Title: Precursors and outcomes of satisfaction in business-to-business relationship marketing. Insights from Hawkers/street vendors leafy vegetable market in South Africa
Abstract: The purpose of the empirical study was to determine the precursors and outcomes of customer satisfaction in the South African hawkers/vendors in the leafy vegetable market. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from 370 street vendors/hawkers using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using the structural model with the aid of SmartPLS 3. One of our findings reveals that word-of-mouth, commitment, trust, and customer loyalty are significantly influenced by customer satisfaction. This finding makes a major contribution to academic and practice because most literature, support the notion that trust and commitment are precursors of customer satisfaction.The results show that suppliers/farmers of leaf vegetables need to establish relationships that are focused on communication and product mix in order to satisfy customers in the leaf vegetable market. Our findings cement the argument that the relationship between the variables, i.e., trust, commitment, and satisfaction are interdependent and multifaceted. One can, therefore, conclude that the relationship between these constructs is dependent on characteristics of samples used for the study, industry sector and product type amongst other factors.