The Social Relations Between the Supplier and the Buyer. Empirical Application of Relationship Marketing: a Case of Study

Abstract

Although supermarkets are replicating the neighborhood store business format, located in the lower socioeconomic levels from Colombia, have not yet attained displacement. As an adverse result to these interests, an increase in sales and participation of this type of retailer in the Colombian market has been observed in recent years. This phenomenon that has caught the attention and has been subject of study of researchers from sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, management and marketing, have prompted the interest in conducting this research which aims to demonstrate, from the perspective of relationship marketing and social networks, why social relations and relational benefits has been the key aspects of success that make up the competitive advantage of the neighborhood stores studied in the city of Santiago de Cali, Colombia. Given the qualitative characteristics of the variables to assess, the collection and identification of the findings were made by using unstructured observation techniques, in-depth interviews and content analysis. Among the main findings, it was found that the aspects that have favored the permanency of such business in the market are: the spatial proximity, social and affective relationships that arise between merchant and consumers; human social networks, primary and informal, that arise in the interaction that occurs between the shopkeeper with customers, suppliers and other shopkeeper. Social relationships that emerge from this interaction produce long-term social and affective bonds, creating social, psychological, economic and personalization benefits for the parties. Finally, identified findings are expected to be useful for other organizations to formulate strategies of relationship marketing, or to those who are interested in doing future research in this field. Finally, findings identified expected to be useful for other organizations to devise strategies of relationship marketing, or who are interested in doing future research in this field.