Culture Impact on Perceptions of Communication Effectiveness

Early research on relationship marketing highlights the role of communication in shaping trusted and committed business partnerships. Various studies validate communication as one of the strongest determinants of relationship commitment, loyalty, trust and satisfaction. But, few have studied the predictors of communication effectiveness, especially in a global context. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of cooperation, quality communication, conflict handling and two-way communication as predictors of communication effectiveness. The perception of their impact on increasing communication effectiveness is tested in the context of buyer-supplier relationship in one high-context/relationship-based country (Brazil) and one low-context/rule-based country (U.S.). Structural equation modeling is used to test the relationships in the model. Results suggest that suppliers focus more on fostering cooperation when dealing with buyers from low-context countries and on conflict avoidance when dealing with buyers of high-context countries. Across both contexts, results further indicate that buyers are universally influenced by the quality of communication exchanged with their buyers.