attachment and liking theories. In the interview, there are no pre-set responses and interviewees can respond to the questions as they wish to. The pattern of a semi-structured interview should encourage a detailed response allowing personal opinions and feelings to be expressed (Crouch and Housden, 1996).

In addition, Saunders et al (2012) differentiate between face to face, telephone and electronic interviews however they state that most in-depth or semi-structured interviews take place face-to-face. This was also the author’s preference for three reasons. Firstly, she wanted to establish a trusting relationship with the interviewee to enable an open, conversational-style dialogue to take place so she could learn as much as possible about the interviewee’s thoughts and experiences. The second reason for preferring a face-to- face interview was that she wanted to record the interview to ensure an accurate transcription so the words of the interviewees could be used to develop the social bond scale. Thirdly, the author wanted to explore the theories and concepts in depth and the face to face interview enabled the author, as interviewer, to lead the interview more effectively based on observing the interviewee’s body language and facial expressions.

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4.4.3.2 The Interview Guide (see Appendix 2)

The interview guide was developed as the main tool to collect the qualitative data. Creswell (2007) recommends having a clear idea or concept when starting a qualitative study. The interview guide was designed to stimulate the interviewee’s reflection in thinking deeply about various client relationships which he or she is currently involved in or has been involved in in the past. This was in order to achieve the interview’s aims:

 To get a better understanding of business relationships and in particular, social bonds, which develop between professional services providers and their clients;  To allow business professionals to express themselves in their own words and in a natural setting to capture the nature of social bonds;  To allow business professionals to reflect on a range of business relationships to identify similarities and differences, the characteristics of stronger and weaker relationships and the similarities of personal and business relationships;  To obtain support for the preliminary scale developed from the literature, in particular, for the four social bonds and their respective items developed from the a priori theories (attachment theory and Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love);  To generate more items for the four social bonds.

According to Moustakas (1994), two main questions should be asked by the phenomenological researcher to the participant and these are reflected in the author’s interview guide (see Appendix 2):

1. What have you experienced in terms of the phenomenon? (Part 3 and 4 of interview guide) 2. What contexts or situations have typically influenced or affected your experiences of the phenomenon? (Part 2 of interview guide)

The interview guide was divided into five parts and the rationale behind each part of the guide is given briefly below. It is important to consider the order of the questions in an interview. The interview was semi-structured so the main questions were worked out in

117 advance and there was an opportunity at the end of the interview to cover any areas which either the interviewer or interviewee would like to add.

Part 1 General Questions

It is well-documented that an interview should begin with questions which are easy to answer (Patton, 1990) in order to ease the interviewee into the interview. The first part of the guide includes background questions to establish key variables such as the interviewee’s position and general scope of responsibility, how long he/she has worked for the company, the nature of professional services provided and the pattern of client work (regular or occasional). The questions were designed to establish some basic information about the interviewee and the types of business relationships he or she participates in as well as identifying any particular issues and points of interest to be explored further in the interview. It was also important in giving the interviewer an understanding of the particular context the interviewee operates in (an important feature of phenomenology – Moustakas, 1994). This ensures the opportunity for exploring contextual variables before questions based on theory are asked.

Part 2 Different Business Relationships

The second part of the interview was designed to ask the interviewee broad questions to reflect on the variety of relationships which he/she has experienced: how are they similar and different, how would he/she describe the strongest relationships and why some relationships may not be strong, are the strongest relationships also the most successful. These questions give the opportunity for the interviewee to talk freely about business relationships without focusing immediately on the bonds and a priori theories. This enabled a good range of background data to be collected on business relationships which added to the author’s overall understanding of this area. There is also a question about the similarity of working relationships and personal relationships which begins to get the interviewee to think about personal relationship constructs and whether they may also be present in business relationships. These constructs are explored further in the next two sections of the interview guide.

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Part 3 A Strong Business Relationship

The third part of the interview was designed to ask the interviewee to reflect specifically on one business relationship which he/she considers to be a strong relationship. The questions facilitate the collection of data about key contextual variables such as length of relationship, how often they do business and communicate as well as questions about the nature of the relationship. This includes reflecting on whether the person/client on the other side of the business relationship could be a friend if they met in a social context. The questions are trying to establish whether liking is a basis for this relationship and whether the interviewee believes liking is important in business relationships since this is one of the theories underpinning social bonds in this study.

Part 4 Relationship Bonds

The fourth section of the interview briefly introduces attachment theory and the questions are designed to ask the interviewee to reflect on whether bonds have developed between him/herself and a client. Further questions attempt to establish what these bonds are based on, what affects bonds and what may be the outcomes of bonds. There is an opportunity here to discuss general views of attachment and bonding and what they look like in business. Since attachment is the second theory underpinning social bonds in this study, it is important to gain an understanding of this theory (whether attachment appears to explain bonding) from the experiences of the interviewee.

Part 5 Other Relevant Matters for Discussion

The final part of the interview gives the opportunity for the interviewer to ask any further questions and the interviewee to add anything relevant which he or she feels has not yet been discussed during the course of the interview (Patton, 1990). This part is designed to be more open and allow for unstructured discussion and bringing in of new ideas as well as discussing in more detail issues already raised but requiring further attention.

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4.4.3.3 The Pilot Study

Two pilot interviews were conducted with interviewees known to the author who fitted the requirements of the target population (see Table 4.7 below).

Table 4.7 Pilot Interview Participants

Interviewee Job Title Interview Interview Date Length of location interview Interviewee A Event Producer and Interviewee’s 24 January 2012 1.5 hours Male Creative Director office in (freelance) Richmond, London Interviewee B Conference Organiser Interviewee’s 2 February 2012 42 minutes Male (own company) office in Sloane Square, London

Pilot studies are useful to test the effectiveness of data collection. Bryman and Bell (2003) and Saunders et al (2007) state that pilot studies provide an opportunity to assess the research methodology, approach and strategy and refine these for use in the principal study. In addition, pilot studies give the researcher the opportunity to test the interview questions in advance to ensure they are appropriate for the interviewees. According to Kim (2011), the main benefit of conducting a pilot study is to have the opportunity to make adjustments and revisions before the main study. Following the pilot interviews, the following changes were made to the interview guide:

1. In Part 2 Question 1 ‘How many clients do you have’ was removed as it was not found to be relevant to the research.

2. It was mentioned by one of the pilot interviewees that relationships with clients may be superficial so an additional question was added to try to discover to what extent client relationships are genuinely felt and to what extent they are stage-managed.

3. It was found in the pilot interviews that commitment was only mentioned once. The author therefore added a reminder to herself at the end of Part 3 of the interview to specifically probe the key concepts of intimacy, passion, commitment and security if these were not mentioned earlier by the interviewee.

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4.4.4 Main Interview Research

4.4.4.1 Interview Sample Size

The author set a minimum sample size of 20 participants based on studies using a similar mixed-methodology using qualitative interviews in the first phase followed by a quantitative survey in the second phase. In previous scales of social bond development, Smith (1998) carried out eighteen interviews with purchasing professionals and supplier representatives to inform the design and wording of the main quantitative survey. Patterson and Smith (2001a) conducted twenty interviews prior to developing a self-administered questionnaire to distribute to customers of five different services providers. Barry et al (2008) carried out a cross-cultural examination of relationship strength in business-to- business services using 19 field interviews to conceptualise factors driving relationship behaviour followed by questionnaires sent to buyers of aviation maintenance services.

A number of theories claim to assist the researcher in deciding on an adequate number of interviews. One of these is consensus theory (Romney et al, 1986) which suggests that experts tend to agree more with each other than do novices e.g. a small sample of four experts can give very accurate information. Romney et al (1986) also note that a similar set of questions would need to be asked of all participants otherwise one could never achieve data saturation (therefore the more structured the interview guide, the more likely there will be consensus). Finally, Romney et al (1986) also propose that the more similar the sets of participants, the sooner one would achieve data saturation. A study by Guest et al (2006) illustrates this last point regarding homogeneity of interviewees. 60 in-depth interviews with West African women found that data saturation occurred within the first twelve interviews (97% of codes uncovered) and the four meta themes were already uncovered after the first six interviews. Kuzel (1992) notes the minimum number of between 6-8 interviews for a homogenous sample and 12-20 interviews for a heterogeneous sample. Since the author’s sample was heterogeneous (covering various professional services) rather than homogenous, this also justifies a larger number of interviews. Guest et al (2006) add that the level of detail required – meta themes vs fine- grained themes, also makes a difference in establishing the point at which data saturation occurs.

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The author also took into account the concept of data saturation introduced by Glaser and Strauss (1967) which refers to the point in data collection when no new additional data are found that develop aspects of a conceptual category (i.e. no new problems, themes, findings or concepts). A number of researchers have suggested a number at which data saturation occurs but there is no evidence provided to support their recommendations: between 5-25 interviews for a phenomenological study (Creswell, 1998) and according to Bertaux (1981) 15 is the smallest acceptable sample for qualitative research. However according to Francis et al (2010), there is no clear method of establishing when data saturation has been reached. Francis et al (2010) suggest that the researcher sets out an initial analysis sample and a stopping criterion. Therefore the researcher set out to conduct a minimum of twenty interviews and the stopping criterion was the judgement of the author as to whether enough data had been collected to support or reject the scale items. However, once the number of 20 interviews had been reached, she decided to continue with another ten interviews as she was becoming a more experienced interviewer and the final ten interviews benefitted from her being more confident to ask specific questions, targeting the areas which needed further exploration. When she reached 30 interviews, there was enough data to support the scale items so she did not continue further.

4.4.4.2 Sampling Methods

The population for the research was professional services providers working in London, visiting London or within an hour’s journey of London. This was in order to keep down the cost of travel and for the author, who works at the University of Greenwich, to be able to arrange interviews around her work schedule.

As mentioned earlier, 20 interviews were initially arranged and this was increased to 30 interviews in total. Two different sampling methods were used: judgemental sampling followed by the snowball sampling method. It is common for qualitative researchers to use a combination of sampling techniques while conducting their fieldwork (Patton, 2002). A judgemental sample of eleven people was initially selected from the author’s own network of contacts among professional services providers. According to Creswell (2007) when conducting phenomenological research, the interviewees need to be carefully chosen to ensure they have all experienced the phenomenon under study. The author’s contacts are mainly from the areas of Marketing, Events, PR and Consultancy. According to Rubin and 122

Rubin (2005) people are more likely to agree to be interviewed if they know the interviewer.

Since the author wanted to increase the variety of professional services contexts represented in the research, she adopted a second sampling method which was snowball sampling. Four of the author’s contacts proved particularly useful in enabling her to recruit additional participants from different professional services backgrounds such as auditing, accounting, law, property and banking. One contact was able to arrange six interviews, two further contacts put the author in touch with five people each and a fourth contact was able to facilitate a further three interviews. This was important as the author wanted to generalise the results of her research in a professional services context by following up with a larger scale quantitative survey so she wanted to interview a broad range of people to reflect this. According to Rubin and Rubin (2005), the credibility of the findings increase when interviewing people with a range of different views.

As well as taking into account the type of professional service, the author’s sample included interviewees across a range of demographic variables: both male and female, at the beginning of their career and nearing retirement and of different national cultures. In addition, interviewees came from organisations of various sizes from micro businesses to global multinationals.

Table 4.8 Main Interview Participants

Interviewee Job Title Interview Interview Date Length of location interview Interviewee 1 Managing Director, Royal Society of 15 February 44 minutes Male Marketing Arts, London 2012 Communications and Business Development Consultancy Interviewee 2 Director/Owner, Business Design 16 February 43 minutes Male Business Training and Centre, Islington, 2012 at 9:30am Consultancy Service London

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Interviewee Job Title Interview Interview Date Length of location interview Interviewee 3 Freelance Event and University of 20 February 42 minutes Male Marketing Consultant Greenwich, 2012 at 12.30 London Interviewee 4 Managing Director, Office in 21 February 1 hour 5 minutes Male PR Consultancy Haymarket, 2012 at 10am London Interviewee 5 Partner, International Cafe Rouge, 1 March 2012 at 42 minutes Female Consultancy Blackheath, 2pm measuring marketing London effectiveness Interviewee 6 Freelance PR Yumchaa 7 March 2012 at 1 hour 19 Female Consultant Teashop in Soho, 10:30am minutes London Interviewee 7 Founder and Director, Cafe in 7 March 2012 at 41 minutes Female Event Management Paperchase, 1.45pm Company Near Goodge St, London Interviewee 8 Senior PR Consultant, Office in 14 March 2012 40 minutes Female PR Consultancy Haymarket, at 10.30am London Interviewee 9 Consultant in the University of 19 March 2012 1 hour 3 minutes Male Meetings Industry Greenwich, at 4pm London Interviewee 10 Business Development Tapped & 21 March 2012 52 minutes Female Manager, TV Packed, at 3:30pm Company Tottenham Court Road, London Interviewee 11 Management Itsu (Japanese 22 March 2012 37 minutes Male Consultant working in Restaurant), at 12pm investment banks Liverpool Street, London Interviewee 12 Scheme Manager, Telephone 26 March 2012 43 minutes Male Business Services interview at 12pm (unrecorded, Organisation providing notes taken) Standards-based Solutions Interviewee 13 Director and Owner, All Bar One, 28 March 2012 28 minutes Male Property Development Canary Wharf. at 11am Consultants London Interviewee 14 Principal, Client Offices, 29 March 2012 33 minutes Male Accountancy and Clerkenwell, at 11am Property Management London Interviewee 15 Director of University of 30 March 2012 39 minutes Male Technology and Greenwich, at 2pm Operations, Industrial London and Provident Society Interviewee 16 Trader in a Market Company Offices, 30 March 2012 37 minutes Male Making Company near Liverpool at 6pm Street Station, London

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Interviewee Job Title Interview Interview Date Length of location interview Interviewee 17 Proprietor, Cafe Nero in 13 April 2012 at 45 minutes Male Accountancy Practice Tonbridge, Kent 2pm recorded (1.5 hours altogether) Interviewee 18 Principal Counsel/ Bank Offices, 16th April 2012 41 minutes Male Lawyer, European Liverpool Street, at 2.30pm Investment Bank London Interviewee 19 Investment Banker, Telephone 18th April 2012 23 minutes Female European Investment interview at 8.15am (unrecorded, Bank notes taken) Interviewee 20 Associate/Solicitor, Firm Offices, near 19th April 2012 32 minutes Male International Law Liverpool Street, at 10.30am Firm London Interviewee 21 Director, Corporates, Agency Offices, 20th April 2012 40 minutes Male Global Ratings Canary Wharf, at 10am Agency London Interviewee 22 Senior Associate, Company Offices 25 April 2012 55 minutes Male Banking and Capital near London 10am Markets Group, Big Bridge Four Firm Interviewee 23 Director and Head of Company Offices 25 April 2012 40 minutes Female Charities, Big Four near London 11am Firm Bridge Interviewee 24 Partner, Central Company Offices 26 April 2012 25 minutes Male Government Internal near London 2pm Audit, Big Four Firm Bridge Interviewee 25 Senior Manager, Company Offices 26 April 2012 41 minutes Male Central Government near London 3pm Internal Audit, Big Bridge Four Firm Interviewee 26 Director, Central Company Offices 27 April 2012 45 minutes Male Government Internal near London 11am Audit, Big Four Firm Bridge Interviewee 27 Criminal Barrister Interviewee’s 28 April 2012 35 minutes Female Flat, Isle of Dogs, 2pm London Interviewee 28 Business Development Company Offices 1 May 2012 50 minutes (+10 Female Manager, Big Four near London 4pm minutes Firm Bridge unrecorded) Interviewee 29 Director, Central Company Offices 11 May 2012 37 minutes Male Government Internal near London 10am and External Audit, Bridge Big Four Firm Interviewee 30 Operating Partner, Company Offices, 11 May 2012 40 minutes Male Global Management Piccadilly, 1pm Consulting Firm London

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4.4.4.3 Interviewee Recruitment and Interview Process

The author emailed her eleven contacts personally inviting them to take part in an interview and giving some basic information about what was involved. The interviewees recruited by the author’s contacts were contacted first by the recruiter and their email address was passed to the author only when they agreed to the interview. On agreeing to the interview, each interviewee was emailed a copy of the Participant Information Sheet (see Appendix 3) giving details of the research. Before each interview started, the interviewer checked that the interviewee had read through the Participant Information Sheet. She discussed the Consent Form with the interviewee to ensure he or she was happy with each point prior to signing the form. At that point it was established whether or not the interviewee would agree to the interview being recorded on a digital Dictaphone.

All 28 participants who were interviewed face to face agreed for the interview to be recorded however it was not possible to record the two interviews which were conducted by telephone. Although the author asked every interviewee for a face to face interview, in two cases this was not possible. One interviewee would only agree to a telephone interview and the second interviewee had a job which entailed constant travelling to client premises so a telephone interview was more practical. Rubin and Rubin (2005) note that it is important to represent exactly what the interviewee has said during the interview so the use of a Dictaphone ensured an accurate recording. Saunders et al (2012) suggest that the use of a recording device may have a negative impact on the relationship between interviewee and interviewer and may inhibit the interviewee’s responses but the interviewer did not find either of these problems occurring.

According to Malhotra and Birks (2003) in-depth interviews may take from 30 minutes to over an hour. The length of the author’s interviews ranged from 25 minutes to 1.5 hours. The author conducted all the interviews and used a standard interview guide as discussed previously however interview length appeared to be mostly dependent on the interviewee as some interviewees were very efficient in responding to questions while others preferred to reflect more deeply which resulted in a longer discussion. Interviewees were given the option of receiving a transcript of their interview by email to review to ensure he or she was happy with its contents before using the data. Only one interviewee requested that one

126 example of a client project be removed due to confidentiality however this did not detract from the quality of the interview

It is important to gain the trust of the interviewee at the start of the interview and establish confidentiality of information. According to Rubin and Rubin (2005:13), ‘part of the interviewing process requires establishing a connection that allows for an openness of exchange.’ Rubin and Rubin (2005) encourage a conversational partnership between interviewer and interviewee. They encourage the interviewer to reflect on how her personality will influence the way she is perceived; to keep a balance between empathy and distance towards the interviewee and not to express strong personal feelings during the interview. The author has worked in a professional services firm for nine years so she felt comfortable in interviewing professional services providers. Rubin and Rubin (2005) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being an outsider versus an insider as the interviewer. The author found that her previous experience in a professional services firm was a good starting point with some of the service providers who were from the same professional services firm where she used to work. She found that this helped to break the ice at the beginning of the interview and build trust more quickly.

Hatch (2002) considers it important to give something back to interviewees for their time and effort. As well as thanking each interviewee for his or her participation, the author offered each participant a copy of the research results.

The interviews took place over a three month period between 15 February and 11 May 2012. Contact summary sheets were completed as soon as possible after each interview in order to have a summary of the key information as it related to the research. This is recommended by Miles and Huberman (1994) and Rubin and Rubin (2005). It ensured that that author was able to have an overview of each interview and quickly identify the key concepts and theories and any omissions or new themes. An example of a completed Contact Summary Sheet is given in Appendix 4. As a result of new themes being mentioned during interviews and recorded on the contact summary sheets, additional questions were added to the interview guide as follows:

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Part 2 Different Business Relationships

Question 9 To what extent does work affect the business relationship – so if work is going well does the business relationship also go well and vice versa? Question 10 How does the interaction between you and the client change when something goes wrong and you are responding to an emergency situation? (How does that affect the business relationship?) Question 11 How does your organisational culture impact on the way you manage client relationships? How does your service provider’s/client’s organisational culture impact on the way you manage the relationship?

4.4.5 Qualitative Research Limitations

As mentioned earlier, eleven of the interviewees were the author’s professional contacts. Most of them were known to the author as guest speakers who occasionally give lectures at the University of Greenwich. As a result, she was aware of potential bias and acquiescence (Bryman and Bell, 2003) with interviewees trying to ‘help’ by giving the ‘right’ answer. However this was not found to be a problem as anticipated due to the formality of the interview process which included the signing of a consent form, request for recording the interview and an interview script. These factors ensured that the interview progressed in a friendly yet structured way.

In phenomenological research, Creswell (2007) states the importance of stating how the researcher’s personal understandings and experience will influence the study. Rubin and Rubin (2005) also agree that the researcher needs to take her own cultural assumptions into account as these may prevent her from hearing the meanings expressed by interviewees. The author worked for nine years in a global professional services firm as a Marketing Manager in its Warsaw and London offices. During that time she spoke to and observed service providers offering audit and business advisory services and had daily telephone contact with clients while managing a customer service desk. Therefore her prior experience could influence her understanding of professional services business relationships. Moustakas (1994) recommends the use of bracketing or epoche to set aside the researcher’s own experiences and take a fresh perspective to the concepts under investigation. The three months of interviewing enabled her to become immersed in the 128 interviewees’ experiences which challenged her own assumptions and gave her a much broader view of professional services business relationships.

Two interviews had to take place by telephone and the author found a considerable difference in the amount of data collected in a face to face interview and a telephone interview. She was not able to record the telephone interviews which meant she could only rely on her notes from the interview which did not provide a complete record such as that contained in a transcript prepared from a recording.

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4.5 PHASE 2 QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

4.5.1 Definition and Purpose

Following the analysis of the qualitative interview data and the development of the modified scale (see Chapter 5 Qualitative Data Findings and Analysis and Appendix 7) quantitative research was conducted during the second phase of the research design. Quantitative research has been defined similarly by a number of researchers (e.g. Malhotra and Birks, 2003; Field, 2009) but one of the clearest definitions is from Saunders et al (2012:162):

‘Quantitative research examines relationships between variables, which are measured numerically and analysed using a range of statistical techniques.’

The quantitative phase of the study was designed to fulfil the following research objectives:

1. To find out if social bonds are unidimensional or multidimensional;

2. To find out if the social bonds proposed by Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love and Attachment Theory (security, intimacy, passion and affective commitment) are empirically validated by the data collected;

3. To finalise the items of the measurement scale for social bonds;

4. To find out if the strength of social bonds is significantly different between groups depending on demographic and contextual variables.

4.5.2 Research Strategy

Malhotra and Birks (2003) differentiate between an exploratory research design which has been used for the qualitative phase of the research and described in 4.4 and a conclusive research design which has been used for the quantitative research. The latter is based on a

130 more formal and structured approach suitable for testing the social bonds scale which involves measuring phenomena, testing hypotheses and examining relationships.

Malhotra and Birks’ (2003) classification of marketing research designs shows that a conclusive research design can either support descriptive research or causal research. Descriptive research can be used to describe studies which seek to describe phenomena or characteristics of a population and associations between different variables (Blumberg et al, 2008). These studies can be cross-sectional or longitudinal (Malhotra and Birks, 2003). Causal research is used to test cause-and-effect relationships (how one variable affects another) and is used in experimentation (Blumberg et al, 2008). According to Saunders et al (2012), the experiment strategy is based on the natural sciences and in its simplest form tests whether there is a relationship between an independent and dependent variable. In a classical experiment, participants are allocated into an experimental group in which an intervention will be tested and a control group, which has no intervention. It is similar to laboratory-based research. In an experiment, the null hypothesis is tested. (Saunders et al, 2012)

The author’s research design appears to share characteristics of both the descriptive and causal strategies. Similarly to the descriptive strategy, she seeks to describe phenomena (four social bonds); describe characteristics of a population (demographic variables) and examine associations between variables (bond items). Although she is not testing causal relationships in her study, she is examining relationships between variables (construct and items, demographic variables and social bonds). Although she did not plan to use a control group, she did test her findings on a separate sample from another population. She also created null hypotheses to test which demographic and contextual variables impacted significantly on the strength of social bonds. However she did not use a laboratory setting as respondents did not complete their questionnaires in a controlled environment but questionnaires were posted to their business address and completed in their own time and in an environment of their choice.

4.5.3 Questionnaire Development

The social bonds scale formed the main part of the questionnaire since the main aim of the research was to develop and test a multidimensional scale of social bonds. The Preliminary 131

Scale Development Chapter documents the building of the preliminary scale from the literature and the Qualitative Data Findings and Analysis Chapter and Appendices 6 and 7 set out in detail the modifications made to the scale following the interview phase of the research. The remaining questions in the questionnaire related to demographic and contextual variables. These were decided upon following a review of the literature (see 2.3.2 of the Literature Review) and further variables were included following analysis of the interview data (see Conclusion to Chapter 5 Qualitative Data Findings and Analysis).

However the format for the measurement scale still needed to be decided. There are four types of quantitative data according to Blumberg et al (2008): nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. With nominal data, numbers are recognised as labels and have no quantitative value other than their frequency such as male and female. The ordinal scale has the characteristics of nominal data but is also able to rank cases in order. The interval scale shares the characteristics of the previous scales but also has an additional feature of equality of interval between each point on the scale. Finally ratio data is the most powerful and has the provision for absolute zero. It represents the actual amount of a variable.

The author used the Likert scale which is the most commonly used interval scale (Blumberg et al, 2007) for her scale of the social bonds. She chose a 5-point scale from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree. According to Blumberg et al (2008) the most commonly used scales range from 3-7 points and it does not seem to make a difference which one is used in a multidimensional scale. For a unidimensional scale, a larger number of scale points are needed to produce accuracy. According to Spector (1992), multi-item scales are able to offer better reliability, precision and scope than single-item scales as responses to single questions such as yes/no are not consistent over time and can be unreliable as they restrict measurement to only two levels. However multi-item scales e.g. strongly agree to strongly disagree capture a wider variety of opinion so can be more precise.

For her demographic questions, the nominal or categorical scale was used which required the respondent to place him or herself into a group or category such as gender, age and position. The respondent was also required to categorise his/her organisation according to its size (number of employees) and to place the professional services provider he/she was rating into a group or category such as gender and age. The respondent was also asked to 132 categorise the business relationship itself according to its level of formality (Haytko’s 2004 scale was used). This would enable comparison between different demographic groups using appropriate tests in SPSS. There were two open questions about relationship length in years and type of professional services received which the respondent was asked to completely freely, with no pre-determined answers.

There were two further issues which were addressed before the questionnaire was ready to be used in the pilot study. The first issue was that the term ‘business partner’ was replaced by ‘service provider’ in each item of the social bonds scale. Since the questionnaire was only to be completed by clients, it was considered that this term was clearer for the respondent. The other issue was that the items related to the four social bonds were mixed up to help eliminate response bias so the order of the scale values could not be detected by the respondent (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005).

4.5.4 Mode of Questionnaire Distribution

The self-administered postal questionnaire was selected as the best tool to collect the quantitative data, taking into account its strengths, such as being able to collect data from a large population cost-effectively and limitations such as low response rates (Malhotra and Birks, 2003).

Although the personal interview survey was found to have the highest response rate of the different modes of distribution, it is frequently seen as being impractical (Macias et al, 2008) and the cost and time constraints were too great for the author to use this method. The telephone also attracts a higher rate of response than a postal mailing (Macias et al, 2008; Yu and Cooper, 1983) however the telephone was not considered suitable as the primary tool for data collection. This was due to the number of scale items (55) which could tire and confuse the respondent. It was considered as a follow up medium to remind the respondent to complete the hard copy questionnaire however it was rejected since the author would have had to make the calls herself and this would have been very time- consuming.

Macias et al (2008) conducted a 13 year content analysis of 54 communications-related journals (including marketing journals). Of the 565 surveys included in the research, the 133 majority (54%) were distributed by post. Fox et al (1998) state the advantages of data collection by mail survey, including flexibility of geography/location, time convenience for respondents, elimination of interviewer bias, and low cost compared to telephone or face-to-face surveys. However it should be noted that recent rises in the cost of first and second class postage in the UK from April 2012 (Royal Mail, 2013) no longer make the post such a cheap option. Therefore email has been used by more and more researchers as it is cheaper and more convenient to administer however this has led to over-use of unsolicited emails by direct marketers (Manfreda et al, 2008). In their meta-analysis comparing response rates of web surveys versus other modes of questionnaire distribution, Manfreda et al (2008) found that on average web surveys have an 11% lower response rate. When comparing the hard copy and the email questionnaire, the hard copy can act as a continuous reminder on the recipient’s desk while emails can be overlooked more easily (Manfreda et al, 2008). Emails can be seen as junk mail by recipients and classified automatically by the software used as spam so may never reach respondents.

4.5.5 Response Rate and Sample Size

A number of researchers such as Macias et al, (2008); Larson and Poist (2004); Greer et al (2000) and Yu and Cooper (1983) have noted the growing problem of low response rates in questionnaire surveys and have empirically tested and discussed different methods of increasing it. Macias et al (2008) and Yu and Cooper (1983) carried out content analysis of journal articles over 13 years and 16 years respectively to find out which techniques were most successful in increasing response rates. Macias et al (2008:81) differentiate between incentives (rewards such as money and merchandise) and response facilitators which they define as ‘actions other than money used to increase [the] response rate.’ The most successful incentive in raising the average response rate in Macias et al’s study (2008) was found to be offering merchandise. Church (1993) and Yu and Cooper (1983) also found that monetary incentives (prepayment, cash payment and larger than smaller payments) were highly effective techniques to increase the response rate. However monetary incentives were not seen to have any effect on survey response in Greer et al’s (2000) and Larson and Poist’s (2004) research. Both of these studies collected their data using a ‘survey-on-surveys’ approach via a questionnaire to business survey respondents who were asked to rate the factors which influence them in responding to surveys. Greer et al’s (2000) and Larson and Poist’s (2004) research show similar results (see next page) and 134 these are particularly useful to the author since her target population was also business respondents.

Table 4.9 Top Three Factors influencing Survey Response Rates

Greer et al (2000) Larson and Poist (2004)

1 The perceived importance of the Promise of results summary research 2 The organisation sponsoring the Interesting survey topic research (i.e. academic vs commercial)* 3 Including a stamped addressed return Including a stamped addressed return envelope envelope *University association with the survey is ranked number 5 in Larson and Poist’s (2004) study

The author had certain restrictions in the techniques available to her in trying to increase her response rate. As a PhD candidate, she would not have received permission from the University’s Research Ethics Committee to use monetary incentives. Therefore she was only able to use response facilitators. Having reviewed the literature, the author used the following facilitators to try to increase her response rate:

 Cover letter states the beneficial outcomes of the research. The importance of the research is the top factor influencing response rates in Greer et al’s study (2000) and an interest in the research is rated as the second highest facilitator in increasing the response rate by Larson and Poist (2004);

 Cover letter appears on University of Greenwich letterhead which identifies the research as academic and not commercial. University endorsement of the research is the second highest factor influencing response rates in Greer et al’s study (2000) and fifth highest factor in Larson and Poist’s (2004) study;

 Return envelope with postage paid is included. This was rated the third most effective facilitator in increasing response rate by business survey participants (Larson and Poist, 2004; Greer et al, 2000);

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 Assurance of anonymity for the individual and the business. Privacy was the fourth highest factor in Greer et al’s (2000) study and the sixth highest factor in Larson and Poist’s (2004) survey;

 Offering a summary of the survey results. This was the top rated response inducement in Larson and Poist’s (2004) study;

 Making an appeal based on helping the researcher with her PhD and the importance of the respondent’s opinion. The influence of the appeal in the cover letter is discussed by Yu and Cooper (1983).

Some researchers have found that a pre-notification or follow-up letter can increase the rate of response (Jobber and O’Reilly, 1998) however the contract with the list broker which provided the database stipulated that the method of communication could only be used once. Macias et al’s (2008) study found that follow-up letters and emails were less successful in increasing response rates than if no incentive was used and follow-up scored very low in the list of incentives in Greer et al’s (2000) study. In Larson and Poist’s study, pre-notification and follow up letters were found to make respondents significantly less likely to respond. Greer et al (2000:107) concluded that the respondents’ willingness to take part in a postal survey is more likely to be influenced by the ‘questionnaire package’ rather than either pre-notification or follow-up communications.

Greer et al (2000:99) refer to business respondents as ‘industrial populations’ since the questionnaire is sent to their business address or place of employment and state that they are less likely to respond to a questionnaire survey than consumer populations: ‘because of factors such as their preoccupation with work, confidentiality of information, or company rules and policies.’ Greer et al’s study (2000) also tested which days of the week would be preferable to receive a questionnaire but this was not found to be important since it was difficult to predict when the workload would be heavier or lighter. However as the author was surveying hotel owners, partners and managing directors, she avoided the holiday periods (the February school half-term break and Easter break) since she anticipated that these would be busy periods and could impact on the number of responses received.

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A possible limitation could also be the length of the questionnaire. The author’s questionnaire contained 65 questions (55 scale items and 10 demographic questions). Greer et al (2000) found that business respondents are much more likely to respond to shorter questionnaires – 86.23% said they would be likely to respond to a questionnaire with five questions, falling to 49.03% for 20 questions and to 15.61% for 35 questions. Yu and Cooper (1983) found a negative weak correlation between questionnaire length and the response rate.

The author set a minimum response rate of 10% based on the recommendations of business research methods authors such as Saunders et al (2012) regarding response rates to recent business surveys as between 10-20%. The table below shows a sample of recent postal surveys to business populations with response rates of between 11-17.7% which appears to support Saunders et al’s (2012) figures. Cooper and Frank’s (2011:79) survey of life insurance professionals sent by email achieved a response rate of 9% which they state is ‘not atypical with the response rates more commonly experienced with mail/e-mail surveys of various professions these days.’

Table 4.10 Business Response Rates to Postal Surveys in Marketing Journals

Author(s) Journal Population Size of Survey Response Rate Bansal et al (2004) Journal of the Auto-repair 3236 11% Academy of customers questionnaires Marketing Science mailed out/356 responses returned. Claycomb and Industrial Members of ISM provided a 17.7% Frankwick (2010) Marketing Institute of Supply mailing list of 1002 Management Management (ISM) US companies. Questionnaires were sent in three waves. 174 responses returned. Fang et al (2008) Industrial Top 1000 1000 13.10% Marketing manufacturers in questionnaires Management Taiwan in 2003 mailed out/134 (mid or high level responses returned managers) Barry et al (2008) Journal of Services Commercial Around 1440 (not 14%* Marketing Aviation Fleet given)/ 202 Operations Buyers responses returned *Response rate 14% following three waves of emails, postal delivered survey, broadcast fax and pre-notice letter.

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A number of researchers have discussed the problem of non-response bias (Yu and Cooper, 1983; Greer et al, 2000) when the researcher does not obtain an adequate number of responses from the population and this affects the results obtained. Larson and Poist (2004) state that response rate is a main determinant of the external validity of survey research and Manfreda et al (2008) add that response rate is used as an indicator of survey quality, assuming that a high response reduces the probability of non-respondents affecting survey results. However studies (e.g. Groves, 2006; Keeter et al, 2000) have shown that lower response rates do not necessarily increase non-response error. Armstrong and Overton (1977) found that the extrapolation method was effective in testing for non- response bias by comparing the mean differences between early and late respondents since late respondents are assumed to be similar to non-respondents. The author implemented this method in comparing responses from Mailing 1 and Mailing 2 (see Chapter 6 Quantitative Findings and Analysis).

When considering sample sizes, the researcher should bear in mind the nature of statistical analysis to be conducted. Some researchers give recommendations for the minimum number of cases to perform factor analysis. For example, Hoe (2008) suggested that any number of cases above 200 would provide sufficient statistical power for data analysis when using multivariate techniques. With regards to factor analysis, Tabachnick and Fidell (2007), in reviewing the advice of other researchers, suggest that 200 is a fairly good sample size. However Arrindell and van der Ende (1985) found that a sample size of 50 was the minimum to achieve a recognisable factor solution. Hair et al (1998) also agree that the minimum sample size is 50 but preferably the size should be 100 or larger. Other researchers have found that the Subject-to-Variables (STV) ratio is a better indication of the minimum desirable level of sample size. However opinions differ widely on what the acceptable STV ratio is from 20:1 (Hair et al, 1995) to as low as 1.3 (Arrindell and van der Ende, 1985).

4.5.6 Pilot Study

A pilot study was carried out in order to test how well the questionnaire worked. The pilot study’s usefulness has already been established earlier in discussing the qualitative research pilot study. The main survey was targeted at clients who buy services from a professional service provider therefore respondents were selected for the pilot study based 138 on this criterion. The questionnaire was created using Microsoft Word and printed out to distribute to participants in person to complete as a self-administered questionnaire. It was also created as an online questionnaire using SurveyMonkey, a web-based tool, and distributed via a link by email to complete online. The reason for using two modes to test the questionnaire was because the author initially intended to collect data via an electronic newsletter and at a business event. However as will be discussed in section 4.5.7 Main Survey Research, there were problems using both methods so the final method of distribution was a postal survey.

At the end of the questionnaire, the author invited both face to face and online respondents to give feedback on any problems they experienced with the questionnaire and how it could be improved. Those responding face to face also had the opportunity to give verbal feedback to the author. Malhotra and Birks (2003) recommend conducting pilot tests in person because the researcher can observe the respondents’ reactions and attitudes. The feedback from the pilot study is given in Table 4.11 on the next page and Table 4.12 shows the items which were removed from the questionnaire in response to the feedback received.

Fifteen people took part in the pilot study. Nine of the respondents were approached face to face during two Flash Innovation workshops run by Centre for Innovation, Imagination and Inspiration at the University of Greenwich. These workshops are run for small groups of twenty participants or less and provide business development support to London-based business owners and small and medium enterprises (University of Greenwich, 2013). The first workshop on Social Entrepreneurism took place on 2 October 2012 and the second workshop on Project Management took place on 4 October 2012. The author came in at the end of the workshop on both days and was introduced by the workshop presenter and given the opportunity to introduce herself and her research. There were eight participants present at the first workshop and five participants in the second workshop. To take part in the survey, the participants needed to have a business relationship with a professional services provider. Those who did not fit this profile did not complete a questionnaire. Five out of eight people completed a questionnaire in the first workshop and four out of five in the second workshop making a total of nine questionnaires.

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Six additional people who matched the profile of the target respondent were asked to complete the survey online in order to check it was working properly. These individuals were recruited using a judgemental sampling technique with three working for a global automotive manufacturer which works with a number of suppliers and three working freelance or owning a small business. None of the six reported any problems in answering the questions online. The feedback from the pilot study is given in Table 4.11 below:

Table 4.11 Pilot Questionnaire Feedback

Feedback Further Comments Author’s Actions 1 The questionnaire is Five people commented that the The author reduced the too long questionnaire was too long. Two number of items by of them commented that it was removing 11 which were likely to work better online as it found to be similar to other could be structured into shorter items or found to be sections to make it seem quicker problematic by to complete. respondents (see Table 4.12 below). 2 Some of the Three people commented that The same action as Point 1 questions are quite some of the items are quite above. similar similar. 3 Professional One person needed help in It was decided to include services provider identifying what kind of some examples of occupations might be a professional services at the professional services provider. start of the questionnaire to help the respondent. 4 Problem with item 7 One person found this item not to The item was reviewed by I relate to my be clear. the author and then service provider on removed. a personal level

Table 4.12 Removal of Questionnaire Items following Pilot Study

Item Removed Scale Reason for Removal 1 I relate to my service provider Intimacy One of the pilot respondents on a personal level. found this item not to be particularly clear. On revisiting it, the author agrees that this item may be misunderstood by respondents

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Item Removed Scale Reason for Removal 2 My service provider is Security Duplication of similar items: reliable. I can depend on my service provider and My service provider keeps his/her promises 3 My business relationship with Passion Duplication of similar item: my service provider means My business relationship something to me. with my service provider is very important to me. 4 I am receptive to my service Intimacy Duplication of similar items: provider's advice. I listen to my service provider and My service provider and I share advice beyond the scope of our work 5 I enjoy spending time with my Intimacy Duplication of similar item: service provider. I very much enjoy working with my service provider 6 My business relationship with Passion Duplication of similar item: my service provider is not I am enthusiastic about my boring. business relationship with my service provider 7 I can reach my service Security Duplication of similar item: provider whenever I need to. My service provider is available when I need him/her. 8 I am keen to make my Affective Duplication of similar items: business relationship with my commitment If something went wrong in service provider work. our business relationship, I would try to put it right. Also enthusiasm is part of passion rather than affective commitment. 9 I am able to count on my Security Duplication of similar item: service provider in times of In an emergency situation, I need. know I can contact my service provider. 10 I interact easily with my Security Duplication of similar item: service provider. I have a comfortable relationship with my service provider. 11. My service provider and I Security Duplication of similar item: have a warm business I have a comfortable relationship. relationship with my service provider.

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4.5.7 Main Survey Research

The main quantitative survey was conducted using two postal mailings to collect data from 2200 senior decision makers in the UK hotel industry. As mentioned earlier, the questionnaire was developed and tested in both hard copy and online since the author initially attempted to use an online survey via an e-newsletter and a business event to collect data. However these attempts to collect data were unsuccessful. The author will briefly describe these attempts and reflect on why they may have failed before discussing the implementation of the main postal survey.

4.5.7.1 Online Survey in E-Newsletter

The author achieved co-operation from a newsletter provider to include a link to her online questionnaire in an e-newsletter which is emailed every month to over 40,000 professionals by a business training company. The Managing Director of the company is a business contact of the author’s and offered to include the link in his newsletter. This was done and the author wrote a brief introduction to accompany the link as below:

How do we bond in business relationships?

Ewa Krolikowska from the University of Greenwich has developed a tool to measure how we bond with our service providers. Do we bond through humour, similar interests or shared values? Ewa invites you to take part in this important piece of research. It will only take a few minutes and you can request a copy of the results to learn about how to make your business relationships more successful.

The e-newsletter was emailed out on 12 October 2012 however this attempt to collect data was unsuccessful as no-one completed the online questionnaire within eight weeks. A review of the literature shows that a number of factors could have impacted on this lack of participation, such as:

 Length of the questionnaire (Greer et al, 2000): Three pages contained 65 questions so could have discouraged people from responding due to its length;

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 Not applicable. (Larson and Poist, 2004:73) advise against taking a ‘shotgun approach’ in obtaining a maximum number of answers as cheaply as possible and advocate instead the use of a well-targeted mailing list. It is likely some of the recipients of the newsletter were not the target population to complete the questionnaire (i.e. they did not have a business relationship with a professional services provider);

 Lack of interest (Larson and Poist, 2004). It is likely that some of the recipients were not interested in the research.

In addition, the link to her survey was the twelfth item in the newsletter so it was likely to be missed by respondents who may not have much time to devote to reading the whole newsletter in detail.

4.5.7.2 Self-Administered Questionnaire Survey at EIBTM (The Global Meetings & Events Exhibition)

The author decided to attend a major business event which would allow her to collect data in hard copy from attendees. Her first choice was The World Travel Market (WTM) which was taking place at Excel, London from 5-8 November 2012. A work colleague of the author provided a contact to his former student who now works for Reed Travel Exhibitions which organises WTM. However she was not able to get permission to conduct her research during at this event since Reed was conducting its own research and did not want to overload the visitors with another survey. The author’s second choice was The Global Meetings & Events Exhibition (EIBTM) taking place in Barcelona from 27-29 November 2012 and she got permission from the organiser to collect her data onsite.

Unfortunately the author was unable to collect enough data despite the fact that this was a well-attended event with around 15,000 attendees including 4200 buyers and meeting planners who are part of the Hosted Buyers Programme (www.eibtm.com). The author was only able to approach 161 people during the three days of the event. Of these, 69 people completed the questionnaire (51 in hard copy at the event and 18 by email afterwards using SurveyMonkey). 52 people who were approached to complete the survey refused due to a number of reasons including: not the target population – (n=21), doesn’t speak English

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(n=11) and had an appointment so did not have time (n=10). A further 40 people agreed to complete an online questionnaire sent to them after the event but they did not respond to the request.

There were two main reasons for the low number of people approached. The first was that the author was limited to approaching people in the general seated areas in the main aisle or on the exhibition stands. She did not have access to the sponsored Hosted Buyer Lounges where many of the buyers went in between meetings. The second reason was that the attendees from the Hosted Buyers Programme had a schedule of back to back meetings which took place on the exhibition stands. An informal chat with two of the buyers revealed their tight schedule which meant they did not have any free time to complete a questionnaire.

As a result, only 69 questionnaires were completed and of these four were removed due to missing data so the usable sample was 65 cases. This was not large enough to form the main study (see 4.5.5 discussion of sample size) therefore the author used this data as a second pilot study. This gave her an early indication of how well the questionnaire was working. She also used this sample to test her solution from the factor analysis and these results appear in Table 6.11 on page 240.

4.5.7.3 Postal Survey of the Hotel Industry

Following the failure of the two previous attempts to collect data, it was decided to implement a postal questionnaire survey of 2200 senior decision makers (proprietors, partners and managing directors) in the hotel industry. The UK Hotel Industry was chosen as the context for this study due to:

 Its indirect employment of business services professionals in a number of sectors including market research, management consultancy, computer and related, financial services, architectural and technical consultancy, advertising, legal, accountancy and real estate (BHA, 2010);

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 The dual role of hotel senior decision makers as clients and service providers which means that the research should be of interest to senior decision makers in this sector which should lead to a higher response rate. 53 out of the 288 respondents (18.4%) who returned a usable questionnaire requested a copy of the research results.

The author purchased the database for the hotel industry from a list broker. The database contained 3757 records which was the sampling frame for the author’s research.

The mailing was sent by second class post and addressed personally to each respondent. The envelope contained: a cover letter which was addressed to the respondent by name, the questionnaire and a second class stamped addressed envelope. The survey was carried out in two waves (1000 posted on 28-29 January and a further 1200 on 11-12 March 2013) with six weeks in between. This gave the author the opportunity to conduct factor analysis on the data from Mailing 1 and make a decision on how much more data should be collected before commencing Mailing 2. It was decided not to purify the scale by reducing the number of items in the questionnaire for Mailing 2 based on the results of the initial factor analysis. This was due to the sample size obtained from Mailing 1 (n=120) so the author preferred to test the whole scale again using the second sample. In addition, she was able to combine the data from the two mailings to create a larger database. This allowed for larger data sets when comparing groups. Therefore the conditions of the two mailings were kept as similar as possible.

Mailing 1

The first mailing to 1000 senior decision makers was conducted on 28 and 29 January 2013. The author selected 1000 records from the sampling frame of 3757 records based on purposive or judgemental sampling (Saunders et al, 2003), a non-probability sampling technique. According to Macias et al (2008), purposive sampling is the second most popular sampling method after simple random sampling in communications-related research which includes marketing studies. The reason for choosing this sampling technique was to be able to compare responses from senior decision makers based on company size. The author wanted to test whether social bonds with professional service providers are stronger among smaller clients than larger clients as was suggested in the qualitative phase of the research. Number of employees is well accepted by researchers as 145 an indicator of the size of the business (Moore, 2012; Adkins et al, 2013) and was used by the author as a basis for segmenting her database. The following records were purchased:

250 records from hotels with 0-5 employees; 250 records from hotels with 6-10 employees; 250 records from hotels with 11-20 employees; 250 records from hotels with 21-50 employees.

The author decided not to purchase records of hotels with over 50 employees since the number of cases in these categories was considerably less than 250. This may have led to problems in analysing data using SPSS based on unequal group sizes (Field, 2009). The problem of unequal group sizes is further discussed in Chapter 6 Quantitative Data Findings and Analysis.

Mailing 2

The second mailing to 1200 senior decision makers was conducted on 11 and 12 March 2013. It was decided to increase the sample size to 1200 records taken from the sampling frame of 2757 records (1000 records were already used in Mailing 1 thus reducing the sampling frame from the original 3757 records). The decision to increase the sample size was made based on the response rate from Mailing 1 (12.4% completed questionnaires returned of which 12% were usable). The author wanted to combine the data from Mailing 1 and Mailing 2 to have at least 250 usable questionnaires in total. This takes into account the earlier discussion of sample size, the number of scale items and the type of analysis the author wished to undertake which would include splitting the sample in half to test the scale.

Again, purposive or judgemental sampling was used in selecting the sample since the author wanted to test the strength of bonds among clients in different sized hotels using the same categories as in Mailing 1: 0-5, 6-10, 11-20 and 21-50 employees. However for the second mailing, it was not possible to have 300 records from each category as there were not enough records in the 21-50 employee category. Therefore more records were bought from the remaining three categories in order to make up the number to 1200 as follows:

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328 records from hotels with 0-5 employees; 328 records from hotels with 6-10 employees; 328 records from hotels with 11-20 employees; 216 records from hotels with 21-50 employees.

4.5.8 Quantitative Research Limitations

There were two main limitations in implementing the quantitative phase of the research. These have already been discussed earlier so are briefly summarised here. The first limitation was the author’s early attempts to collect data which resulted in no data returned (e-newsletter) or too little data returned (EIBTM event). The reasons for these failures have already been discussed. The second limitation was the restrictions faced by the author in trying to increase the response rate to her postal survey. Monetary incentives could not be offered and due to time and contractual constraints, only one attempt was made to contact each respondent by post to complete the questionnaire. The literature discussed earlier indicates that the use of monetary incentives and/or contacting respondents a second or multiple times could have led to a higher response rate.

4.6 Measurement Error

According to Blumberg et al (2008) a measure is reliable to the degree that it produces consistent results. Reliability is concerned with the degree to which a measurement is free from random or unstable error. Measurement error can be divided into two types: systematic error which results from bias and random error which occurs erratically (Blumberg et al, 2008). The table on the next page sets out the sources of error found in the research methods literature (Blumberg et al, 2008; Saunders et al, 2012; Malhotra and Birks, 2003) and the author’s strategy for addressing each one in her study.

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Table 4.13 Sources of Measurement Error

Source of error Description of error Author’s Strategy Participant error Includes stable factors such as 1. Participation is voluntary. demographics e.g. ethnic group 2. Pilot studies to test suitability of membership and temporary factors interview guide and questionnaire such as fatigue and boredom which 3. Interviews held at a time and place adversely affect the way a convenient to the interviewee. Postal participant performs survey so completed at a time and place suitable to the respondent. Participant bias Any factor which induces a false 1. Anonymity guaranteed to participants. response such as social desirability 2. Location chosen for interview took into account environment (see Situation). Situation Conditions that put a strain on the 1. Interviews mainly took place in interview or questionnaire interviewees’ offices to prevent this error. completion such as presence of 2. Could not control the questionnaire other people, noise, distractions respondent’s environment. Researcher Any factor which alters the 1. Researcher was able to practice error researcher’s interpretation such as through pilot testing. lack of experience or mistakes in 2. Data entered manually in SPSS was mechanical processing double-checked for accuracy of inputting. 3. Interviews were audio-taped for an accurate transcript. Researcher bias Any factor which induces bias in 1. Researcher used epoche (bracketing) to the researcher’s recording of set aside her own experiences when responses such as the researcher’s conducting the interviews. previous experience in a 2. The range and number of interviews professional service firm helped the researcher in overcoming any personal bias. Data collection Lack of clarity of items and 1. Pilot studies were used to detect and instrument instructions, poor design remove this error. Sampling of scale items: addition, 2. Changes made based on literature, deletion or changes interview data and pilot study feedback.

4.7 Research Ethics

As a PhD student, the author was required to complete a University Ethics Committee Application Form before her primary research was conducted. In addition to following the University’s guidelines for ethical compliance (University of Greenwich Research Ethics Policy, 2013), the author also took into account the Market Research Society’s code of conduct (MRS, 2010). Creswell (1998) and Patton (2002) recommend these guidelines to be used for every research project. Key areas set out in the code include: seeking participants’ consent, avoiding deception, maintaining confidentiality of participants’ data and protecting participants’ anonymity. Although the author is not a member of the Market

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Research Society and not every area covered was relevant to her research, she found the guidelines useful as a checklist during the research process.

Conclusion

The chapter has covered the research design and implementation which is influenced by the author’s chosen research paradigm of pragmatism. The author has provided the rationale for her mixed-methods design and the role of qualitative and quantitative research in fulfilling her research objectives. The implementation of the qualitative and quantitative phases of the research are given in detail including the choice of research tools, development of research instruments, research scope, process, participants, limitations and how measurement error and research ethics have been addressed. The findings and analysis from the qualitative phase of the research may be found in the next chapter (5) and the quantitative findings and analysis may be found in Chapter 6.

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CHAPTER 5 QUALITATIVE DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

The author conducted 30 interviews with professional services providers in a three month period between February and May 2012. This enabled the collection of around 250 pages of data (over 155,000 words in total). The author has related her qualitative research objectives to Miles and Huberman’s (1994) strengths of qualitative data in the table below to show how the collection and analysis of qualitative data through in-depth interviews helped the author achieve her research objectives:

Table 5.1 Qualitative Research Objectives Miles and Huberman’s (1994) Strengths Qualitative Research Objectives of Qualitative Data Uncovering the complexity of a situation To gain a better understanding of generated through ‘thick description’ attachment and liking in professional (Rubin and Rubin, 2005:13) and rich data services business relationships To find support for the four social bonds: intimacy, passion, affective commitment and security Capturing meanings from how people To find support for the social bond items perceive their social world found in the literature and those created by the author based on the literature Focusing on ‘naturally occurring, ordinary To find support for demographic or events in natural settings’ (p.10) contextual variables found in the literature which may have an impact on the strength of social bonds Exploring new areas and developing To create new items for the social bonds hypotheses To find additional demographic or contextual variables which may have an impact on the strength of social bonds Explaining and validating quantitative data To help explain the quantitative data results

It was important not only to capture this data effectively but also to select the best analytic methods in order to contribute to scale development through a deeper understanding of the key concepts from the perspective of the people involved in business relationships. According to Creswell (2007), qualitative data analysis involves preparing and organising the data; reducing the data into themes through developing a system of coding; reducing the codes and displaying the data. Miles and Huberman (1994) agree with Creswell (2007) that these flows of activity are interrelated and take place simultaneously. Creswell (2007)

150 differentiates between qualitative data analysis under the Phenomenological approach and other approaches such as Narrative and Grounded Theory. The author has based her analysis on this framework:

Table 5.2 Data Analysis and Representation: Phenomenological Research (adapted from Creswell, 2007: 156-7)

Data Analysis and Representation Phenomenology Data Managing Create and organize files for data Reading, memoing Read through text, make notes, form initial codes Describing Describe personal experiences2 Describe the essence of the phenomena Classifying Identify significant statements Group statements into units Interpreting Develop textural description: what participants experienced Develop structural description: how did participants experience Develop or support scale items* Representing, visualizing Use tables, figures or discussion *Instead of developing a comprehensive description or ‘essence’ of the phenomenon based on the textural and structural description as in Creswell’s framework, the author has used these descriptions to assist her scale development through providing support for existing items in the preliminary scale and creating new scale items.

The chapter’s structure follows the above framework beginning with data management and coding in 5.1 which covers transcription of interview data, the use of NVIVO 9 to code and analyse the data and the themes and coding scheme developed by the author. Section 5.2 covers data description, classification, interpretation and presentation. The author classified the data by identifying significant statements and grouping them into units under the relevant sub-themes (which were potential items for the questionnaire). An example may be found in Appendix 5. Description and interpretation are organised by theme in the form of discussion and short paragraphs developed for each item in the social bond scale and each demographic variable. The conclusion is linked to Appendices 6 and 7 which present the modified social bond scales and show the changes to each scale following input from the interview data. However the main conclusions which draw on both qualitative

2 See 4.4.5 Qualitative Research Limitations on page 128 in the Methodology Chapter 151 and quantitative findings in response to the research objectives are given in the Discussion of Findings Chapter 7.

5.1 Data Management and Coding

5.1.1 Transcription of Interview Data

Prior to analysis, the interview data needed to be prepared in a usable format. Raw data was collected in two formats: the author’s handwritten notes taken during each interview and the digital voice recording of the interview. During the face to face interviews, the handwritten notes were taken as a back-up in case the voice recording was not able to be used. However in all 28 cases the handwritten notes were not required as the digital voice file was able to be transcribed. The notes were still useful in preparing the Contact Summary Sheets since the author did not have the time to listen to the interview recordings during the three months in which the interviews took place due to work commitments. At the beginning or end of a few of the interviews, the author made some handwritten notes when the Dictaphone was not switched on. These additional notes from the unrecorded interview are indicated on the transcript. During the two telephone interviews, no voice recording was able to be made so the handwritten notes were typed up as the transcript.

The voice files were copied from the Dictaphone onto the author’s computer and the author used Dragon Naturally Speaking Software to help her transcribe the interviews. She recorded her own voice using the voice recognition software. Then she listened back to each interview using headphones and at the same time, recorded herself repeating the whole interview aloud thus creating a new recording of the interview in her own voice. Since the software recognised her voice, it was able to transcribe the interview from voice file to text file. The author then listened to the original voice recording again to proofread the text file. She found this a much more efficient way of transcribing rather than typing up each voice recording which would have taken considerably longer.

5.1.2 Coding using NVIVO 9 Computer Software

NVIVO 9 was used to assist the author with the coding and analysis of the data. NVIVO is recognised as one of the leading CAQDAS (Computer Aided Qualitative Design Analysis) 152 packages (Lewins and Silver, 2007; Creswell, 2007). According to Lewins and Silver (2007:81) CAQDAS software takes a qualitative approach to qualitative data and define qualitative coding as ‘the process by which segments of data are identified as relating to or being an example of, a more general idea, instance, theme or category.’ Coding allows the researcher to develop a detailed understanding of the phenomena which the data represent. The software allowed the researcher to reduce her data using codes so that the data could be easily retrieved and analysed in a format which would be most useful in achieving her objectives.

Since the researcher was using qualitative interview data to assist in building her scale of social bonds, the data was coded based on a priori codes suggested by the theoretical framework. A deductive approach is suggested when applying theoretical coding (Lewins and Silver, 2007). However as well giving support to predetermined social bonds and bond items already found, the purpose of this stage of the research was to uncover any further bond items therefore new codes were also generated from the interview data being analysed. An inductive approach was used which was similar to grounded theory where items, bonds, variables and other data which appeared to be relevant were identified and open coding was used to create a code reflecting the concept or segment of data. According to Lewins and Silver (1997) many researchers who use software combine deductive and inductive approaches.

Only one type of qualitative data was used. This was the transcripts of interviews which had been recorded as a voice file using a digital Dictaphone or handwritten during the telephone interviews. The electronic transcripts were imported into NVIVO as internal sources. In a few cases, some of the interviewer’s written notes were also included in the transcript. These were based on unrecorded conversation which took place at the beginning or end of the interview.

The 30 interview files in Word were copied into a project file created in NVIVO 9. The author then read through each interview in turn and assigned pieces of data to one of the predetermined codes or created a new code. Miles and Huberman (1994:56) state that coding is analysis and define coding as ‘tags or labels for assigning units of meaning to descriptive or inferential information compiled during a study.’ They prefer to work with a

153 provisional list of start codes which comes from the conceptual framework. Similarly, the author created the following start codes based on her objectives:

1. Theories  Attachment  Liking

2. Social Bonds

 Intimacy  Passion  Affective Commitment  Security

3. Demographic/Contextual Variables

Start codes were created to capture data on the theories, key concepts and context being explored. These ensured that the interviewees’ opinions and experiences of the social bonds and theories of liking and attachment were collected and analysed. However the author was conscious of the advice of Miles and Huberman (1994) to keep an open mind during analysis and avoid forcing the data to fit into predetermined codes. Therefore the author also used an inductive approach to interrogate the data and create new codes based on potential items for each bond and the contextual variables she found in the interview data. She followed the approach of horizontalization described by Moustakas (1994) of reading through data (interview transcripts) and highlighting significant statements which showed how the participant experienced the phenomenon. The researcher can then develop clusters of meanings from these statements into themes. These codes were then compared to the literature to find support for the preliminary scale items. In addition, the analysis of the data uncovered new items for the scale and further contextual variables.

Following the initial analysis of each interview, 66 codes were created: 2 for the theoretical framework; 55 for the social bonds and 9 for demographic and contextual variables. The interviews generated much more data which, although not directly relevant to scale development, was interesting as a background to business relationships and influenced and informed the author’s discussion of the data findings and managerial implications in Chapters 7 and 8.

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Creswell (2007) recommends identifying five to seven general themes which are more manageable and help in structuring the writing up:

Theme 1 Attachment Attachment provided the theoretical framework for the intimacy and security bonds. However attachment itself was also explored to find out more about how this theory may be applied to business rather than personal relationships.

Theme 2 Liking Liking (Sternberg’s Theory) provided the theoretical framework for the intimacy, passion and affective commitment bonds. Liking itself was examined to discover what this concept means in business; its importance, advantages and limitations.

Theme 3 Intimacy The author created 19 sub-themes (see Table 5.3 Coding Scheme) for the intimacy bond. These sub-themes were units of data which underpinned scale development in particular, supporting, modifying and rejecting preliminary scale items and developing new intimacy scale items.

Theme 4 Passion The author created 12 sub-themes (see Table 5.3 Coding Scheme) for the passion bond. These sub-themes were units of data which underpinned scale development in particular, supporting, modifying and rejecting preliminary scale items and developing new passion scale items.

Theme 5 Affective Commitment The author created 9 sub-themes (see Table 5.3 Coding Scheme) for the affective commitment bond. These sub-themes were units of data which underpinned scale development in particular, supporting, modifying and rejecting preliminary scale items and developing new affective commitment scale items.

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Theme 6 Security The author created 15 sub-themes (see Table 5.3 Coding Scheme) for the security bond. These sub-themes were units of data which underpinned scale development in particular, supporting, modifying and rejecting preliminary scale items and developing new security scale items.

Theme 7 Demographic/Contextual Variables Demographic and contextual variables were divided into four subthemes: industry, organisation, relationship and personal (see Table 5.3 Coding Scheme) which were further subdivided into individual variables. The data was used to support existing demographic and contextual variables and add new variables based on the interview data.

Table 5.3 Coding Scheme

1. Theories (2 codes) A1 Attachment L1 Liking

2. Social Bonds (55 codes) Affective Commitment (9) AC 1 Choosing to maintain relationship AC 2 Clients leave company and take service provider with them AC 3 Continuity of business AC 4 Finding more business opportunities AC 5 Keen to make relationship work AC 6 Liking-based commitment AC 7 Liking the way a service provider works AC 8 Thinking of the service provider first and not contacting other providers AC 9 Wanting to keep in touch Intimacy (19) I 1 Advice I 2 Common objectives and shared outlook I 3 Doing the best thing for the client I 4 Empathy (care and concern) I 5 Familiarity (knowing someone and their business) I 6 Gossip I 7 Humour I 8 In-depth conversation versus cut and dry interaction I 9 Listening I 10 Looking after the client I 11 Self disclosure I 12 Shared experiences

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Intimacy (19) I 13 Shared interests I 14 Shared values I 15 Social activities I 16 Spending enjoyable time with business partners I 17 Stage management versus natural behaviour I 18 Talking about work versus talking about things other than work I 19 Understanding Passion (12) P 1 Admiration P 2 Chemistry P 3 Doing extra things P 4 Engagement P 5 Enjoying work intensely P 6 Interest in the client/the client’s business P 7 Keeping relationship exciting P 8 Making an effort for someone P 9 Not charging the client for hours spent on them P 10 Passion and emotional involvement P 11 Positive approach P 12 Thinking actively about the client and their requirements Security (15) S 1 Accessibility/Availability S 2 Appreciation S 3 Comfort and Ease S 4 Emergency situation S 5 Helping and supporting S 6 Keeping promises S 7 Overcoming challenges S 8 Providing reassurance S 9 Reliability S 10 Responsiveness S 11 Security S 12 Solving the client’s problems S 13 Stable environment S 14 Taking the burden off the client S 15 Warmth 3. Demographic and Contextual Variables (9 codes) Industry Variables (2) IN 1 Nature of the industry IN 2 Nature of the work/type of service Organisational Variable (1) OR Company Size Personal Variables (4) PE 1 Age PE 2 Gender PE 3 Cultural background PE 4 Seniority or position Relationship Variables (2) RE 1 Length of relationship RE 2 Level of formality

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5.2 Data Description, Classification, Interpretation and Presentation

Following the coding process, the data was described, classified and interpreted following Creswell’s (2007) framework. The author used tables and discussion as the two main forms of displaying her interview data. She selected significant statements for each theme and subtheme as recommended by Creswell (2007) for phenomenological research analysis and occasionally used short topical stories about a particular event and specific characters as suggested by Chase (2005) for narrative inquiry. Stories were found to be particularly useful for exploring certain social bond items such as sharing good and bad or memorable experiences since they captured the essence of the experience more fully than significant statements. In addition, the author used frequency tables to summarise the bases for bonds and similarity and show how many times each one had been mentioned by interviewees. Qualitative researchers are divided on whether it is appropriate to count the frequency of codes in the data set. Miles and Huberman (1994) suggest this may be useful however Creswell (2007) believes that frequency is a quantitative measurement which is contrary to the nature of qualitative data. The author did not use frequency of codes as the main basis for her qualitative research analysis however it was useful to triangulate with the rich qualitative interview data and the literature in developing her social bonds scale.

The author’s interpretation of the themes was presented in the form of a discussion with significant statements and stories used to emphasise key points. In developing each discussion, the author took the following into account: her research objectives; the literature reviewed; the interview data selected and coded; and the essence of the phenomena being described and interpreted (Creswell, 2007).

It should be noted that certain variables were removed from the study since they were beyond the scope of the thesis. In particular, these were communication and organisational culture which the interview data suggested may be important to social bonds. However these were not included in study. The author has mentioned communication and organisational culture in her Recommendations in Chapter 8 as areas to be followed up in future studies.

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5.2.1 Theoretical Framework

A detailed discussion of attachment and liking as the theoretical framework is included in the Literature Review however it was important to capture the essence of attachment and liking in a professional services business context. One of the objectives of the interviews was to find out from the interviewees, as professional service providers, what are attachment and liking and how they are experienced in business relationships with clients. Therefore the discussion below is not a comprehensive account of attachment and liking in professional services business relationships but has been constructed by the author to fit her objective. The first discussion (Theme 1) is about attachment and how client-service provider attachment is generally different than child-parent attachment. This narrative also gives examples of situations when service providers may need to act as attachment figures for their clients and the conditions under which business attachments may develop more strongly. The second discussion (Theme 2) is about liking. The object of liking is examined: the difference between liking a person and liking a client; and liking a service provider and liking the way he/she works. This narrative shows the importance of liking in business relationships; its advantages and also its limitations.

5.2.1.1. THEME 1 ATTACHMENT

Early attachment research focused on childhood relationships (Bowlby, 1984; Ainsworth, 1989) and later romantic relationships (Hazan and Shaver, 1987) but there is little literature and primary research available on attachment in a business context. Researchers such as Paulssen (2009), Weiss (1991) and Hazan and Shaver (1987) concur that attachments may form at work and attachment theory may be used to understand work relationships. Mayseless and Popper (2007) examined attachments between leaders and followers and found similarities to parent-child relationships as leaders need to be stronger and wiser especially in emergency situations. When talking about relationships with their clients, some of the interviewees gave examples of situations where clients acted like children and service providers took the role of the parent:

‘One client needed handholding all the way through. He needs to go to post-certification but hasn’t been keen to learn. He’s not managing it properly. It will be to his own detriment… A tremendous amount of guidance was required.’

(Male, Scheme Manager, Standards-Based Organisation) 159

‘When I think back over the years I can think of some clients that have been more like children than clients in terms of how they behave!’

(Female, Director and Head of Charities, Big Four Firm)

Interviewer: When you get to a situation with a business partner where it becomes tense and stressful because something's gone wrong, how does the business relationship change? Can you describe it to me - what can happen then?

Interviewee (Male, Director, Property Development Consultant): Well generally the toys come flying out of the pram to be honest (laughs).

The client behaving liking a child was generally not seen to be a positive characteristic by service providers. However one personal narrative by a Criminal Barrister shows that in specific situations, for example when a client is younger and a service provider is older; when the client is in a desperate situation and has to depend on the service provider; when a client has personal or family problems; or when the client is much less knowledgeable than the service provider, a child-like attachment to the service provider may be more likely to form:

‘I think perhaps because of my age and sex as well and especially ‘cause I deal with a lot of youngsters, I'm often regarded more as a sort of mother figure, somebody that is going to make everything alright for them. And I had one particular young lad who, he was found guilty of rape and we appealed and lost the appeal and then something called the Criminal Case Review Commission took it over and investigated and came up with some fresh evidence. And I'd got very close to him because he was very low IQ. The complaint made against him I thought was completely unjust. I'd had to work very closely with him to actually prepare him for the trial. I was very upset when he was found guilty and when the Court of Appeal refused the appeal and when we got the fresh evidence from the Criminal Case Review Commission, I was representing him again at the appeal. Now [husband] got very ill and he died and I stopped working for quite a few months. And this lad's appeal was due again while I wasn't working and I'd rung the solicitors, it was a new solicitor, somebody I didn't know, to say look I'm not going to be working I think somebody else should take over this lad's case. And the boy himself decided that he would prefer to wait for me to come back to work and he spent about another six months in custody waiting for me to deal with his case. So of course when I did go and represent him in the Court of Appeal that put an awful lot of pressure on me to make sure it went well and fortunately did go well and his conviction was quashed. So I think because he knew me and he trusted me and I think his own relationship with his family was dire, I sort of stood in in a role of a parent perhaps. And I think that wasn't just that the fact that he thought I was a good barrister, I think it was all the other non-verbals as well that went with it.’

(Female, Criminal Barrister)

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However the parent-child relationship did not appear to be the usual type of relationship between client and service provider. A number of different relationships were discussed during the interviews and from these discussions, it seems that service providers prefer relationships with clients to be based on equality.

‘I mean you could argue cynically as a professional services person that if someone looked up to you as a parent and depended on you then that would be some sort of career nirvana. But I think in many cases, there's some kind of symbiosis, to use a ridiculous word, where they bring a lot of domain expertise from the business and industry that they’re working in and the culture they’re working in and the organisation, stuff that you don't have. And you bring an external perspective which may be a little bit more theoretical or removed from that specific environment. And together you can apply both of your experiences in that environment better and you sort of rely on each other.’

(Male, Operating Partner, Management Consulting Firm)

‘The Head of Internal Audit is a feisty lady but what I recognised with her, she's a Head of internal audit, I'm a Head of Internal Audit for my clients. So I approached her as a peer- to-peer rather than supplier-customer relationship from Day One and she really respected that because it was showing her that I respected her. So to the extent where I ask her advice as well as she asks me advice so that's where we've got to.’

(Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

A number of interviewees used vocabulary related to romantic relationships to describe their business relationships with their clients. A female Business Development Manager in a TV Company described herself as ‘a natural flirt’ but qualified this with ‘I don’t mean it in a sexual sense.’ A male Senior Manager in a Big Four Firm spoke about their very good relationship with a client ‘I remember the partner saying 'I could kiss them!' A male Consultant in the Meetings Industry spoke about ‘falling in love’ with a city he was asked to do a marketing plan for and a male Partner in a Big Four firm commented that ‘the strongest business relationships are very similar to a marriage.’

‘You start a new relationship with someone that you don't know previously and get to know them. You work together, you develop a sense of (it's the wrong word) a sense of togetherness but you know what I mean (laughs). You get working together and it's good, it's a good feeling.’

(Male, Director, Property Development Consultant)

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Therefore it would seem that client-service provider relationships may share some similarities to romantic attachment and this is reflected in the relationship marketing literature which uses love and marriage metaphors to describe long term customer relationships (e.g. Beaton and Beaton, 1995). However attachment-type behaviours could be recognised in various more typical work situations, for example, the need for service providers to learn to adapt to a situation and support a client if necessary:

‘Some clients need a lot of reassurance so the way I'll behave towards that client in a meeting will be very different from a client that's got huge self-confidence and just needs a bit more of a kind of financial input into their business and be pointed to possibly the ways in which they can cut costs which are getting out of control. As I say, other clients may need a bit more emotional support.’ (Male, Proprietor, Accountancy Practice)

Certain characteristics may lead to attachments forming between client and service provider in relationships such as: shared experiences, getting more than they expect from a relationship, learning from each other, being truthful, open and supportive towards each other and spending a pleasant or interesting time together:

‘I think you get probably attached more to some relationships, or I do, if you’ve had real success or a real challenge…And that you recognise, I think, in each other that you’re getting more out of it than you expect of a normal relationship. And I think you can answer the question to each other that actually, do you know what, someone in front of me is being quite honest and truthful and supportive. No different than almost a child and adult relationship that actually it might be trying at times but deep down as long as you know you're being truthful to each other then you’re probably going to persevere with it...I mean that’s why I have a small but trusted group of kind of attachments, relationships, whatever you call it, that are a bit further than business.’

(Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

‘At one level there are people that… you enjoy spending time with…because, you know, you appreciate what each other’s got to say and you’re open and honest about each other and you listen to each other. So that's a form of attachment and so it's quite pleasant to spend time with that person ‘cause maybe they’re empathetic or you can learn something from them and so on or just you know, interesting.’

(Male, Operating Partner, Management Consulting Firm)

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When something goes wrong on a project or there is an emergency at work, the service provider may be called upon to provide reassurance and security. The following interviewee is a responding to a question about how clients behave when they are under stress:

‘Either they are just panicky, need an answer now, they're not thinking rationally but again that's why they employ our services - to be a calm person at the end of the phone, to come up with a solution. That's when you come into your own as a PR. They phone you because they need help. It's our job to put them at ease, give them a solution, work them through it and I guess take that panic from their desk, make it our problem and sort it out for them but yeah (laughs) you could definitely see personality trait change.’

(Female Senior PR Consultant)

However certain industries such as auditing may pose a challenge for reciprocal attachments to develop due to the service provider’s need to be independent. This service provider is happy for the client to form an attachment but believes he needs to stay detached in order to do his job well.

‘I do like some of my clients genuinely and I feel... the thing as auditors is you've got to stay detached because essentially my job is to point out to the audit committee all the things that they've done wrong and if I get an attachment to them, that's just going to make that more difficult and it will make me less effective. I guess that's why you have all this sort of talk about audit regulation and mandatory rotation for audit firms to try and address that etc. So I think there's something... part of your professional responsibilities is making sure that you keep that detachment. It's almost like you want them to be attached to you but you want to maintain yourself that sort of... stay separated.’

(Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm)

A different perspective from the Director of a Global Ratings Agency, another highly- regulated industry, shows that attachments do form despite the regulations:

‘I think in our industry with the regulation it takes longer because you're always holding back a little bit...I've seen in a number of the companies that I've covered for a couple years that the relationships are significantly stronger and they do tend to grow and develop over time. So I think there is a natural tendency for those relationships to grow and the more the interaction and the more you go down a mine with somebody, it's always going to develop for the good or for worse but there will be development along the way and I don't think the regulation can stop that. I think it can only change how you formally interact with people through communication through recorded calls that type of thing but if you're down in a mine and you ask questions and you're talking to people especially if

163 you've done it for a number of years, I think the regulation becomes less of an issue. So I think it will naturally develop yes.’

(Male, Director, Global Ratings Agency)

Therefore it may be seen that attachments can and do form in business. Two interviewees (a male Lawyer and a male Solicitor) believed they were too junior for attachments to form at this stage of their career but they recognised the concept and expected attachments would develop further on in their careers. A third interviewee, a Banker in a European Investment Bank, said she has made ‘a personal choice’ not to develop attachments with her clients but when the author reviewed her interview, it seemed that clients had formed secure attachments with her but she preferred not to socialise with them ‘Maybe it’s something to do with gender. Maybe if I was a man I would play golf with my client.’

This interviewee worked with many French clients: ‘In large corporations in France, people tend to work at these companies for a long time. They value stability and consistency. The relationship is part of the routine’ and went on to describe her strongest client relationships as those: ‘with whom you have longer operations (some are close to 20 years), when you deal very easily with tough issues. They do value who you are, what you’re delivering, how reliable you can be.’ She agreed these strong relationships were more successful in terms of business outcomes: ‘You have confidence in your counterpart and you can do things that are more risky. It’s the impact of relationship confidence’.

The dimensions of reliability, stability and consistency are characteristic of attachment- based security therefore attachment seemed to be present. The author used examples of client relationships to verify the interviewees’ opinions since a lesser-known concept such as attachment could be mistaken for another concept such as socialising so examples helped to ensure the right concept was being discussed.

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5.2.1.2 THEME 2 LIKING

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love provided theoretical support for liking as a basis for social bonds to develop in business relationships. Yim et al (2008) found Sternberg’s theory to be valuable in their research into customer relationships in a services environment. Sternberg’s theory offers three dimensions of liking or three potential social bonds: intimacy, passion and commitment and these will be discussed as separate themes in this chapter. However it was also important to find out how liking itself was perceived by professional service providers and its role in business relationships. Nicholson et al (2001) found liking to be a significant driver of relationship maintenance and the development of emotional bonds. Although disliking was also mentioned by interviewees, it is not within the remit of this thesis to examine disliking which has been found to be a separate concept to liking rather than at the opposite end of the same continuum (Herr and Page, 2004).

Some service providers had different opinions on the object of liking. They differentiated between liking an individual as a person and liking him or her as a client:

‘I should say there are clients who I like as people but hate as clients and there are people who are probably the other way round. So I guess it doesn't necessarily correlate that I have to like them as a person to like working with them.’

(Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm)

‘You like people for different occasions, don't you? Some people I like as people but I certainly wouldn’t want to work with them.’

(Male, Operating Partner, Management Consulting Firm)

Other service providers differentiated between liking an individual and liking the way they work:

‘It's like friendship isn't it? Sometimes you get on with somebody and sometimes you don't. I think if you like somebody it's easier. If you work in a way they like you to work, for example, if you work very hard, they work very hard, you meet deadlines and things like that that may be something they like. I suppose it’s a combination of whether you sort of click or not and produce the work in the way they want it to be done.’

(Female, Criminal Barrister)

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Many service providers emphasised the importance of personal liking in their business relationships and variations of the phrase ‘people buy (from) people’ appeared in different interviews:

‘I have to say I'm very fortunate in that I'm in a position where I do business with people I enjoy doing business with and not that liking people really matters in business but I found it much more conducive and helps a lot if you end up being able to a. Communicate with your counterpoint and b. enjoy working with them. I've actually found to be quite important - one part of me is saying now that shouldn’t be important but in reality it is. When you say ‘business is business’ that is not always the way. I found that within business 'people buy people' to be very honest’.

(Male, Managing Director, Marketing Consultancy)

‘I like to think that people do business with people because they get on with people. Yes you've got to have something good to buy and sell, yes you've got to provide good services, all the things that people expect but people will do business with people because they actually like them.’

(Male, Freelance Event and Marketing Consultant)

‘In my opinion, if the client likes you, they will buy something off you even if they don't necessarily need it. I think it's 'people buy off people they like' and so for me, I'm much more successful when it comes to… reselling the audit or successful audit retenders. On clients where I've built up that relationship, they like me and that can overcome the fact that our fees are higher or whatever.’

(Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm)

‘I suppose people buy from people at the end of the day and if they like you then they'll buy from you wherever they can. So even in a situation when the clients...don't have lots of money swilling around, if they can buy from you, they will do that.’

(Female, Business Development Manager, Big Four Firm)

Liking was linked to similarity by some service providers:

‘Like is actually a very interesting term. That you get on with them and have similar backgrounds or similar attitudes or perceptions on how things are to be - cultural, social or political even and it's interesting from a psychological perspective…the stronger relationships are with people who are of a similar outlook or that you can relate to them.’

(Male, Managing Director, Marketing Consultancy)

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Some service providers regarded liking as an important source of advantage in a competitive business environment:

‘We have four or five competitors who can do just as good a job as us so we need to make sure that our clients like us so they're happy coming back to us.’

(Male, Solicitor, International Law Firm)

‘Liking is very important and it can differentiate you because a lot of people have the skills’

(Female, Freelance PR Consultant)

A number of service providers appeared to relate liking to a successful and easier business relationship:

‘I think liking is really important. Do I like all my clients? No I don't like all of my clients but there are a number that I really like working with and they're probably the most successful relationships.’

(Male, Partner, Big Four Firm)

‘When you work with someone who has a personality that you like, it’s easier to build on that and build a successful relationship.’

(Male, Lawyer, European Investment Bank)

‘Over the years, people do business because they like you. It’s difficult if you are with an unpleasant human being. If people like you, they would find it easier to find a compromise or a deal to be done.’

(Female, Banker, European Investment Bank)

However personal liking has its limitations. It may not be enough to maintain a relationship if the company does not benefit financially or if the service provider lacks the necessary skills:

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‘I guess very specifically on the brokers, it is a case of: Do I like this person? Are they fun to go out with? We've got an Irish guy who is always sent out to meet these people ‘cause he typically cultivates very good personal relationships but I think at the end of the day with everyone involved in this, even if they don't say it, it's very much a self-interest thing. So it's very much: I like this person, he's a nice guy yes but he's going to create money for me. So even though they probably won't tell you that, it will boil down to that. We're not a charity here so we're not going to continually help out people just because we have a good relationship with them either. At the end of the day we're here to make money so you know we could break some of those relationships if it required it from a financial point of view’.

(Male, Trader in a Market Making Company)

‘If you focus on the relationship and being all cosy and everybody liking each other and everybody getting along that's short term I believe because ultimately your client is going to look at the figures and the performances and it relates back then to like if you don't have the skills you're not getting carried on a project.’

(Female, Freelance PR Consultant)

Some service providers said it was possible to have a strong and productive business relationship without liking but it was more difficult:

‘A lot of people do confuse liking each other with the strength of the client relationship and is perfectly acceptable to have a very strong business relationship and do a very good job for a client and not necessarily like each other but why should you as the only thing you got in common is that you've bumped up against each other in a business environment. In that sense it's a bit of a bonus frankly if you end up liking each other and clearly you will be attempting as the relationship manager it'll be my job to ensure that they do like us because as I said that's going to help smooth out the bumps.’

(Male, Managing Director, PR Consultancy)

‘People I don't like, I can still have a productive relationship with but it's harder. It's harder to convince myself to spend a lot of time with them, even though they might have a lot of money!’

(Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

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5.2.2 Social Bonds – Frequency Tables

Although the author had already chosen the four social bonds to be included in her study based on her theoretical framework, the interviews gave her the opportunity to work inductively and ask service providers what they believed bonds were based on. This was done in order to get a better understanding of bonds as experienced by the interviewees and also to support scale development by verifying bond items developed from the literature and generating new bond items.

Table 5.4 on the next page shows responses to the question: ‘What are bonds based on?’ The author has listed 57 responses in alphabetical order and shown the frequency (number of interviewees who mentioned each response). The most popular responses were liking and trust which were mentioned six times. It is not surprising that attachment was mentioned once only since it is not a term service providers are likely to be familiar with. However service providers are much more conversant with trust which may be viewed as similar to attachment but has been found to be a separate concept and an outcome of social bonds (Nicholson et al, 2001). Some of the interviewees’ responses to the question: ‘What are bonds based on’ were relevant to the four social bonds and included as items in the social bond scale: twelve for intimacy, four for security, four for passion and one for affective commitment. Three responses were also included as demographic variables in the questionnaire.

Eleven responses related to similarity or sharing were mentioned 17 times (see Table 5.4 on page 171 from 40-50) in response to the question ‘What are bonds based on?’ However in total 27 bases for similarity were identified in the interview data and these were examined separately since similarity appeared to be particularly important in forming social bonds. As can be seen from Table 5.5 on pages 171-2, the most popular similarities mentioned were national culture and similar interests (mentioned seven times), followed by age and common values (six times) then similar attitudes and industry (five times). All of these were included in the social bond scale as an item or a demographic variable. In total, six variables based on similarity were used in the intimacy scale and one in the passion scale. Another four were used as demographic variables.

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Table 5.4 Responses to question: What are bonds based on?

Included in social bond Response Frequency scale 1 Alumni (colleagues who have become clients) 1 2 Appreciation 2 Security Bond item 3 Attachment 1 Theory 4 Being myself, behaving naturally 1 Intimacy Bond Item 5 Chemistry 2 Passion Bond item 6 Comfort 1 Security Bond item 7 Common objectives/ shared agenda 4 Intimacy Bond Item 8 Community/coming from a small community 2 9 Confidence that service provider will deliver 1 Security Bond item 10 Doing a really good job/ doing the best for a client 2 11 Doing the right thing 1 12 Familiarity 3 Intimacy Bond Item 13 Financial impact on each other 1 14 Getting more from the relationship/ added value 1 Passion Bond item 15 Getting on well 2 Intimacy Bond Item 16 History of working together 1 17 Honesty and openness 1 18 Idolizing 1 Passion Bond item 19 Interesting work or person 3 20 Learning from them 2 21 Liking/enjoyment 6 Theory 22 Listening 1 Intimacy Bond Item 23 Living close to each other 1 24 Longevity/ develop over time 2 Demographic variable 25 Made an impression on each other 1 26 Making the client look good 1 27 May be useful for the future 1 28 Mentoring 1 29 Mutual interest in what the business needs 1 30 Mutually beneficial relationships 2 31 Nature of the work/industry sector 3 Demographic variable 32 Passion and enthusiasm 1 Passion Bond item 33 Personal qualities 2 34 Planning together and following the plan through 1 35 Regular contact 1 36 Relaxing together 1 37 Reliability 1 Security Bond item 38 Respect 2 39 Sense of humour 3 Intimacy Bond Item

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Included in social bond Response Frequency scale 40 Shared outlook/ a common view of the world 2 Intimacy Bond Item 41 Sharing (like a friendship) 1 42 Sharing a stressful environment 1 43 Sharing experiences: good/bad, successful/challenging 3 Intimacy Bond Item 44 Sharing emotions 2 45 Similar background 1 46 Similar culture 3 Demographic variable 47 Similar interests 1 Intimacy Bond Item 48 Similar personal culture (ego and machoness) 1 49 Similar stage of life 1 50 Similar values 1 Intimacy Bond Item 51 Social activities and informal encounters 3 Intimacy Bond Item 52 Spending time together (amount of time) 2 53 Spending time together when working away from home 2 54 Symbiotic relationship 2 55 Trust 6 56 Understanding and empathy 2 Intimacy Bond Item 57 Wanting to keep in touch 1 Affective Commitment Item

Table 5.5 Bases of Similarity between Client and Service Provider mentioned by Interviewees

Response Frequency Included in social bond scale 1 Age 6 Demographic variable 2 Attitudes 5 Intimacy bond 3 Background 3 4 Business interests/business goals 4 5 Cultural (national culture) 7 Demographic variable 6 Education 1 7 Gender 3 Demographic variable 8 Interests and hobbies 7 Intimacy bond 9 Lifestyle 1 10 Living close to each other 1 11 Love of the craft (passion for what they do) 3 Passion bond 12 Motivations for success 1 Move in similar circles (know same people, worked 13 for same companies) 1 14 Organisational culture 1 15 Outlook/view of the world 3 Intimacy bond 16 Personal objectives 1

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Response Frequency Included in social bond scale 17 Personalities/personal qualities 3 18 Political 1 19 Sector or industry or profession 5 Demographic variable 20 Sense of humour 3 Intimacy bond 21 Sexual preference 1 22 Social/Socio-economic background 3 23 Stage of life 2 24 Thinking/on the same wavelength 2 25 Values 6 Intimacy bond 26 Way of working/work ethic 3 Work situation e.g. both work in a difficult 27 environment 1 Intimacy bond

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5.2.3 Four Social Bonds

The author asked specific questions about the four social bonds to facilitate the collection of rich data regarding interviewees’ experiences of and opinions about intimacy, passion, affective commitment and security. This data was used to support, modify or reject existing scale items and create new scale items.

5.2.3.1 THEME 3 INTIMACY

The author created 19 codes for data related to the intimacy bond which are named in Table 5.3 on pages 156-7. Appendix 6A shows how the interview data was used to support, modify and remove preliminary scale items; and create new intimacy bond scale items. In addition, three items were moved from the Intimacy scale to the Security Bond scale as the interview data indicated that these items were dimensions of security rather than intimacy. A 20-item intimacy scale was developed based on the analysis of the interview data. Intimacy was referred to as closeness during the interviews since research found that intimacy may have romantic or sexual connotations for some people (Parks and Floyd, 1996). A number of dimensions of closeness were discussed in detail by service providers and these were used in the author’s interpretation of the essence of closeness as seen from their perspective.

Self-Disclosure – Personal and Business

Closeness can be characterised by self-disclosure. Service providers confide personal information in clients with whom they have a close relationship and the closer the relationship, the more it resembles a friendship. However some interviewees mentioned that there is a limit to what can be disclosed to clients:

‘You wouldn't necessarily, unless it is a particularly close relationship, you wouldn't confide in your clients things that you would necessarily share with your friends. I think the British way is a bit like an onion, those kind of layers. The core is the bit you only really share with your family and your closest friends and the outer layers, you might be prepared to peel away a few layers, but you not gonna share your heart and soul with your clients.’ (Male, Managing Director, PR Consultancy)

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A second aspect of self-disclosure relates to the client talking openly about their business with the service provider: ‘where the company is much more forthcoming about information…and how their business strategy changes or evolves over time’ (Male, Director, Global Ratings Agency). Where the client is prepared to offer additional information beyond the minimum to help the service provider, the relationship was described as easier, friendlier and possibly more successful as the service provider was able to help the client more.

Mutual Understanding

Shared understanding was seen as a foundation for closeness and working together in business. A Female Criminal Barrister believes: ‘it helps with doing the job because if you are close to somebody, you tend to have a similar perspective or similar outlook.’ The scope of understanding covered what the client wanted to achieve, setting out a common vision and business agenda and working as a joint team with the service provider. However the concept also included shared personal views between client and service provider. Shared views could be the result of a similar demographic profile ‘You've got all these kind of WASPs white middle-class men primarily dominating those creative services and professional services industry because they like each other and have the same outlook on life’ (Male, Managing Director, PR Consultancy).

Sense of Humour

Humour, jokes, laughter and banter enable service providers to bond on a more personal level with clients: ‘you've developed the relationship to such a point where you know you can have banter with them and poke fun at them which you would do with your friends’ (Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm). Humour changes the nature of the business relationship to one that is more personal and more enjoyable: ‘We have a laugh, it’s nice, it's human, it's not just a pure business relationship’ (Male, Consultant in the Meetings Industry).

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Advice beyond the Scope of the Work

Clients who have a closer relationship with their service provider value their advice on personal and business matters beyond the scope of work being done: ‘it can entail all sorts of things which probably border on marriage guidance, how to cope with their children's tantrums, how to manage relationships within your business, with staff, with each other, with banks etc’ (Male, Proprietor, Accountancy Practice). Clients would also ‘actively seek you out if they had an issue that's still in my business capacity but might be slightly different to an audit or the work that I'm delivering for them’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm). Service providers like this Female Partner from an International Research Consultancy saw this advice-giving and seeking as reciprocal: ‘They come to you to ask for advice. I do the same actually. I won't treat them any more like a client.’

Empathy

Care and concern for the client and the client’s business was seen as a way of creating attachment.

‘I think this is the first step towards creating the attachment if I put it this way because why would they become attached to you from the very first meeting? You have to have a common ground and the common ground will be that you care about them, you care about their business and you are there to help them do better in their job and do good things to the business.’ (Female, Partner, International Research Consultancy)

Empathy could be with what the business is trying to achieve, for example a cancer charity’s objectives or for the personal wellbeing of the individual involved: ‘I was off sick last year and it was gratifying to see the emails I got asking where I was’ (Male, Scheme Manager, Standards Based Organisation).

Best Interest

Friendship in business was found to be based, among others, on the client recognising that the service provider was doing his or her best for them and their company. In particular, a closer bond could form if the client was having a difficult time and the service provider was going out of his or her way to look after the client’s interests: 175

‘I think if an individual is having a tough time at work and in that especially tough time you're clearly investing your personal time to help them out, especially if it's beyond the remit of the project then I think that can form something beyond a professional relationship where... that person feels very confident that you're always going to have their interests at heart and your interests are aligned.’

(Male, Operations Partner, Management Consulting Firm)

Familiarity

If a client knows a service provider well, it may be difficult to replace this individual with another service provider. A Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry found that ‘when people come to you, it's you that they want and so even if I did have other academics or other consultants I could pass the work onto,…it's usually the person that they want, the person that they know.’ Clients want to work with service providers they know as it is easier, more rewarding and less risky.

Similar Interests

Similar personal or business interests bring a client and service provider closer together:

‘I think you get a kind of almost personal closeness by actually talking to them about what they’re really focused on and then bringing that to actually developing the relationship on how we work together and therefore what’s important to both of us.’

(Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

Sports were mentioned as a way to bring people together, for example a Consultant in Investment Banking created bonds with his clients through playing cricket and a Female Business Development Manager took up golf so she could become closer to her clients:

‘I went through a stage where I had lots and lots of male clients who played golf so I had golf lessons so that I could talk to my clients about what they did at the weekend. I can talk much better game of golf than I play but I know all the buzzwords and getting to know clients at that level, what are their hobbies, do they have a sports team they support etc. etc. So whilst I don't think it's necessarily a gender thing, I think it's all about taking an interest in your client. And I do hear very often people say ‘I don't like sport, I don't get on with Fred’. Well if you're going to get on with Fred, you've got to get into Fred's head and he likes sport that's what you've got to do.’

(Female, Business Development Manager)

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Sharing Attitudes and Values

Closeness was found to be based on similar attitudes and values. In particular, extreme differences in political and other views may lead to difficulty in working together as told by a Male Director in Business Training and Consultancy ‘I hate homophobia and actually I couldn’t tolerate anyone who was homophobic so it’s that kind of thing about what are your values and how flexible can you be.’ However similar value systems could be a very positive feature in forming a closer relationship ‘If you've got similar philosophies or beliefs or behaviours tied to your values or your interpretation of the world that can absolutely impact on whether you gel better or don't’ (Female, Business Development Manager, TV company). Likeminded individuals with a similar attitude to doing business are more likely to form a bond as this Male Property Consultant found: ‘Yeah probably we're more sort of free-spirited, more entrepreneurial, gung-ho, everything on black as opposed to taking a calculated bet on something. It's sort of like let's go for it, we're gonna buy this, we're gonna pay that for it, and we're gonna make some money out of it, bang!’

Behaving Naturally

Close relationships are those where ‘you feel that your counterpart or your client or business partner is authentic and genuine as opposed to putting on a front or a bluff or a performance’ (Male, Lawyer, European Investment Bank). ‘You can be a bit grumpy. People get to know you better and so they can see if you're unhappy or stressed just like a personal relationship’ (Female, Director, Event Management Company.’ ‘They’ll be themselves with you…people are not particularly on the defensive’ (Male, Consultant in the Meetings Industry). Superficial contacts were compared to PR and salespeople and not seen as being candidates for a genuine business relationship:

‘I think of them as the PR people. They're always bright and 'mwah mwah mwah how are you?' It's superficial I think. They do it very well, they're funny but you almost feel this isn't a relationship.’ (Male, Consultant, Meetings Industry)

‘Regardless of what they may think of you, they are going to say the right thing to get the deal done or to get your custom. So, you know, much like any salesperson would do really so I'd say... it's not as genuine and it could sort of fall through very quickly.’

(Male, Trader, Market Making Company)

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Meeting Socially

Going out with the client socially or outside work hours was seen as a way of forming a closer relationship: ‘I wouldn't describe my relations with the bankers as close in the sense that I mean I don't hang out with that many people from work after work’ (Male Lawyer in a European Investment Bank). Going out for a drink was frequently mentioned. A Male Director in a Big Four Firm used a meal out as a way of getting to know the client better in a more informal environment:

‘I got to the point where I was thinking I've got to work with this guy for the next five years and we can't even have a straight conversation. I found out that he liked Italian food and I suggested to him look, it would be great to get off site, to get to know you a bit more, to think a bit more about what your aims and ambitions are about this contract, to get to know you a bit more. And that evening I think...moved me on in leaps and bounds with this person.’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

Some industries such as investment banks and brokerage firms encourage their staff to socialise with clients ‘the brokers will take out people like us, companies like us and take us to very fancy restaurants, take us to rugby matches, bring us bottles of champagne, all that sort of thing to try and build the relationship’ (Male, Trader in a Marketing Making Company) but others such as a Standards Based Organisation and Global Ratings Agency discourage it due to the importance of independence to the nature of the work they do.

Non-work related Chat and Gossip

A closer relationship was one where conversations could take place on a more personal level as described by this Male Senior Manager in a Big Four Firm: ‘So I've got the director of finance and we'll always just talk about our children, they're similar ages’ and this Female Business Development Manager in a TV Company talking about her business partner:

‘I could interact with him in quite an intelligent fashion both in terms of our interpretation of the industry that we worked in and the businesses and strategy but then again in more kind of academic pursuits. We talk about books and we talk about film and we talk about art as well as quite focused business discussion.’

(Female, Business Development Manager, TV Company)

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The informal nature of gossip was also seen to be important in building bonds as clients would take the initiative to contact the service provider about non-work related matters:

‘They've heard something happening within their sector or environment they work in and therefore want an opinion on it or actually whether I'd heard it or not so there's kind of a gossip element there as well.’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

Shared Experiences: enjoyable, difficult and memorable

Spending an enjoyable time together could bring a client and service provider closer as this is an investment in the relationship rather than a purely business transaction: ‘It's about the overall experience as opposed to the product that you're giving them’ (Male, Partner, Big Four Firm). A Male Director in a Big Four Firm believes ‘you get probably attached more to some relationships, or I do, if you’ve had real success or a real challenge… you deliver some difficult messages to each other and you create a bond in that actually there’s success at the end of it.’ A number of service providers mentioned that going through a difficult time together could create strong bonds:

‘I suppose it's once you've been through a phase of difficulty with someone, you then naturally feel more inclined to build a more personal bond with them probably ’cause you think: Well, you know what, if I'm going to go through something difficult with someone again then I might as well go through it with these people ’cause I know at least we can come out of the other side okay.’

(Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm)

Strong bonds could also be created through memorable experiences for example a Male, Managing Director of a PR Consultancy spoke of the launch of the Laura Ashley brand which was a memorable PR project:

‘You can form bonds with clients where you've had a mutual experience so if you've both worked on something that's been particularly successful. It's a bit like a sort of military kind of bonding, going to battle together, the relationship has been forged in battle is virtually unbreakable. You can meet people many many years later and you'll reminisce about something that you did together 20 years ago. It could be humorous or it could be

179 something pretty impressive like the launch of new product. I did the PR surrounding Laura Ashley when it first floated in the 80s with Bernard and Laura Ashley. It was very exciting. It was also very traumatic because she died. She fell down the stairs and she hit her head and she died. By then we had got very close to the family and all the professional advisers that were part of that. That was quite special and even now we'll meet up 20 or 30 years later and we talk about that. So bonding through a kind of mutual or shared experiences is really quite powerful, it's quite a powerful glue that keeps people together.’ (Male, Managing Director, PR Consultancy)

Bonds can also be formed through shared experiences when working abroad and spending a lot of time with a client:

‘We were working on projects around the world. Sometimes you’d be forced almost in a kind of different environment you’d be forced into very nice hotels, working in glamorous locations, working in event centres, working very, very, very long days, eating together you know so boundaries will often disappear, the boundaries that you might get in the traditional workplace would disappear in those circumstances and then you would have friendships with some of those people.’

(Male, Director of Business Training Services and Consultancy)

Listening

A dimension of closeness was the willingness to listen to the service provider and be receptive to his or her advice ‘You have to really listen to someone [client] and if you can do that then they tend to like you and if they tend to like you then you tend to like them’ (Male, Operating Partner, Managing Consulting Firm). Following advice could also create a bond: ‘If they've [clients have] taken some advice, a course of action that has been decided on, the length of that course of action may cause them to kind of be a bit tied into me while that's followed’ (Male Principal of an Accountancy and Property Management Firm).

A measurement of closeness was to what extent clients would listen to advice:

‘I have relationships with clients. I mean I can pick up and go in with them anytime. I've got CEOs I've done work for in Cyprus, I've got CEOs I've done work for in emerging markets. Those if I call them up, they pick up the phone. I'll go and see them if I have a business idea and they'll listen.’

(Male, Management Consultant, Investment Banks)

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5.2.3.2 THEME 4 PASSION

The author created 12 codes for data related to the passion bond which are named in Table 5.3 on page 157. Appendix 6B shows how the interview data was used to support, modify and remove preliminary scale items; and create new passion bond scale items. A 15-item passion scale was developed following the analysis of the interview data. Interviewees did not have a problem relating to the concept of passion in business nor related concepts such as chemistry. A number of dimensions of passion were discussed in detail by service providers and these were used in the author’s interpretation of the essence of passion as seen from their perspective.

Importance of the Business Relationship

The significance of the relationship to the individual was considered to be a dimension of passion. A Male Senior Associate in a Big Four Firm found this happened when he has:

‘an audit client that's really valued something I've said...it's not initially in their mind-set that they could possibly learn something from an auditor and…that's how I've found I'm able to build better relationships with them.’

(Male, Senior Associate, Big Four Firm)

It may be easier to form a significant business relationship when a company requires a lot of input from the service provider such as at the start-up stage or when a company is in difficulty. The significance of the relationship should be apparent at a high level within the organisation and may increase over time as the client has the opportunity to get to know and value the service provider.

Enjoying Work with the Service Provider

Passion can manifest itself as intense enjoyment of the work. Particularly interviewees from the PR industry spoke of the client and service provider enjoying working together:

‘Maybe it's again the industry we work but everyone's very passionate and have a shared common interest to actually enjoy what they do and get to that end goal.’

(Female, Senior PR Consultant)

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However interviewees from an auditing background spoke of the unlikely scenario of their work being intensely enjoyable: ‘I think if they [clients] thought you were passionate about auditing then you'd have a less strong relationship!’ (Male, Senior Associate, Big Four Firm).

If the type of work is not likely to be enjoyable ‘like auditing a bank or investment house - you know passionate about derivatives or whatever! It wouldn't really work’ (Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm) then the way the service provider works could make the experience enjoyable:

‘Over the years you build up a relationship with a particular firm or firms of solicitors and I suppose it's based on the way that they like cases run whether you build up a sort of personal relationship with them. It's like any business I suppose, it depends whether you offer a service that they like.’

(Female, Criminal Barrister)

Chemistry

Chemistry was also referred to as ‘clicking’: ‘I think in people there is a bit of chemistry between different sorts of people where sometimes it clicks and sometimes it doesn't click’ (Male, Principal, Accounting and Property Management). This Female Freelance PR Consultant described the bond of chemistry:

‘I suppose a bond is an attraction whether that can be physical and I don't mean sexual - a physical attraction like there's like a chemistry in the people around you. You find someone is like... you like the way people dress, there's that physical attraction, you like the way they speak, like the way they go on, the way they conduct themselves, you're attracted to how they behave.’

(Female, Freelance PR Consultant)

Chemistry was seen to be based on liking and even compared to love: ‘Obviously if it was a relationship with a girl, you'd say you're falling in love with someone’ (Male, Principal, Accounting and Property Management). According to a Female Senior PR Consultant, if chemistry is present, it enables the parties to naturally work better together.

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Active Engagement

Passion can be measured according to how active the individual is in engaging in the relationship. This may be based on the client’s personality, needs or desire to have a long- term relationship:

‘Some clients that actually want to have a longer term or a deeper relationship other than just the audit and therefore will contact me frequently to talk about other things other than just the business at hand.’

(Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

Clients who have a drive for their business were seen as being easier to work with as they were more likely to be successful (Male, Proprietor, Accountancy Practice). Active engagement could lead to a better experience and learning taking place (Female, Partner, International Research Consultancy). A Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry describes his passion for one of the destinations he is involved with:

‘That's my whole history with Poland when I started going there and saw the potential and the hard work and the energy… I thought I want to be involved in this story. I want to be part of it.’

(Male, Consultant, Meetings Industry)

Admiration

Admiration for the other party in the business relationship was seen as a basis for liking them and wanting to relate to them:

‘Sometimes you try to maintain good relationships with people you admire or you consider as having certain qualities that you admire so intellectual or leadership qualities and so on. At least to me, it's quite important either in business relationships or for that matter work relationships.’

(Male, Lawyer, European Investment Bank)

Admiration could be for someone more experienced who the individual could learn from:

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‘I think also they're people I genuinely still learn off of and watch and they make me grow and I think yep that's people I look up to and idolise a little bit within work.’ (Female, Senior PR Consultant)

Passion

Passion and enthusiasm can be seen at various levels in the business relationship: on an individual level, relationship level, business level and industry level:

Individual Level Enthusiastic individuals appeared to attract others ‘I really notice that the people I gravitate towards both in work and personal life all absolutely have a degree, a visible tangible degree of enthusiasm and passion’ (Female, Business Development Manager, TV Company). Working with passionate individuals transcends the usual boundaries of work due to the high level of emotional involvement: ‘When you're dealing with people who're passionate about marketing their venue or their city for conferences, it's more than a job of work’ (Male, Consultant in the Meetings Industry).

‘I really get engrossed in what I do and I think the clients realise that I am sort of I suppose passionate about my work and because they feel that I care then that translates to them being happier with what I'm doing and the same with solicitors really.’

(Female, Criminal Barrister)

Relationship Level Enthusiasm was seen to be an important dimension in business relationships as described by this Male Proprietor of an Accountancy Practice: ‘I find his enthusiasm for his business and his drive quite endearing... it's easy to relate to on a business level rather than someone that you feel is just going through the motions each day.’ It was also suggested that passion can lead to stronger relationships:

‘I think if you do have [passion] and can exhibit that you...form much stronger relationships with the investor specifically and with the issuer. If they feel that you're passionate about their business, ‘cause they're also passionate about their business that's why they're doing it, I think the relationship just starts off a much stronger base. (Male, Director, Global Ratings Agency)

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Business Level Certain types of work such as charity events and destination marketing were more pre- disposed to people being enthusiastic about working together as it was something they felt deeply about:

‘I think especially with what we do it's essential to be passionate but luckily because we work for charity and ethical clients it's not hard to be that way because you’re working for an event for a good cause.’

(Female, Director, Event Management Company)

‘It goes beyond business I think into another sphere of being because my enthusiasm for [convention bureau] and everything that's happening there is nothing to do with money. I'm not paid for these enthusiastic conversations I have with people when I speak about [convention bureau]. It's just something from my heart.’

(Male, Consultant, Meetings Industry)

Industry Level In some industries, clients expect service providers to be passionate about their business as in investment banking consultancy and PR:

‘They want to see the fire. They want to see that you're excited about it because as a consultant you've got to go the extra mile and you just can't do that if you're not enthusiastic and it comes out very clearly if you're not enthusiastic.’

(Male, Consultant in Investment Banking)

‘We're pretty passionate here and our clients...you know every agency will talk about passion and why they should select them because they're passionate but it is important. It's the sort of industry where your lack of passion will catch you out. You have to be passionate about the business and the industry and the job you do and the clients have to feel that passion. Yeah that's quite important to us.’ (Male, Managing Director, PR Consultancy)

However in other industries such as auditing, service providers have said that it is more appropriate to show genuine interest in the industry sector than passion:

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‘I think more generally it's much more helpful to be interested in the sector you're working in. I hope I don't come across too geeky but I'm quite interested in transport so I've got four transport clients so it helps when you're having those conversations that you can come across that you are genuinely interested in it.’

(Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm)

The above interviewee mentioned that passion is often used as a ‘selling-point’ in client proposals and it is important that it should be authentic: ‘You have to sort of watch your language because it can come across as a bit...some things you can't be passionate about and if you do, you just come across as being insincere.’ A Director from the same Big Four Firm agreed that ‘there's certain people in this organisation who get excited about everything. For most of us it's like, oh there they go again! It's very false. I think genuine excitement is ‘cause you believe in something and you really want to make it happen.’

Making an Effort

One of the dimensions of passion is the amount of effort being invested into the relationship. Phrases which were used by interviewees included ‘going the extra mile’, ‘to do more than the minimum’ and ‘to go beyond expectations.’ A number of service providers related the amount of effort being made to how much they liked the other party: ‘If you like them then you'll go the extra mile and you'll do extra things’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm).

‘Typically if I know there is someone that I like and they'll get the job done, I'll go to them first as a first point of contact and you know I try and be a little bit more helpful for them so whereas I could send an e-mail off with 10% of effort or I could send an e-mail off with 30% of effort. In terms of what the person on the other side has to do, that will be affected by whether I like that person or not.’ (Male, Trader in a Market Making Company)

Doing Extra Things and Additional Work at No Extra Charge

A client may see how passionate a service provider is about their business relationship by the additional things he or she is prepared to do beyond the scope of the work. Working late, working at weekends and working long hours were mentioned as well as giving the

186 client a bit of extra help when required. A Female Director and Head of Charities in a Big Four Firm told how carrying out an additional piece of work which was valuable to the client may have had an influence on the company subsequently winning the audit:

‘I was quite keen to win them as a client so when he asked me if there was anything that we could do to help in a particular area, I did so on I fairly unofficial basis I suppose but very low risk from our perspective and not particularly high value. But it was something that he valued that didn't cost us very much to do. And I think that actually helped him in terms of him raising his credibility within his new organisation and actually put him in a position where he could straightaway see what our strengths were compared with his then provider which meant that he put his audit out to tender very quickly after that and we won it but it was a proper competition and up against other big four firms.’

(Female, Director and Head of Charities, Big Four Firm)

Service providers also mentioned not charging the client for small tasks and additional hours being spent on them which makes the business relationship seem more like a friendship:

‘Sometimes giving something for free can be beneficial so they [the client] can see that everything for you is not money, like in a relationship, in a personal relationship you know, I can give you free advice, I can give you some of my time that is out of the scope of what we have agreed and this is something that they will look positively at and it can only be good for the attachment and for the relationship.’

(Female, Partner, International Research Consultancy)

Being Active in Looking After the Client’s Interests

Being passionate about the client’s business involves keeping the client at the forefront of the service provider’s mind and showing genuine interest in the client’s business. It was suggested that this pro-active approach could lead to a stronger relationship. A UK-based Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry spoke about emailing his client in South Africa a link to an interesting article he read about their industry. A Female Business Development Manager from a Big Four Firm summarised this dimension:

‘Are you forever thinking about a client in the sense that if you get some information across your desk for example, do you think ah well that would interest such and such and I'll just send it off to them?’

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A Positive Approach

A positive approach led to better business interactions and wanting to work together: ‘Those who've got passion, they're infectious. You want to actually work with them because they're enjoying what they're doing. There's nothing worse than working with a miserable so-and-so’ (Male, Partner, Big Four Firm). A positive approach was seen to be a requirement in both personal and business relationships:

‘Well I think people want to be positive, don't they? I'm not sure if necessarily enthusiastic but certainly positive…I wouldn't necessarily say from a business point of view it's different. When you're meeting people you want the glass to be half full and the sun to be shining or if it's raining you want to say oh well it's good for the flowers.’

(Male, Proprietor, Accountancy and Property Management)

A Male Property Development Consultant mentioned that positivity was necessary in his line of work which involves closing big deals so can be quite stressful:

‘It's really, really important actually in our business to be jolly, lively. People respond more favourably to positive people so yeah okay we'll get this deal done, we can do this, we can do that. That's really important.’ (Male Property Development Consultant)

Keeping the Relationship Exciting

Working on the relationship to keep it interesting was mentioned by service providers such as a Male Partner in a Big Four Firm: ‘I think actually if you get lazy, those relationships can start to erode and disappear.’ A Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry believed that it was important for business people to create opportunities to revive the relationship and prevent it from becoming stale and boring:

‘It's important to keep things fresh and keep things exciting. I think almost the danger with personal relationships; we can almost take them for granted. ‘You're the person I come home to every evening, I'm coming home, is that not enough?’ Whereas business people, you know, they don't see you so often so you've almost got to create these opportunities.’

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5.2.3.3 THEME 5 AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT

The author created nine codes for data related to this bond which are named in Table 5.3 on pages 156. Appendix 6C shows how the interview data was used to support, modify and remove preliminary scale items; and create new affective commitment bond scale items.. A 13-item affective commitment scale resulted from the analysis of the interview data. A number of dimensions of affective commitment were discussed in detail by service providers and these were used in the author’s interpretation of the essence of this bond as seen from their perspective.

Liking-based commitment

Affective commitment is based on the extent to which parties like to maintain their business relationship: ‘I've had many big corporate clients [but] it still comes back to the relationship you have with them is because somebody likes to work with you’ (Male, Managing Director, Marketing Communications Consultancy). Clients stay with the service provider as they like the personal relationship: ‘I think there's a bit of stickiness…I think all people quite like the personal relationship providing it's working. On the whole you normally expect people to stay’ (Male, Principal, Accountancy and Property Management). Liking was said to be different than just getting on with the client:

I'd say there's a massive difference when it comes to building a long-lasting relationship that goes beyond the specific piece that you're there to do which ultimately, a business like ours depends on additional pieces of work. We depend on continuous work, the client coming back to us and giving us other pieces of work. We depend on that so actually I'd say it's essential for our business to go beyond the ‘I get on with that client’ to ‘we have a really good bond.’ (Male, Senior Associate, Big Four Firm)

A Female Senior PR Consultant describes the bond formed by affective commitment:

‘You [service provider] could end up going back to them [client] for more work or vice versa they can come back to you. That's a positive, you both know what you're buying into from each other and that relationship therefore has worked because you've come back.’ (Female, Senior PR Consultant)

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Affective commitment is built over time and can lead to long and committed relationships:

‘Guys will have risen through the ranks both at the law firms and at the clients, will know each other for years and years and you'll be in the job for 20 or 30 years so if that relationship's good then there's no reason to change it and so you would work with them for a long time.’ (Male, Lawyer, International Law Firm)

A Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry describes how he became committed to a destination which became a regular client after he ‘fell in love with it.’ A Male Lawyer spoke of his commitment to working with bankers he likes working with:

‘Once you've worked on a given transaction with certain bankers, you know who to avoid and you know who you'd like working with so we always have a certain flexibility in choosing the deals we're working on so I try to always at least it comes into play when I see the name of a banker whether I want to take a deal on or not, it has an influence.’ (Male, Lawyer, European Investment Bank)

Without genuine emotion, there can be no affective commitment and the relationship becomes a process where the parties go through the motions: ‘it's not necessarily formal and can be quite friendly but you don't get any strong sense of being in it and real commitment’ (Female, Business Development Manager, Big Four Firm). Affective commitment provides the foundation for ‘a proper relationship’ which becomes ‘less about the money’ and more about ‘the day to day interactions’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm).

Finding More Business Opportunities

Where commitment is based on liking the other person, the client or both parties try to find more shared business opportunities:

‘I think if you build a really good friend...foundation of a relationship (nice Freudian slip there!) that there is a degree of commitment actually and the bond that's been established means that you have made an indelible impression on each other and so you're going to want to try to find ways to work together, to make it work, to make it fit.’ (Female, Business Development Manager, TV Company)

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The same interviewee went on to say that even if there is no opportunity to work together, committed business individuals will try and find other contacts for their partner to work with: ‘I think it also makes people more likely to want to open their network up to you as well and for them to be identifying people where there might be an immediate fit or a future fit.’ Committed clients will try to use the service provider they like whenever possible:

‘Thinking about another client, an accountancy company, and I'm working with a lady who is a very, very good friend and wherever she goes she keeps dragging me in and she's very open about the fact she's worked with me and we’re good friends.’

(Male, Director, Business Training and Consultancy Service)

When the Client Moves to a Different Company

Affective commitment can lead to the individual wanting to work with the service provider again when he/she moves to another company. A Male Managing Director in a PR Consultancy told how he monitors these opportunities:

‘I will go through PR Week and see that somebody that was a client in a former life has moved on to a new company and he will expect me to write to him and I would expect to write to him or her ask how they getting on safe in the knowledge that if they did like me and there was a bond and they were reviewing their agency relationship then they we're gonna get a call.’

A committed client will try to ensure that the service provider is well catered for even if he/she leaves the company:

‘He's [the client’s] only there in this role for two years but he's made commitments to us to make sure that our contract extends beyond that time. We're helping him look for his next role and we're staying in touch with him so...he'll remember us, we hope, when he moves on to other roles, other business environments, as a company that he enjoyed doing business with and worked well and I think that hopefully that shows his commitment.’ (Female, Senior PR Consultant)

Wanting to Keep in Touch

Where commitment is based on liking, individuals will want to keep in touch even if they are not currently working together:

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‘Even though time can elapse, you're kind of conscious that you need to or want to get back in contact with that person either because you need to follow up a more immediate business demand or just because you know those touch points in between are vital to developing that relationship.’

(Female, Business Development Manager, Big Four Firm)

In particular, where the service provider has been with the client for a long time but has lost the account, a bond has formed and they want continue to maintain regular contact. A Male, Director of a Big Four Firm says he still meets regularly, talks and sends Christmas cards to former clients and some of them contact him to offer work after a number of years:

‘I do have from time to time clients who ring me out of the blue who I haven't worked with for four or five years who want me to go and do something. And that's because they haven't had the budget or capacity to do something but they know I'll do the job for them and that to me is a bond, a really strong bond. I can not see someone for a long time and they will still come and consult with me and talk to me.’

(Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

Liking the Way a Service Provider Works

Affective commitment may be based on liking the way a service provider works, for example, a Director of a Global Ratings Agency said clients like the fact he is pro-active in involving them in setting the credit rating for their company. A Female Partner in an International Research Consultancy believes ‘if you deal with… a service provider, who is helpful, who is always there to respond to your requests and stuff, it's something…that makes you willing to continue working with that person.’ A Female Event Director said the reason why so many clients come back is because they like how she manages their events:

‘I think it's because we're nice to work with! We basically deliver what we say. So we set clear objectives, we work really closely with our clients, setting budgets at the beginning but constantly communicating with them to make sure that they clear about where we are. We pretty much always deliver under budget so that's something the clients like’ (Female, Director, Event Management Company)

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A Female Criminal Barrister explains that a solicitor liking the way she works is a more significant factor in continuing to work together than liking her as a person:

‘They like what I do because however close a friend you are with somebody, if you don't like the way they work you're not going to come back. So I think shared aims and a similar method of working and I suppose because we have built up a sort of relationship and friendship.’

Keen to Make the Relationship Work

A dimension of liking-based commitment is a willingness to work through any problems in order to maintain the relationship:

‘You're in it for the duration; you're not in it for the short-term. You work it through. You've got to be able to talk through the issues. If you've got a strong relationship, you can be honest about what's happening, what's going well, what's not going well and you can work it through. If the relationship is not that strong, typically it's make or break or potential exit.’ (Male, Partner, Big Four Firm)

This keenness can manifest itself in the client helping the service provider out. For example, a Male Managing Director of a PR Consultancy describes how a client stayed late to provide a critical piece of information needed for a press release which is ‘the oil that keeps the whole relationship moving.’ A Senior Associate in a Big Four Firm tells how a client was keen to make the relationship work and made his life easier by giving him names of people within the organisation to speak to, attending meetings with other departments and sharing responsibility.

Choosing to maintain the business relationship/Not choosing a different provider

Affective commitment assumes that the client wants to stay with the service provider. A Partner in a Big Four Firm explains why he chooses to commit to certain relationships:

‘Whilst the firm might not consider them to be successful relationships, I certainly see them as being worthy of continued investment either because I get personal reward from actually knowing those individuals and become a richer person myself or because I know that further down the line there's going to be some mutual value in it.’

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The client likes the service provider so will think of him/her at the top of their list when commissioning another project as told by a Female Partner in an International Research Consultancy: ‘They won't go through the exercise of looking for other providers. If you have a good relationship, you provided excellent work for them so there's no need for them to put you against other agencies.’ A Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry explains that clients who give him regular work think of him first: ‘They're coming to me because it's me. They're not coming to me because they're working their way down the list of other consultants.’

THEME 6 SECURITY

The author created 15 codes for data related to the security bond which are named in Table 5.3 on pages 157. Appendix 6D shows how the interview data was used to support, modify and remove preliminary scale items; and create new security bond scale items. In addition, three items were moved from the Intimacy scale to the Security Bond scale as the interview data indicated that these items were dimensions of security rather than intimacy. A 19-item security scale resulted from the analysis of the interview data. A number of dimensions of security were discussed in detail by service providers and these were used in the author’s interpretation of the essence of this bond as seen from their perspective.

A Secure Relationship

Security is based on attachment which is covered under Theme 1. Secure attachment is the foundation of personal relationships and was found to be present in business relationships between clients and service providers. A Male Scheme Manager for a Standards Based Organisation said that ‘when people feel insecure, it can cause problems in the relationship.’ A Female Freelance PR Consultant describes how the service provider can help to create security in the relationship:

‘Often clients they want people around them that make them feel better don't they? …So there can be a kind of emotional attraction where people make you feel calm, people make you feel relaxed, people make you feel confident. It can get dependent on…certain people around that make you feel secure’.

(Female, Freelance PR Consultant)

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Emergency Situation

A dimension of security is being able to contact the service provider in an emergency situation and how the service provider responds is crucial to the relationship:

‘Going back to that point about helping people in times of crisis then if you rescue a project from being terrible to kind of mediocre because of some external factor and you prevent someone getting a black mark on their career for example and then you can have a not-so-good project but a good relationship.’

(Male, Operations Partner, Management Consulting Firm)

A Female Business Development Manager who used to work in IT tells a similar story, that she was called by the client when the computer system went down ‘it was a complete disaster and very high-profile’ but she managed to organise the repair of the system and the relationship was not harmed. Service providers in the events industry are often called upon to respond quickly to resolve clients’ problems as given in this example:

‘If a client is in difficulty we would always help out. We're always able to come up with a solution that we're both happy with. For example with the event I'm doing this weekend, they're doing this barbecue for 4000 people and their biggest concern was about the food because they had no place to receive the food but I have a catering contact so I was able to say my guy will receive everything, he can store everything, he can bring it all on-site with a vehicle for you. So it's sort of always coming up with solutions and even if it's not our responsibility still helping out if we can because that's why people ask you back because they know that you'll go the extra mile. Something happens at the last minute even if it's not on your task list you'll still help them out.’

(Female, Director, Event Management Company)

Being Responsive

Security can manifest itself in responsiveness as the client is confident that the service provider will respond quickly. A number of interviewees mentioned speed of response as a measurement of relationship strength therefore it is important to manage the client’s expectations with regard to the length of time taken to respond:

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‘It's about responding quickly, your response times, but equally I'm really busy and some days I'm at the clients so I always just say to my clients sometimes if you need me urgently please call because I might not see an e-mail til the end of the day but if you need something then I will take the message and I'll get back to you. Most of the time things aren't that urgent but it's always good to say that so you're managing expectations.’ (Female, Director, Event Management Company)

The quality as well as speed of the response can also be an important factor:

‘Some law firms you can see by the treatment you receive whether you’re an important client to them or not depending on the time to respond, on the way the advice is given, on the quality of the memos, on the level of people that work on the matters and so on.’

(Male, Lawyer, European Investment Bank)

Being Available

Making time for the client is part of developing a secure bond and was said to be both a feature of long-time friendships and long-standing client relationships. A Female Banker in a European Investment Bank said her clients could contact her at weekends and late evenings. Availability was particularly important when the client was going through a difficult time as these examples show:

‘I think if an individual is having a tough time at work and in that especially tough time you're clearly investing your personal time to help them out, especially if it's beyond the remit of the project then I think that can form something beyond a professional relationship…And I think whenever that's happened; it's at the moment of truth where someone really needs help and if you recognise that and put other things aside at that point then that can really help.’ (Male, Operating Partner, Management Consulting Firm)

‘There are instances where even if they're [clients are] not doing so well, a stronger relationship can form simply because they’ve become a bit more needy and it provides opportunities for me to be more of service to them. I've had two or three clients in the last year or so going into liquidation and often form a new business out of the liquidation and I'd say through that process which is obviously quite stressful, my relationship with them has probably improved.’ (Male, Proprietor, Accountancy Practice)

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Helping and Being Supportive

Helping the client in an emergency situation has been covered earlier however being helpful towards the client on an on-going basis is also part of a secure business relationship. A Female Partner in an International Research Consultancy explains how being helpful can develop the bond between client and service provider:

‘If you deal with somebody, with a service provider, who is helpful, who is always there to respond to your requests and stuff, it's something that helps you maintain, that makes you willing to continue working with that person. If you find that the person is not helpful… then it's probably something not good for the relationship.’

The same interviewee helped an employee who faced redundancy find a new job and this led to her company being short-listed for a project:

‘I helped her in job search and I think in a way it's a bit of gratefulness perhaps but having said that she was not senior at the time so the decision of keeping us was not hers so I had to convince the whole lot, the whole team but certainly we couldn't get our name on the list if she were not there.’

Being Reliable

A secure bond is based on the client being able to depend on the service provider. A number of service providers mentioned reliability as a core element of bonding with their clients: ‘They know that you’ll get the job done’ (Female, Senior PR Consultant); ‘They do value how reliable you can be’ (Female, Banker, European Investment Bank).

However it is not always the client who is dependent on the service provider. As discussed in Theme 1 on Attachment, service provider-client relationships do not tend to follow the parent-child model but are more based on equality and symbiosis: ‘Together you can apply both of your experiences in that environment better and you sort of rely on each other’ (Male, Operating Partner, Management Consulting Firm).

Dependence appears to develop over time and therefore may be more significant in long- standing client relationships. A Male Proprietor of an Accountancy Practice describes one such client: ‘The main thing about that relationship was probably 20 to 25 years of

197 working with the same person, working for the same group (it's now a husband-and-wife) inevitably builds up a certain amount of …dependence.’

A Stable Environment

Continuity of staff and consistency of approach create a stable and secure environment for doing business. A Male Senior Associate describes how a Big Four Firm’s clients like to have the same audit team members returning the following year:

‘All clients like continuity and they like to see the same faces every year. So when we're doing our audit, when we're changing the audit partner for whatever reason, you're very conscious that you can't change too many of the members of the audit team at the same time. You've got to have continuity and that's really important to clients.’

A Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry believes clients ‘want someone that they know because it's low risk strategy and that makes the whole thing a bit more predictable.’ However it appears that different cultures have different attitudes towards stability:

‘In large corporations in France, people tend to work at these companies for a long time. They value stability and consistency. The relationship is part of the routine. The attitude is different in Russia for example. There’s a high turnaround of people and they are looking for more opportunities and innovations.’ (Female, Banker, European Investment Bank)

Appreciation

Appreciation was seen to be part of the bond between client and service provider. Interviewees discussed both the client’s appreciation of the service provider (such as being recognised for doing a good job) but also mutual appreciation: ‘I think there might be a bond in that actually there’s a kind of mutual appreciation… you appreciate what each other’s got to say’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm).

Appreciation was based on different criteria. A Male Lawyer in a European Investment Bank said he appreciated relationships ‘with people who I know will understand, appreciate and apply the things or at least question, if they have a question, the things I'm saying.’ Appreciation could also be based on expertise as discussed by a Male Senior

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Associate in a Big Four Firm: ‘They [client] appreciated that they'd [service provider had] gone outside and brought an ex-auditor in but one that specialised in exactly what they were looking at.’ The client also appreciated the service provider ‘putting him or herself in the client’s shoes’ and this strengthened their bond:

‘I know my clients, because they're an investment bank, will be busy on month-end periods because they have to close their ledgers down. So saying ‘It's month-end the next few days isn't it? I'll stay away from you’ and they appreciate that. They appreciate: ‘You're going to have these problems over the next few days.’ This is how I'm going to respond to them without them having to ask.’ (Male, Senior Associate, Big Four Firm)

Comfort, Ease and Warmth

Comfort in a business relationship was seen to be similar to friendship and part of bonding. A comfortable relationship was said to be a secure relationship in which the parties were able to contact each other when they needed to but there was no pressure to do so:

‘It's one where if either of us are concerned about something we'll pick up the phone and talk about it but it's comfortable enough that we don't feel that we need to be on top of each other all the time if that makes sense.’ (Female, Director and Head of Charities, Big Four Firm)

‘You want to have a good relationship and a very comfortable relationship but I think it's a sign of a good relationship when you don't need necessarily to be on the phone to them every two weeks ‘cause that almost means that it's not that good a relationship because you have to invest a lot of time in sort of maintaining that.’

(Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm)

Comfort could be linked to similarity as a Male Principal in Accountancy and Property Management said he felt more comfortable with ‘the analytical professions’ rather than ‘the marketing and selling professions.’

Easy interaction was based on a secure bond between the parties in a business relationship. Service providers gave examples of interactions with their clients where they made contact or asked questions without any hesitancy or fear of bothering the other party. These relationships were often less formal. ‘If I have a very, very strong bond with the client then

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I'll just pick up the phone and ask them a quick question’ (Male, Senior Associate, Big Four Firm). A Female Criminal Barrister describes her business relationship:

‘Because we've known each other for so long, he will ring me a lot or vice versa and he will feel free to ring me late at night or early in the morning so it wouldn't just be during business hours.’

Warmth is a characteristic which makes a business relationship similar to a personal relationship:

‘I would say I have a few…very strong relationships where I think you engage on an individual level so it becomes as close as you can get to a personal relationship in that you like the individual and you warm to them.’

(Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

Clients described as ‘warm’ by service providers were those who are friendly and nice to work with: ‘They're funny, they're warm and that appeals to me because we're all working very hard and if you're working with nice people who are like that then it's not just work’ (Male Consultant in the Meetings Industry). However some service providers made the distinction between business and personal relationships: ‘Whilst they are still business relationships, there's warmth and ease’ (Female Business Development Manager, TV Company) and this Female Freelance PR Consultant ‘So it's just kind of being professional but being warm so it's that kind of warm professionalism that you're looking for.’

Keeping Promises

Keeping promises was seen to be an important criterion of business relationships:

‘A promise is a promise and whether you deliver it in a formal way or whether it's a sort of very informal meeting, most clients would regard what you say is what you should stick to.’ (Female Business Development Manager, Big Four Firm)

The client is secure in the knowledge that ‘you deliver what you say you'll deliver on time and on budget’ (Female Director of Event Management Company) and ‘if we say we'll do something that we'll be good for our word’ (Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm).

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Overpromising was seen to be damaging to the business relationship:

‘I'm always very, very careful about when I address people about what we do and how we do it and why we do it. I don't try to oversell.’ (Male, Director, Technology and Operations)

A Female Senior PR Consultant considered that one of the factors which led to a weaker client relationship was a project on which the consultancy ‘may have overpromised something and perhaps not delivered to the best of our capacity.’

Providing Reassurance

Providing reassurance is part of the security bond, supported by attachment theory. Service providers adapt their behaviour depending on their clients’ needs:

A Female Freelance PR Consultant told of a situation when it was the client who provided reassurance to her, the service provider. He protected her like part of his team and made her feel safe which are characteristics of attachment:

‘A client that's slightly protective you know which makes sense I believe that they want to protect their project, they want to protect the people that are working for them but it doesn't necessarily go, strangely. Often clients...they'll use you as the scapegoat for when their customer complains and something goes wrong…So what brought it up is that the client is very protective of his team and who works for him and I really enjoy that I feel yeah safe.’

Overcoming Challenges at Work

A number of service providers found that the strongest bonds were built through overcoming challenges with their client as when everything goes smoothly, it does not really test the relationship:

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‘Until you've been in the real depths of despair together, I don't think you can actually build the deepest relationships. It's the real test of longevity when actually they're really up against it and you actually get in there with them and help them fix it.’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm)

‘If you've done something together that was quite difficult, you end up resolving a problem together and I think that can lead to much deeper relationships because you've sort of gone through adversity together. Whereas others are at a much more superficial level because it all ticks along quite smoothly and it's more just about getting the process done efficiently and effectively and actually if you've done that then they're happy.’

(Female, Director and Head of Charities, Big Four Firm)

Other interviewees found that when the service provider and client team up together against a difficult client or board, this creates a bond and makes the relationship stronger: ‘the example of going in to see the board and having them give us such a hard time about what we were doing and then our contact sitting next to us and hearing us respond made her look good and built our relationship with her’ (Female, Director, Event Management Company).

Solving Problems

A dimension of security is having the service provider take over and solve the client’s problems: ‘It's our job to put them at ease, give them a solution, work them through it and I guess take that panic from their desk, make it our problem and sort it out for them’ (Female, Senior PR Consultant). Some clients do not want to know the details of the project; they want to feel secure that it will be done ‘properly and professionally’ by someone who has the expertise and experience:

‘The whole point of hiring us is to take the burden off them so they don't have to worry about getting permission from the local authority for putting up a marquee or worrying about any of the logistics of the events so kind of taking that worry off their shoulders.’

(Female, Director, Event Management Company)

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5.2.4 THEME 7 DEMOGRAPHIC AND CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES

The author created nine codes for data related to demographic and contextual variables. Six codes represented variables already present in the preliminary questionnaire: gender, age, seniority/position, length of relationship, type of industry and type of professional service. Three additional variables were created from the interview data: similarity of cultural background, level of relationship formality and company size.

Age

Similarity in age was discussed as potentially facilitating stronger bonds: ‘Young men between 20 and 30 - they're more or less going to have similar views, similar ideas anyway so 100% relationships develop’ (Male Trader in a Market Making Company) however a Male Scheme Manager in a Standards-Based Organisation said that clients who had become ‘good friends, you’ll be happy to see them. [It doesn’t matter if] it’s not the same age group.’

Some service providers said the difference in age meant they did not make friends with their clients, like this Female Criminal Barrister: ‘I also represent a lot of youngsters, a lot of young defendants so I wouldn't become friends with them just because of age.’ A Female Freelance PR Consultant said the age difference could make a closer friendship particularly awkward between a male and female as social contact could be misconstrued as having a romantic purpose:

‘A lot of my clients are kind of middle-aged, ageing men. In Abu Dhabi I had a lot of them as friends but not now. I mean I just don't know where we'd meet. I don't know socially what that would mean.’

A Female Business Development Manager said that people make assumptions based on a person’s age: ‘Being in a similar kind of age-group within reason with a kind of 10 years either way can have an impact on people's perceptions in terms of status or experience or expertise or knowledge.’ A Senior Associate in a Big Four Firm talked about his experience of working for the client of a large global bank during his student internship:

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‘They were people in their 40s say and then I turn up and it isn't a hard job but they initially don't have that level of trust with you just because they look at you and think my word you're the age of my children!...I felt myself a lot trying to maybe act a bit older than I was and really having to demonstrate that I knew a lot of factual information and was able to demonstrate a solid knowledge of what I was talking about in order for them to trust me.’ (Male, Senior Associate, Big Four Firm)

A Male Managing Director of a Marketing Consultancy told of a business relationship with his accountant who is slightly older than himself: ‘there is a respect issue there as well because we're both from South Asia and there the older you are the more respect you have.’ It was suggested that older clients tend to remain with their service provider:

‘I think that age is a bit of a factor, in terms of relationships are perhaps more important for the older... my generation tend not to change their bank accounts and things like that because you sort of get used to it, partly because you get a bit lazy but also you just don't do it necessarily so providing someone is giving a reasonable service on the whole you don't necessarily look for the cheapest offer.’

(Proprietor, Accountancy and Property Management Firm)

Gender

Opinions were divided on whether gender had a significant impact on business relationships. A Female Business Development Manager in a TV Company said she bonds in a similar way with male and female business partners although she acknowledges ‘there's different emotions, actions, mental states for different genders.’ A Female Banker keeps business and personal relationships separate and prefers not to socialise with her clients ‘Maybe it’s something to do with gender. Maybe if I was a man I would play golf with my client.’

A Freelance PR Consultant said that being a young female service provider has proved challenging in the past in forming business relationships with male clients: ‘To differentiate between whether it's a social or professional... outside of the office what that is...when you're building a relationship it's a bit of a landmine for somebody who's younger.’ She told of the ‘fine line between business and pleasure’ and in particular being a young woman working in the Middle East and experiencing ‘borderline sexual

204 harassment…it's easy to get confused that a client needs to like you, that going to the dinners and all of that sort of stuff and not being able to say no.’

However a Female Business Development Manager in a Big Four Firm believes gender was more of an issue ‘in olden days… I grew up in the computer industry which is very male dominated and undoubtedly as a female, you had to work twice as hard with your clients and indeed amongst your peer group actually to keep and maintain your credibility. But I think that's less so nowadays.’

Seniority/Position

All the service providers who discussed seniority said there was a difference in the way they related to clients based on their position within the organisation. A Senior Manager at a Big Four Firm found he adjusted his style depending on the client’s seniority: ‘So if it's someone very senior at the London-based University or the large UK railway company, you have to be very formal and professional.’ An Operating Partner in a Management Consulting Firm describes how he may be called upon to form relationships across ‘a wide range of seniority’ within a client organisation:

‘For people you work with more day-to-day then hopefully the relationship becomes more trusting and you can be a little more honest about you know sharing frustrations that you have with each other and you know being a bit more open and hopefully being constructive together about resolving them. Whereas with a more senior person it's a bit more about: ‘here's the project, it's going really well, see you in a month.’

A Male Lawyer from an International Law Firm believed that he is too junior for bonds to form at his current stage of career and that ‘crucial’ attachments form at a more senior level:

‘Not at my level but at the partnership level and then directors, CEOs, CFOs of clients. You know if there's a strong personal relationship between my boss and the CEO of a big major corporate ultimately it's always kind of an individual, two individuals who appoint a law firm. If they've got a great relationship, he'll phone up his friend (because that's what they are) and they'll just say I've got this work, can you guys do it?’

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Length of Relationship

A number of service providers believe that ‘it's the longevity of the relationship which is a foundation of the strength of the relationship’ (Male, Managing Director, Marketing Consultancy). Good client relationships can take years to build: ‘I think they're relationships when you look back that have had a lot of time to develop so I think if I did point to my 3 or 4 or 6 strongest client relationships, they would be clients I've had for 15- 20 years’ (Male, Proprietor, Accountancy Practice). A Male Lawyer says the strongest client relationships are where the law firm has ‘been providing them with legal advice for 20-30 years, has consistently done a good job for them and so they don't look anywhere else.’ The advantage for the client is the firm’s knowledge of their business over the years.

However the length of time taken to build bonds appears to vary. A Director in a Global Ratings Agency says when he deals with a company ‘for about two years or so that information flows become easier, it's more forthcoming and it certainly becomes more transparent.’ An Operating Partner in a Management Consulting Firm says it takes a couple of months before he is working in partnership with his client. Some business relationships develop very quickly into friendships. This Director of a Business Training Company describes how ‘within a few months of meeting him [his business partner] I was renting his house in Vermont. We were talking about it and he mentioned about having this house and I said is it available and he said ‘only for friends, would you like to rent it?’ and it’s like oh ok yes!’ A Partner in a Big Four Firm agrees that building bonds ‘doesn't always take time. I think some can be fairly spontaneous. I think there are some people that you immediately know that you've got some chemistry with.’

Relationship length can depend on the type of professional service, for example, accountancy clients tend to stay with their service provider:

‘Most of the time on the accountancy side, you know, long-term [relationships]. I've got my clients from when I first started in the 1970s. I've still got some of them. On the whole you normally expect the clients to stay with you.’

(Male, Principal, Accountancy and Property Management firm)

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However a Male Consultant in Investment Banking believes that shorter relationships may be more successful in consulting due to the constant pressure to add value and be different: ‘sometimes on long engagements you do have a danger that you become just like the crowd and that's why it's good to keep moving around.’

Nature of the Industry

The nature of the industry appears to significantly influence how business relationships are formed. One of the reasons could be that different types of personalities seem to be present in different industries. For example, a Female Business Development Manager describes how she has ‘worked in the ‘touchy-feely’ worlds of hospitality, event management, media’ and she feels comfortable in this ‘softer’ environment. A Male Management Consultant in Investment Banking found that ‘people within financial services tend to be similar.’ A Female Head of Charities in a Big Four Firm talks about a certain mind-set of people working in the charities sector who share: ‘a sort of common desire to be doing…something good.’

A Male Director in a Property Development Consultancy describes the ‘black and white’ nature of the property industry where either you have a very good relationship with a business partner or no relationship. According to a Male Trader in a Market Making Company, in electronic trading, the traders do not know their clients and the strongest bonds are formed with their work colleagues due to the stressful nature of the work and other factors. A Male Director in a Global Ratings Agency who previously worked in investment banking compares these two industries:

‘It's quite a regulated industry. So in the ratings agency business, it's quite different from banking where you don't go out and wine and dine people to try and get them to give you their business. One of the key things for us is that we must come across as being objective and we have to be objective in our analysis and research…I can tell you that it's fundamentally different in investment banking. There it's all about the relationship. It's encouraged to take out the clients as much you can. It's encouraged to actually build that personal relationship, that they'll do business with you on the basis of the personal relationship.’

A Male Director from a Big Four Firm spoke about the restrictions of working in a regulated professional service such as auditing with public sector central government clients and the impact on developing bonds with individuals:

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‘A client doesn’t ring me up to have a chat, have a beer and let's go to the rugby of a weekend. And in government you're not allowed to. We have Government Procurement Rules, we have Public Sector ethics which actually mean that you probably can't get as close a relationship as you have with a private sector client… On the private sector side, I think you could go and have those jollies. You’d get out more and you might well relax a lot more. In public sector there is still a bit of formality and at particular times of the cycle, like in the next couple of months, we’re coming back to a tender process, they will become more formal. We see it, they become more distant. No matter what we do, they become more distant. They are very good at opening up, getting to know people and as public sector administration comes in, they have to almost part company until the competition’s over.’

In contrast a Female PR Senior Consultant describes the Travel PR industry:

‘A very small industry, a very cliquey industry and I have to say a lot of is based on personal relationships. In particular I think there's a lot of the same names that pop-up with different company names over the years and people do go back to the same contacts again and again and again because they like you because they've had a good working relationship with you in the past.’

Type of Professional Service/Nature of the Work

The type of professional service provided or nature of the work may have an influence on the business relationship. For example, regulated professional services such as auditing, standards certification and the ratings industry have certain legal, professional and organisational restrictions on business relationships. A Male Scheme Manager in a Standards Based Organisation says he does not socialise with clients outside work nor is he allowed to become involved in the certification process for friends whom he has introduced to the organisation. A Male Lawyer says his firm is subject to confidentiality agreements and cannot work with the biggest competitors of his clients therefore they want to commit to a client for a number of years. A Director in a Big Four Firm says that auditing is ‘not like consulting where you might co-develop and build something with the client and you go oh that's fantastic we've built something. When you're auditing people, you don't necessarily create something together. A good audit often isn't recognised.’

However there are also differences between the non-regulated professional services such as PR and Events Management:

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‘Everybody thinks they can do PR and they know what to say you know so clients can be very interfering on that level…I think events less so because you know I think it makes them more nervous. I think events make people more nervous. Clients don't want to interfere as much. The whole logistics is kind of intimidating, the whole organisation you know there's a lot more... I suppose it's just more tangible all the different pieces that need to be put together, the art let's say, you know whereas the PR is less tangible in that way.’

(Female, Freelance PR Consultant)

Cultural Background

The author decided to focus only on cultural similarity between client and service provider. In particular, those service providers interviewed who came from another country to work in the UK spoke of strong bonds with clients and business partners from their home country. A Male Lawyer, who originally came from Poland and now works for a European Investment Bank based in London, tells of his preference to work with Polish bankers on Polish deals:

‘Since I joined the bank, I’d never worked so closely with Poles. I left Poland when I was very young. Since then I’ve always been striving to get back, not necessarily to Poland, but at least to get a relationship with Poles and working on Polish deals and so on. I don’t say I have a prejudice. I like working on Polish deals and with Polish bankers so culture is also a factor I take into account at least...I’m not very conscious of that but it happens. After 2 years/2 and a half years here, I realise that I do more Polish deals then I dunno Bulgarian deals for instance.’

A Partner in an International Research Consultancy who comes from Tunisia says she finds it easier to ‘build bridges’ and ‘get conversations started’ with French clients due to the strong commercial relationship between Tunisia and France and sharing a common language:

‘I'm working on a UK client but the main contact is French and from the very first meeting things went well and I know that part of it is because I spoke French to her. She came and told me I recognise your accent, you must be French and that's how the conversation starts. She said okay, lovely, I will be able to communicate with you in French.’

However despite the fact that the interviewee has lived in Canada in the past, she said she would not have the same relationship with a French-Canadian ‘we don't share anything in our history. There is nothing in common. There is no big commercial relationship.’

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Cultural background could also include religion. A Female Criminal Barrister compares the business relationship she has with two different solicitors. One is a more casual relationship with a solicitor (M) she has known for many years and the other relationship is:

‘very different to the one I have with M because the solicitor in Birmingham is Pakistani, very sort of, very religious. His wife for example is somebody that wouldn't even go and eat in another Muslim family's home if there was another man at the table. So like with M, I might go out for a meal or a drink with him. I've been out with this solicitor from Birmingham with other people but I can't imagine the two of us just going out for a meal and it certainly wouldn't be a drink. And I was much more sort of formal with him.’

Company Size

Many service providers differentiate between business relationships with large and small organisations. Relationships with clients from large companies were often seen as being more distant, difficult to get close to and more formal. Smaller companies were seen as being more friendly, less formal and caring more about the relationship. However a Director in a Global Ratings Agency found that he had better relationships with larger companies as they tend to be more open in sharing information about their business than smaller companies. A Director in a Business Training company compares two different companies which give him work:

‘A lot of my work comes through the Institute of Marketing and a lot of it comes through a small training company. Company X feels quite like a familial company. They're probably about 8 people so it feels much more friendly and relaxed… Compare that with the Institute of Marketing which I've been working with for about 15 years. And I suppose because it's a large organisation they have more churn so often I get a phone call from someone and they'll say we've never met but I'm a new key account manager… So it's almost 15 years on and still feels like a big organisation that's quite arm’s length.’

A Director of Technology and Operations agrees that:

‘In my experience, the bigger the company the weaker the relationships because there’s a high turnover of staff, they find it very difficult to have those close relationships because they are more driven by metrics whereas smaller companies, relationships are more important to them because it's a bigger part of their turnover potentially to manage a client.’

A Male Lawyer says his international law firm has ‘a very different relationship with a huge multinational corporation that are doing multiple M&A deals over a year than we

210 would do with a much smaller five or ten person outfit looking for some specific technical environmental advice.’ He describes the relationship with the multinational firm as ‘a city relationship’ based on ‘working extremely hard, very long hours, getting deals done [with] a more lavish kind of drinks do or dinner or something at the end of the deal.’ With the smaller firm, it is ‘more friendly and relaxed’ with less business development involved.

Level of Relationship Formality

Level of formality has been discussed as related to company size in the previous section. It appears that some business relationships transform into friendships over time (Male, Managing Director, Marketing Consultancy) however other business relationships remain formal and business-like, for example, if the client is obliged to have a service carried out: ‘some relationships can be very formal especially if they are forced into certification they don’t want’ (Male, Scheme Manager, Standards Based Organisation). There are also business relationships with some of the qualities of a friendship: ‘We have a good relationship. It's probably on the business as opposed to friend side but we have no problem going out for a few drinks, talking about the rugby, that kind of stuff’ (Male, Solicitor, International Law Firm).

This Female Business Development Manager suggests there is:

‘almost a continuum with business relationships at one end and personal at the other and one's behaviour and how much you disclose about yourself moves along that continuum. With the better business relationships, it comes closer to the personal end and in the poor business relationships, it most definitely remains at the formal end where you disclose very little about yourself and couldn't be further away from the personal type of relationship.’

Some individuals have a personal preference for a more or less formal style of doing business, for example, this Male Director of a Property Consultancy prefers a more informal approach: ‘I like to do business with people that I get on with so I'd far rather go out and have a pint with someone and do a deal that way then formally sitting around a meeting table.’ This Female Business Development Manager agrees that ‘the personality of the client comes into it’:

‘So sometimes, a client will be very formal and that's how they like the relationship. And then other clients will be wanting a relationship that's much more informal, possibly because they tend to be a bit more informal themselves.’

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The earlier section on the Nature of the Industry discusses the differences of formality between regulated and non-regulated industries however it has been suggested that relationships develop despite regulations:

‘I think there is a natural tendency for those relationships to grow and the more the interaction and the more you go down a mine with somebody, it's always going to develop for the good or for worse but there will be development along the way and I don't think the regulation can stop that.’

(Male, Director, Global Ratings Agency)

Conclusion to the Development of the Social Bonds Scale

As stated in the introduction to this section, the conclusion to the qualitative data analysis in relation to the research objectives will be discussed in the Discussion of Findings Chapter. However the author will briefly conclude here on the development of the modified scale of the social bonds and questionnaire used for the quantitative survey following analysis of the interview data.

Appendix 6 presents the changes to each social bond scale following input from the interview data. Appendix 7 shows the modified questionnaire for the pilot study following input from the interview data into the social bond scale and demographic and contextual variables. Items have been colour-coded to show which items belong to which bond and a key is provided at the bottom of the questionnaire. 67 social bond items were included in the scale:

Intimacy Bond – 20 items Security Bond – 19 items Passion Bond – 15 items Affective Commitment Bond – 13 items

Three new demographic/contextual variables were added which are highlighted in yellow in the questionnaire:

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1. Company Size A closed question was added about the size of the respondent’s (client’s) company. It was decided to use number of employees as the criterion for company size since it is well accepted by researchers (e.g. Moore, 2012; Adkins et al, 2013). The author decided to use the categories of business size used by the UK Government (Department of Business, Skills and Innovations, 2012) in compiling its business statistics:

Less than 10 employees (micro business); 10-49 employees (small business); 50-249 employees (medium business); 250 or more employees (large business).

2. Similar Cultural Background A question was added asking whether the client perceived the service provider to come from a similar cultural background as him or herself. The author did not cover culture comprehensively since it was outside the scope of her thesis therefore only the aspect of cultural similarity between client and service provider was included.

3. Level of Relationship Formality The author reviewed the literature for a simple scale to measure the level of formality of business relationships. She found two potential scales to use. One was a three point scale developed by Haytko (2004) based on interviews with advertising agency account managers: strictly business, business friends and personal. The other was a scale developed by Coulter and Ligas (2004) for customers to select the type of relationship which best described their interaction with their professional service provider: professional relationship; casual acquaintance; personal acquaintance and personal friend. Haytko’s (2004) scale was adopted since the three categories were considered to be more clearly differentiated than Coulter and Ligas’ (2004) categories.

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CHAPTER 6 QUANTITATIVE DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part (6.1) covers Descriptive Statistics and begins by giving an overview of the data received from the two mailings. In this section, the author also presents and discusses the descriptive statistics for the hotel mailing respondents. Section 6.2 focuses on examining the data prior to conducting factor analysis. The factor solutions are given from factor analyses conducted using various data sets from Hotel Mailings 1 and 2 and a separate sample from a business event (EIBTM). Reliability and validity are also covered here. Section 6.3 investigates the potential group differences among the survey sample and the results of the tests are presented and explained here. These results will be discussed more fully in relation to the literature in the Discussion and Findings Chapter which follows this chapter. Finally the main limitations of the quantitative data collected by the author are summarised.

6.1 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

6.1.1 Overview of Responses from Hotel Survey

288 completed questionnaires were received from a total of 2200 distributed to the members of the sampling frame by post via two mailings (13% response rate). Of these nine were not usable (for reasons such as the second page of questions was missed out or the questionnaire was received too late). Therefore 279 questionnaires were included in the final analysis (12.7%). A further 32 questionnaires (1.5%) were returned uncompleted for a variety of reasons, for example, the proprietor had retired or the hotel had closed down.

Mailing 1 to 1000 respondents had a lower response rate (120 usable – 12%) and Mailing 2 to 1200 respondents had a slightly higher response rate (159 usable – 13.25%). There is no obvious reason why the second mailing should have had a slightly higher response rate since the author kept the conditions of the mailings as similar as possible. The two main differences were: the timing of the questionnaires (the first in January and second in March) and the difference in composition of the sampling frame (as discussed in the

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Methodology chapter) as there were fewer respondents in the 21-50 employee category since there were not enough cases to select in the sampling frame.

The Independent Samples T-Test was run to compare the mean of the respondents from Mailing 1 and Mailing 2 and the two means were found to be very similar (see below). The T-test indicated that there are no significant differences between the respondents’ mean scores as p > .05.

Social Bond Mean Mean Mailing 1 Mailing 2 Security 4.0617 4.0642 Intimacy 2.7264 2.7585

In addition, since non-response bias can be a serious problem (as discussed in the Methodology Chapter), the author investigated the likelihood of non-response bias using the extrapolation technique (Armstrong and Overton, 1977). Persons responding later are assumed to be similar to non-respondents so the Independent Samples T-Test was used to compare the mean of early and late respondents by dividing each database roughly in half and comparing the means separately from Mailings 1 and 2:

Mailing 1 – 120 cases Early Respondents (67 cases) – responded between 31 January and 5 February 2013 Late Respondents (53 cases) – responded between 6 February and 8 March 2013

Mailing 2 – 159 cases Early Respondents (86 cases) responded between 15 March and 20 March 2013 Late Respondents (73 cases) responded between 21 March and 4 May 2013

As may be seen on the next page, the means of early and late respondents are very similar and when examining the significance of the T-statistic in both mailings, p > .05 which confirms that there is no significant difference in mean between early and late respondents. Therefore the author can conclude that non-response bias is not a problem in her study.

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Mailing 1 Mailing 2 Social Bond Mean Mean Mean Mean Early Late Early Late Respondents Respondents Respondents Respondents Security 4.1407 3.9618 4.0822 4.0431 Intimacy 2.7015 2.7579 2.7771 2.7365

6.1.2 Data Inputting

The author created a database in SPSS Version 20. She created 67 variables: 55 variables were required for the scale item questions; 10 for the demographic questions; one for the date the questionnaire was received back and one to indicate whether the questionnaire had been received from Mailing 1 or Mailing 2. The data from 279 questionnaires was then input into the database in the order in which they were received i.e. earliest first. Quantitative metric interval data from the 55-item scale was input directly into the data file using the values 1-5 as selected by the respondent. For non-metric data such as gender and respondent’s position, a simple coding system was devised to capture these categories by allocating them a number for example:

1 = Male 2 = Female

This coding enabled tests to be run on the demographic data which showed the frequencies of demographic variables and further tests to compare group differences.

6.1.3 Missing Data

A number of the 279 respondents who completed a usable questionnaire did not complete all the questions or indicated more than one answer. According to Hair et al (1998) there are different ways of dealing with missing data but the most logical course of action is imputation. Discrete missing values were defined to indicate that more than one answer had been chosen; that data was missing or that an answer was illegible or did not make sense. This ensured that SPSS was aware of the missing values and these would not be included in the analysis (Field, 2009). Unfortunately there were a number of questionnaires returned with one question or more left unanswered or with more than one

216 answer indicated. This was not such a major problem for the scale items however missing data was a much bigger problem for the demographic questions.

The table below shows the number of missing data cases for each variable. As can be seen, the largest numbers of missing cases were for the variables of gender, service provider’s age, position of respondent and type of service provided. It is not clear why the gender questions or the questions about the type of professional services provided were not answered. However with the service provider’s age, it was evident that some respondents found it difficult to guess their service provider’s age as they circled two consecutive age range categories or wrote ‘Don’t know’ next to the question. With the question about the respondent’s position, a number of respondents indicated two answers such as Proprietor and Managing Director therefore these cases were removed from the test comparing differences based on this grouping variable.

Table 6.1 Number of missing data cases per demographic/contextual variable

Variable Number of valid cases Number of missing cases Gender of respondent 257 22 Age of respondent 272 7 Position of respondent 258 21 Company size 270 9 Length of relationship 264 15 Culture 268 11 Type of relationship 267 12 Gender of service provider 252 27 Age of service provider 250 29 Type of service provided 255 24

6.1.4 Descriptive Statistics for the Hotel Survey Respondents

The 279 respondents who completed a usable questionnaire came from a database of senior decision makers from the UK Hotel Industry. Figure 6.1 on the next page shows that over two thirds (68%) were male and just under one third (32%) were female. Figure 6.2 on page 219 shows that nearly 65% of respondents were between the ages of 46-65 and just under 20% were aged between 36-45 years. Since the respondents were senior decision makers, it is not surprising to find that only 6.6% were less than 36 years old.

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Figure 6.3 confirms the seniority of the respondents – almost 60% were hotel owners with almost a third (32.2%) divided between Managing Directors (17.1%) and Partners (15.1%). The final 8.5% was made up of General Managers, Managers and Directors. Figure 6.4 shows that respondents were evenly divided between hotels with 0-5 employees (22.6% respondents), 6-10 employees (21.5% respondents) and 11-20 employees (22.6% respondents). However there was a higher rate of response (30.4%) from individuals from the largest category of hotels chosen for the study – 21-50 employees. This is particularly noticeable since 34% fewer respondents in this category were included in the second mailing as there were not enough cases to select from the database. 3% of respondents are missing from the graph since they were from hotels with over 50 employees so it appears these records were wrongly categorised by the database company since the author only requested records of companies with 0-50 employees.

Figure 6.1 Gender of Respondent

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Figure 6.2 Age of Respondent

Figure 6.3 Position of Respondent

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Figure 6.4 Hotel Size (Number of employees)

6.1.5 Descriptive Statistics for the Professional Service Providers

The questionnaire was designed to be completed by the client (the hotel senior decision maker) about one professional service provider that he or she works with. The figures on the next page show the profile of the professional services providers chosen by the respondents. Figure 6.5 shows that a significant majority of service providers were male (84%) with only 16% female service providers. A similar pattern of age frequencies can be seen as with the respondents except that service providers are younger (see Figure 6.6). Over 67% of professional services providers were between 36-55 years old with the next biggest category (21.6%) being 56-65 years old. Only 9.2% of professional services providers were between 26-35 years with no-one under 25 years old.

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Figure 6.5 Gender of Service Provider

Figure 6.6 Age of Service Provider

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Respondents were asked whether they considered that their professional service provider came from a similar cultural background to themselves (Figure 6.7). 45% of respondents answered yes and 25% answered no however 30% of respondents indicated that they did not know. Figure 6.8 shows the type of interpersonal relationship the respondent believed he or she has with the professional service provider using the scale developed by Haytko (2004). 56.6% of respondents described the business relationship as strictly business while 40.4% described the relationship as business friends. Only 3% of respondents chose the category ‘personal’ to describe the business relationship with their service provider.

Figure 6.7 Similarity of Cultural Background

Figure 6.8 Level of Relationship Formality (Type of Business Relationship)

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Figure 6.9 below shows the number of years the respondent has known the service provider. The mean of the relationship length was 11.4 years with the mode and median at 10 years. There was a large range of relationship lengths reported from 0.5 years to 40 years.

Figure 6.9 Length of Relationship

Table 6.2 on the next page shows the type of service provided to the respondents by the service providers. As may be seen, most respondents chose to report on their business relationship with their accountant (47.5%) followed by IT services (11.4%), Marketing- related services and Banking both 6% and Finance non-Banking 5%. 19 other categories were mentioned by 1-11 respondents (0.4-4.3%). It should be noted that a limitation of the data collected via the questionnaire was that a number of respondents rated a business relationship with a provider whose services are not considered to be professional services such food and drinks suppliers, laundry, butchery and utilities services. She found that:

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 206 cases (73.8%) fitted the profile of professional service providers;  49 cases (18.6%) fitted the profile of non-professional service providers;  24 cases (8.6%) contained missing data regarding the type of services provided.

Table 6.2 Type of Service Provided

Valid Type of service Frequency Percent Accountancy/Bookkeeping/Payroll 121 47.5 IT 29 11.4 Marketing/Sales/PR/Advertising/Online media 15 5.9 Banking 15 5.9 Finance (not banking) including: advice, insurance, pensions 13 5.1 Drinks or alcohol supplier 11 4.3 Laundry 7 2.7 Gas/electric 6 2.4 Catering/food/produce supplier 6 2.4 Legal 4 1.6 Plumbing, building and maintenance 3 1.2 Butcher 3 1.2 Booking agent 3 1.2 Hotel supplier 3 1.2 Telephone/Mobile/Internet 3 1.2 Retail 2 .8 Supplier of tour groups seeking accommodation 2 .8 Business advice 2 .8 Cleaning and hygiene products 2 .8 Stock taking 1 .4 Various - non-professional services 1 .4 Hospitality and administration 1 .4 Health and Safety advice and support 1 .4 Various - professional services 1 .4 255 100.0 Number of missing cases 24 Total 279

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6.2 EXAMINING THE DATA AND FACTOR ANALYSIS

It is necessary to gain a basic understanding of the data through descriptive statistics before conducting multivariate data analysis (Hair et al, 1998). Therefore an exploratory analysis of the Hotel Mailing 1 data was carried out by examining different measurements (see Table 6.3 on pages 226-8) across the 55 variables. As may be seen, the full range of the scale (1-5) was used for almost all the variables which shows a wide dispersion of values. The mean values ranged from 2.17 to 4.30 however most means were in the upper range (above the mid-point of the scale) with only 10 variables having a mean value of less than 3.

The standard deviation is the square root of the variance so if the mean represents the data well, the standard deviation is small but if the mean is not a good representation of the data, the standard deviation is large. Of the 55 variables over a third (20) had a standard deviation >1 which is relatively high. However the remaining 35 variables had a standard deviation of <1 which indicates that the mean is a good fit of the data.

The standard error is an indicator of how representative a sample is likely to be of a population (Field, 2009). A large standard error suggests variability between sample means so the sample may not be representative of the population. A small standard error suggests sample means are similar to the population mean so the sample is likely to represent the population. The standard error scores ranged from .06 – .109. These indicate that there may be differences between the sample and the population.

Finally, the 55 variables were checked for skewness and kurtosis. Skewness measures whether there are too many large or small values and kurtosis measures how flat or peaked the distribution is. According to Fabrigar et al (1999), significant problems may rise when the skew is greater than 2 and kurtosis is larger than 7. However no variables had these significant levels of skewness or kurtosis therefore none needed to be excluded from the factor analysis.

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Table 6.3 Descriptive Statistics – 55 Scale Items

Mean Mini Maxi (Std Std. Item N Range mum mum Error) Deviation Variance I have a comfortable relationship with my 120 4 1 5 4.07 .742 .550 service provider (.068) My business relationship with my service 120 3 2 5 4.30 .656 .430 provider is very important to me (.060) I care about maintaining my business 120 3 2 5 4.28 .673 .453 relationship with my service provider (.061) I have a secure business relationship with 119 4 1 5 4.13 .765 .586 my service provider (.070) My service provider and I share humour or 118 4 1 5 3.71 .988 .976 light-hearted banter (.091) I very much enjoy working with my service 120 3 2 5 3.68 .767 .588 provider (.070) I would be happy to remain with this service 119 3 2 5 4.08 .835 .698 provider for the foreseeable future (.077) I look out for my service provider’s best 119 4 1 5 3.45 .890 .792 interest (.082) My service provider is responsive to my 120 4 1 5 4.05 .818 .670 needs (.075) 120 4 1 5 4.07 .847 .718 I appreciate my service provider (.077) My service provider and I share attitudes or 120 4 1 5 3.69 .838 .702 values (.077) 120 4 1 5 4.07 .786 .617 I can depend on my service provider (.072) My service provider and I share advice 120 4 1 5 3.14 1.007 1.013 beyond the scope of our work (.092) In an emergency situation, I know I can 120 4 1 5 4.14 .964 .929 contact my service provider (.088) My positive feeling for my provider makes 119 4 1 5 3.95 .882 .777 me want to continue our relationship (.081) I contact my service provider to have a chat 120 4 1 5 2.17 1.040 1.081 or a gossip (.095) There is something special about my 120 4 1 5 2.95 1.003 1.006 business relationship with my service (.092) provider My service provider and I have shared good 120 4 1 5 3.03 1.033 1.067 and bad experiences (.094) I am enthusiastic about my business 120 4 1 5 3.38 .891 .793 relationship with my service provider (.081) I try to find more business opportunities to 119 4 1 5 2.97 1.057 1.118 work on with my service provider (.097) I care about the well-being of my service 120 4 1 5 3.49 .898 .807 provider (.082) I am confident that my service provider 120 4 1 5 4.01 .855 .731 would help me if required (.078) My service provider and I have a mutual 120 4 1 5 3.53 .925 .857 understanding or a shared outlook (.084) 119 4 1 5 3.24 .972 .944 I admire my service provider (.089) 119 4 1 5 3.29 1.083 1.172 I know my service provider well (.099) I am committed to working with my service 120 4 1 5 3.50 1.045 1.092 provider whenever possible (.095)

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Mean Mini Maxi (Std Std. Item N Range mum mum Error) Deviation Variance I share personal information about myself 119 4 1 5 2.76 1.133 1.283 with my service provider (104) My service provider provides a stable 120 4 1 5 3.78 .758 .575 environment for doing business (.069) I share similar interests with my service 120 4 1 5 2.90 .864 .746 provider (.079) If a work situation became difficult, my 120 4 1 5 3.22 .945 .894 service provider would make me feel secure (.086) I actively engage in my business relationship 120 4 1 5 3.39 1.007 1.013 with my service provider (.092) If something went wrong in our business 119 4 1 5 3.77 .838 .702 relationship, I would try to put it right (.077) My service provider is available when I need 119 4 1 5 3.90 .827 .685 him/her (.076) 120 4 1 5 3.99 .704 .496 I listen to my service provider (.064) My service provider is genuinely passionate 120 4 1 5 3.89 .868 .753 about the services he/she provides (.079) Even if we stopped working together, I 120 4 1 5 2.57 1.098 1.206 would still want to contact my provider (.100) I would be happy to get together socially 120 4 1 5 2.64 1.121 1.257 with my service provider (.102) 120 4 1 5 3.36 1.052 1.106 My service provider gives me reassurance (.096) I am passionate about the work we are 120 4 1 5 3.20 1.135 1.287 doing together (.104) My service provider and I have shared 120 4 1 5 2.61 1.040 1.081 memorable experiences at work (.095) I would choose to maintain my business 120 4 1 5 3.79 .897 .805 relationship with my service provider (.082) 119 3 2 5 3.98 .781 .610 My service provider keeps his/her promises (.072) I talk to my service provider about things 120 4 1 5 2.90 1.118 1.250 other than the work we are doing (.102) My service provider takes on my problems 120 4 1 5 3.03 1.065 1.134 so I don’t need to worry about them (.097) I am willing to make an effort when dealing 120 4 1 5 3.87 .685 .469 with my service provider (.063) My service provider does extra things 120 4 1 5 3.14 1.007 1.013 beyond the scope of the work (.092) I want to keep in touch with my provider 120 4 1 5 3.51 .935 .874 because I like doing business with him/her (.085) My service provider is active in looking after 120 4 1 5 3.63 .831 .690 my interests (.076) 119 4 1 5 3.94 .795 .632 I behave naturally with my service provider (073) I like the way my service provider works so 120 4 1 5 3.93 .881 .776 I would work with him/her again (.080) I share information about my business 120 4 1 5 3.71 1.048 1.099 openly with my service provider (096) My service provider has a positive 120 3 2 5 4.01 .728 .529 approach during our business interactions (.066) I am confident that we would overcome any 120 4 1 5 3.80 .751 .565 challenges in our work (.069)

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Hair et al (1998) suggest that two further checks be carried out on the data matrix. The first is a visual inspection to ensure that there are sufficient correlations greater than .3 to justify the application of factor analysis. This was confirmed by the author as there were many correlations over .4, .5, .6 and even a few at over .7. The second is an examination of the anti-image correlation matrix which is the negative value of the partial correlation. Hair et al (1998) suggests that larger anti-image correlations indicate that the data matrix may not be suited to factor analysis. However there were no large correlations present in the matrix. Therefore this check also indicated suitability for factor analysis.

6.2.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis

Multivariate techniques allow the researcher to understand complex relationships between multiple variables (Hair et al, 1998) and there are two models available to obtain factor solutions: component analysis and factor analysis. Component analysis is preferable when the researcher needs to predict the minimum number of factors to account for the maximum amount of variance (unique, error and common variance) in the original set of variables. Factor analysis can be used to analyse the structure of relationships among a large number of variables and to explain these variables in terms of their common underlying dimensions or factors so is based only on common variance (Hair et al, 1998). The researcher selected factor analysis which has been viewed as more theoretically based (Hair et al, 1998) as she wanted to identify the latent dimensions (the four social bonds) in the original variables and only focus on common variance as she had little knowledge about the unique and error variance. Factor analysis provides an empirical estimate of the structure of the variables considered and is useful for validating multidimensional scales (Spector, 1992). It enables the researcher to establish dimensionality by determining the number of factors and loadings of each variable on the factors (Hair et al, 1998).

According to Hair et al (1998), there are some problems to be aware of when conducting common factor analysis. The first is factor indeterminancy which means that for an individual respondent, several different factor scores can be calculated from the factor solution however these differences are not usually significant. The second problem involves the calculation of estimated communalities used to represent common variance: communalities are not always able to be estimated, may take a long time or may be invalid (when values are greater than 1 or less than 0, the variables need to be deleted from the 229 analysis). However researchers have found that component analysis and common factor analysis arrive at the same results if the number of variables exceeds 30 or communalities exceed 0.6 for most variables (Hair et al, 1998).

According to Hair et al (1998), the researcher should aim to have the most representative and parsimonious set of factors possible. The objectives of this technique are to reduce the number of variables into a smaller set of factors and to summarise or condense the data to lose minimum information. The result of factor analysis can be a smaller number of representative variables to use in subsequent multivariate analyses or to create an entirely new set of variables. Hair et al (1998) suggest that one of the approaches a researcher can take when deciding on the number of factors to be extracted is the a priori criterion when testing a theory. The ability to assign some meaning to the factors or to interpret the nature of the variables becomes an important consideration in determining the number of factors to extract.

Factor analysis was initially conducted on the data collected from Hotel Mailing 1 consisting of 120 cases. Unrotated factor solutions extract factors in order of their importance so the first factor tends to be a general factor with almost every variable loading significantly and accounts for the largest amount of variance (Hair et al, 1998). Therefore the author rotated the matrix since rotation optimises the factor structure and makes the matrix easier to interpret than an unrotated method (Kinnear and Gray, 2000). There are a number of methods available to rotate the matrix and they are divided into orthogonal and oblique methods. Oblique methods were not suitable for the author’s research as her aim was to reduce the number of original variables so this is best suited to an orthogonal method (Hair et al, 1998). The author chose the Varimax Method which is based on simplifying the columns of the factor matrix and seems to give a clearer separation of the factors (Hair et al, 1998). She also tried another orthogonal method Quartimax but she rejected it as it creates a large general factor which is not helpful when trying to interpret the matrix.

The author was expecting SPSS to extract four factors since the theoretical framework supported the existence of four social bonds however eight factors were extracted with eigenvalues greater than 1 (see Appendix 9). The Varimax Method allowed the author to test for multicollinearity between the social bond scale items. During the analysis, she 230 removed the items which loaded on more than one factor. The cut-off point of 0.4 was adopted since Hair et al (1998) state that loadings are important at this level in sample sizes of over 100. She also removed items which were not considered practically significant so those which did not load on any of the factors at 0.5 or above (Hair et al, 1998).

As a result of the factor analysis, two factors were found: Factor 1 Security Bond composed of 7 variables and Factor 2 Intimacy Bond composed of 6 variables (see Tables 6.5 and 6.6 on the next page). The author also expected to find factors which could be identified as the Passion Bond and Affective Commitment Bond however this did not happen. The variables for Passion and Affective Commitment were removed during the factor analysis due to poor factor loading or multicollinearity. This will be discussed further in the Discussion of Findings Chapter.

The factor solution obtained from the Hotel Mailing 1 data (see Table 6.7 on page 233) shows to what extent each variable contributes to the factor loadings. Factor loadings show the correlation of each variable and the factor and higher loadings make the variable more representative of the factor (Hair et al, 1998). Twelve variables exceeded the loading of 0.7 (which accounts for 50% of the variance).

Communality is the proportion of a variable’s variance that is common variance (Field, 2009) and is important in factor analysis as discussed earlier. Field (2009) suggests that with all communalities above 0.6, a sample size of under 100 may be sufficient however with communalities in the range of 0.5, a sample size of 100-200 is recommended. Twelve out of thirteen scale items had a higher communality than 0.5. As may be seen below, the two factors explain 66.76% of the total variance with Factor 1 (Security bond) having a greater explanatory power (38.56%) than Factor 2 (Intimacy bond - 28.2%). According to Hair et al (1998), 60% of the total variance is considered satisfactory for social sciences research.

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6.2.3 Social Bond Scale Items

The tables below contain the scale items for each of the bonds following factor analysis. These also provide a key to the tables on the next few pages since they give in full each item which is referred to in the tables which follow.

Table 6.5 Key to Security Bond Scale Items

Key Word Item 1 Comfort I have a comfortable relationship with my service provider 2 Appreciate I appreciate my service provider 3 Secure I have a secure business relationship with my service provider 4 Responsive My service provider is responsive to my needs 5 Depend I can depend on my service provider 6 Available My service provider is available when I need him/her 7 Emergency In an emergency situation, I know I can contact my service provider

Table 6.6 Key to Intimacy Bond Scale Items

Key Word Item 1 Advice My service provider and I share advice beyond the scope of our work 2 Similar I share similar interests with my service provider Interests 3 Social I would be happy to get together socially with my service provider 4 Talk Other I talk to my service provider about things other than the work we are doing 5 Chat/Gossip I contact my service provider to have a chat or a gossip 6 Memorable My service provider and I have shared memorable experiences at work Experiences

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Table 6.7 Factor Analysis Solution from Hotel Mailing 1 Database (120 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND

COMFORT .863 .064 COMFORT 1.000 .749

DEPEND .858 .175 SECURE 1.000 .706

APPRECIATE .841 .255 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .772

RESPONSIVE .836 .270 APPRECIATE 1.000 .773

SECURE .818 .191 DEPEND 1.000 .766

AVAILABLE .787 .263 ADVICE 1.000 .601

EMERGENCY .751 .309 EMERGENCY 1.000 .659

INTIMACY BOND TALK OTHER .179 .814 SIMILAR INTERESTS 1.000 .585 CHAT/GOSSIP .087 .760 AVAILABLE 1.000 .689

SOCIAL .278 .760 SOCIAL 1.000 .654

SIMILAR INTERESTS .173 .745 MEMORABLE 1.000 .445 EXPERIENCES ADVICE .317 .708 TALK OTHER 1.000 .694 MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES .158 .648 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .585

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings % of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Component Total Variance % Total Variance % Total Variance % 1 6.563 50.484 50.484 6.563 50.484 50.484 5.013 38.559 38.559

2 2.115 16.272 66.756 2.115 16.272 66.756 3.666 28.196 66.756

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6.2.4 Retesting the Factor Solution

According to Hair et al (1998) the most direct method of validating the results of factor analysis is with a split sample in the original data or a separate sample. Field (2009) recommends the need to use a different sample to test the factor structure otherwise it may only be restricted to the sample collected. The factor solution created from the Hotel Mailing 1 data (see Table 6.7) was retested to ensure that the scale worked consistently. The data from Hotel Mailing 2 (159 cases) was used to retest the factor solution and the solution was found to work with this new set of data (see Table 6.8). All thirteen items had a communality score of 0.5 or above. The two factors accounted for a slightly larger total variance of 67.7% (compared to 66.7% from Hotel Mailing 1) and as before, the Security Bond had greater explanatory power (36%) than the Intimacy Bond (31.6%) although the difference between them was not as great.

Field (2009) also suggests using techniques to assume participants are randomly selected so results can be generalised from the sample participants to the general population. Therefore the factor structure was tested further by conducting split sample tests on data taken from a combined database of all the Hotel Mailing 1 and Mailing 2 cases (279 cases) as follows:

Split Sample 1 (see Appendix 10A): All 279 cases were consecutively numbered using the following sequence 1,2,1,2,1,2 and two separate databases ‘1’ and ‘2’ were created;

Split Sample 2 (see Appendix 10B): All 279 cases were consecutively numbered using the following sequence 1,1,2,2,1,1,2, 2 and two separate databases ‘1’ and ‘2’ were created.

In these tests, the cases were randomly allocated to database 1 or 2 both of which contained an equal proportion of data from Mailing 1 and Mailing 2. Appendix 10 shows that even when the data from the two mailings was combined and two samples were drawn at random, the scale solution worked consistently.

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6.2.4.1 Hotel Mailing 2 Database

Table 6.8 Factor Analysis Solution retested using Hotel Mailing 2 Database (159 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND

COMFORT .859 .190 COMFORT 1.000 .773

SECURE .857 .099 SECURE 1.000 .744

APPRECIATE .796 .293 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .709 DEPEND .796 .210 APPRECIATE 1.000 .720

RESPONSIVE .780 .316 ADVICE 1.000 .632

AVAILABLE .747 .244 EMERGENCY 1.000 .500

EMERGENCY .690 .154 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .628

INTIMACY BOND MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES .175 .851 SIMILAR INTERESTS 1.000 .590 TALK OTHER .251 .824 AVAILABLE 1.000 .617 SOCIAL .191 .823 SOCIAL 1.000 .713 CHAT/GOSSIP .128 .782 MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES 1.000 .755

SIMILAR INTERESTS .207 .740 TALK OTHER 1.000 .742

ADVICE .344 .717 DEPEND 1.000 .678

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings % of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumula Component Total Variance % Total Variance % Total Variance -tive % 1 6.616 50.891 50.891 6.616 50.891 50.891 4.689 36.072 36.072 2 2.185 16.809 67.700 2.185 16.809 67.700 4.112 31.628 67.700

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6.2.4.2 Professional and Non Professional Services

Of the 255 respondents who indicated the type of professional service being provided, 49 respondents (19.2%) chose to complete the questionnaire about a business relationship with an individual who provided services which are not generally defined as professional services (see Literature Review 2.1.5 for a discussion of definitions). 206 cases (80.8%) fitted the profile of professional service providers.

Since the research was about professional services providers, the author wanted to ensure that the inclusion of cases about non-professional services providers in the analysis would not affect the results. Therefore she tested the factor solution separately on the two data sets: professional services providers and non-professional services providers. The results appear in Tables 6.9 and 6.10 on the next two pages and as can be seen, the scale solution is very similar however the small sample size (n=49) should be taken into account when viewing the results of the factor solution conducted on the non-professional service respondents’ data. The data seems to behave in a similar way to the larger data set of professional service providers. Therefore the author did not remove the 49 cases relating to non-professional service providers but included them in the rest of the analysis.

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Table 6.9 Factor Analysis Solution using Professional Services cases (206 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND

SECURE .859 .081 COMFORT 1.000 .744

COMFORT .847 .165 SECURE 1.000 .744

DEPEND .820 .186 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .724

APPRECIATE .803 .267 APPRECIATE 1.000 .716 RESPONSIVE .797 .297 DEPEND 1.000 .708

AVAILABLE .745 .255 EMERGENCY 1.000 .573

EMERGENCY .730 .198 ADVICE 1.000 .615

INTIMACY BOND

TALK OTHER .230 .814 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .595

MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES .160 .788 SIMILAR INTERESTS 1.000 .593 CHAT/GOSSIP .088 .766 AVAILABLE 1.000 .621

SOCIAL .259 .763 SOCIAL 1.000 .650 SIMILAR INTERESTS .164 .752 MEMORABLE 1.000 .647 EXPERIENCES ADVICE .313 .719 TALK OTHER 1.000 .715 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings % of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Component Total Variance % Total Variance % Total Variance % 1 6.447 49.595 49.595 6.447 49.595 49.595 4.776 36.738 36.738 2 2.198 16.905 66.500 2.198 16.905 66.500 3.869 29.762 66.500

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Table 6.10 Factor Analysis Solution using Non-Professional Services cases (49 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND

COMFORT .870 -.020 COMFORT 1.000 .758

RESPONSIVE .826 .302 SECURE 1.000 .699

DEPEND .817 .193 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .774

AVAILABLE .800 .303 APPRECIATE 1.000 .712 SECURE .800 .244 DEPEND 1.000 .704

APPRECIATE .794 .286 EMERGENCY 1.000 .514

EMERGENCY .662 .276 ADVICE 1.000 .674

INTIMACY BOND

SOCIAL .161 .896 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .709

TALK OTHER .250 .839 SIMILAR INTERESTS 1.000 .592 CHAT/GOSSIP .182 .822 AVAILABLE 1.000 .731

SIMILAR INTERESTS .153 .754 SOCIAL 1.000 .829 ADVICE .382 .727 MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES 1.000 .571 MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES .207 .726 TALK OTHER 1.000 .767 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings Compo % of Cumula % of Cumula % of Cumula -nent Total Variance -tive % Total Variance -tive % Total Variance -tive % 1 6.817 52.440 52.440 6.817 52.440 52.440 4.789 36.838 36.838 2 2.218 17.058 69.498 2.218 17.058 69.498 4.246 32.660 69.498

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6.2.4.3 The EIBTM Database

In the Methodology Chapter, the author described her inability to collect a large enough data set at The Global Meetings & Events Exhibition (EIBTM) in Barcelona. However she decided to use the database of 65 cases to test the solution developed from the Hotel Mailing 1 data. As can be seen in Table 6.11 on the next page, Solution 1 shows the Security Bond and the Intimacy Bond however the Security variables of Availability and Emergency load onto a separate factor. The cumulative variance is 60.9%. However when these two variables are removed (Solution 2), the total variance drops to 57.9% which is below the 60% recommended by Hair et al (1998) as satisfactory for social science research. The reason for the differences in the way the data behaves may be related to the small sample size (Hair et al, 1998) however the following issues may also have contributed to measurement error which led to the data behaving differently than expected:

 Most of the respondents were not native English speakers therefore they may have had problems in understanding the items and differentiating fully between them;  The respondents came from different cultural backgrounds therefore their experience of business relationships may have been influenced by the accepted norms of business relationships in their own country;  The data was collected in two different ways – in person at the event (51 cases) and by email afterwards (18 cases);  The sample was heterogeneous in terms of gender, age, culture, position and type of industry the respondent worked in.

Despite these difficulties, it may be seen that the factor solution still supports the existence of two social bonds: intimacy and security however the intimacy bond appears more powerful than the security bond which is different than in the previous tests.

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Table 6.11 Two factor solutions from the EIBTM Database (65 cases)

Solution 1 Solution 2

Rotated Component Matrix Rotated Component Matrix

Component Component

1 2 3 1 2 INTIMACY BOND INTIMACY BOND CHAT/GOSSIP .804 .208 .093 CHAT/GOSSIP .794 .200

SOCIAL .771 .049 .058 SIMILAR .787 .081 INTERESTS ADVICE .747 .072 .152 ADVICE .755 .065 SIMILAR .742 .069 .233 SOCIAL .749 .050 INTERESTS TALK OTHER .727 .170 .154 TALK OTHER .744 .176 MEMORABLE .665 .332 .321 MEMORABLE .735 .356 EXPERIENCES EXPERIENCES

SECURITY BOND SECURITY BOND COMFORT .066 .727 -.242 APPRECIATE .153 .734

APPRECATE .119 .723 .167 DEPEND .129 .699

DEPEND .072 .686 .206 COMFORT -.028 .698

SECURE .299 .643 .186 SECURE .334 .661

AVAILABLE .230 .057 .808 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. EMERGENCY .216 .166 .762

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser

Normalization.

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6.2.5 Computing Two New Variables

According to Hair et al (1998), factor analysis results can be used to replace the original set of variables with a new, smaller set of variables created from either the summated scales or factor scores. The author computed the following two new variables based on the factors found in the data: Security Bond and Intimacy Bond. She used the combined database from the two hotel mailings (279 cases) to compare the means and other descriptive statistics for the two social bonds.

As may be seen from Table 6.12 on the next page, the mean for the two bonds were different with Security being considerably higher at just over 4 and Intimacy at 2.7. The standard error of the mean (or standard deviation of sample means – Field, 2009) is fairly low which suggests it is a good representation of the population mean. It may be seen that the standard deviation is smaller for the Security Bond (.72) than the Intimacy Bond (.87) which has a greater range. According to Hair et al (1998), if the sample is heterogeneous with regard to at least one subset of variables, then the first factors will represent variables that are more homogeneous across the entire sample and variables that are better discriminators between subgroups of the sample which load on later factors. This seems to be the case with the security bond which is more homogeneous and the intimacy bond which is more heterogeneous.

Field (2009) states that with a sample of over 200, it is important to look at the shape of the distribution visually and the value of the skewness and kurtosis statistics. Figures 6.10 and 6.11 on the following two pages show the distribution of the sample means for the security and intimacy bonds. A large negative skew for the security bond (-1.536) reflects too many high scores in the distribution and this is illustrated in Figure 6.10. A symmetrical distribution has a skew of 0 and this is closer to the small positive skew (.125) of the intimacy bond which reflects a more even distribution of scores as seen in Figure 6.11. A large positive kurtosis for the security bond (3.823) denotes a distribution which has too many scores in the tails and is too peaked (leptokurtic). A small negative kurtosis for the intimacy bond (-271) has too few scores in the tail and is relatively flat (platykurtic).

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Figure 6.11 Distribution of Sample Means for the Intimacy Bond

6.2.6 Reliability and Validity

Reliability and validity are important issues in research which can affect the soundness of measurement. Spector (1992) points out the difference between reliability and validity in a clear and understandable way: reliability assures that a scale can consistently measure something, but it does not assure that it will measure what it is designed to measure. This property (that a scale measures its intended construct) is validity.

6.2.6.1 Reliability

Reliability is concerned with estimating the degree to which a measurement is free from random or unstable error (Blumberg et al, 2008). Sources of measurement error have been addressed earlier in the Methodology Chapter (see 4.6). Researchers such as Malhotra and Birks (2003) and Blumberg et al (2003) recognise three main measures which can estimate reliability: internal consistency, test-retest and parallel forms.

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According to Graham and Christianson (2009), Cronbach’s Alpha is the reliability coefficient that assesses the internal consistency of the entire scale and is the most widely used measure to estimate reliability. The measure of reliability should be between 0-1 with values of 0.6 to 0.7 as the lower level of acceptability which is satisfactory for exploratory research (Hair et al, 1998) and 0.8 generally accepted in research (Field, 2009). The limitation of Cronbach’s Alpha is its tendency to overestimate the reliability of scales with a large number of items (Field, 2009) however since the two scales being tested contain seven and six items respectively, this was not seen to be a problem.

The author tested the Security Bond and Intimacy Bond scales to check their internal reliability. The results of these tests are given in Tables 6.13 and 6.14 on the next page. Cronbach’s Alpha value for the Security Bond Scale is .928 and for the Intimacy Bond .885 both of which are well-above the acceptable values which indicates that both scales are reliable. In addition, item-total correlations were checked for both bond scales as recommended by Churchill (1979) and Peter (1979) and the results in Tables 6.13 and 6.14 show that Cronbach’s Alpha does not increase when any scale item is removed.

Some researchers such as Malhotra and Birks (2003) recommend checking measurement stability through test-retest reliability by administering an identical scale to the same respondents at two different times keeping conditions as similar as possible. However Churchill (1979) disagrees on the basis that respondents tend to remember how they responded in the first test and this will influence their response to the second test. Due to restrictions in using the database (as discussed in the Methodology Chapter) the author was not able to contact the respondents a second time to retest the scale.

Blumberg et al (2008) also suggest using alternative versions of the same scale to see if they produce similar results. However as DeVellis (1991) notes, if a researcher does not have access to parallel versions of a scale then computing alternate forms reliability is not possible. Although there are other social bond scales in existence none of them have been designed to measure social bonds based on attachment and liking therefore there was no alternative scale for the author to use.

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6.2.6.2 Validity

According to Blumberg et al (2008) there are two main forms of validity: external and internal. External validity in this context relates to the ability of the social bonds scale created by the author to be generalised across different populations and settings. Generalisability of the scale is covered at the end of the Discussion of Findings Chapter. The second type of validity is internal validity which is concerned with whether the scale really does measure what is it was designed to measure i.e. the social bonds of security and intimacy. The author needs to find out whether the differences found when using the scale reflect true differences among participant being tested. Three types of validity are recognised by researchers (DeVellis, 1991; Malhotra and Birks, 2003; Blumberg et al, 2008, Saunders et al, 2012): content validity, criterion validity and construct validity.

Content validity is the extent to which a specific set of items reflect a content domain (DeVellis, 1991) so if all the major dimensions of intimacy and security bonds have been covered by the scale items. Blumberg et al (2008) and Saunders et al (2012) propose two ways that content validity can be determined: by the researcher herself through a logical process of defining the constructs and items using the literature, interview data and discussion with others where required or through an expert panel which will rate the usefulness of each item. The author chose the first method. She followed the guidelines for scale development by well-known researchers in this area such as DeVellis (1991) and Churchill (1979). However she decided not to use the expert panel due to its limitations. These include process issues such as the difficulty of estimating validity and reliability and the averaging process which may weaken the results and panellist issues such as the difficulty of selecting experts and the lack of suitability of non-probability sampling techniques such as convenience sampling when making generalisations (Story et al, 2001).

Criterion validity reflects a scale’s success in predicting or estimating and whether it performs as expected in relation to other variables (Malhotra and Birks, 2003). Researchers such as Blumberg et al (2008) and DeVellis (1991) recognise two types of criterion-related validity: predictive validity based on predicting a future outcome and concurrent validity when the data on the scale is being evaluated and the criterion variables are collected simultaneously. The social bonds scale has been designed to measure the respondent’s (client’s) current level of social bonds with a professional service provider. 246

Bryman and Bell (2003) suggest the researcher can use a criterion on which respondents are known to differ that is relevant to the concept being studied. For example, the author asked respondents to describe their relationship with their professional service provider as ‘strictly business’ or ‘business friends.’ It may be expected that respondents who rated their relationship as ‘business friends’ would have higher levels of social bonds based on liking and attachment than respondents who described the relationship as ‘strictly business.’ This was tested (see Table 6.23 on page 258) and supported by the findings therefore the social bonds scale may be said to be performing as expected.

Construct validity relates to ‘the vertical correspondence between a construct which is at an unobservable, conceptual level and a purported measure of it which is at an operational level’ (Peter, 1981:134). It may not be assessed directly but inferred and a single study cannot establish construct validation (Peter, 1981) as it is a process of investigation and development. Churchill (1979) states that construct validity may be inferred by convergent validity (the extent to which the scale correlates highly with other methods designed to measure the same construct) and discriminant validity (the extent to which the scale exhibits low correlations with methods not measuring the same construct). The author examined the correlation matrix for her social bonds scale (see Table 6.15 on the next page) to check validity by comparing the correlations between items in the intimacy bond scale and the security bond scale. DeVellis (1991) states that there is no cut-off point for construct validity however Churchill (1979) suggests that the minimum requirement for discriminant validity is that the correlation between two measures of the same variable should be higher than the correlation with a measure of a different variable. Table 6.15 shows that each item correlates more highly with items from the same bond scale than items from the other bond scale. In addition, Peter (1981) found that factor analysis has also been used infer construct validity in a number of studies. As may be seen in the previous section, the results from factor analysis show two distinct dimensions with items loading strongly on one bond and weakly on the other bond. Therefore these tests can suggest discriminant validity.

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6.3 INVESTIGATING POTENTIAL GROUP DIFFERENCES

6.3.1 Hypotheses Testing

The author developed ten hypotheses for testing since she wanted to compare groups based on different demographic and contextual variables. Since the hypotheses relate to two new scales based on factor analysis carried out by the author, she was not able to use previous empirical evidence to support her hypotheses. She could not prove the alternative (experimental) hypothesis but she could reject the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is set when the researcher cannot prove the alternative hypothesis (Field, 2009).

H0 The respondent’s gender does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 The respondent’s age does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 The respondent’s position does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 The size of the respondent’s hotel does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 The length of the business relationship does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 A similar cultural background does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 The level of relationship formality does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 The service provider’s gender does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

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H0 The service provider’s age does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

H0 The type of service provided does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

6.3.2 Tests Conducted to Compare Group Differences

The Independent Samples T-Test was used to find the overall means of two samples and compare them to the differences one would expect to find between the means of the two populations from which the samples are taken (Field, 2009). In this test the significance of the T-statistic is examined at p = .05.

The ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) was used to find out whether three or more means are the same thereby testing the null hypothesis that all group means are equal (Field, 2009). The F-statistic or F-ratio is produced which compares the amount of systematic variance and unsystematic variance in the data.

It was important to establish homogeneity of variance in all the tests comparing group means since this is a condition of parametric data and has a bearing on how the results are interpreted and whether further testing is required. Levene’s test was included to test the hypothesis that the variance between the two groups is equal: if Levene’s test is significant (p ≤ .05) then we can assume that the variances are significantly different but if Levene’s test is non-significant (p > 0.5) we can assume that the variances are around equal (Field, 2009).

Wilcox (2005) notes that the F-ratio may be affected by skew and non-normality when group sizes are unequal and the assumption of homogeneity of variance is violated. Unequal group sizes were judged to be problematic when the smallest response category contained less than 20% of all responses (Field, 2009). Whenever possible, the author tried to combine small groups to reduce this problem. Violation of homogeneity of variance was measured using Levene’s test as described above. Where both issues were observed in the data, the author had the option to use two different versions of F, Welch’s F and Brown- 250

Forsythe’s F, which are designed to be accurate when variance in the data is not homogeneous (Field, 2009). Tomarken and Serlin (1986) found that both techniques control the Type 1 error rate well however Welch’s F is better at detecting an effect when it exists except when there is a mean with a large variance.

Since the ANOVA does not specify between which groups the differences lie, it is necessary to carry out additional tests known as post hoc tests which are designed to compare all the different combinations of groups (Field, 2009). The author used different post hoc tests since each test has its strengths and limitations. Hochberg’s GT2 and Gabriel’s procedure both require homogeneity of variance in order to work reliably however Hochberg’s works better when group sample sizes are very different but Gabriel’s is more powerful (Field, 2009). The author also used two tests designed to be used when population variances are significantly different. Dunnett’s T3 maintains strict control of Type 1 error so is useful in ensuring that the null hypothesis is not wrongly rejected. Games-Howell on the other hand can be too liberal when sample sizes are small but works well when group sample sizes are unequal (Field, 2009).

The final test was Pearson’s Chi-Square which the author used to compare the two groups of respondents who described their relationship with their service provider as ‘strictly business’ and ‘business friends.’ The author wanted to find out whether differences exist in the sample or not.

6.3.3. Test Results

Table 6.16 T-Test Results for Gender of Respondent

Social Bond Levene’s Mean Mean T Df Sig Test (sig) (Standard (Standard (2-tailed) Error) Error) Male Female Security .726 4.07 4.14 -.743 255 .458 (.052) (.078) Intimacy .077 2.78 2.71 .650 255 .516 (.063) (.104)

H0 The respondent’s gender does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

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The author compared male respondents (174 cases) and female respondents (83 cases) to test for significant differences between the two groups based on gender. Levene’s test was non-significant for both bonds which indicates homogeneity of variance. The results suggest that there is no significant difference between the means of male and female respondents. This supports the null hypothesis.

Table 6.17 T-Test Results for Gender of Service Provider

Social Bond Levene’s Mean Mean T Df Sig Test (sig) (Standard (Standard (2-tailed) Error) Error) Male Female Security .155 4.10 4.21 -.971 250 .333 (.046) (.117) Intimacy .770 2.75 2.92 -1.162 250 .246 (.059) (.139)

H0 The service provider’s gender does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider

The author then compared male service providers (211 cases) and female service providers (41 cases) to find out if the service provider’s gender influenced the respondent’s (client’s) degree of social bonding. Levene’s test proved non-significant so equal variances in both data samples can be assumed. The two-tailed value of p was .333 (security) and .246 (intimacy) therefore there was no significant difference between the mean of clients who had a male service provider and clients who had a female service provider. Thus the null hypothesis was upheld.

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Table 6.18 ANOVA Results for Similarity of Gender

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. .053 .636

Mean MM* (n=146) 4.09 2.82 (Standard Error) (.056) (.070) Mean MF* (n=17) 4.23 2.74 (Standard Error) (.138) (.188) Mean FM* (n=56) 4.18 2.62 (Standard Error) (.063) (.121) Mean FF* (n=23) 4.17 3.03 (Standard Error) (.183) (.203)

Anova F .420 1.413 Sig .739 .240

Key* Percent

MM = Male Respondent / Male Service Provider 60.3%

MF = Male Respondent / Female Service Provider 7.0%

FM = Female Respondent / Male Service Provider 23.1%

FF = Female Respondent / Female Service Provider 9.5%

Since neither the respondent’s gender nor the service provider’s gender made a difference in how respondents rated their social bonds with their service provider, the author conducted an additional test (one-way ANOVA) to compare four dyadic relationships (see the key above). As may be seen, there were large differences in group sizes and this can have an impact on the F-ratio (Wilcox, 2005). Levene’s Test was run to check for population variance however the result was non-significant (see Table 6.18 above) therefore equality of variance was assumed. The results indicate that there are no significant differences between the four groups.

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Table 6.19 ANOVA Results for Age of Respondent

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. .572 .893

Mean 18-35 (n=18) 4.13 2.6852 (Standard Error) (.107) (.210) Mean 36-45 (n=53) 4.11 2.8428 (Standard Error) (.086) (.116) Mean 46-55 (n=91) 4.08 2.7315 (Standard Error) (.081) (.092) Mean 56-65 (n=85) 3.98 2.6863 (Standard Error) (.084) (.094) Mean 66+ (n=25) 4.08 2.7747 (Standard Error) (.155) (.201)

ANOVA F .370 .228 Sig .830 .885

H0 The respondent’s age does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

The author wanted to test the respondent’s age to identify potential differences in the sample so she used the one-way ANOVA test to compare five groups based on age as shown in the column on the left in Table 6.19 above. The author combined two categories 18-25 (n=3) and 26-35 (n=15) into one larger group 18-35 (n=18) due to the small number of cases. Levene’s test was non-significant for security and intimacy so equal variances can be assumed. There were no significant differences between the five age groups. This result supports the null hypothesis

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Table 6.20 ANOVA Results for Age of Service Provider

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. .953 .952

Mean 26-35 (n=23) 4.07 2.70 (Standard Error) (.149) (.175) Mean 36-45 (n=82) 3.97 2.66 (Standard Error) (.081) (.096) Mean 46-55 (n=86) 4.14 2.76 (Standard Error) (.070) (.091) Mean 56-66+ (n=59) 4.29 3.09 (Standard Error) (.072) (.114)

ANOVA F 2.664 3.183 Sig .049* .025*

* The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

H0 The service provider’s age does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

The author used the one-way ANOVA to compare differences between four groups based on the service provider’s age (see Table 6.20 above). There were no cases in the 18-25 age group and only 23 cases in the age group 26-35 which is only 9.2% of the total number of cases (under 20% so unequal group sizes should be assumed – Field, 2009). The author combined the 56-65 and 66+ age groups as there were only 5 cases in the latter group. Levene’s test confirmed homogeneity of variance in the groups. As may be seen from Table 6.20 above, results indicated that the group mean differences are significant. A further post hoc test was required to check among which pairs the means were significant. Hochberg’s GT2 test was chosen since the sample sizes were significantly different but there was homogeneity of variance in the populations. Appendix 11A shows that for both the security and intimacy bonds, the differences lie in the means of 36-45 and 56-66+ respondent age groups. Therefore the following null hypotheses are supported.

H0A There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers between 26-35 and 36-45 years old. H0B There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers between 26-35 and 46-55 years old.

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H0C There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers between 26-35 and 56-66+ years old. H0D There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers between 36-45 and 46-55 years old. H0E There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers between 46-55 and 56-66+ years old.

The following null hypothesis was not supported:

H0F There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers between 36-45 and 56-66+ years old.

Table 6.21 T-Test Results for Similarity of Age

Social Bond Levene’s Mean Mean T Df Sig Test (sig) (Standard (Standard (2-tailed) Error) Error) Same age Different range age range Security .787 4.24 4.02 2.543 248 .012* (.063) (.055) Intimacy .226 2.98 2.69 2.630 248 .009* (.097) (.064) * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

The author conducted a further Independent Samples T-Test to check if there were differences between respondents who were in the same age group as their service provider and those who were not. There were 93 cases in the database where the respondent and service provider shared the same age range, for example, both were between 36-45 years old. There were 157 cases where the respondent and service provider were in a different age group.

Levene’s test was non-significant therefore homogeneity of variance can be assumed. Results suggest a significant difference in mean between respondents in the same age group as their service provider and those in a different age group.

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Table 6.22 ANOVA Results for Similar Cultural Background

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. .102 .844

Mean Similar Culture (n=121) 4.26 3.00 (Standard Error) (.052) (.075) Mean Different Culture (n=67) 3.95 2.68 (Standard Error) (.093) (.109) Mean Don’t Know (n=80) 3.89 2.43 (Standard Error) (.093) (.094)

ANOVA F 7.912 11.160 Sig .000* .000* * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

H0 A similar cultural background does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

The author compared three data sets: respondents who reported a similar cultural background to their service provider (121 cases); respondents who reported that their cultural background was not similar (67 cases) and respondents who did not know whether or not their cultural background was similar (80 cases). Levene’s test was non-significant for both bonds so equal variances were assumed. Results indicate a significant difference between the respondent groups. Since the sample sizes were different but variance of the populations were shown to be equal, Hochberg’s GT2 was used to test the different combinations of pairs of means to see which group means were significantly different (see Appendix 11B).

The following null hypothesis is supported:

H0A There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers whose cultural background is different than theirs and those whose cultural backgrounds they are not sure about.

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The following null hypotheses are not supported.

H0B There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers whose cultural background is similar to theirs and those whose cultural background is different than theirs. H0C There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers whose cultural background is similar to theirs and those whose cultural backgrounds they are not sure about.

Table 6.23 T-Test Results for Level of Relationship Formality

Social Bond Levene’s Mean Mean T Df Sig Test (sig) (Standard (Standard (2-tailed) Error) Error) Strictly Business Business Friends Security .001 3.89 4.30 -4.990 243.334 .000* (.068) (.045) Intimacy .844 2.36 3.23 -9.704 257 .000* (.059) (.072) * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

H0 The level of relationship formality does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

The author compared two data sets: respondents who described their business relationship as ‘strictly business’ (151 cases) and respondents who described their business relationship as ‘business friends’ (108 cases). A third category was omitted (respondents who described their business relationship as ‘personal’ due to its very small size as there were only 8 cases). Levene’s test was significant for the security bond therefore variances are assumed to be significantly different. Levene’s test was non-significant for the intimacy bond so equal variances were assumed. For both bonds, there is a significant difference in the means of respondents who reported a strictly business relationship and respondents who described their relationship with their service provider as business friends. Therefore the null hypothesis is not supported.

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Table 6.24 Position of Respondent

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. .209 .032

Mean Proprietor (n=153) 4.00 2.66 (Standard Error) (.067) (.075) Mean Partner (n=39) 4.23 2.79 (Standard Error) (.073) (.148) Mean Managing Director (n=44) 4.09 3.01 (Standard Error) (.100) (.105)

ANOVA F 1.430 2.615 Sig .241 .075

Welch’s F F 2.511 3.524 Sig .086 .034*

Brown-Forsythe F F 2.070 2.920 Sig .130 .058 * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

H0 The respondent’s position does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

The one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare three positions of respondent in the study: Proprietor, Partner and Managing Director. The group ‘Other’ (which contained all other respondents who completed the survey such as General Managers) was removed from the analysis since this was a heterogeneous group of 22 cases (only 8.5% of the total). Levene’s test showed that while equal variance may be assumed for the security bond, equal variance may not be assumed for the intimacy bond. No significant differences were suggested based on respondents’ position. Since the F-ratio may be unreliable in tests on samples where homogeneity of variance is violated, the author also ran two further tests for alternative F-ratios, Welch’s and Brown-Forsythe’s as they are more robust when variance is not homogeneous. Welch’s F was significant however Brown-Forsythe’s was not. Field (2009) states that Welch’s F is generally more powerful but not when there is a large variance of the mean which can be seen in two of the intimacy sample means which

259 are >.1. Therefore the author has taken Brown-Forsythe’s F as the more reliable test. The null hypothesis was supported.

Table 6.25 ANOVA Results for Size of Respondent’s Hotel

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. .498 .278

Mean 0-5 employees (n=61) 4.07 2.62 (Standard Error) (.091) (.113) Mean 6-10 employees (n=58) 4.09 2.66 (Standard Error) (.107) (.129) Mean 11-20 employees (n=61) 3.99 2.69 (Standard Error) (.097) (.108) Mean 21-50 employees (n=82) 4.06 2.89 (Standard Error) (.078) (.094)

ANOVA F .197 1.374 Sig .898 .251

H0 The size of the respondent’s hotel does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

The one-way ANOVA was used to compare groups based on the size of the respondent’s hotel (number of employees). The four groups of respondents are given in the left column of the table above. Equal population variances may be assumed and results showed no significant differences between the groups. This supports the null hypothesis.

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Table 6.26 ANOVA Results for Relationship Length

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. .801 .358

Mean 0-4 years (n=63) 3.93 2.46 (Standard Error) (.093) (.105) Mean 5-9 years (n=67) 4.05 2.76 (Standard Error) (.091) (.088) Mean 10-15 years (n=66) 4.01 2.57 (Standard Error) (.086) (.107) Mean 16+ years (n=68) 4.34 3.21 (Standard Error) (.072) (.110)

ANOVA F 4.426 10.266 Sig .005* .000*

* The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

H0 The length of the business relationship does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

A one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare respondents based on the number of years they had known their service provider. In order to run this test, the author ran a frequency test on SPSS (Percentile Values/Quartiles) which divided the 264 respondents who reported on relationship length into four similarly-sized groups:

Group 1 – 0-4 years Group 2 –5-9 years Group 3 –10-15 years Group 4 –16 years +

Results from the ANOVA indicate a significant difference of mean based on relationship length. Since the population variances were assumed to be equal following Levene’s test and the group sizes were only slightly different, Gabriel’s procedure was chosen to analyse which groups contained significant differences in the mean based on relationship length. This test is more powerful than Hochberg’s GT2 but does not work well when sample

261 sizes are very different (Field, 2009). The results of this post hoc test may be found in Appendix 11C.

The following null hypotheses were supported:

H0A There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who they have known for 0-4 years and 5-9 years. H0B There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who they have known for 0-4 years and 16+ years. H0C There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who they have known for 5-9 years and 10-15 years. H0D There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security bond with service providers who they have known for 5-9 years and 16+ years.

The following null hypotheses were not supported:

H0E There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who they have known for 0-4 years and 10-15 years. H0F There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who they have known for 10-15 years and 16+ years. H0G There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their intimacy bond with service providers who they have known for 5-9 years and 16+ years.

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Table 6.27 ANOVA Results for Type of Service

Security Bond Intimacy Bond Levene’s Test sig. Sig. 5 Groups .000 .945 Sig. 4 Groups* .000 .976

Mean Accountancy (n=121) 4.28 2.85 (Standard Error) (.047) (.078) Mean Marketing (n=15) 4.22 3.13 (Standard Error) (.137) (.220) Mean Suppliers (n=22) 4.16 2.93 (Standard Error) (.118) (.205) Mean IT (n=29) 4.05 2.85 (Standard Error) (.134) (.166) Mean Finance (n=28) 3.44 2.26 (Standard Error) (.189) (.154)

ANOVA 5 Groups F 10.112 3.534 Sig .000* .008*

ANOVA 4 Groups** F 13.106 4.635 Sig .000* .004*

Welch’s F 5 Groups F 4.863 3.735 Sig .002* .010*

Welch’s F 4 Groups** F 6.481 4.850 Sig .001* .005*

Brown-Forsythe F 5 Groups F 8.222 3.441 Sig .000* .011*

Brown-Forsythe F 4 Groups** F 9.772 4.658 Sig .000* .005* * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. **Test repeated with the Suppliers group removed since this is not a professional service.

H0 The type of service does not make a difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with their service provider.

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The one-way ANOVA was used to test for differences between respondents according to the type of service provided. Unfortunately as mentioned earlier, there was a large variation in group sizes since many of the respondents had chosen to report on their business relationship with their accountant (47.5%) and the next biggest group after that was IT services with 11.4%. There were also 19 small groups of under 5%, including 14 services chosen by 1-3 respondents. In addition, 49 respondents chose to report on a business relationship with a non-professional service provider such as their butcher or plumber. This posed a challenge to the author in trying to compare groups of such considerable difference in size and diversity using the ANOVA which may become unreliable when there are large differences in group sizes and variance (Field, 2009).

The author tried to consolidate the services in a meaningful way in order to increase the group sizes. Not all groups could be increased in this way, for example, IT and Marketing did not have a similar group to join with. However she joined Banking (15 cases) and Finance non-Banking (13 cases) into a larger Finance group (28 cases). In addition, she created a non-professional services group Suppliers (22 cases) in which she included Food (6), Drinks (11) and Other Supplies (5). The author conducted the test twice; once with all five groups and once with only the four professional services groups without Suppliers. This was to check whether the inclusion of a non-professional services group would make a difference to the test results. The groups included in the test were as follows:

Group 1 – Accountancy and accountancy related eg bookkeeping, payroll (121 cases) Group 2 – IT services (29 cases) Group 3 – Marketing and related services (15 cases) Group 4 – Finance including Banking (28 cases) Group 5 – Suppliers e.g. Food, Drink (22 cases)

As shown in Table 6.27 on page 263, the results of both tests (with and without the non- professional services group of Suppliers) were similar. Levene’s test showed that there was significant difference in variance of the population for the security bond but equal variance in the population for the intimacy bond. Due to the large differences in group sizes, the lack of homogeneous variance in the security bond sample becomes a problem since this combination could affect the power of F (Field, 2009). Results indicate a significant difference in the mean of respondents who received different types of services. 264

The author used two other versions of the F-ratio which are designed to be accurate when variance is not homogeneous: Welch’s F and Brown-Forsythe F (Field, 2009). However it should be noted that some of the mean variances were high (>.1 and even >.2) therefore Brown-Forsythe’s F is more reliable. All three tests showed a significant difference in the means of respondents receiving different professional services and also one non- professional service.

Different post hoc tests were required for the security and intimacy bonds since the security bond was subject to violations in assumption of homogeneity of variance and the intimacy bond was not. There are tests available on SPSS to compare the means of multiple groups where the population variances are different. Each test has its limitations: Tambane’s T2 is conservative, Dunnett’s T3 maintains strict control of Type 1 error and Games-Howell is the most powerful but can be liberal when sample sizes are small (Field, 2009). The author selected two tests: Dunnett’s T3 since she wanted to make sure the means were significant so she did not wrongly reject the null hypothesis and Games- Howell since this was the most powerful of all the tests and works well when sample sizes are unequal. Since the intimacy bond showed equal variance in population, Hochberg’s GT2 test was chosen since the sample sizes of the groups being compared were very different.

The results from these post hoc tests may be found in Appendix 11D.

The following null hypotheses are supported:

H0A There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver accountancy and marketing services. H0B There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver accountancy services and supplies. H0C There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver accountancy and IT services. H0D There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver marketing services and supplies. H0E There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver marketing and IT services. 265

H0F There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver supplies and IT services. H0G There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver supplies and financial services. H0H There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver IT and financial services.

The following null hypotheses are rejected:

H0I There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver accountancy and financial services. H0J There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security and intimacy bonds with service providers who deliver marketing and financial services. H0K There is no significant difference in how respondents rate their security bonds with service providers who deliver supplies and financial services.

Table 6.28 Pearson Chi-Square Test Results for Level of Relationship Formality

Variables which were found to have a significant relationship with the Level of Relationship Formality variable

Variable Pearson Chi-Square Value Symmetric Measures Value Df Sig. (2-sided) Phi Cramer’s V (sig) (sig) Service Provider’s 11.793 3 .008* .224 .224 Age (.008*) (.008*) Length of 26.820 3 .000* .326 .326 Relationship (.000*) (.000*) Cultural 10.116 2 .006* .198 .198 Background (.006*) (.006*) Type of 9.320 3 .025* .226 .226 Professional Service (.025*) (.025*) *Significant at 0.05

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Variables which were found to have a non-significant relationship with the Level of Relationship Formality variable

Variable Pearson Chi-Square Value Value Df Sig. (2-sided) Respondent’s Gender 1.868 1 .172 Respondent’s Age .301 4 .990 Position of Respondent 5.031 3 .170 Company Size 5.966 3 .113 Service Provider’s Gender 2.854 1 .091

The final test conducted by the author was chi-square which is a standardised measure of actual frequencies observed in a category compared with frequencies you would expect to see (Hair et al, 1998). The author followed up the T-Test for Level of Relationship Formality (see Table 6.23 on page 258) which indicated significant mean differences between respondents who had a ‘strictly business’ relationship with their service provider compared to those who described their relationship as ‘business friends.’ The author wanted to find out which of the demographic variables were related to the level of relationship formality and therefore could have influenced the result. The author conducted the Cross Tabulations test. For a chi-square to be accurate, no expected values should be below 5 in a 2x2 contingency table (Field, 2009). The author checked this and it was not found to be a problem in any of the tests.

Table 6.28 above shows the results of the chi-square tests for the variables which had a significant and non-significant relationship with the ‘level of relationship formality’ variable. In addition to the chi-square, the author has also reported Phi and Cramer’s V which measure the strength of association between two categorical variables. However as may be seen, both tests consistently showed the same results as the Pearson Chi-Square.

Field (2009) suggests using the Likelihood Ratio (similar to chi-square) when samples are small however this test showed the same level of significance as Pearson Chi-Square therefore it was not reported.

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6.4 TESTING A MULTIPLE REGRESSION MODEL

A model was created using the newly computed variables of Security Bond and Intimacy Bond as the independent variables and Relationship Length as the dependent variable. The author wanted to establish whether the two social bonds were good predictors of relationship length which researchers such as Nicholson et al (2001) have found to be an important variable in business relationships. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the model and Table 6.29 below shows the results:

Table 6.29 Multiple Regression results with Social Bonds as predictors of Relationship Length

Multiple R .251 Multiple R² .063 Adjusted R² .056 Standard error of the estimate 9.7505 Sum of squares df Mean square F ratio p-value Regression 1679.156 2 839.578 8.831 .000 Residual 24909.080 262 95.073 Variables Regression Standard error Beta t-value p-value in equation coefficient (B) of coefficient

Security bond 1.054 .985 .075 1.070 .285 Intimacy bond 2.342 .796 .205 2.943 .004

R has a value of .251 and R² is .063 which shows that the security and intimacy bonds account for only a small proportion of the variation in relationship length. This implies that there are other variables which have a greater influence on relationship length than the two social bonds. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted and it may be seen that the F-ratio is significant (p=.000) which indicates that the regression model overall predicts relationship length significantly well. The model parameters show that the security bond has a B value of 1.054 which is small compared to its standard error of .985. The p-value (p=.285) shows that the t-test is not significantly different than 0 therefore the security bond does not make a significant contribution to predicting relationships length. However the intimacy bond has a B value of 2.342 which is three times larger than its standard error (.796) and p<.005 therefore it may be concluded that the intimacy bond significantly contributes to predicting relationship length.

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6.5 Limitations

There were a number of limitations with the quantitative data collection and the main ones are briefly summarised here. Despite her best efforts (as discussed in the Methodology Chapter), the author did not collect enough responses to ensure a 95% confidence level therefore the margin of error was more than 5%. From the sampling frame of 2200, the author obtained 288 completed questionnaires which gave a response rate of 13%. According to Saunders et al (2012), a population of 2000 should aim for a sample size of around 322 so a 16% response rate should have been obtained or the sampling frame could have been enlarged. However it was not possible to conduct a third mailing due to time and financial constraints.

One of the problems of not obtaining a large enough sample, is that the data may not be normally distributed as the larger the absolute size of the sample, the closer its distribution will be to the normal distribution (Saunders et al, 2012). This was found to be the case when conducting T-Tests and ANOVA tests since a number of groups being compared varied widely in size and/or did not possess homogeneity of variance. Therefore the author carried out additional tests to confirm the findings as discussed.

A number of records included in the database contained missing data especially in the responses to demographic questions. The author considered removing these cases from her analysis however this would have impacted further on her sample size. Therefore only those questionnaires which contained a substantial amount of missing data (for example, one page missed out) were removed. Instead, the author defined the missing values and chose the option ‘exclude cases analysis by analysis’ to ensure that SPSS had the maximum number of cases available for each test conducted.

Despite the author giving examples of different professional services in the questionnaire instructions, 49 respondents reported back on business relationships with a butcher, plumber and others who are not considered to be professional service providers. The author retested the factor solution to ensure the inclusion of non-professional service providers did not adversely affect the results however the test showed a similar outcome for professional and non-professional service providers. Therefore it was decided not to remove these cases from the database. 269

CHAPTER 7 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Introduction

The author’s research was designed to find out what social bonds exist in clients’ business relationships with professional services providers. She developed and tested a multidimensional scale to measure a client’s social bonds with a professional service provider. She created a preliminary scale of social bonds from the literature which was then modified following the collection and analysis of qualitative data from 30 interviews with professional services providers. The modified scale was developed following the pilot study and tested in the form of a questionnaire survey. 279 usable responses from hotel industry senior decision-makers were received and factor analysis of the data confirmed the final social bonds scale. This mixed-methods approach enabled the author to fulfil her five research objectives which are discussed in this chapter:

1. To define social bonds;

2. To find out if social bonds are unidimensional or multidimensional;

3. To find out if Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love and Attachment Theory provide a theoretical framework for identifying clients’ social bonds with professional services provider;

4. To find out if the four social bonds of security, intimacy, passion and affective commitment are empirically validated by the data collected;

5. To find out if there are significant differences in the strength of social bonds between groups based on demographic and contextual variables.

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7.1 The Social Bonds Scale

The author based her social bonds scale on attachment theory and Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love which was used to support liking as a type of love (Sternberg, 1986). This theoretical framework supported four potential social bonds: intimacy, passion, affective commitment and security. Intimacy was the only bond supported by both theories whereas passion and affective commitment were supported by Sternberg’s theory and security by attachment theory. The theories, social bonds and social bond items were discussed during in-depth interviews with professional service providers and the analysis is given in detail in the Qualitative Data Findings and Analysis Chapter. The qualitative phase of the research was used to improve the scale which was then tested through a questionnaire survey. Factor analysis was conducted on the quantitative scale data from the completed questionnaires which confirmed that social bonds are multidimensional since more than one factor was discovered. Factor analysis was conducted and the solution was retested number of times. The results consistently showed the presence of two social bonds: the security bond and the intimacy bond.

7.1.1 The Security Bond Scale

Security is characterised by a secure base and safe haven which are two of the main bases of attachment theory (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2003). In a professional services context, security may be defined as the client feeling secure in the business relationship with the service provider. The security bond construct can be measured using a seven-item scale:

1. I have a comfortable relationship with my service provider

2. I appreciate my service provider

3. I have a secure business relationship with my service provider

4. My service provider is responsive to my needs

5. I can depend on my service provider

6. My service provider is available when I need him/her

7. In an emergency situation, I know I can contact my service provider

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Comfort and security were the variables with the highest loadings on the security bond scale. Ainsworth (1991:38) states that a criterion of attachment is ‘seeking to obtain an experience of security and comfort in the relationship with the partner.’ A Female Freelance PR Consultant describes how clients seek comfort and security from their service provider:

‘Often clients they want people around them that make them feel better don't they? …So there can be a kind of emotional attraction where people make you feel calm, people make you feel relaxed, people make you feel confident. It can get dependent on… certain people around that make you feel secure’.

Comfort was associated with ease of contact and less formal interactions between client and service provider. On the one hand, clients feel they can make contact or ask questions without fear of bothering the service provider but on the other hand there is no pressure to make contact if it is not required. A Female Freelance PR Consultant talked about ‘a warm professionalism’ and this term appears to capture the essence of comfort and security in a professional services business context.

Dependence was the variable which had the next highest loading on the security bond factor. Dependence is at the core of attachment theory as the child depends on the parent to provide safety and security and in a professional services context, clients need to feel they can rely on their service provider to do a good job and provide advice when required: ‘They know that you’ll get the job done’ (Female, Senior PR Consultant); ‘They do value how reliable you can be’ (Female, Banker, European Investment Bank).

Attachment theory literature shows that secure dependence on the parent gives the child confidence to learn new skills and develop knowledge in order to become independent of the parent (Ainsworth, 1991). However hyperactivation of the attachment system can lead to over-dependence due to continuous insecurity (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2003). Bendapudi and Berry (1997) suggest that the lack of clients’ expertise leads to greater dependence on the service provider due to an increased perception of risk. Over- dependence on the service provider was not generally seen as a positive characteristic by interviewees since providers need to invest more time in supporting clients who refuse to learn or become independent as shown in this example from a Male Scheme Manager in a Standards-Based Organisation:

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‘One client needed handholding all the way through. He needs to go to post- certification but hasn’t been keen to learn. He’s not managing it properly. It will be to his own detriment… A tremendous amount of guidance was required.’

However deactivation of the attachment system can also occur which can lead to detachment (Bowlby, 1980) and avoidance of dependence in the relationship. It may be assumed that this preference for independence and self-reliance may lead to the client to avoid seeking a relationship with the service provider. If this happens, the service provider will not be able to form a security bond with the client. Service providers tend to advocate mutual dependency as in this example from a Male Operating Partner in a Management Consulting Firm:

Appreciation was another important variable which loaded highly onto the security bond factor. Although this is not a concept which is predominant in attachment theory literature, it was mentioned several times during the interviews that if clients recognise and appreciate the service provider’s efforts on the client’s behalf, this will strengthen their bond: ‘Does the client recognise the fact that you're doing your best for them?’ (Female Business Development Manager, Big Four Firm). Appreciation is based on gratitude which was found to be important in the maintenance of bonds in romantic relationships (Gordon et al, 2012). The authors (ibid, 2012) discuss that individuals feel appreciated when they perceive that partners see them as valuable and feeling appreciated gives the individual a sense of security and confidence in the relationship.

In a professional services context, service providers interviewed said that clients appreciate that the service provider is thinking about them: ‘it was a very good relationship because I suppose they [the client] were always at the forefront of my mind and they appreciated that that was the case’ (Female, Business Development Manager). A Male Senior Associate 273 from a Big Four Firm told how his ability ‘to put himself in his client’s shoes’ was appreciated by his client:

Gordon et al’s (2012) study found that people who are appreciated by their partner are in turn more appreciative and more responsive to their partner’s needs. Mutual appreciation was also mentioned by a Male Director from a Big Four Firm as contributing towards forming a bond between client and service provider:

‘I think there might be a bond in that actually there’s a kind of mutual appreciation… you appreciate what each other’s got to say.’

Being responsive to the client’s needs was also found to be part of the security bond. This has its basis in attachment theory since the way the parent responds to the child affects the child’s feelings of security (Bretherton, 1991). Responsiveness causes the attached person to feel more confident and safe (Shaver and Mikulincer, 2006). A number of service providers interviewed mentioned speed of response as a measurement of relationship strength. A Female Director in an Event Management Company tells how she manages clients’ expectations by letting them know how best to contact her if they need to:

Responsiveness can provide the client with a sense of worth as mentioned by Weiss (1974) as the way the service provider responds can indicate to the client how important he or she is to the service provider as told by this Male Lawyer:

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Being available when required was another key variable in the security bond scale. Availability is an important consideration in attachment theory and Ainsworth (1982) discovered three different attachment styles (secure, avoidant and anxious) from observing how children react when their mother is absent and when they are reunited. In professional services relationships, availability is about making time for the client. In particular, availability was seen to be important when the client is going through a difficult time as told by this Male Operating Partner in a Management Consulting Firm:

‘I think if an individual is having a tough time at work and in that especially tough time you're clearly investing your personal time to help them out, especially if it's beyond the remit of the project then I think that can form something beyond a professional relationship…And I think whenever that's happened; it's at the moment of truth where someone really needs help and if you recognise that and put other things aside at that point then that can really help.’

Security is based on the client’s confidence in the service provider’s availability. A Male Proprietor of an Accountancy Practice explained that when his clients are going through a stressful time, for example when their companies are going into liquidation, they become more needy and this provides him with more opportunities to be available and of service to them which improves their relationship.

The final variable included in the security bond scale is the client’s knowledge that he or she can contact the service provider in an emergency situation. Attachment theory can be used to explain that attachment behaviours become stronger when there is an emergency (Mayseless and Popper, 2007). Similarly, service providers reported that clients’ behaviour changes when they are under severe stress as told by this Female Senior PR Consultant:

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An emergency can activate the attachment system (Shaver and Mikulincer, 2006). The way the service provider responds in an emergency situation when he or she is most required can be crucial in maintaining the relationship as told by this Male Operating Partner in a Management Consulting Firm:

A business environment which is changeable and risky can impact the way that clients behave but when a client is secure in the knowledge that the service provider can be contacted in an emergency, this may lead to a client being more prepared to take a risk as explained by this Female Investment Banker: ‘You have confidence in your counterpart and you can do things that are more risky.’ Krackhart (1992) found that emotional support among partners provides comfort and uncertainty reduction in order to cope with and enable change. Rodriguez and Wilson (2002) found that an affective bond reduces risk during exchange.

7.1.2 The Intimacy Bond Scale

Intimacy is characterised by proximity-seeking which is one of the main bases of attachment theory (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2003). Intimacy is also the main dimension of liking (Sternberg, 1986). In a professional services context, intimacy may be defined as the client wanting to be close to the service provider. The intimacy bond construct can be measured using a six-item scale:

1. My service provider and I share advice beyond the scope of our work

2. I share similar interests with my service provider

3. I would be happy to get together socially with my service provider

4. I talk to my service provider about things other than the work we are doing

5. I contact my service provider to have a chat or a gossip

6. My service provider and I have shared memorable experiences at work

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Talking to the service provider about things other than the work was consistently the highest or second highest variable which loaded on the intimacy bond factor when the scale was tested. A Male Partner from a Big Four Firm uses the nature of the discussion with the client as a measurement for closeness to the client:

‘I think client intimacy is quite a good way of actually looking at it. And it comes down to: What's the type of interaction that you have? What do you talk about? Do you have to talk about work?’

According to Sternberg (1986) intimacy generally derives from emotional investment in the relationship. A client wanting to talk to the service provider about things other than the work shows a willingness to invest emotionally in the business relationship. Service providers gave examples of client relationships where ‘you end up talking about personal stuff in business time and business stuff in personal time so the boundaries are too blurred’ (Male, Director of a Business Training and Consultancy Service)

A Male Director in a Big Four Firm found that ‘some clients that actually want to have a longer term or a deeper relationship other than just the audit… will contact me frequently to talk about other things other than just the business at hand.’ According to a Female, Business Development Manager, these conversations can be about their interests outside work: ‘We talk about books and we talk about film and we talk about art as well as quite focused business discussion’ or family: ‘So I've got the director of finance and we'll always just talk about our children, they're similar ages’ (Male, Senior Manager, Big Four Firm). These conversations change the nature of the relationship from strictly business to more personal.

Contacting the service provider to have a chat or gossip was also found to contribute to the intimacy bond. A Female Freelance PR Consultant confirmed that ‘being able to have a bit of gossip is important; you need a certain level of informality.’ A client who takes the initiative to contact the service provider for an informal chat shows a willingness to have a closer relationship. Gossip is also part of emotional investment (Sternberg, 1986) as discussed earlier. A Male Director of a Big Four Firm says:

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‘I might have to invest more time in those clients where I have a stronger relationship with because of the time factor of meeting them and the intangible nature of gossip or other kind of benefits that I derive from that relationship.’

Wanting to contact the service provider and communicate outside the remit of a strictly business relationship creates a bond, whether the gossip is more business-focussed: ‘they've [clients have] heard something happening within their sector or environment they work in and therefore want an opinion on it or actually whether I'd heard it or not’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm) or more personal ‘gossiping about people that we know’ (Male, Consultant in the Meetings Industry). Gossip brings people closer together and enriches the relationship as described by this Male Director in a Big Four Firm:

‘I suppose the only other bond I can think of is probably where you, I think, something that you recognise that actually it's just not transactional in that actually whether it’s through gossip or mentoring or helping that actually you get something a bit more from the relationship and I think that takes it almost from a business to almost a personal relationship.’

Sharing advice with the service provider beyond the scope of the work was found to be related to the intimacy bond. Sternberg and Grajek’s (1984) study into the nature of love and liking found that ‘Sharing Ideas and Information’ from Levinger et al’s (1977) scale was the second highest variable in contributing to the construct of love. This is based on a mutual sharing of advice as described by this Female Partner from an International Research Consultancy: ‘They [clients] come to you to ask for advice. I do the same actually. I won't treat them any more like a client.’ Sharing advice supports a partnership or peer to peer type of business relationship based more on equality as described by this Male Director in a Big Four Firm:

‘The Head of Internal Audit is a feisty lady but what I recognised with her, she's a Head of Internal Audit, I'm a Head of Internal Audit for my clients. So I approached her as a peer-to-peer rather than supplier-customer relationship from Day One and she really respected that because it was showing her that I respected her. So to the extent where I ask her advice as well as she asks me advice so that's where we've got to.’

According to Turner (1970) and Smith (1998) providing advice contributes to social bonding. The advice may be related to clients’ business ‘[they] actively seek you out if they ha[ve] an issue that's still in my business capacity but might be slightly different to an

278 audit or the work that I'm delivering for them’ (Male, Director, Big Four Firm) or personal advice on ‘all sorts of things which probably border on marriage guidance, how to cope with their children's tantrums, how to manage relationships within your business, with staff, with each other, with banks etc.’ (Male, Proprietor, Accountancy Practice). The intimacy bond is built on valuing each other’s opinions.

Willingness to socialise with the service provider was another variable which loaded onto the intimacy bond. A Female Freelance PR Consultant agrees that ‘it can definitely make the work environment closer if you're socialising together.’ Socialising is based on emotional investment (Sternberg, 1986) and ‘putting in time’ to build a closer relationship often outside work hours: ‘it's always good to have lunch or a drink down the pub to get to know them as people as well’ (Female, Senior PR Consultant). According to Byrne (1971) doing pleasant things with a person can increase liking for the person. Leaving the business environment to meet in a less formal environment can enable the business relationship to become more personal more quickly as described by this Male Director of a Big Four Firm:

‘I found out that he [client] liked Italian food and I suggested to him look, it would be great to get off site, to get to know you a bit more, to think a bit more about what your aims and ambitions are about this contract, to get to know you a bit more. And that evening I think...moved me on in leaps and bounds with this person.’

Even having a coffee together enables the client and service provider to relate in a more personal way when there is no time or opportunity to meet outside the business environment: ‘As we were very time pressured, the ‘let's go and just grab a coffee…’ was really, really instrumental in building that bond’ (Male, Senior Associate, Big Four Firm). According to Homans (1961), more frequent interactions can lead to an increase in liking since there are more chances that the parties may find something valuable in the course of their interactions. A number of service providers who worked away from home or worked abroad found that strong bonds built much more quickly as there was more time and opportunity to socialise as described by this Male Scheme Manager at a Standards Based Organisation:

‘A few years ago I was working on a major project for a major US multinational oil company. I knew all the people in the plants. We were brought together, him 279

and I. There was a very strong bond. We talked regularly and travelled together. We socialised in the evenings and at weekends. This was a very strong relationship, like friends.’

It should be noted that socialising may occur for other reasons than building genuine business relationships based on liking and attachment. Some socialising has a clear business development objective, for example, a Male Trader is invited to ‘very fancy restaurants’, rugby matches and bought champagne by brokers keen to develop their relationship:

‘Sometimes you go to these events and it can get quite tiring because you've always got to put on a nice face and you can tell very much that people on the other side are doing the same thing and it can very much, regardless of what they may think of you, they are going to say the right thing to get the deal done or to get your custom.’

This type of socialising could be explained by social exchange theory since this is not based on creating an intimate bond but more on self-interest, where brokers try to ‘buy’ business by creating an obligation on the part of the trader who has accepted their hospitality.

Sharing similar interests was another variable which contributed to the intimacy bond. Sternberg and Grajek (1984) tested different scales of love and liking and found that with Levinger et al’s (1977) scale, ‘having interests the other shares’ had the highest loading on the construct of love. The interview data also showed similar interests to be an important basis of similarity between client and service provider as it was mentioned by the highest number of interviewees (eleven: seven mentioned hobbies and four mentioned business interests). Byrne’s (1971) theory explains that individuals are attracted to those who are similar to them and interests can form a basis for similarity. Interestingly, the variables based on ‘deep level similarity’ (Kacmar et al, 2009) such as mutual understanding and a shared outlook or shared attitudes and values were not found to relate to intimacy in this study.

Similar interests were discussed by service providers as being business or personal. In some business relationships, the business interests were predominant as for this Male Proprietor of an Accountancy Practice: ‘We have one or two common hobbies but broadly

280 the business is pivotal and if you took the business and common interest in the business out, I don't think the relationship would stand for too long.’ A Male Director of a Big Four Firm tells how closeness can be achieved by talking to clients about their business interests:

However personal interests also formed as important basis for similarity and in particular, sport was mentioned, as in this example by a Male Consultant in Investment Banking:

‘I had a lot of good relationships with my clients because I used to play cricket, they used to play cricket so common interests. Bonds are usually developed based on common interests. I know my boss now he loves rugby so if I speak about rugby or I go to a rugby match I know he'll come with me.’

Similar interests can be shared by talking about them or doing them together. It is also possible to create similar interests as a way of getting closer to a client as explained by this Female Business Development Manager:

The final variable which loaded onto the intimacy bond was that of client and service provider sharing memorable experiences. Davis and Todd (1982:83) describe intimacy as: ‘sharing experiences by virtue of doing things together.’ Smith (1998), Turner (1970) and Liang and Wang (2007) also include shared experiences as part of social bonding. Interestingly, only memorable experiences were found to be related to the intimacy bond and not sharing good and bad experiences. This could be because ‘good and bad’ experiences were included in the same item; it may have been preferable to separate them as some clients may only have had good or bad experiences with their service provider.

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A Male Managing Director in a PR Consultancy reflected on a memorable project which led to social bonds forming which are still in place nearly 30 years later:

‘I did the PR surrounding Laura Ashley when it first floated in the 80s with Bernard and Laura Ashley. It was very exciting. It was also very traumatic because she died. She fell down the stairs and she hit her head and she died. By then we had got very close to the family and all the professional advisers that were part of that. That was quite special and even now we'll meet up 20 or 30 years later and we talk about that. So bonding through a kind of mutual or shared experiences is really quite powerful, it's quite a powerful glue that keeps people together.’

The interview data appeared to indicate that creative services such as PR and Events Management may offer greater scope for memorable experiences due to factors such as the nature of the work and exotic locations where events take place as told by this Male Director who has experienced working in an event agency/client environment:

‘We were working on projects around the world. Sometimes you’d be were forced almost in a kind of different environment you’d be forced into very nice hotels, working in glamorous locations, working in event centres, working very, very, very long days, eating together you know so boundaries will often disappear, the boundaries that you might get in the traditional workplace would disappear in those circumstances and then you would have friendships with some of those people.’

However where the work does not offer opportunities for memorable experiences, these can be created by service providers, for example, by investing in client hospitality as discussed earlier with the example of the trader being taken to nice restaurants and rugby matches.

7.1.3 Comparing the Security and Intimacy Bonds

The factor analysis of the data from the survey of hotel respondents showed that the security bond was consistently more powerful than the intimacy bond in predicting the total variance of the social bonds scale. It should also be noted that there was a difference in mean between the two bonds. The survey results of 279 hotel senior decision-makers showed the mean of intimacy to be 2.74 and security 4.06 when measured on a 5-point Likert scale where 1 = Strongly Disagree and 5 = Strongly Agree. Therefore the respondents showed a higher level of security bond towards their service provider while the intimacy bond was below the mid-point of 3. Hair et al (1998) state that if the sample is 282 heterogeneous with regard to at least one subset of variables, then the first factors will represent variables that are more homogeneous across the entire sample and variables that are better discriminators between subgroups of the sample which load on later factors. It may be seen that security had a majority of high mean scores between 3 and 5 on the scale while the mean scores for intimacy were more equally distributed across the scale. Therefore intimacy was a better discriminator between business relationships. This is supported by the literature as Price and Arnould (1999) and Haytko (2004) found that not all customers want a close relationship with their service provider. However it seems that a strong secure base is a foundation for most business relationships reported in this study.

7.1.4 Passion and Affective Commitment

The two remaining constructs of Passion and Affective Commitment were not found to be social bonds following factor analysis. According to Blumberg et al (2008), if the tests do not confirm the measurement scale, it could be either because the measurement instrument is invalid or the theory is invalid. The author did not use Sternberg’s original scales for passion and commitment. The passion scale was unsuitable as it reflected romantic passion so was not appropriate for a business context. In addition, she decided to use affective commitment as a construct instead of commitment as her review of the literature indicated that only this dimension of commitment was a potential social bond. Therefore the measurement instruments for passion and affective commitment were created by the author from the literature and the interview data so there is a possibility that they could be invalid in measuring these constructs.

The passion scale was created mainly from the work of Vallerand et al (2003) who developed a scale to measure harmonious and obsessive passion towards activities. Although the items in this scale were not suitable for use in a business relationship context, the author used their definition of passion and based some of her items on their conceptual discussions about harmonious passion. The passion items in the final scale were verified by the interview data. The affective commitment scale was created by the author following a review of definitions, conceptual discussions and scales developed in the literature and again, the final scale was verified by the interview data. Since there was less literature available, especially for the concept of passion, this may have had an impact on scale development. 283

Alternatively, it could be the theory which is invalid (Blumberg et al, 2008). Yim et al (2008) found that relational services tend to be commitment-driven while transactional services tend to be passion driven. Since the current study focused on relational services such as accountancy, it is possible that passion is not a social bond in this service context. In addition, the interview data appears to support that passion may be more prevalent in some industries such as PR and less so in accounting where being enthusiastic is not so important (Male, Principal, Accountancy and Property Management).

7.2 Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

In support of Sternberg’s theory, Aron and Westbay’s (1996) conducted empirical research into dimensions of the prototype of love and also found the same three dimensions of intimacy, passion and commitment. Sternberg (1986) provides a taxonomy of eight kinds of love, one of which is liking. He notes that liking has a high level of intimacy but passion is more prevalent in other types of love such as romantic love. Therefore it is possible that passion is not a social bond as it is not predominant in liking. However passion was found to be an important dimension of strong, affectionate bonds between customers and staff and customers and firms in a services context (Yim et al, 2008). Passion has also been found to be significant in forming brand attachment (Thomson et al, 2005) and a key dimension of love towards a brand (Albert et al, 2008).

Affective commitment is commitment based on liking. Commitment has been found to be a social bond in the literature (Wilson and Mummalaneni, 1986; Hirschi, 2002; Perry et al, 2002; Rao et al, 2003) however other researchers have found social bonds to lead to commitment (Patterson and Smith, 2001a; Venetis and Ghauri, 2004; Dash et al, 2009; Cater and Zabkar, 2009). Affective commitment was not found to be a social bond but if the author had remained with the original concept of commitment, this may have been found to be a social bond.

Wilson’s definition of the social bond (1995:339) as ‘the degree of mutual personal friendship and liking shared by the buyer and seller’ has been most commonly used among researchers developing social bond scales. The findings of this study confirm that intimacy

284 is the main basis for liking as suggested by Sternberg’s (1986) taxonomy and his theory supports the existence of the intimacy bond.

7.3 Attachment Theory

Attachment theory was found to provide a theoretical framework for the two social bonds of intimacy (closeness) and security. Paulssen’s (2009) study also found closeness and security to be supported by attachment theory in business to business relationships. In the context of professional services relationships, intimacy may be defined as proximity- seeking or the client wanting to be close to the service provider. Security may be defined as a secure base or the client feeling secure in the business relationship with the service provider. These are the basic foundations of attachment theory as it emerged from the study of child-parent relationships however the interview data showed that client-service provider relationships do not generally follow this model. Child-parent attachment may exist in very specific situations where the client has personal or family problems and/or is in a critical situation and has to depend on the service provider. It may also exist when there are significant differences in age and knowledge, for example when the service provider is much older and more experienced and may take the role of the parent in the relationship.

However it was found to be more usual for the client and service provider to have a reciprocal relationship more typical of adult attachment where ‘each in some ways and at some times views the other as stronger and wiser, so that each can gain security in the relationship and each give care to the other’ (Ainsworth, 1991: 36). Service providers preferred to have a more balanced relationship with their client based on equality, partnership and symbiosis. Jancic and Zabkar (2002:664) refer to the ‘co-management of relationships’ as the preferred model. These relationships were seen as being more enjoyable and more successful.

A number of service providers used terminology from romantic relationships to describe their business relationships with their clients, for example comparing the business relationship to a marriage or the chemistry between individuals in a business relationship as falling in love. This suggests there may be some similarity between romantic attachment and business attachment however this would need to be examined further. 285

Weiss (1974) describes different types of relationships where attachment may be present: providing guidance in a stressful situation (mentoring); providing security; giving continuing support, providing a sense of worth and nurturing relationships. All of these qualities of relationships were mentioned in the interviews by service providers. Although Weiss (1991:68) says and the interview data supports that it is rare to have full attachment of the child-parent type in the workplace, it may be seen that attachment-type behaviours can be present in business relationships. Mayseless and Popper (2007:73) agree that attachment may be seen as a spectrum therefore a distinction can be made between a ‘full- blown attachment bond’ to a parent and ‘attachment dynamics’ in the case of a business partner. A service provider is not likely to be a primary attachment figure to the client like a parent however he or she can still be ‘a uniquely valued person’ whom it is difficult to replace (Ainsworth, 1991:44). The service provider can provide security to clients who lack confidence and be responsive, available and dependable when the client has an emergency at work or during a risky project. Ainsworth (1991:45) describes attachment as a system of behaviour and this system can be activated for example, in an emergency situation: ‘people who have been through a disaster together and have protected each other feel differently about each other thereafter – and…these feelings of closeness tend to persist.’ A number of service providers confirmed that their bonds with their clients grew stronger following adversity and going through a difficult time together.

7.4 Demographic and Contextual Variables

The 279 questionnaire respondents were senior decision makers in micro and small-sized hotels in the UK who had a business relationship with a professional services provider. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) found that the explanatory power of demographic variables was low in explaining customer heterogeneity in relationship behaviour. However the author did find some demographic and contextual variables which had a significant impact on the strength of respondents’ intimacy and security bonds with their service provider. In addition, demographic similarity was found to be important in increasing bond strength. This may be explained by Byrne’s (1971) similarity-attraction paradigm which is based on individuals being attracted to other individuals who are similar to themselves. Ewing et al (2001) found that demographic compatibility between client and advertising agency personnel was important in maintaining the client-agency relationship. 27 different bases 286 of client-service provider similarity were mentioned in the interviews. Not all of these could be explored due to the focus of the current study however data on gender, age and culture was collected and analysed to examine mean differences of social bonds based on demographic similarity of client and service provider.

7.4.1 Gender

People1st’s State of the Nation report (2013) into the Hospitality and Tourism sector workforce states that although more women work in the sector, they are underrepresented in senior management with only 32% of sector employers having female senior managers. This is reflected in the responses from the senior decision makers in hotels as over two- thirds of respondents were male and just under one third were female. In addition only 16% of the service providers rated in the questionnaire were female.

The results showed no significant differences between male and female respondents in forming social bonds with their service provider. There was also no difference in the strength of bonds which respondents developed with a male or female service provider. The author examined whether bonds were stronger when the client and service provider were of the same gender and when they were of a different gender however no significant differences were found. It should be noted that there were considerable differences in group sizes and this may have impacted on the results.

The lack of significant differences in the strength of social bonds based on gender supports Smith’s (1998) research into relationship bonds between male and female buyers and suppliers. Smith (1998) found that gender had no effect on social bonds. However Ewing et al’s (2001) research found gender to be meaningful in categorising client and advertising agency personnel into four groups based on male respondents tending towards ‘factual/hard facts’ and female respondents towards ‘social/relationship.’ In the current study, interviewees’ opinions were divided on whether gender was influential in social bonding, for example a female banker suggested her gender may have an impact on her decision not to socialise with her clients: ‘Maybe if I was a man I would play golf with my client.’ A Female Business Development Manager suggested that gender-based differences were more of an issue in the past but not as significant nowadays. However a Female Freelance PR Consultant experienced sexual harassment as a younger woman working in 287 the Middle East and told of the difficulty in maintaining professional business relationships with older male clients. Therefore further clarification of the relationship between gender (including other related variables such as age and culture) and social bonds would be recommended.

7.4.2 Age

The results showed that clients who are in the same age group as their service provider have significantly higher social bonds than clients who are in a different age group than their provider. Turban et al (1999) found that individuals in the same age group are more likely to form relationships and six interviewees mentioned similar age as an important basis of similarity with a client. The interview data also supported this:

‘Young men between 20 and 30 - they're more or less going to have similar views, similar ideas anyway so 100% relationships develop.’

(Male, Trader in a Market Making Company)

Client-service provider relationships could be managed at an organisational level to match individuals who are similar in age and other demographic characteristics as described by this Female Business Development Manager:

‘I had a client once... he'd recently got married, he'd got two young kids, he drank 5 pints of bitter at lunchtime. Nothing could be further from my lifestyle. And it was very unlikely I was going to be able to get on his wavelength. So we actually organised ourselves at work so that somebody else became his main contact who also had some young kids, didn't mind a pint and was a young lad because I was never ever going to be have a rapport with that particular individual.’

The respondent’s age (whether he/she was younger or older) was not found to be significant in forming stronger bonds with clients. It should be noted that 65% of respondents were aged 46-65 and only 6.6% were under 36 years old therefore not all age groups were equally represented in the sample. However there was a significant result in the service provider’s age as clients had stronger social bonds with service providers who were 56 years and over than with those who were 36-45 years old. Lambert-Pandraud and Laurent (2010) found that older consumers form longer attachments than younger

288 consumers and the interview data also supported older people tending to remain in the business relationship:

‘I think that age is a bit of a factor, in terms of relationships are perhaps more important for the older... my generation.’

(Male, Principal, Accountancy and Property Management)

Further exploration of social bonds among older clients and retesting of the results in a different sample with a more equal spread of ages would be recommended.

7.4.3 Cultural Background

The results showed that clients who perceive that they share a similar cultural background to their service provider have stronger social bonds with their service provider than those who perceive their cultural background to be different or do not know whether their cultural background is the same or different. National culture was mentioned by the highest number interviewees (seven) as a basis for demographic similarity with a client. The interview data supported a similar cultural background as a significant variable in strengthening social bonds. In particular, the data appeared to show that if an individual is living and working abroad, the bond of culture is particularly strong as he or she feels drawn to work with people from the home country due to factors such as common language and history.

‘I left Poland when I was very young. Since then I’ve always been striving to get back, not necessarily to Poland, but at least to get a relationship with Poles and working on Polish deals.’ (Male, Lawyer, European Investment Bank)

The impact of this finding will be discussed more fully in the Recommendations and Managerial Implications Chapter since managing diversity has become an important issue in the workplace and the stronger bonds between clients and service providers who share a similar culture pose both an opportunity and a challenge for organisations.

It should be noted that around 30% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they did not know whether their service provider shared the same cultural background as themselves. 289

Dash et al (2009) state that the concept of culture is interpreted in various ways in the literature and Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952) found around 160 definitions of culture. Therefore the respondents may not have understood the term ‘cultural background’ and author could have used a clearer term such as ‘national culture’ in her questionnaire. The author did not examine whether social bonds differ among different national cultures. Williams et al (1998) found that individualist national cultures have a less personal orientation while a collectivist national culture have a stronger need for interpersonal orientation. However Rodriguez and Wilson (2002) found similar levels of social bonds among U.S. Managers (individualist culture) and Mexican Managers (collectivist culture). There is scope to test culture further as a demographic variable which may influence social bonds in business.

7.4.4 Level of Relationship Formality (Type of Business Relationship)

The author used a three-point scale developed by Haytko (2004) to measure the formality of business relationships: strictly business, business friends and personal. The results showed that clients who described their business relationship with their service provider as ‘business friends’ had stronger bonds with their service provider than clients who said their relationship was ‘strictly business.’ The author conducted a further test to establish which variables were related to the level of relationship formality so could contribute to the difference between the groups. The following variables were shown to be significant: service provider’s age, cultural background, length of relationship and type of professional service. These are the same variables which have been noted as significant in the T-Tests and One-Way ANOVA tests conducted which verifies the findings.

Only 3% of respondents described their relationship with their service provider as personal. This was despite the tendency for long relationships to be reported (the mean of the relationship length was 11.4 years). Most respondents (56.6%) in the author’s survey described their relationship with their service provider as ‘strictly business.’ Haytko (2004) notes that ‘business friends’ and ‘personal’ relationships were most often reported by her interviewees who were advertising agency account managers. However according to a UN report (2004), advertising is characterised as having high client turnover and relationships are not usually long-term. The interview data suggests that level of relationship formality could be related to the nature of the work or type of professional service. Advertising 290 belongs to the ‘touchy-feely worlds of hospitality, event management, media’ (Female, Business Development Manager) while most respondents in the author’s survey rated their relationship with their accountant (47.5%) and accountancy is characterised by a formal reporting process with standard outputs such as the preparation of end-of-year accounts. This potential relationship would need to be explored further.

7.4.5 Relationship Length

According to Halinen (1997) bonds develop over time therefore it may be assumed that the longer the relationship continues, the higher the level of social bonds should be. The results of this study showed differences in the strength of clients’ social bonds with the service provider between the following groups: 0-4 and 10-15 years; 10-15 and 16+ years and 5-9 and 16+ years – intimacy only. In each case, the group with the longer relationship length reported the strongest bonds.

The strongest intimacy and security bonds were reported in the longest relationships (16 years and above) by the hotel respondents. A number of service providers interviewed supported the relationship between longevity and relationship strength: ‘I think they're relationships when you look back that have had a lot of time to develop so I think if I did point to my 3 or 4 or 6 strongest client relationships, they would be clients I've had for 15- 20 years’ (Male, Proprietor, Accountancy Practice). As mentioned earlier, the largest group of service providers rated in this study were accountants and accountancy relationships tend to be long-lasting.

However it should be noted from the survey data that the bonds did not increase consistently over the years. There was a drop in the strength of social bonds in relationships between 5-9 years and 10-15 years and then the bonds increased again at 16+ years. This would need to be explored further as it is not clear why there was a decrease in social bond strength in relationships of 10-15 years. However Easton and Araujo (1986) note that since relationships change over time, its length cannot be a good predictor of its strength.

Bowlby (1979) found that the process of forming an attachment takes two or three years on average. Service providers interviewed differed in how long they believed it took bonds to 291 form from immediately (Internal Audit Partner) to a couple of months (Management Consultant) to two years (Director in Global Ratings Agency). The variables influencing the amount of time taken to develop bonds could be examined in a further study.

7.4.6 Type of service

Butcher et al’s (2002) study into customers’ social interaction with providers in three service industries found that customers value different factors such as comfort or enthusiasm depending on the service being provided. Chung-Herrera (2007) also found that customers have different psychological needs in different service settings, for example, security was rated most highly for airlines and least for retail stores. The results from the current study show some differences in the strength of clients’ bonds with the following service providers: accountants and financial services; marketing and financial services; and suppliers and financial services. In each case, clients gave the lowest ratings to their intimacy and security bonds with financial services providers. Relationships with accountants had the highest level of security bond and relationships with marketers had the highest level of intimacy bond. This may be explained by the importance of security in financial accounting and the similarity of marketing to advertising in that the work may lend itself to closer, less formal relationships (Haytko, 2004).

The restrictions to bonds developing in regulated professional services such as auditing were discussed in the interviews. The scope for bonds to develop during the work was also discussed by a Male Director in a Big Four Firm:

‘[Auditing is]‘not like consulting where you might co-develop and build something with the client and you go oh that's fantastic we've built something. When you're auditing people, you don't necessarily create something together. A good audit often isn't recognised.’

On the other hand, a Female Freelance PR Consultant found that event management was treated with respect by clients: ‘I think events make people more nervous. Clients don't want to interfere as much. The whole logistics is kind of intimidating.’

Personality could also be a factor as it was mentioned during the interviews that certain personality types are found in certain professions for example, more extrovert, creative

292 people being drawn to careers in hospitality, event management and media such as this Female Business Development Manager:

‘By contrast to more corporate environments…there is still a degree of relaxation and less cut-throat, hard-core constraint personality to the whole kind of marketplace...and I'd say that's why I'm in these worlds you know because that naturally suits me to be in that. I can't imagine compromising my personality and character which are I believe it would be, to work in a kind of hard or more demanding environment.’

7.4.7 Respondent’s Position/Seniority and Company Size

Neither position/seniority nor company size was found to be significant in differentiating between clients in their level of social bonds for their service provider. The interview data indicated that both variables could lead to group differences however the author will briefly outline possible explanations why these variables were not found to be significant in this study.

7.4.7.1 Respondent’s Position/Seniority

Service providers who were interviewed indicated that the most meaningful bonds and relationships took place at a senior level. Two of the more junior service providers believed that social bonds had not yet occurred at their stage of career, such as this Male Lawyer in an International Law Firm:

Therefore the author was expecting to find differences based on seniority of position in the survey results (the more senior the respondent, the higher the level of social bonds). However it should be noted that the respondents included in the survey were senior decision makers in the hotel industry. Most respondents were Hotel Proprietors (59.3%) and the remainder were Managing Directors (17%) and Partners (15%). Therefore there was no opportunity to compare senior business executives with more junior positions in 293 this sample. It is recommended to test the demographic variable of seniority of position using another sample in which it is possible to compare junior and senior positions.

7.4.7.2 Company Size

Many service providers who were interviewed differentiated between their relationships with large and small businesses. Relationships with clients from large companies were often seen as being more distant, less close and more formal. Smaller companies were seen as being more friendly, less formal and caring more about the relationship. A Director of Technology and Operations explains why this difference could occur:

Therefore the author was expecting to find that respondents from smaller-sized hotels (based on number of employees) would have stronger social bonds with their service provider than respondents from larger hotels. However, all the hotel respondents in the sampling frame used by the author came from micro and small sized hotels. There were not enough medium and large hotels in the database to compare to smaller-sized hotels therefore these were excluded from the sample. No significance was found when comparing respondents from hotels with 0-5, 6-10, 11-10 and 21-50 employees. However if medium and large businesses had been included in the study, the results could have been different therefore it will be recommended to use a sample consisting of businesses of various sizes in order to test the variable of company size in future studies.

7.5 Generalisability of the scale

The author set out to create a scale to measure social bonds with professional service providers. Although a variety of professional service providers were interviewed as part of the research, the questionnaire was distributed to a sample of senior decision-makers in micro and small-sized hotels in the UK. The response rate of 13% (288 completed questionnaires) was not enough to ensure a 95% confidence level as the margin of error

294 was more than 5%. Therefore it cannot be assumed that the results are likely to be representative of all senior-decision makers in micro and small-sized hotels in the UK. The author would recommend retesting the scale using a larger, representative number of respondents.

In addition, the specific nature of the survey sample should be taken into account when attempting to generalise the findings. Respondents came from one industry (hotels) and were two-thirds male and two-thirds aged 46-65 with just under 50% rating their relationship with their accountant. The interviews were conducted with a wider range of individuals from the service provider side and the data suggests that type of service and industry may have an impact on the level of clients’ social bonds with service providers. Therefore it is recommended to test the scale more widely, using samples from various industries and clients using a wider variety of service providers.

There is an indication, that the scale may be applicable in other contexts. It was also tested among visitors at a global event for the events and meetings industry with a wider range of respondents. Factor analysis of the data showed a security and intimacy bond. However the small sample (n=65) and other difficulties such as the respondents being non-native English speakers mean that it is not possible to rely on these results.

Finally, there is also an indication that the scale could work in rating non-professional service providers. 49 respondents rated their social bonds with a provider who was not a professional service provider such as a food or drinks supplier. The author conducted factor analysis separately on this data set and found similar results to those obtained from respondents who rated a professional service provider. However due to the small sample size, it is recommended that the scale is tested using a larger number of clients who have business relationships with non-professional service providers.

The next chapter sets out the author’s recommendations for further academic research to verify and extend the findings of her study. She will also include practical recommendations for professional service organisations and service providers on developing social bonds with their clients.

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CHAPTER 8 RECOMMENDATIONS AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

The Recommendations and Managerial Implications Chapter will set out the author’s recommendations for further theoretical development in this field of study as well as managerial implications for service providers in developing social bonds with their clients and for professional service organisations in managing client relationships.

8.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT

8.1.1 Attachment Theory and Sternberg’s Theory

This research made a contribution towards a greater understanding of how attachment theory and Sternberg’s Theory may be applied to the context of clients’ business relationships with professional service providers. However more research is needed to continue this work. The author has suggested four areas which could be explored further:

The similarity of business attachment and romantic attachment is reflected in the frequent use of language associated with romantic and personal relationships in relationship marketing literature (Beaton and Beaton, 1995). The interview data also supports this phenomenon:

‘In many ways, the strongest business relationships are very similar to a marriage. You're in it for the duration; you're not in it for the short-term. You work it through. You've got to be able to talk through the issues. If you've got a strong relationship, you can be honest about what's happening, what's going well, what's not going well and you can work it through.’

(Male, Partner, Big Four Firm)

Since there is a larger body of literature on romantic attachment and little literature on attachment in business, further examination of and research into this area could bring new insights into social bonds in business relationships.

The power dynamic in the relationship between client and service provider. The interview data showed that service providers tend to prefer relationships with clients based on equality. However what happens to social bonds when the client or service provider is dominant and does the relationship become more like parent-child? This builds on studies 296 such as that by Mayseless and Popper (2007) which uses attachment theory in the context of leaders and followers where there is an imbalance of power. Turner (1970) suggests that in relationships in which there is an unequal balance of power, different bonds will form the basis of the attachment for the stronger member and the weaker member. This research could improve the management of relationships where there is an imbalance of power between the parties.

The reciprocity of client-service provider relationships. Dyadic interviews and/or questionnaires with pairs of client/service provider could be used to establish whether both sides identify similar social bonds and similar strength of social bonds towards each other. O’Malley and Harris (1999) found that clients tend to describe their relationships with solicitors as friendships while solicitors view the relationships as purely professional. Ewing et al (2001) found significant differences between client and agency personnel. This would provide insight into any gaps between the two sides in how social bonds are viewed and experienced.

Finally, further work is recommended on the constructs of Passion and Affective Commitment which were supported by Sternberg’s Theory but were not found to be social bonds in this study. The scales could be reviewed and retested using other sampling frames, since the interview data has indicated that passion may not be an important feature in accountancy services. It is also possible that affective commitment, which is based on liking, could be found to be a social bond in other service contexts.

8.1.2 Verifying the Social Bonds Scale

DeVellis (1991) states that scale validity is not firmly established during the scale development process but is a cumulative and ongoing process. The Generalisability of the Scale section at the end of the Discussion of Findings Chapter recommends the retesting of the social bonds scale using different samples in order to verify and refine the scale based on further empirical research. The scale was found to work on the sample of senior decision makers from micro and small-sized hotels in the UK. However in order to create a scale which is relevant across industries and across different professional services, it would be necessary test the scale using different samples.

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The author would recommend retesting the following items which were not found to load on intimacy in this study:

 My service provider and I share attitudes or values;  My service provider and I have a mutual understanding or a shared outlook;  My service provider and I have shared good and bad experiences.

The first two items are based on deep-level similarity and had considerable support from the interview data. It was expected that they would contribute to the intimacy bond scale therefore the author would recommend they be tested again. The third item was not well constructed as it contained both good and bad experiences in one item therefore the author recommends this item should be separated into two items to test whether sharing good or bad experiences are a dimension of the intimacy bond.

It is possible that the scale may be relevant to business relationships with non-professional service providers since it was found to work on a data set of 49 respondents who had completed the questionnaire rating non-professional service providers such as food and drinks suppliers. The scale should be retested among a larger sample of clients of non- professional service providers. In addition, the scale was tested among respondents outside the UK hotel industry (visitors to a global event for the events and meetings industry) and found to confirm the two social bonds of security and intimacy. Therefore it should be retested among larger samples of respondents from other industries and of different nationalities.

Once the social bond scale has been retested and verified, research can be carried out to establish the relationships between social bonds and other relationship marketing constructs. Previous studies have found that social bonds can lead to customer retention, loyalty, word-of-mouth recommendations, trust, satisfaction and differentiation/ value (see Literature Review 2.3.3 for further details). Therefore it is of interest to establish whether these and other benefits exist for service providers and/or clients who develop intimacy and security bonds.

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8.1.3 Demographic and Contextual Variables

The research found the following variables to be significant in influencing the strength of clients’ social bonds with a professional service provider: similarity of age, similarity of cultural background, service provider’s age, formality of business relationship, relationship length and type of professional service provided. Gender, company size and seniority/ position were not found to impact on social bond strength however as discussed in the Discussion of Findings Chapter, this may be due to the limitations of the hotel respondent sample. Therefore the author recommends that these variables should be retested using samples containing more equal numbers of male and female respondents, junior staff as well as senior executives and medium-sized and large businesses as well as micro and small-sized businesses.

The author agrees with Smith (1998) that more research is required into the ‘politically sensitive’ variables such as gender, age and culture which are under-researched but could provide valuable insights into effective relationship management in an increasingly heterogeneous and multicultural working environment. She would recommend further research into the following demographic variables which may be particularly useful to professional service providers in developing social bonds with their clients:

The research found similarity of age to lead to an increased level of social bonding however there was also an indication that older clients may form stronger bonds than younger clients. An aging demographic in the UK, the default retirement age no longer in place and the state pension age gradually being moved back suggests people will be staying longer in the workforce. Therefore further research could be useful to find out more about how older clients view and experience social bonds which would help service providers in managing these relationships.

The research found similarity of cultural background to lead to higher levels of security and intimacy bonds however the differences between national cultures was not tested in this study. The literature and the interview data indicate that this could be an important variable therefore it is recommended that cross-cultural studies be conducted to test the scale among clients of different nationalities to examine how/if they differ in levels of social bonds with their service providers. 299

The research showed some significance in relationship length with the longest relationships (16+ years) showing the highest levels of social bonds. However it is not clear why the level of social bonds decreased in relationships of between 10-15 years in this study. It would be recommended to retest this variable to examine if this happens again with a different sample. In addition, the interview data showed that the amount of time taken to develop bonds varied widely therefore the reasons for these differences should be explored. Building bonds is an investment in the client relationship therefore the service provider would be interested in finding out how to build strong bonds most efficiently.

The study showed that clients who described their business relationship with their service provider as ‘business friends’ had significantly higher levels of intimacy and security bonds than clients who described their relationships as ‘strictly business.’ One of the influential variables was found to be type of service therefore it is recommended to test the relationship between level of formality and type of professional service. One of the factors which was mentioned by interviewees was the personality types that work in different service environments. Therefore the variable of personality could also be included in future studies.

8.1.4 New Areas for Research

Similarity between client and service provider was shown to be an important variable in strengthening social bonds. Similar interests was found to be a dimension of the intimacy bond scale and similar age and culture were found to lead to stronger bonds developing. The interviews generated 27 potential bases for similarity between client and service provider and of these only gender, age and culture were tested. Therefore the author recommends testing further bases of similarity between client and service provider, for example a similar way of working or work ethic, to see if they have an impact on the strength of social bonds

The interviews generated a number of variables and fields which are outside the scope of this thesis. Two which were mentioned in the Qualitative Data Findings and Analysis Chapter were communications and organisational culture. A considerable amount of data

300 was collected about both fields which appeared to be relevant to social bonding and the author would recommend examining each area to gain further insights into social bonds.

With communications, the frequency of contact, the method/s of contact (face-to-face, telephone, email etc.) and the amount of time spent communicating could be significant to developing social bonds. Three of the intimacy bond items were found to be related to the depth of communication between client and service provider therefore further research in this area could be valuable:

 My service provider and I share advice beyond the scope of our work;  I talk to my service provider about things other than the work we are doing;  I contact my service provider to have a chat or a gossip.

With organisational culture, it was mentioned by interviewees that some organisations encourage relationship building while others try to limit it. Therefore service providers need to adapt their style to relate to individuals in different organisations:

‘People within financial services tend to be similar. What I've found is how they differ is depending more on the organisation they work for, it's the culture which differentiates people. People are very much the same. If you work for a guy from JP Morgan you will find them very entrepreneurish, very aggressive, work long hours whereas you might work for another organisation like RBS and you might find that they're relaxed, they're much more laid back or you might work for an organisation like Deutsche Bank and you'll find that they're very process- orientated but that's because a lot of the time the way people behave/the behaviour they exhibit is through the culture and values of the organisation which facilitates that...UBS if you work in UBS it tends to be more political. It's important you know the culture of the organisation very well.’

(Male, Management Consultant in Investment Banking)

It appears that organisational culture may be an important contextual factor in developing social bonds with clients therefore the author would recommend further study into this field which may provide useful insights for service providers working with clients from different organisations.

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8.2 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

The research findings can provide valuable guidance to service providers in developing social bonds with their clients and to organisations which employ professional service providers. The following discussion suggests opportunities but also challenges in managing social bonds at an individual and organisational level.

8.2.1 Service Providers

Social bonds can exist naturally in business relationships when the parties like one another or form an attachment. Demographic similarity between client and service provider based on age and cultural background has been shown to facilitate the development of stronger bonds. A similar age signifies a similar stage in life so the parties may have more in common personally, such as children of a similar age. A similar cultural background may lead the service provider to be more sensitive to a client’s expectations and the ability to converse with the client is his or her native language may break down barriers more quickly. However it should be recognised that despite this natural advantage, the service provider should not become complacent about the business relationship. It is likely that he or she will need to spend time developing and nurturing social bonds even if there is a good relationship with the client and particularly, if there is not.

‘Business relationships, relationships, I think it's hard to distinguish between the two. The characteristics of what makes successful relationships are equivalent. It takes work. It takes effort. I think actually if you get lazy, those relationships can start to erode and disappear.’

(Male, Partner, Big Four Firm)

Most clients want to feel secure in the business relationship with their service provider. Ensuring the client’s feeling of security should be a key objective for the service provider since his or her actions and behaviour can help to build this bond. Characteristics of the security bond include being available when required, being reliable and responding quickly to the client’s requests. Since service providers may have many commitments, they need to communicate with the client to manage their expectations so clients feel well looked after.

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‘I'm really busy and some days I'm at the clients so I always just say to my clients sometimes if you need me urgently please call because I might not see an e-mail til the end of the day but if you need something then I will take the message and I'll get back to you. Most of the time things aren't that urgent but it's always good to say that so you're managing expectations.’ (Female, Director, Event Management Company)

A secure bond manifests itself in relationship comfort where client and service provider can contact each other easily if necessary but there is no pressure to do so. However the service provider also needs to be sensitive to the changing needs of the client as the client may need greater support when the business is in difficulty or there are family problems. Since appreciation has been found to be part of the security bond, it is important that the client recognises and appreciates the additional help given at these times. Appreciation can come from additional things being done which shows the service provider is thinking about the client such as emailing a relevant piece of information.

The way the service provider behaves when the client has an emergency situation is also important in developing the security bond. The research has indicated that strong bonds may be formed in adversity therefore a crisis can really test the strength of the relationship. It provides a significant opportunity for the service provider to join with the client and work as a team to resolve the crisis together. The help and support shown to the client in difficult times cements the security bond. Although the client needs to feel that he or she can depend on the service provider, it is important to manage the relationship so that the client does not become over-dependent as insecurity can lead to a less efficient working relationship.

Whereas the security bond can be managed by the service provider, the intimacy bond is based on the client’s preference for closeness. Not every client will want to be close to the service provider so it is important to find out which clients prefer a closer relationship and which clients prefer to maintain a distant relationship. Clients who want to invest emotionally in the relationship are those who will want to talk to the service provider about things other than work, will contact him or her for a chat or gossip and will share advice with the service provider. It is important that the service provider reciprocates and makes the time to be available to engage with the client on a more informal level. One way of

303 getting to know the client better is to socialise together during or outside work. If the client is willing to socialise, this is an opportunity to build a closer bond. By tailoring a social opportunity to the client’s preferences, such as choosing a restaurant which serves the client’s favourite food, this is more likely to create an atmosphere of closeness since doing pleasant things with the service provider is likely to increase liking for him or her (Byrne, 1971).

Sharing a memorable experience with a client is another way of becoming closer. This could involve working on something together which is enjoyable, achieving great success through a joint effort or triumphing over adversity by getting through a difficult project together. However not every professional service offers such opportunities through work therefore the service provider may need to use client hospitality to create a memorable experience. By choosing an experience to match the client’s interests, such as going to watch his or her favourite football team, this shared experience may help the service provider to create a closer bond with the client.

If the client and service provider naturally share similar personal interests such as football then this may form part of the intimacy bond as similar interests can bring the parties closer together. In some instances, service providers may benefit from building closer bonds by creating similarities if none exist such as in this example from a Female Business Development Manager: ‘I went through a stage where I had lots and lots of male clients who played golf so I had golf lessons so that I could talk to my clients about what they did at the weekend.’ In addition, similar interests could encompass business interests as well as personal interests so clients who are very focused on their business may form a closer bond with a service provider who is very attentive to their business needs.

It should also be mentioned that social bonds can be personally rewarding for both clients and service providers since both parties can get more out of these business relationships:

‘Because whilst the firm might not consider them to be successful relationships, I certainly see them as being worthy of continued investment either because I get personal reward from actually knowing those individuals and become a richer person myself or because I know that further down the line there's going to be some mutual value in it.’

(Male, Partner, Big Four Firm)

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8.2.2 Professional Service Organisations

Demographic similarity offers an opportunity to build stronger bonds with clients. In a larger organisation, it may be possible to ‘match-make’ so that a service provider allocated to work with a client not only provides the expertise required but also shares a similar demographic profile and/or similar interests. Similarity may provide a way of establishing a stronger relationship more quickly since clients may feel more secure and be more willing to get closer to someone like themselves. This is particularly important when bonds need to be built quickly such as when meeting a client for the first time and/or presenting the company’s services in response to a request for tender.

However Turban et al (1999) found that although similarity may be beneficial in the early stages of a relationship, diversity could be beneficial in longer-term relationships. In a longer relationship, people adapt to each other and can benefit from their differences of outlook. Over time, people get to know one another and find deeper-level similarities such as similar values and attitudes. Therefore it may be beneficial to have diverse teams working on longer projects or in services such as consultancy where the service provider adds value by bringing a different perspective.

‘You've got all these kind of WASPs, white middle-class men, primarily dominating those creative services and professional services industry because they like each other and have the same outlook on life, they went to the same schools, they went to the same universities, they support the same clubs, they get married at the same time. They are identikits. Because they like each other, because they recognise themselves in each other there's no what's the word risk to the relationship and ultimately that's stultifying’

(Male, Managing Director, PR Consultancy)

Organisations need to be aware of the disadvantage that social bonds can bring in creating ‘safe’ relationships based on liking and similarity. This is supported by strength of ties theory (Granovetter, 1973) who found that people who have strong ties cluster together and much of the information shared is redundant however a weak network where people are loosely connected can provide new information and be a channel for innovation. It should be noted that although gossip may be seen as redundant information, the research has shown that gossip brings the client closer to the service provider and clients may enjoy and value this aspect of the relationship.

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Social bonds need to be maintained and nurtured and this is a financial investment in the client relationship. According to Bendapudi and Berry (2007), service firms can benefit from identifying customers who are most receptive to maintaining relationships. For example, the research has shown that older clients tend to remain in the business relationship and form longer attachments. Although most clients will require a service provider to establish a secure bond based on factors such as comfort, reliability, availability and responsiveness, not every client will want to be close to the service provider.

Closeness is based on in-depth communication, sharing similar interests, socialising and sharing memorable experiences. This takes a greater investment of time and it is important to invest in clients who not only want this level of closeness but are able to reciprocate by committing to the relationship and the services provided as well as give other benefits such as recommendations and purchasing additional services from the organisation. Some clients may become over-dependent on the service provider and this may need to be managed since an excessive amount of time could be spent on servicing the client with a poor return on investment.

It is important to monitor relationships between clients and service providers at an organisational level. The Social Bonds scale developed by the author could be a useful tool to measure a client’s level of security and intimacy bonds with the service provider. The results can be used to inform any actions required by the organisation. For example, it may be necessary to replace a service provider where the bonds have not developed since if personal attachment is important to the client, he or she may look to another organisation to provide a more fulfilling relationship. On the other hand if there are strong bonds between client and service provider, it may prove difficult to move the service provider into another role without damaging the relationship. In addition, if the attachment is strong and the service provider leaves the organisation, the client may follow him or her to the new organisation.

Therefore it is important that the client recognises the relationship at an organisational level. The organisation needs to invest in a strategy which builds not only social bonds at an individual level but develops bonds at an organisational level. Berry and Parasuraman (1991) recognise the strongest bond to be structural, based on significant mutual 306 investments and unique value-added solutions which are not offered by competitors. Vargo and Lusch’s (2004) Service Dominant Logic has attracted much recent research attention and suggests that knowledge is the main source of competitive advantage which is particularly relevant for professional services. Since clients co-create value with service providers, they may perceive the individual they are working with as the main source of value. Therefore where possible, the organisation should consider building multiple relationships at various levels between individuals in the client and service provider organisations. This can happen when the work is carried out in teams, such as when an audit team works onsite at the client’s premises. This Managing Director in a PR Consultancy explains how his company evaluates the overall strength of client relationships across the whole organisation:

‘We'll sit down and map out the organisational structure on the client side - who are the decision-makers and the decision-influencers and what is our strength relationship with these people? It's a very salutary exercise because you build up a terrain map may which says this is great, we know all these people ahh but we don't know anybody in finance and we don't know the CEO. Mmm so that's not a strong relationship. So what we'll try and do is to push our and spread our tentacles out wider into the rest of the relationship.’

(Male, Managing Director, PR Consultancy)

In addition, the professional services organisation needs to consider developing a psychological bond in the client’s mind which leads him/her to believe that the organisation is superior to others (Kuenzel and Krolikowska, 2008a). One way in which the organisation can build the psychological bond is by managing the corporate brand since clients who have little experience of a business service provider take their cues externally from the brand (Bennett et al, 2005). Another way of building the psychological bond is through effective management of alumni relations as if former employees identify positively with their former employer, they may be willing to benefit the organisation by providing work and/or positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

Although social bonds develop at an individual level, they need to be managed at an organisational level since they are both an emotional and financial investment in the client relationship.

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CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS

This final chapter will give a brief conclusion in response to the research objectives discussed in detail in the Discussion of Findings Chapter. It will also discuss and reflect on the main limitations of the research.

9.1 Conclusion

Social bonds have been defined in this study as personal ties based on liking and attachment which provide an incentive to maintain a relationship. The research made a contribution to knowledge in using attachment theory and Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love to support social bonds scale development in the context of clients’ business relationships with their professional service providers. These theories have not been used before by researchers who have developed social bond scales for business relationships. It was found that client-service provider relationships do not generally follow the model of child-parent relationships and service providers appear to prefer relationships with clients which are based on equality. Attachment theory supports the development of a wide range of attachments from full attachment such as that of a child for a parent to attachment-type behaviours (Mayseless and Popper, 2007). These behaviours may particularly manifest themselves in an emergency situation therefore how a service provider behaves at these times is critical to the business relationship.

The research findings agree with Sternberg’s (1986) taxonomy of love which shows that intimacy is the predominant dimension of liking. Liking is central to the main definition of social bonds used in scale development to date: ‘the degree of mutual personal friendship and liking shared by the buyer and seller’ (Wilson, 1995:339). The interview data suggested that liking in business may have different objects as liking a client is not necessarily the same as liking an individual as a person. In addition, liking an individual is different than liking the way he/she works. Liking was seen to be important in business relationships as a source of competitive advantage which may lead to more successful and easier relationships. However the interview data suggested that liking has its limitations in business, for example, it may not be able to compensate for the service provider’s poor performance.

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The main aim of the research was to create a multidimensional scale of social bonds as most existing scales propose the social bond construct to be unidimensional. This aim was achieved, since two social bonds were found in this study: the security bond which is defined as the client feeling secure in the business relationship with the service provider; and the intimacy bond which is defined as the client wanting to be close to the service provider. A thirteen-item scale was developed for social bonds which consisted of a seven- item scale for the Security Bond and a six-item scale for the Intimacy Bond:

Social Bonds Scale

Security Bond Scale 1 I have a comfortable relationship with my service provider 2 I appreciate my service provider 3 I have a secure business relationship with my service provider 4 My service provider is responsive to my needs 5 I can depend on my service provider 6 My service provider is available when I need him/her 7 In an emergency situation, I know I can contact my service provider Intimacy Bond Scale 1 My service provider and I share advice beyond the scope of our work 2 I share similar interests with my service provider 3 I would be happy to get together socially with my service provider 4 I talk to my service provider about things other than the work we are doing 5 I contact my service provider to have a chat or a gossip 6 My service provider and I have shared memorable experiences at work

The scale was tested successfully using a questionnaire survey posted to senior decision makers in the hotel industry. It was supported by qualitative data from interviews with thirty professional service providers. The analysis of the questionnaire data showed a difference in the strength of the two social bonds towards the service provider since clients tended to have a stronger security bond than intimacy bond. It would appear that a strong secure base is a foundation for most of the business relationships in the study whereas intimacy was found to be more heterogeneous since not all clients want a close relationship with their service provider (Price and Arnould, 1999; Haytko, 2004). The Discussion of Findings Chapter examined each scale item with support from the literature and the interview data and the Recommendations and Managerial Implications Chapter gave suggestions on how professional service providers may form social bonds with their clients by benefitting from this scale.

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Passion and affective commitment were not found to be social bonds in this study. Passion was supported by Sternberg’s Theory however the scale was developed on a small literature base which could have impacted on scale development (see 9.2 Limitations below). Commitment was supported by Sternberg’s Theory however the author decided to change the original dimension to affective commitment since the definitions of affective commitment and the literature indicated that it may be a social bond. This was not confirmed by the analysis of the survey data and is further discussed in the Limitations section.

A number of demographic and contextual variables were tested to find out whether they were significant in influencing the strength of clients’ social bonds with professional service providers. The study found the following variables to be significant: similarity of age, similarity of cultural background, service provider’s age, level of formality of business relationship, relationship length and type of professional service provided. These have been discussed further in the Discussion of Findings Chapter.

The Recommendations Chapter has suggested extending this work further by examining similarity which was not set out to be explored in this study but was found to be important in social bonding. Similarity of age and culture between client and service provider were found to be significant in increasing the level of clients’ social bonds however there are many other bases of similarity such as personality, education and socio-economic background which could be explored. In addition, fields of study such as communication and organisational culture were outside the remit of this thesis but interview data indicated that these may be promising areas for research in relation to social bonds. Therefore while one may acknowledge the contributions made by this study in the area of social bonds scale development, there is more work to do in continuing to develop our knowledge of this important construct.

9.2 Limitations

This research study was subject to a number of limitations which are identified and discussed here. Malhotra and Birks (2003) state the importance of setting out the limitations of the research in a clear and balanced way which will help those who intend to use the findings to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of the research. The main 310 limitations are presented here with a reflection on how they may have impacted on the research.

The author found extensive literature on attachment theory which enabled the development of the preliminary scales for intimacy and security bonds. Love and liking have also been researched widely however there were limited literature sources to use in developing the passion and affective commitment scales. Previous passion scales predominantly relate to romantic passion and there is little literature on passion in a business context. Affective commitment scales have been developed and the author used these in creating her preliminary scale (Cater and Cater, 2009; Kumar et al, 1995; Theron et al, 2008) however some scales e.g. Allen and Meyer, 1990 measured commitment to an organisation rather than an individual. Although all four constructs were supported by the interview data, passion and affective commitment were not found to be social bonds following the testing of the scales. The smaller literature base for passion and affective commitment may have impacted on scale development.

In addition, since Yim et al (2008) found that different love dimensions are present in different service settings, the limitation of the respondent sample (who mostly rated business relationships with their accountants) could explain the absence of passion and affective commitment. It has been recommended to retest passion and affective commitment using a larger sample of respondents, rating a greater variety of professional service providers. It is also suggested to retest the variables of gender, seniority/position and company size since the limitations of the respondent sample (few female service providers and respondents who were senior decision makers in micro and small-sized hotels) meant that these variables need to be tested with a sample containing more equal groups of both genders, junior and senior positions and including medium and large-sized companies.

The author chose a phenomenological approach to conduct single interviews with thirty professional service providers in order to explore the theories and concepts prior to developing and testing her social bonds scale. It is possible that if the author had chosen a case study approach instead of interviews, a more in-depth knowledge of the four social bonds would have been obtained. By focusing on fewer cases and using multiple ways of collecting data such as interviews with people at different levels within the organisation 311 and observing interactions between client and service provider, a more comprehensive view of social bonds in business relationship could have emerged. Halinen (1997) used a longitudinal case-study approach to build a model of the development of advertising- agency client relationship and Ahmad and Buttle (2001) also used case studies to explore bonding in business relationships. Therefore by using a case study approach, this may have impacted differently on the depth of data collected for scale development.

The author faced a number of challenges in collecting the quantitative data using a questionnaire survey. Her initial attempts to collect data via an e-newsletter and at a global exhibition for the events and meetings industry failed and the reasons why have been discussed in the Methodology Chapter. Subsequent attempts to collect data via two postal mailings to senior decision makers in the hotel industry led to a 13% response rate which meant the sample was not large enough to ensure a 95% confidence level at a 5% margin of error (Saunders et al, 2012). One of the problems of not obtaining a large enough sample, is that the data may not be normally distributed as the larger the absolute size of the sample, the closer its distribution will be to the normal distribution (Saunders et al, 2012). The author experienced problems with unequal group sizes and lack of homogeneity of variance as discussed earlier in the Quantitative Data Findings and Analysis Chapter. Therefore she has recommended the retesting of the scale using a larger sample in order to ensure it is representative and closer to the normal distribution of data.

The data collected by the author via the questionnaire had a significant number of missing data cases relating to certain demographic questions. Hair et al (1998) note the detrimental effect of missing data on the sample size available for analysis. This was a particular limitation in the author’s research due to the small sample size as discussed in the previous paragraph. The issue of missing data meant that the tests to find which variables influenced significant group differences were conducted on a smaller data set which could have impacted on the results. This limitation also requires that the variables are retested using a larger data set, in particular, gender and seniority of position which were not found to be significant but had among the largest amount of missing data.

A second limitation regarding the quantitative data collected was the inclusion of 49 questionnaires returned about non-professional service providers. This meant that only 206 respondents completed the questionnaire about a professional service provider and a 312 further 24 respondents did not specify their service provider (which relates to the issue of missing data in the previous paragraph). However the factor analysis did not reveal any major differences between respondents’ ratings of social bonds with professional and non- professional service providers. This limitation may also be seen as an opportunity since the scale was also found to work for relationships with non-professional service providers. Therefore further testing with a larger sample of clients who have business relationships with non-professional service providers is also recommended.

Finally, the author set out to create a scale to measure clients’ social bonds with professional service providers. However the population chosen to test the social bonds scale was senior decision makers in the hotel industry which means that the social bonds scale may not be generalised to other industry sectors without further testing. Interview data supports the differences among industries and the potential impact of those differences on clients’ social bonds with their service providers. However the industry variable was unable to be tested as the population of respondents chosen to participate in the survey only represented one industry (hotels). In addition, 47.5% of respondents chose to rate their business relationship with their accountant in the survey. This was by far the largest group therefore again, it is not possible to generalise the results to all professional services. These limitations could be overcome through further testing of the scale in different industry settings and with clients who use a wider range of professional service providers.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Twelve scales of Social bonds found in the Literature 342

Appendix 2 Interview Guide 346

Appendix 3 Participant Information Sheet 350

Appendix 4 Example of Contact Summary Sheet 352

Appendix 5 Example of Classification of Interview Data under Sub-Themes 355

Appendix 6 Changes to Social Bond Scales following input from interview data 360

6A Intimacy Bond Scale 360

6B Passion Bond Scale 362

6C Affective Commitment Bond Scale 363

6D Security Bond Scale 364

Appendix 7 Modified Social Bonds Scale following interviews 365

Appendix 8 Final Questionnaire 368

Appendix 9 First Results from Factor Analysis 371

Appendix 10 Factor Analysis conducted on random samples from Hotel Mailings 374

10A Split Sample 1 374

10B Split Sample 2 376

Appendix 11 Post-Hoc Tests 378

11A Age of Service Provider 378

11B Cultural Background 379

11C Relationship Length 380

11D Type of Service 381

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APPENDIX 1 TWELVE SCALES OF SOCIAL BONDS FOUND IN THE LITERATURE

Source of Social bond definition Theory Used Unidimensional or Number of items and how Methods Used Whose perspective Social Bond multidimensional these were developed of bonds is Scale scale measured Smith (1998) Based on Turner’s definition Social exchange Unidimensional 13 items based on the Qualitative interviews Buyers and sellers Canadian (1970) ‘personal ties or theory conceptual works of Han (9 buyers and 9 sellers) Journal of linkages forged during (1992) and Turner (1970) followed by Administrative interaction at work.’ then scale was tested and quantitative survey of Sciences Social bonds are seen as one reduced to 5 items 220 male and 220 dimension of the construct female members of the of relational bonds. Purchasing Management Association of Canada Patterson and Patterson and Smith Behaviourist Unidimensional 5 items but is it not clear 20 qualitative Customer Smith (2001) (2001:93) bonds develop as exchange theory how they were developed. interviews and 52 diary International a function of ‘feelings of Journal articles are given for completions Journal of being regarded as a valued all the eighteen items (not concerning customers Service customer, being recognized, only social bond but also relationship with a Industry treated as a friend or indeed other constructs) and the service provider of Management any interpersonal contact qualitative interviews also their choosing. 155 with the service firm that is produced some items but we survey respondents accompanied by a are not told which ones. were recruited to pleasurable experience and complete the /or the gratification of one’s questionnaire. self-esteem Lin et al Lin et al, (2003:106) the Relationship Unidimensional 6 items developed following Delphi technique and Customer (2003) social bond ‘focuses on Marketing theory is a clear process: pool of pilot study (430 The Service service dimensions that mentioned but no items taken from secondary respondents) via Industries contain interpersonal specific theory literature, Delphi technique internet followed by Journal interactions and maintain used, pilot study of 430 900 questionnaires customer loyalty through respondents through the mailed out to financial friendship.’ Social bonds are internet. Referent sources services customers in seen as one dimension of the are clearly given for each Taiwan. construct of relational bonds item.

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Source of Social bond definition Theory Used Unidimensional or Number of items and how Methods Used Whose perspective Social Bond multidimensional these were developed of bonds is Scale scale measured Crotts et al Based on Wilson (1995) Reference to three Unidimensional 1 item but it is not clear how Self-administered Sellers/Suppliers (1998) ‘The degree of mutual models of buyer- it was developed questionnaires sent to Tourism personal friendship and seller relationships 220 small tourism Management liking shared by the buyer and in particular businesses in New and seller’ the co-operative Zealand. model but no specific theory is mentioned Rodriguez Based on Han (1991) ‘the Social Exchange Unidimensional 3 items developed based on 300 managers Managers involved and Wilson degree to which certain ties Theory and Han’s (1991) definition of approached to take part in strategic alliances (2002) link and hold a buyer and Resource social bonding in questionnaire Journal of seller together closely in a Dependency theory survey. 84 managers International personal (emotional sense)’ took part (32 dyads and Marketing Social bonds are seen as one 20 questionnaires half dimension of the construct completed by US and of relationship bonds. Mexican managers) Dash et al, Based on Wilson (1995) Exchange Unidimensional 4 item scale adapted from Mail and internet Customers (2009) ‘The degree of mutual relationships in the Rodriguez and Wilson questionnaire survey Marketing personal friendship and network approach (2002) and Smith (1998) distributed to 852 Intelligence & liking shared by the buyer briefly mentioned Canadian and 903 Planning and seller’ Indian corporate customers in banking relationships Venetis and Based on Turnbull and Interdependency Unidimensional Initial scale proposed by Key informant Client Ghauri (2004) Wilson (1989) ‘Positive theory, interaction Halinen (1994) and Wilson interviews and European interpersonal relationships and network (1990). After purification, 2 interviews with Journal of between buyer and seller’ theories briefly items remained. agencies (number not Marketing Social bonds are seen as one mentioned given). Large scale dimension of the construct field study to test of relational bonds. questionnaire among clients of advertising agencies. 241 completed questionnaires.

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Source of Social bond definition Theory Used Unidimensional or Number of items and how Methods Used Whose perspective Social Bond multidimensional these were developed of bonds is Scale scale measured Liang and Based on Wilson (1995) Relational Unidimensional 4 items but it is not clear Quantitative survey Customers Wang (2007) ‘The degree of mutual exchange theory is how they were developed carried out – 2000 Measuring personal friendship and briefly mentioned questionnaires sent to Business liking shared by the buyer members of a school Excellence and seller.’ who had participated in Social bonding tactics as a at least one course. 933 dimension of relationship responses. bonding tactics. Mavondo and ‘The degree of reciprocal Relational theory, Unidimensional 5 items but is it not clear Quantitative survey Business partners Rodrigo friendship and personal channel how they were developed. carried out by mail (2001) liking between the buyer and relationships, We are told in general that with Australian Journal of the salesperson.’ buyer-seller all the scales were businesses (216 Business Based on Wilson (1995) relationships, developed from the responses) and face to Research ‘The degree of mutual network theory and literature and interviews but face with 96 Chinese personal friendship and social exchange we are not told specifically businesses. Not dyadic. liking shared by the buyer were briefly which ones. and seller.’ mentioned Peltier and Social bonds are ‘based on Relationship Unidimensional 6 items developed from the Questionnaire was Customer Scovotti such factors as level of Marketing theory is literature (not evident distributed to 1500 (2004) friendliness, honesty, mentioned but no specifically how each item disabled individuals by Health respect, caring, specific theory was developed) and an mail or telephone. Marketing confidentiality and additional 6 items were Quarterly effectiveness of developed by a panel. communication’ (Peltier and Scovotti, 2004)

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Source of Social bond definition Theory Used Unidimensional or Number of items and how Methods Used Whose perspective Social Bond multidimensional these were developed of bonds is Scale scale measured Cater and Based on Wilson (1995) Interaction and Unidimensional 3 item scale for the social Nine in-depth Customer Zabkar (2009) ‘The degree of mutual networking bond adapted from the scale interviews with clients Industrial personal friendship and theories briefly created by Mavondo and of marketing research Marketing liking shared by the buyer mentioned Rodgrigo (2001) providers in Central Management and seller’ and Perry, and Eastern Europe. Cavaye and Coote (2002:76) Questionnaires emailed ‘investments of time and and telephone energy that produce positive interviews conducted interpersonal relationships with 150 clients. between the partners.’ Perry et al ‘Investments of time and Industrial Multidimensional 5 bonds (taken from the Questionnaire survey Franchisors (2002) energy that produce positive networks, business- literature but not based on mailed to 693 Journal of interpersonal relationships to-business theory and not clear exactly Australian franchisors Business and between the partners’ Perry, networks briefly which journals were used) (175 responded) Industrial Cavaye and Cooter (2002) mentioned and 3 or 4 items also taken Marketing from the literature (again not clear exactly which journals were used)

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APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW GUIDE

Before the interview starts, the Interviewer will:

 Provide Participant Information Sheet with details of the research and answer any questions the interviewee may have;  Ask the interviewee to sign the Consent Form;  Ask for permission to tape record the interview.  Explain the structure of the interview and mention that there will be a short survey to complete at the end

Introduction I’m going to talk to you about the experiences you’ve had in participating in business relationships. Before I do that, I’d like to ask you some general questions about your current role.

Part 1: Background to the interviewee

1. Which company do you work for? What kind of services doing it provide?

2. What position do you hold in the company/what is your job title?

3. How long have you worked for this company/ in this role?

4. What kind of professional services do you provide?

5. Do you tend to work with the same clients (business partners) regularly or from time to time over a longer period or do you work with different clients on one-off, shorter term projects?

6. How do you usually communicate with your clients (ie face to face meetings, telephone, email, texting, social networking, other...)?

7. Have you ever had any training to help you in managing business relationships? Yes/No

If yes, please describe the training and whether you think it is useful to you. If no, do you think training can be useful to managing customer relationships, Why/why not?

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Part 2: Different business relationships

1. I’d like to talk to you now about the business relationships you have with your service providers/clients. a. Are the business relationships you have with your service providers/clients mainly similar or are they quite different? b. How are they similar and how are they different?

2. How would you describe your strongest client relationships?

3. Are there some clients which whom you don’t have a strong relationship? Why do you think that is?

4. Are there any other factors you can think of which makes a client relationship stronger or weaker?

5. Are your strongest client relationships also the most successful in terms of business outcomes?

Follow up: What do you consider to be successful business outcomes?

6. Would you say strong personal relationships with clients have an impact on the overall relationship with the organisation? Why/Why not?

7. Do you think there are similarities between working relationships and personal relationships? If so, what would you say are the similarities and what are the differences between personal relationships and working relationships?

8. To what extent do you genuinely engage in business relationships and to what extent are the relationships ‘stage-managed’ or performed rather than genuinely felt?

9. To what extent does work affect the business relationship – so if work is going well does the business relationship also go well and vice versa?

10. How does the interaction between you and the client change when something goes wrong and you are responding to an emergency situation? (How does that affect the business relationship?)

11. How does your organisational culture impact on the way you manage client relationships? How does your service provider’s/client’s organisational culture impact on the way you manage the relationship?

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Part 3 A strong client relationship

I would like you to select one strong client relationship and answer the next set of questions about this particular relationship.

1. Please tell me a bit about the history of this particular client relationship. How did you begin working together?

2. How long have you been doing business together?

3. How often do you do business together?

4. How often do you communicate with this client outside of business?

5. How do you usually communicate with this client? (ie face to face meetings, telephone, email, texting, social networking, other...)?

6. What do you think of your main contact from the client-side as a person?

7. If this was not your client and you met socially, do you think you would be friends? Why/Why not?

8. How would you describe this particular business relationship? (For interviewer: Is liking or attachment a basis for this relationship?)

9. If liking has not been mentioned:

 Do you like doing business with ______. Why/why not?  Is it important that you get on well as people within a business relationship? Why/Why not?

10. If closeness, passion or commitment have not been mentioned. Then try to probe these concepts

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Part 4 Relationship bonds

Some researchers have found that ties may develop between people working together in a similar way to those which develop between friends or family members.

1. In your own experience of client relationships, would you say that ties have developed between you and your clients?

If yes, please describe these ties which have developed Probe: a. What are these ties based on? b. What would you say affects these ties – for example, what makes them stronger or weaker? c. What are the outcomes of ties, (for example, do you think clients who you have ties with are less likely to leave the business relationship?)

If no, do you think it is possible for ties to develop in business relationships?

Why/Why Not?

Part 5 Other relevant matters

Are there any final points you would like to raise about your experience of business relationships which may be relevant to the research?

Thank you very much for taking part in the interview.

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Appendix 3 Participant Information Sheet

Researcher: Ewa Krolikowska-Adamczyk Address: University of Greenwich Business School, Maritime Greenwich Campus, Old Royal Naval College, Park Row, London SE10 9LS. Email: [email protected]

Working Title of Research: What social bonds exist in professional services business relationships?

About the Research: This research is being conducted by the researcher as part of her PhD project. The aim is to understand whether liking and attachment are important in business relationships and what kind of personal bonds form between client and service provider. The information gathered from the research will help to:

 Have a better understanding of the nature of bonding between clients and service providers in a business relationship.  Assist professional service providers in improving their management of client relationships.

The Interview:

 The interview is expected to last between 30 minutes to an hour approximately.  The participant will be interviewed by the researcher (named above).  You are free to decline answering any questions and to terminate the interview at any point in time.  The information you provide will be fully confidential.  Any personal information you provide will be held and used only by the researcher and will not be passed onto anyone.

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Outcome of the Interview:

 The interview findings will form part of the researcher’s PhD thesis.  The findings may also be used to write and publish academic journal articles in the future.

Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in this study. Should you have any further questions regarding the study or your participation, please feel free to ask at any point during the interview or you can contact the researcher by email after the interview.

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APPENDIX 4 EXAMPLE OF CONTACT SUMMARY SHEET

Interviewee 9, Consultant, Meetings Industry

Interview Date/Time and Place: 19 March at 4pm, University of Greenwich.

Date of Completion of Contact Summary Form: 20 March 2012

1. How well did the interview address the main areas of the research:

Liking ‘When I meet people I like I tend to bond with them’, ‘I like it that my friends are also in the same business as me...One minute gossiping, opening our hearts up’ then ‘talking shop’

‘It’s a little plus if you do like them (clients)...[but] it’s not vital that I like them’.

Disliking: Could you work with someone you disliked? ‘No I would turn it down...or businesses/causes you don’t support’ (see Interview 1)

Closeness ‘People you can have a pint with and relax with’, ‘a social side’ to the relationship

-Warmth, Genuinely interested in you

- Link between closeness and an informal relationship?

- Impact of failure on closeness ‘It (the relationship) would formalise very quickly’

- Based on joint advocacy and support; investment ‘goes beyond business’

- Loyalty you feel towards the client. ‘You feel duty bound to speak up for them’ if there was any criticism.

Passion ‘Need to work harder in business (than in personal relationships) to keep things fresh and exciting’, ‘If you love what you do then you like talking about it.’

‘Not to do with money. Something from the heart.’

‘If it captures the imagination, you want to do the job’ example: South African Convention Bureau – ‘Stimulating to do it...I did feel passion about it’

Close ‘cosy’ business contacts who provide regular work – may not be as exciting as a new brief which provides more of a challenge (see Interview 7)

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Commitment

They want someone they know

A high profile report written annually by the interviewee ‘If rivals tried to poach me, I wouldn’t respond to that. I wouldn’t change to the competitor’ because this is self- destructive as shows a lack of commitment

Attachment/Bonds

Personal attachment is born in work eg my history with Poland

Bonds ‘same way as friends...can be themselves with you, don’t have to put on positive gloss’

‘contact becomes more important than the business’

‘There’s a sharing. You speak about your partner and family. People are not on the defensive. I can be myself.’

‘Like a friendship develops and transcends the business relationship’

‘Chemistry that’s hard to describe’

‘Sense of humour, relaxing together’

2. What other relevant concepts were discussed in the interview?

-Irreplaceability of the service provider: ‘When people come to you, it’s usually you they want’

-Formal vs informal relationships – possible link between closeness and an informal relationship; regular clients and an informal relationship

- Strong relationships can include word of mouth ‘they recommend you to other people’, personal/emotional investment ‘it’s not just cash’ and tolerance/forgiveness of failure ‘if you deliver one piece of work not up to standard, they would forgive it.’ (Pilot B mentioned)

- Personality ‘some people are nicer to deal with’

- Choosing who you work with ‘If you’re busy then you can choose your clients and turn down those not so good to work with.’

- Satisfaction – both client’s and service provider’s

- Depends on where you are in your career eg if at the beginning, you may be more willing to put up with unpleasant clients

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Recurring Themes

‘More than just a business relationship’

Business relationships are interconnected (network) – if you have a bust up with your client, it would have ramifications

3. What other important variables were discussed, for example, relating to the work context or factors impacting on business relationships?

Nature of the meetings industry – ‘a world in itself’, ‘a moving circus’, ‘not a cut-throat business’, ‘we bump into people’, ‘we see each other regularly.’

Overseas relationships – can be more formalised, structured and bureaucratic

Geographical closeness impacts on personal relationships ‘When work involves going to them, when travelling to their city, then it’s a deeper relationship.’ ‘I have to like the place I’m working for. I loved the city’ – G Convention Bureau

People limit the relationship They see you as just a service provider. You know quickly how far people want to know you.

4. What were the points that the interviewee felt were particularly important?

You need to nurture all kinds of relationships

5. What areas of questioning were not really covered and need to be emphasised at future interviews?

None

6. What new questions resulted from the interview which should be included in future interviews?

Effect of nature of the industry on client relationship

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APPENDIX 5 EXAMPLE OF CLASSIFICATION OF INTERVIEW DATA UNDER SUB-THEMES: INTIMACY BOND

Sub-theme/Item Support from interview data Original Item: My business partner Interviewer: If you met this person socially and there were no business and I share interests ties, is this the sort of person who could become your personal friend? or activities. Interviewee 10: Absolutely. Interviewer: Why do you say that? Change to: Interviewee 10: I think shared interests play a part in it. I share similar interests with my Interviewer: What are these bonds based on? business partner. Interviewee 11: In my old firm, my old clients, for instance I had a lot of good relationships with my clients because I used to play cricket, they Reason for change: used to play cricket so common interests. Bonds are usually developed

based on common interests. I know my boss now he loves rugby so if I Common interests speak about rugby or I go to a rugby match I know he'll come with me and (personal and/or so that's it. The common elements, common interests are very important. business) are seen to be different to social activities which Interviewer: If you hadn't met him in a business environment, is this the appear in a separate sort of person who could be a personal friend of yours? item. Interviewee 13: Yeah, yeah I think so yeah. Interviewer: Why do you say? Interviewee 13: Because I get on with him, we have similar interests

Interviewee 21: So I do like them and I go and play golf with him. Yeah I think that it's really about relating on a personal level.

Interviewee 28: And it comes down to very often and this is what sales training teaches you and I don't think we probably do enough of it generally across the board here which is actually thinking about the individual as a person and what makes them tick. So I went through a stage where I had lots and lots of male clients who played golf so I had golf lessons so that I could talk to my clients about what they did at the weekend. I can talk much better game of golf than I play but I know all the buzzwords and getting to know clients at that level, what are their hobbies, do they have a sports team they support etc. etc. So whilst I don't think it's necessarily a gender thing, I think it's all about taking an interest in your client. And I do hear very often people say ‘I don't like sport, I don't get on with Fred’. Well if you're going to get on with Fred, you've got to get into Fred's head and he likes sport that's what you've got to do.

Interviewee 29: I think it makes good business sense to do that so there’s a kind of commercial reason for talking in that way but also I think you get a kind of almost personal closeness by actually talking to them about what they’re really focused on and then bringing that to actually developing the relationship on how we work together and therefore what’s important to both of us. So I think it's become pretty vital.

Interviewee 17: We have one or two common hobbies but broadly the business is pivotal and if you took the business and common interest in the business out, I don't think the relationship would stand for too long

Interviewer: Can you reflect on what is it you think that causes bonds. Why might you say have a bond with this particular person you just described

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and maybe you won't have one with someone else? Interviewee 12: Mutual interest of what the business needs.

Interviewee 19: It makes things more difficult if you don’t have an alignment of interests. It’s difficult to find common ground.

Interviewee 18: In business the common interest is the transaction or the business

Interviewer: So where you have a bond, is there anything else that you can think of that might be part of a bond? That you can identify that has to be in place so when it's there, I know I've got a bond with that particular person? Interviewee 26:...Ultimately you've got to have some sort of shared agenda to talk about.

Interviewer: Apart from those that you just mentioned, can you think of any other factors which make a client relationships stronger or weaker? Interviewee 30: I think that can form something beyond a professional relationship where... that person feels very confident that you're always going to have their interests at heart and your interests are aligned.

New Item from the Data

I would be happy to Interviewee 6: I've worked on different teams and sometimes teams are get together hard drinkers and like you get to know people a lot better in their socially with my environments in the short term. Yeah it can definitely make the work business partner environment closer if you're socialising together. outside work Interviewer: Are any other factors that you can think of that make a client relationship either stronger or weaker? Interviewee 8: Yeah I think putting in time as well... I'd say it's always good to have lunch or a drink down the pub to get to know them as people as well.

Interviewee 9: 1. They're people you can have a pint with and relax with as well and talk about families and so on, that strengthens the relationship. When there's a willingness to go beyond just the pure business side of things. 2. it's a handful of people I'm talking about who started off as my clients, my business associates, and then just we hit it off and meet just sometimes you know to have a beer and catch up 3. she would be a great drinking mate and is a great drinking mate 4. They're a lovely bunch to go out with

Interviewee 13: 1.I'd far rather go out and have a pint with someone and do a deal that way then formally sitting around a meeting table. I spend quite a lot of time up here for example meeting up with people, having lunch or having a beer later on in the afternoon. The social aspect of business is really important. 2. Interviewer: Is there anything else that might characterise a close business relationship? Interviewee 13: Probably going out on a social basis as well I would say. Going out and having a beer that type of thing. 3. Interviewer: How would you describe those bonds? Interviewee: Pretty well what I said before. It's sort of personal 356 relationships, getting on together, going out for a beer,

Interviewee 18: I wouldn't describe my relations with the bankers as close in the sense that I mean I don't hang out with that many people from work after work

Interviewee 20: Yes yeah I do like him. We get on well. We have a good relationship. It's probably on the business as opposed to friend side but we have no problem going out for a few drinks, talking about the rugby, that kind of stuff

Interviewee 1: it’s quite interesting that we got to know not only personalities but almost to the point of knowing them very well socially as well as professionally which we found to be important

Interviewee 11: Yes very important because then they bond with you. Then they can be open and more receptive to you if they've had a few beers with you and that's where you want to have the client. Interviewee 14: 1. I like people and most of the people I know are pretty friendly, you know we'll eat with them and stuff like that. 2. on the social side, I slightly differentiate between social and not. 3. He helped on that house a tiny bit and certainly we will meet socially. 4. He's been a tenant of ours for about a year or something like that just renting this floor here so you know we went out for dinner with him two or three weeks ago. It was the end of the project and he wanted to celebrate it.

Interviewee 15: I did notice that with our previous organisation HT when we actually had a summer of code where we had about nine or ten developers, there were some very good close relationships which I know for a fact have blossomed into close friendships and some of those people still go out and have a drink and go to the movies together or something like that.

Interviewee 18: 1. The bank provides plenty of opportunities to socialise and to meet people outside work or even at work you know so we have drinks, parties. I think you can have a good social life. 2.I wouldn't describe my relations with the bankers as close in the sense that I mean I don't hang out with that many people from work after work if you know what I mean...at least not with any of the bankers I work with, I have to say - some but not that many

Interviewee 22: At the same as we were very time pressured, the ‘let's go and just grab a coffee, let's do this, let's do this’ was really, really instrumental in building that bond Interviewee 25: 1. The most successful working relationships are the ones where you've developed the relationship to such a point where you know you can have banter with them and poke fun at them which you would do with your friends. So they see you as equal. They see you as someone that they would be quite happy to have a drink with after work 2. I got to the point where I was thinking I've got to work with this guy for the next five years and we can't even have a straight conversation. I found out that he liked Italian food and I suggested to him look, it would be great to get off site, to get to know you a bit more, to think a bit more about what your aims and ambitions are about this contract, to get to know you a bit more. And that evening I think...moved me on in leaps and bounds with this person.

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Interviewee 27: The relationship with him is very different to the one I have with M because the solicitor in Birmingham is Pakistani, very sort of, very religious. His wife for example is somebody that wouldn't even go and eat in another Muslim family's home if there was another man at the table. So like with M, I might go out for a meal or a drink with him. I've been out with this solicitor from Birmingham with other people but I can't imagine the two of us just going out for a meal and it certainly wouldn't be a drink.

Interviewee 28: So if I think of the relationship that I got on with my client really well, I think I've mentioned to you before, I’d been invited to Christmas parties, to weddings or they sent me flowers as a thank you and some of that behaviour you'd see a lot more in the personal relationship.

Interviewee 29: Well it’s funny, I mean I’ve got a relationship with another client at the moment where we joined the firm on the same day. We’re very close, you know, we’d go for dinner now and then Interviewer: So how would you describe your strongest client relationships? Interviewee 30: ... And also just enjoying letting off steam together and having a drink after work or whatever.

Interviewee 16: 1. So from that side of things, from the clearing side of things and the exchanges, it is very crucial and the whole industry itself revolves around relationships to be honest with you. The clearers are always trying to organise, you know, events, Christmas events or just general events to catch up and it's a social atmosphere and so a lot of business may be done over there. From my colleagues’ and the broker side of things, now that is very critical as well because the brokers, its personal choice I mean it doesn't really matter for them. Obviously they want the business but at the end of the day, they do a huge amount of entertaining clients so the brokers will take out people like us, companies like us and take us to very fancy restaurants, take us to rugby matches, bring us bottles of champagne, all that sort of thing to try and build the relationship. Obviously it's quite a fickle one but at the end of the day it needs to be created because it's so competitive, the industry 2. Interviewer: Why do you think people enjoy working with certain people? What does it boil down to? Interviewee 16: I guess very specifically on the brokers, it is a case of: Do I like this person? Are they fun to go out with? We've got an Irish guy who is always sent out to meet these people ‘cause he typically cultivates very good personal relationships 3. Interviewer: You said to an extent it is a kind of superficial world but do you find that any of them actually become friends of yours? Interviewee 16: For me personally no but definitely for other people they do especially on the broker side go out with each other outside of work or they might meet outside of work. 4. Interviewee 16: I am a little bit dissimilar to them in the sense that I don't necessarily like to go out to drink a huge amount and that sort of thing so I can tell that there's greater bonds formed between people of greater similarities but yes it 100% helps from that perspective because it's more along the lines of people you would be friends with outside of work anyway

Interviewee 20: 1. So often the relationship with the M&A guys will be much more how do you say business-like, working extremely hard, very long hours, getting deals done. I don't know how to describe it... it would be much more like a kind of city relationship as it were and on top of that they will be expecting more kind of, you know, there will be a more lavish kind of drinks do or dinner or something at the end of the deal or what have you.

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2. Interviewee: In your experience have you recognised that ties have perhaps developed either at your level or at partner level? If so what do those ties look like in business relationships? What are they based on? Interviewee 20: At my level it hasn't really happened. On a more senior level...I think it goes back to that point of comfort really. There'll be an element of friendship; they may have been to a few events together or something outside of work, kind of BD.

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APPENDIX 6 CHANGES TO SOCIAL BONDS SCALE FOLLOWING INPUT FROM INTERVIEW DATA

6A. INTIMACY BOND SCALE

Preliminary Scale Items supported by Interview Data

1 I share personal information about myself with my business partner 2 My business partner and I share humour or light-hearted banter 3 I care about the well-being of my business partner 4 I look out for my business partner’s best interest 5 My business partner and I share attitudes or values 6 I behave naturally with my business partner

Preliminary Scale Items modified following Interview Data

No Original Item Changed Item Reason for Change 1 My business partner and I My business partner and I have a The two terms appear to be used share a mutual understanding mutual understanding or a shared in a similar way by interviewees. outlook 2 My business partner and I My business partner and I share The modified item covers all share personal advice advice beyond the scope of our advice (work and personal) work beyond the job being done which is more in line with the interview data. 3 I have a close connection I relate to my business partner on This item more clearly describes with my business partner a personal level the personal nature of the relationship. 4 My business partner and I I know my business partner well The client is not able to make know each other well assumptions on behalf of the business partner 5 My business partner and I I share similar interests with my Common interests (personal share interests or activities business partner and/or business) are seen to be different to social activities which appear in a separate item

Preliminary Scale Items removed following Interview Data

No Preliminary Scale Item Reason for removal 1 I have a comfortable relationship with my business partner 2 My business partner and I have a warm business Found to be security bond items so were moved to relationship the security bond scale 3 I interact easily with my business partner 4 My business partner and I support each other 5 My business partner and I help each other 6 My business partner shares personal information The client is not able to know whether business about him/herself with me partner shares personal information 7 My views are accepted by my business partner Similar to another item (My business partner and I have a mutual understanding or a shared outlook) 8 I show my true feelings in front of my business Similar to another item (I behave naturally with partner my business partner) 9 My business partner and I talk about our Not supported by interview data business relationship

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Preliminary Scale Items moved to Security Bond Scale

No Preliminary Scale Item Reason for moving items 1 I have a comfortable relationship with my business partner 2 My business partner and I have a warm business The data showed the three items to be dimensions relationship of security rather than intimacy 3 I interact easily with my business partner

New Scale Items from Interview Data

1 I share information about my business openly with my business partner 2 I would be happy to get together socially with my business partner outside work 3 I talk to my business partner about things other than the work we are doing 4 I contact my business partner to have a chat or a gossip 5 I enjoy spending time with my business partner 6 My business partner and I have shared experiences, good and bad 7 My business partner and I have shared memorable experiences 8 My business partner and I listen to each other 9 I am receptive to my business partner’s advice and suggestions

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6B. PASSION BOND SCALE

Preliminary Scale Items supported by Interview Data

1 My business relationship with my business partner is very important to me 2 My business relationship with my business partner means something to me 3 There is something special about my business relationship with my business partner 4 I actively engage in my business relationship with my business partner 5 I am enthusiastic about my business relationship with my business partner

Preliminary Scale Items modified following Interview Data

No Original Item Changed Item Reason for Change 1 I very much enjoy my I very much enjoy working with The data supports the work rather business relationship with my my business partner than the relationship itself being business partner enjoyable 2 I am willing to invest time I am willing to make an effort Better supported by the data and energy in my relationship when dealing with my business with my business partner partner

Preliminary Scale Items removed following Interview Data

No Preliminary Scale Item Reason for removal 1 He/she is the ideal business partner to work with. 2 I am happy when my business relationship with Not supported by interview data my business partner is going well 3 I choose to participate in my business relationship Found to be an affective commitment item so with my business partner was moved to that scale. 4 I want to be actively involved in my business Similar to another item which sounds better (I relationship with my business partner. actively engage in my business relationship with my business partner)

New Scale Items from Interview Data

1 I admire my business partner 2 I am passionate about the work we are doing together 3 My business partner is genuinely passionate about the services he/she provides 4 My business partner does extra things for me beyond the scope of the work agreed 5 My business partner has done additional work for me at no extra charge 6 My business partner is active in looking after my interests 7 My business partner has a positive approach during our business interactions 8 My business relationship with my business partner is not boring

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6C. AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT BOND SCALE

Preliminary Scale Items supported by Interview Data

1 I care about maintaining my business relationship with my business partner 2 I would be happy to remain with my business partner for the foreseeable future

Preliminary Scale Items modified following Interview Data

No Original Item Changed Item Reason for Change 1 My positive feeling about my My positive feeling for my It is not always up to the client business partner is a major business partner makes me want whether or not to continue reason for continuing our to continue our relationship working with the service relationship provider 2 I continue to work with my I like the way my business Data shows that liking the way a business partner because partner works so I would choose business partner works is more he/she is pleasant to work to work with him/her again important than finding him or her with pleasant to work with

Preliminary Scale Items removed following Interview Data

No Preliminary Scale Item Reason for removal 1 I want to remain a customer of this business partner because I enjoy our business relationship 2 I like working with my business partner so I want to continue the business relationship Similar to other scale items 3 My positive regard for my business partner makes me committed to our business relationship 4 I like my business partner and this influences my decision to stay in this business relationship 5 I am happy to invest time in maintaining my Similar to item in Passion Scale (I am willing to business relationship with my business partner invest time and energy in my relationship with my business partner) 6 I would not switch from this business partner Appreciate appears in the Security Bond Scale because I appreciate our business relationship

New Scale Items from Interview Data

1 I try to find more business opportunities to work on with my business partner 2 If I moved to a different company, I would try to work with the same service provider 3 I am committed to working with my business partner whenever possible 4 I want to keep in touch with my service provider because I like doing business with him/her 5 If something went wrong in our business relationship, I would try to put it right 6 I am keen to make my business relationship with my business partner work 7 Even if we stopped working together, I would still want to contact my business partner 8 I would choose to maintain my business relationship with my business partner 9 Because I like my business partner, I would not consider another provider to deliver the service

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6D. SECURITY BOND SCALE

Preliminary Scale Items supported by Interview Data

1 I have a secure business relationship with my business partner 2 In an emergency situation, I know I can contact my business partner 3 I am able to count on my business partner in times of need 4 My business partner is responsive to my needs 5 My business partner is available when I need him/her. 6 I am confident that my business partner would help me if required 7 I can depend on my business partner

Preliminary Scale Items modified following Interview Data

No Original Item Changed Item Reason for Change 1 My business partner is I can reach my business partner Easier to understand accessible when I need to whenever I need to contact him/her 2 I have found my business My business partner is reliable Shorter and clearer partner to be reliable 3 My business provider My business partner provides a Better supported by data and provides a consistent service stable environment for doing literature business

Preliminary Scale Items moved from Intimacy Bond Scale

Preliminary Scale Items removed following Interview Data

Preliminary Scale Item Reason for removal My business partner keeps in touch with me Found to be part of affective commitment

New Scale Items from Interview Data

1 I appreciate my business partner 2 My business partner keeps his/her promises 3 My business partner provides reassurance 4 If a work situation became difficult, my business partner would make me feel secure 5 I am confident that we would overcome any challenges in our work together 6 My business partner takes on my business problems so I don’t need to worry about them

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APPENDIX 7 MODIFIED SOCIAL BONDS SCALE FOLLOWING INTERVIEWS

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APPENDIX 8 FINAL QUESTIONNAIRE

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APPENDIX 10 FACTOR ANALYSIS CONDUCTED ON RANDOM SAMPLES FROM HOTEL MAILINGS 1 AND 2 DATABASE (279 CASES)

10A SPLIT SAMPLE 1 - CASES SELECTED USING 1,2,1,2,1,2 SEQUENCE

Database 1 Factor Solution (all cases numbered 1 = 140 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND COMFORT .873 .116 COMFORT 1.000 .776

APPRECIATE .839 .259 SECURE 1.000 .680

SECURE .819 .092 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .724

DEPEND .806 .199 APPRECIATE 1.000 .771

RESPONSIVE .798 .294 DEPEND 1.000 .690

AVAILABLE .770 .123 ADVICE 1.000 .594 EMERGENCY .713 .184 EMERGENCY 1.000 .542

INTIMACY BOND TALK OTHER .213 .824 SIMILAR 1.000 .441 INTERESTS

SOCIAL .194 .796 AVAILABLE 1.000 .609 MEMORABL .113 .780 SOCIAL 1.000 .671 EXPERIENCES MEMORABLE 1.000 .621 CHAT/GOSSIP .059 .726 EXPERIENCES ADVICE .340 .692 TALK OTHER 1.000 .725 SIMILAR .142 .649 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .530 INTERESTS Extraction Method: Principal Extraction Method: Principal Component Component Analysis. Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a. SPLITSAM = 1

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings % of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Component Total Variance % Total Variance % Total Variance % 1 6.078 46.751 46.751 6.078 46.751 46.751 4.761 36.625 36.625 2 2.294 17.649 64.400 2.294 17.649 64.400 3.611 27.775 64.400

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Database 2 Factor Solution (all cases numbered 1 = 139 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND SECURE .868 .158 COMFORT 1.000 .725

COMFORT .835 .166 SECURE 1.000 .778

RESPONSIVE .800 .310 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .736

APPRECIATE .777 .317 APPRECIATE 1.000 .705

DEPEND .764 .170 DEPEND 1.000 .612

AVAILABLE .752 .360 ADVICE 1.000 .626 EMERGENCY .717 .246 EMERGENCY 1.000 .575

INTIMACY BOND TALK OTHER .234 .802 SIMILAR 1.000 .694 INTERESTS CHAT/GOSSIP .157 .799 AVAILABLE 1.000 .696 SIMILAR .240 .798 INTERESTS SOCIAL 1.000 .644

MEMORABLE .215 .780 MEMORABLE 1.000 .654 EXPERIENCES EXPERIENCES

SOCIAL .226 .770 TALK OTHER 1.000 .698

ADVICE .339 .715 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .663 Extraction Method: Principal Extraction Method: Principal Component Component Analysis. Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a. SPLITSAM = 2 a. SPLITSAM = 2

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings % of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Component Total Variance % Total Variance % Total Variance % 1 6.861 52.777 52.777 6.861 52.777 52.777 4.709 36.227 36.227 2 1.948 14.983 67.760 1.948 14.983 67.760 4.099 31.533 67.760

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10B. SPLIT SAMPLE 2 - CASES SELECTED USING 1,1,2,2,1,1,2,2 SEQUENCE

Database 1 Factor Solution (all cases numbered 1 = 139 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND COMFORT .863 .085 COMFORT 1.000 .753

SECURE .846 .072 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .720

APPRECIATE .845 .198 APPRECIATE 1.000 .754 DEPEND .822 .122 DEPEND 1.000 .691

RESPONSIVE .806 .266 ADVICE 1.000 .534

AVAILABLE .717 .289 EMERGENCY 1.000 .542

EMERGENCY .707 .203 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .588

INTIMACY BOND MEMORABLE .133 .815 TALK OTHER 1.000 .677 EXPERIENCE

TALK OTHER .210 .795 MEMORABLE 1.000 .682 EXPERIENCES

CHAT/GOSSIP .056 .765 SOCIAL 1.000 .581

SIMILAR .127 .755 AVAILABLE 1.000 .597 INTERESTS

SOCIAL .180 .741 SIMILAR 1.000 .586 INTERESTS

ADVICE .382 .623 SECURE 1.000 .722

Extraction Method: Principal Extraction Method: Principal Component Component Analysis. Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a. SPLITSAM = 1 a. SPLITSAM = 1

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings % of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Component Total Variance % Total Variance % Total Variance % 1 6.055 46.573 46.573 6.055 46.573 46.573 4.776 36.736 36.736 2 2.372 18.246 64.820 2.372 18.246 64.820 3.651 28.084 64.820

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Database 2 Factor Solution (all cases numbered 2 = 140 cases)

Rotated Component Matrix

Component Communalities

1 2 Initial Extraction SECURITY BOND COMFORT .851 .179 COMFORT 1.000 .757

SECURE .846 .166 RESPONSIVE 1.000 .734

AVAILABLE .820 .213 APPRECIATE 1.000 .724 RESPONSIVE .786 .341 DEPEND 1.000 .607

APPRECIATE .774 .354 ADVICE 1.000 .694

DEPEND .731 .269 EMERGENCY 1.000 .567

EMERGENCY .712 .243 CHAT/GOSSIP 1.000 .636

INTIMACY BOND TALK OTHER .240 .826 TALK OTHER 1.000 .740 SOCIAL .268 .814 MEMORABL 1.000 .596 EXPERIENCES

CHAT/GOSSIP .155 .783 SOCIAL 1.000 .735

ADVICE .286 .782 AVAILABLE 1.000 .717 MEMORABLE .215 .742 SIMILAR 1.000 .577 EXPERIENCES INTERESTS

SIMILAR .276 .708 SECURE 1.000 .744 INTERESTS Extraction Method: Principal Extraction Method: Principal Component Component Analysis. Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a. SPLITSAM = 2 a. SPLITSAM = 2

Total Variance Explained Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings % of Cumulative % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Component Total Variance % Total Variance % Total Variance % 1 6.930 53.311 53.311 6.930 53.311 53.311 4.730 36.383 36.383 2 1.900 14.613 67.924 1.900 14.613 67.924 4.100 31.541 67.924

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ACCOUNTANCY .28678 .23785 .923 -.3858 .9594 IT .28276 .27635 .973 -.4987 1.0642 MARKETING SUPPLIERS .20152 .29095 .999 -.6213 1.0243 FINANCE .87738* .27802 .018* .0911 1.6636 * ACCOUNTANCY -.59060 .18222 .014* -1.1059 -.0753 IT -.59462 .23021 .099 -1.2457 .0564 FINANCE SUPPLIERS -.67587 .24755 .066 -1.3759 .0242 MARKETING -.87738* .27802 .018* -1.6636 -.0911

* The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

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