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The study focuses on how to build long-term relationships with multi-channel agencies (MCAs) (dealers) who serve multiple manufacturers on a non-exclusive basis in a business-to-business (B2B) market. This study looks at the framework of relational benefits-commitment-long term orientation in a business-to-business context.

Data were collected from MCAs of three leading companies in the food distribution business. The survey used established scales to measure the relational benefits (core, operational, social and special treatment), commitment (affective and calculative) and long-term orientation (LTO).

The findings of the study show that core, social and special treatment benefits influence calculative commitment, and operational and special treatment benefits influence affective commitment. The study also supports that calculative and affective commitment play an important role in understanding the loyalty of MCAs.

The research examines how relational benefits impact commitment and loyalty among MCAs and manufacturers, in a non-exclusive relationship, in the business-to-business environment. This study incorporates social exchange theory (SET), relational benefits paradigm and commitment and long-term orientation in its framework and tests it within the food distribution industry. This study is the first of its kind to examine the effects of relational benefits on MCAs behavior in a food supplier–buyer setting.

Prior research in the human resources management fields focused primarily on one type of employees’ pro-environmental behaviors yet failed to empirically investigate interrelationships among the distinct dimensions of their pro-environmental behaviors. To build a deeper understanding of the psychological process in becoming an environmental activist in the workplace, this study aims to examine the interrelationships among frontline employees’ green autonomous motivation, green external motivation, environmental concern, self-efficacy and three types of pro-environmental behaviors (i.e. green idea generation behavior, green idea promotion behavior and green idea activist behavior).

With the survey method, the data were collected from frontline employees working at hospitality enterprises in South Korea. This study analyzed the collected data, including frequency analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

The empirical results showed that autonomous motivation significantly influenced environmental concern, self-efficacy, green idea generation behavior and green idea promotion behavior. Also, external motivation significantly affected environmental concern, self-efficacy and green idea promotion behavior. Furthermore, environmental concern had significant influences on self-efficacy and green idea promotion behavior, and self-efficacy had significant effects on green idea generation behavior and green idea promotion behavior. Finally, green idea activist behavior was significantly influenced by green idea generation behavior and green idea promotion behavior only.

This study proposes managerial implications to hospitality organizations and public policymakers for maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of their green initiatives via frontline employees’ green idea activist behavior.

Based on the empirical findings, this study proposes several theoretical and practical implications for the extant literature and the service industry in the context of frontline employees’ three types of pro-environmental behaviors from their working motivation.

Relationship marketing has emerged as pivotal, aiming to bolster collaboration and reduce uncertainty for both franchisors and franchisees. However, understanding the nuanced impact of relational bonding strategies – financial, social, and structural – on franchisee outcomes, particularly in South Korea’s food service industry, remains lacking. This study is an in-depth exploration of the nuanced impact of franchisors’ relational bonding strategies – structural, social, and economic – on critical franchisee outcomes in the food service industry.

By leveraging data from 496 franchisees in South Korea, our investigation meticulously delineates the unique contributions of these bonding strategies in enhancing franchisee’s social and economic satisfaction, building trust in franchisors and fostering long-term orientation among franchisees. This study unravels the complex mediating roles that satisfaction and trust play in the dynamic interplay between franchisors’ bonding efforts and the cultivation of enduring franchisee relationships.

The study reveals that structural, social, and economic bonding impact social satisfaction, while all relational bonding factors directly influence economic satisfaction. Structural and economic bonding influence trust in the franchisor, but social bonding does not. Economic and social satisfaction directly affect trust, and only economic satisfaction directly influences long-term orientation. Finally, trust in the franchisor positively affects long-term orientation.

We offer fresh insights into the strategic management of franchisor–franchisee relationships, aiming to enrich the literature on relationship marketing by highlighting the differential impacts and significance of distinct bonding strategies in promoting sustainable franchise partnerships.