Transformations  in
Business & Economics

Customer Retention Through Supplier-Organization-Customer Relationship Management
Renata Žvirelienė, Ilona Bučiunienė, Vida Škudienė, Algimantas Sakalas

ABSTRACT. The research objective was to assess the relationship marketing outputs’ (internal relationship, relationship with customer, relationship with supplier) interrelationship and their relationship with customers’ retention. The internal and external relationship dimensions of commitment, satisfaction, trust, communication, cooperation and empathy were used to measure supplier-organization-customer relationship strength.

The survey was conducted in cargo vehicles trading industry companies in Lithuania. The results of this empirical study demonstrated the strongest relationship level in the relationship with customers. Such findings lead to a conclusion that the surveyed organizations tend to put emphasis on the relationship with customers’ development. The research also shows that companies overlook the importance of the relationship enhancement with the other key stakeholders: suppliers and, in particular, employees. Moreover, the strong internal relationship correlation with the relationship with suppliers and customers suggests that companies should seek to develop internal relationships in order to establish long-term relationships with suppliers and customers.

KEYWORDS: relationship marketing, vehicles trading industry, internal organizational relationship, relationship with suppliers, relationship with customers, customer retention, Lithuania.

JEL classification: M31, M1, P2.