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Scenarios were used in a factorial design to analyze how a broker's dependence on a principal interacts with the principal's use of influence strategies to affect the broker's behavior. Results indicate that the broker's readiness to respond to the principal's requests was determined primarily by the broker's dependence. The broker's attitudes were affected by dependence and the principal's influence strategies.

Salespeople involved in the marketing of complex services often perform the role of “relationship manager.” It is, in part, the quality of the relationship between the salesperson and the customer that determines the probability of continued interchange between those parties in the future. A relationship quality model is advanced and tested that examines the nature, consequences, and antecedents of relationship quality, as perceived by the customer. The findings suggest that future sales opportunities depend mostly on relationship quality (i.e., trust and satisfaction), whereas the ability to convert those opportunities into sales hinges more on conventional source characteristics of similarity and expertise. Relational selling behaviors such as cooperative intentions, mutual disclosure, and intensive followup contact generally produce a strong buyer-seller bond.

The landslide victory of Michigan's “bottle bill” by popular vote contradicts previous findings regarding the small size of the ecologically concerned consumer segment. A survey of voter preference conducted just prior to the 1976 general election addresses this contradiction and some broader aspects of consumer environmental behavior. Implications for ecological marketers are discussed.

Consumer reaction to the Michigan container law is considered influential to the adoption of similar laws at the state and national levels. A survey of consumers investigates their satisfaction with the law, likes and dislikes about the recycling system, and reaction to retailer activities in adapting to the law. Implications for the expansion of the container recycling concept are discussed.

This book is intended primarily for industrial marketing managers and planners. It is somewhere between a conceptual introduction to "relationship marketing" and an applied work on how industrial marketers can profit from a long-term view of customer relations. Given the book's positioning, the strategic implications heavily outweigh the tactical. Readers undoubtedly will appreciate Jackson's creative thinking and find many of the distinctions she makes to be useful (e.g., lost-for-good vs. always-a-share customers, foci of the customer's commitment, vendor redundancy vs. diversity, etc.). The book also contains three extended case illustrations of relationship marketing issues (electroplating, PBX systems, and computers), which are interwoven through the chapters. An overview of the book can be obtained from the author's Harvard Business