Insights into Closeness of Relationship as Determinant of Trust Within Marketing Channels

Abstract

This article explores the role of closeness of relationship between channel members. Closeness is put forward as a genuine variable in channel relationships, as part of the processes that take place in marketing channel dyad interactions. Advances in theory of channel relationships are proposed by a deeper theoretical development of the concept “closeness relationships” from a multidisciplinary approach by stressing its relevance and by proposing a definition of closeness of relationship. Several features and ideas about closeness are proposed, such as the link between closeness of relationship and type of marketing relationships. Content validity is assessed to distinguish closeness from related constructs before exploring and operationalizing such a concept. The relationship between closeness and trust is explored by proposing actions to increase trust and assessing it empirically. An exploratory research is performed in the Spanish computer sector, testing relationships between a set of closeness components and trust between channel members. Results show that there are two factors underlying the construct closeness: interdependence and communication. However, only communication variables are significantly related to trust. Several conclusions and research propositions relevant for marketing theory and practice are presented.