Social exchange behavior in logistics relationships: a shipper perspective

Examines social exchange behavior in logistics alliance and transactional relationships. Based on data collected through a mail survey of shippers that established logistics relationships with various types of third parties, the results suggest that both relationship type and effectiveness influence social exchange behavior. It appears, however, that social exchange behavior is influenced more by the level of relationship effectiveness rather than by the actual type of relationship. Shippers in effective logistics relationships perceive higher levels of trust, equity, and commitment, and lower levels of conflict and opportunism than that perceived by shippers in less effective relationships. Some support was found for differences in trust and commitment between alliance and transactional relationships. It appears shippers in alliances are more committed to maintaining relationships and trust their third party partners more than that perceived by shippers in transactional relationships. These findings suggest that trust and commitment are major distinguishing social exchange behavior characteristics of logistics alliances.