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This study aims to elucidate how different relationship investment efforts by a service firm affect its customers’ perceived relationship investment; to determine how perceived relationship investment influences various dimensions of relationship strength; and to explore the moderating effects of customer innovativeness and complaint propensity on the relationship between the perceived relationship investment and relationship strength.

To minimize common method variance, data were collected from pairs of life insurance agents in China and their clients using self-report questionnaires. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

The results indicate that customers value financial effort most followed by social effort and structural effort. Perceived relationship investment influences the affective strength most strongly, followed by cognitive strength and conative strength. Customer innovativeness and complaint propensity both moderate the effectiveness of perceived relationship investment in influencing two of the three dimensions of relationship strength.

This study is among the first to specify how service employees can guide consumer perceptions of relationship investment by applying three types of relationship investment effort. The impact of perceived relationship investment on different dimensions of relationship strength was assessed to demonstrate how service providers can benefit from investing in building consumer relationships. The moderating impact of consumer innovativeness and of complaint propensity was quantified. The research findings have important implications for managing different relationship investment as well as recruiting and training service employees.

This research aims to explore the mechanisms by which green marketing practices (GMP) influence customer loyalty (CL) and how green self-identity (GSI) moderates the relationship between green corporate image (GCI) and customer loyalty in the new energy vehicle (NEV) market.

The study surveyed individuals who had purchased new energy vehicle products through an online platform, resulting in 321 valid questionnaires obtained through a non-probability sampling method. The data were analyzed using the PLS-SEM method to test the proposed hypotheses.

The research found that green advertisement, green product quality, green product price, external green supply chain management and the salesperson’s green expertise are GMP by the company, and they had positive effects on GCI. Furthermore, GCI had a positive mediating effect between GMP and CL, while green self-identity served as a positive moderator between GMP and CL.

This paper addresses the research gap in the literature on green image and consumer markets, providing a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underpinning GMP and consumer behaviors. These insights can assist companies in shaping a GCI and enhancing CL in the NEV market.

This paper aims to investigate the roles of renqing (reciprocal favor) and ganqing (positive affect) as consequences of relationship marketing investments (three dimensions: financial, social and structural) and antecedents of customer loyalty.

A quantitative survey methodology using self-administered questionnaires has been adopted to collect data of 218 procurement staffs from the database of China Purchasing Managers’ Club. Hypotheses tests were conducted using structural equation modeling.

The results reveal that financial and social relationship marketing investments, but not structural relationship marketing investments, are crucial in evoking renqing and ganqing. The results also provide strong evidence of the relationship between renqing and ganqing, which in turn are necessary determinants of customer loyalty.

This research is among the first to examine and confirm renqing and ganqing as a mediating mechanism through which financial and social relationship marketing investments influence attitudinal loyalty, and also through attitudinal loyalty ultimately affects behavioral loyalty. Findings imply the need for Chinese firms in general, and business-to-business context in particular, to strategically lever on the key antecedents of customer loyalty including relationship marketing investments, renqing and ganqing, in pursuit of a more competitive advantage and long-term profit.