Network partner knowledge and internal relationships influencing customer relationship quality and company performance

Purpose – Marketing is the area of coexistence of various research traditions with regard to relational phenomena. This study aims to contribute to limiting the gap between these traditions by testing the influence of network partner knowledge and internal relationship quality on company performance and customer relationship quality. Design/methodology/approach – This is a research paper where hypotheses are derived from prior studies referring to relationship marketing, B2B networks and internal marketing. The hypotheses are tested by using a sample of 264 companies operating in B2B markets and by structural equation modeling. Findings – Customer relationship quality is empirically supported here as a factor mediating influence of network partner knowledge and internal relationship quality on company performance. The proposition of this paper is that company ability to deal effectively with a network in which it is embedded (including internal network) is the antecedent of dealing with customer relationships effectively. The moderator effects of the dominant profile of business are also discussed. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the research are presented with regard to the sampling method, research technique/scope and cultural context. The research results may be treated as a direction for further studies exploring connections between constructs from various approaches to relational phenomena in marketing. Practical implications – This study brings strategic insights into knowledge of business relationships, by investigating empirically whether the focal company may benefit from their external and internal relationships. Originality/value – To the best of the author's knowledge, there has been no study examining the proposed set of inter‐related research constructs so far.