Analysis of Relationship Marketing Based on Value Exchange in Business Markets with Importance-Performance Approach (Study Case: Parsian Electronic Commerce Company)

Aim and Introduction:
In the course of its development and evolution, marketing gradually shifted away from a focus on production and sales. Instead, leading companies began to prioritize customer orientation and the establishment of relationships with their customers. Relationship marketing has evolved into a customer-centric philosophy that emphasizes effective communication with customers, understanding their needs, and responding with suitable products and services. However, it has now transcended its traditional concept. Rather than solely identifying customer needs through direct communication between the organization and the customer, relationship marketing has shifted towards a network of interactive, bilateral, and multilateral relationships. In this new paradigm, the objective is not only to create value for customers but also to co-create value through active collaboration with them, which has become a priority for businesses. Therefore, it can be concluded that value creation holds a significant role in commercial markets and inter-organizational relationships. From this perspective, relationship marketing and the establishment of long-term relationships with customers should focus on value creation. This aspect is particularly crucial in inter-organizational relationships, where the customers are the same commercial entities. This study is also significant from a negative perspective. If businesses operating in commercial sectors neglect the exchange of value with their customers, they risk losing market share and ceding their position to leading companies in the field. Business customers possess greater knowledge, sophistication, and expertise, and they are more likely to collaborate with companies that co-create value with them. This issue holds particular importance in theoretical discussions. Nevertheless, while the concepts of "value creation" and "relationship marketing" have been highlighted in various studies, they have largely been examined in isolation. This has resulted in a significant research gap concerning relationship marketing grounded in value exchange. Additionally, the dynamics of commercial market environments and inter-company relationships have been overlooked from the researchers' perspective. Consequently, numerous gaps exist in the conceptualization of relationship marketing based on value exchange, particularly within the context of commercial markets. The theoretical synergy and contribution of this research to expanding knowledge lies in recognizing the underlying structures that facilitate the creation of shared value with customers through relationship marketing within the context of industrial relations. This study employed a mixed exploratory design approach. Consequently, the current research addresses the key question: What is the status of relational marketing based on value exchange in commercial markets?
Methodology:
This study is based on a pragmatic paradigm from a philosophical perspective and employs an inductive-analogical approach. Additionally, the current research is classified as applied-developmental in terms of its objectives, and it is categorized as cross-sectional survey research based on the data collection method. To achieve the research goals, a mixed exploratory research design, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, was utilized.
The community of participants in the qualitative section comprises professors of marketing management and managers from Parsian Electronic Commerce Company. According to Miller et al. (2010), five criteria—keyness, popularity, theoretical knowledge, variety, and motivation to participate—were employed to select the participants. Consequently, in the qualitative portion of this study, interviews were conducted with senior and experienced managers of Parsian Electronic Commerce Company through targeted sampling. The sampling process continued until theoretical saturation was achieved, resulting in the participation of 10 managers in this study. The statistical population for the quantitative part included customers of commercial markets, specifically those of Parsian Electronic Commerce Company. The sample size was estimated to be 384 individuals using Krejcie and Morgan's formula for large populations. Given the homogeneity of the statistical population, a simple cluster-random sampling method was utilized.
To gather research data, semi-structured interviews were employed in the qualitative component, while questionnaires were utilized in the quantitative component.
The validity of the qualitative component was assessed and confirmed according to the perspectives of Lincoln and Guba, based on their four criteria: validity, transferability, verifiability, and reliability, as evaluated by judges. To measure the reliability of the qualitative component, the percentage of agreement observed, calculated using the Holstein formula, was estimated at 0.638. This value exceeds the acceptable threshold of 0.6.
To analyze the qualitative data, the thematic analysis method (THEM) was employed to identify themes related to relational marketing based on value exchange in commercial markets. The relationships between these themes were also explained. In the quantitative section, the importance-performance analysis method (gap analysis) was utilized. The analysis of interview transcripts in the qualitative portion of the research was conducted using MaxQDA software, while the quantitative analysis was performed using SPSS software.
 
Finding:
The research findings indicated that, based on the network of research themes, functional value and social value influence emotional value, cognitive value, and situational value. Additionally, the results demonstrated that these components impact the co-creation of value with customers and contribute to value creation, ultimately facilitating the exchange of relational marketing value.
Discussion and Conclusion::
The present study aimed to analyze relationship marketing based on value exchange in commercial markets, utilizing the importance-performance approach within the Parsian Electronic Trade Company. After collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data, a model was developed, and the research findings were summarized. Ultimately, the results indicated that value exchange in relational marketing can significantly influence customer orientation and relationships with customers. This, in turn, leads to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and trust, ultimately facilitating customer retention.