Introduction
The study aimed to examine the drivers and impact of Arab socio-cultural values (namely, et-moone) on relationship management in the business-to-business (B2B) in the Arab Asia region. It investigated how et-moone could support the management of marketing relationships from the perspective of Jordan and Saudi Arabia, particularly in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study found how trust, commitment, and interaction using information technology (IT) could support cultural connections such as et-moone, leading to more effective relationship management.
Main Themes and Hypotheses
Increasingly, a major challenge for today’s businesses is sustaining profitable long-term relationships with their clients. Alawan et al.’s (2021) careful review recognized the vital role of et-moone, a Middle-Eastern cultural relationships system, in shaping B2B coordination and collaboration and gaining competitive advantage in the market. Alawan et al. (2021) assessed that et-moone relies on close and deep personal bonds that provide flexibility in business relationships and allow for unilateral business decisions without causing discord between partners. Therefore, interpersonal interaction, trust, and commitment in relationships were suggested as key factors in et-moone, and corresponding themes were discussed.
Based on the conversation above, the following two questions were then formed. The first question concerned the specific drivers of et-moone relationships in the Arab region (Alawan et al., 2021). The second question pondered the extent to which et-moon enhances relationship governance (Alawan et al., 2021). Based on these questions, Alawan et al. (2021) investigated how et-moone may be driven by commitment, trust, and IT-facilitated interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four hypotheses were suggested to test the proposed conceptual model. Firstly, commitment will positively affect an et-moone relationship; secondly, trust will positively affect an et-moone relationship; thirdly, IT-enabled interactions will positively affect an et-moone relationship (Alawan et al., 2021). Lastly, an et-moone relationship will positively affect relational governance, defined as an inter-firm exchange involving significant relationship-specific assets combined with a high level of inter-organizational trust (Alawan et al., 2021). All posed hypotheses fed into the overarching theme of et-moone’s role in shaping B2B relationships in a wider context of the pandemic.
Analysis and Findings
All hypotheses were thoroughly tested by creating and applying a comprehensive model. The data were obtained online through a survey conducted among representatives of various industries in Jordan and Saudi Arabia (Alawan et al., 2021). Alawan et al. (2021) used a two-stage structural equation modeling method to validate the model. The commitment was the strongest contributing factor, indicating that dedication and willingness to sacrifice resources fuel the business relationship (Alawan et al., 2021). Trust was the second strongest; Alawan et al. (2021) noted that it is based on the cumulative positive experiences of business partners. Finally, the IT role in facilitating et-moone relationships was also significant, highlighting its’ importance in facilitating communication between business partners, especially during the COVID-19 restrictions.
Overall, the results confirmed the significant influence of the three suggested et-moone predictors: commitment, trust, and IT-enabled interactions. Furthermore, the strongest relationship was between et-moone and relational control (Alawan et al., 2021). This result indicated that having a strong relationship based on trust and mutual commitment was the basis for achieving relational management. Thus, all four proposed hypotheses of the conceptual model were supported, successfully resolving both posed questions.
Article Critique and Future Research
Given that few studies have tested the related issues of antecedents and implications of et-moone in these sectors, this study made a significant contribution for marketing practitioners and researchers alike. Current study results provided clues to help business partners actively engage in et-moone relationships and thus have more relational governance. This study was conducted clearly and expertly, with a large pool of data and sound statistical investigation. Furthermore, it provided extensive background research and pointed out gaps in knowledge to justify relevant questions. All proposed hypotheses were supported by the model results, providing valuable insight into the specifics of et-moone relationships.
However, several limitations can be pointed out for this research. Relationship management was proposed as the only consequence of et-moone relationships (Alalwan et al., 2021). Therefore, considering other consequences such as marketing effectiveness, brand equity, and loyalty would add further insight into et-moone’s role for the B2B. Furthermore, although this study proposed and tested some novel mechanisms, it did not consider aspects of Arab culture, such as tribalism and religion (Alawan et al., 2021). Thus, future research should uncover the role of these aspects in accelerating or hindering the et-moone relationship. Moreover, the data were only obtained in two countries, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, which restricts the generalization of the results (Alalwan et al., 2021). Therefore, it would be useful to investigate et-moone issues in other Arab countries with similar cultures in the future.
In addition, this study did not assess the effect of the business customers’ characteristics such as size, type, or experience, so future studies should explore these features concerning the antecedents and consequences of et-moone. Lastly, this study was more of a cross-sectional examination conducted in a specific setting caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Alalwan et al., 2021). Thus, it would be valuable to conduct a longitudinal study to determine how the predictors of et-moone would have behaved in other circumstances.
Conclusion
To conclude, this study investigated how et-moone, as a common cultural value, can shape B2B relationships, especially in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through designing a multi-part model, Alawan et al. (2021) were able to devise and test major influential factors of et-moone: commitment, trust, and IT-powered communication. Furthermore, the relationship between et-moone and relational governance demonstrated how crucial et-moone is for the B2B relationships. Overall, expanding the current understanding of the role of culture in business relations in the Asian Arabian context made a solid contribution to the extant research.
Reference
Alalwan, A. A., Baabdullah, A. M., Dwivedi, Y. K., Rana, N. P., Lal, B., & Raman, R. (2021). Et-moone and marketing relationship governance: The effect of digital transformation and ICT during the COVID-19 pandemic. Industrial Marketing Management, 98, 241–254.