Le rôle de variables psychologiques individuelles dans un cadre relationnel

Relationship marketing is based on the assumption of the customers’ commitment. This commitment may be multidimensional, with an affective dimension and a calculative one. Commitment is shown to be linked to trust. Relationship marketing has not paid a lot of attention to psychological variables and their impact on trust and commitment in a relational context. Fellows in psychology believe that there may be a commitment refusal due to psychological reactance. Moreover, customers are not all looking for the same type of business relationship: they may look forward different levels of social links or relationship proneness. An empirical study in the health field allows us to draw a typology of customers based on their degree of relationship proneness and psychological reactance. This typology highlights contrasted behaviors regarding trust and commitment. This will be of help to design specific offers to customers.