Literature Review

RM as a Managerial Approach

RM is the management of a collaborative relationship between a company and its stakeholders (Gro¨nroos, 2000; Gummesson, 1998). The collaborative relationship is carried, maintained, and enhanced through communication and interaction, with the intent of producing added or superior value to the core product (Gro¨nroos, 2000; Ravald & Gronroos, 1996). In maintaining and enhancing the communication and interaction process on a continuous basis and by fulfilling the promises that businesses make in their communications and interactions, companies be able to deliver a cocreated and customer valued product (Gro¨nroos, 2000; Gummesson, 1997). Tactically, the RM approach is designed to allow the company to be in close touch with its customers and to obtain more information about them, leading to a mutual understanding where companies become valuable to customers (Peppers & Rogers, 2011). The approach facilitates business efforts to enhance intimacy, provide greater customer satisfaction, achieve improved customer retention, increase consumer loyalty, build long-term relationships, reduce marketing costs, and secure a long-term profit (Christopher et al., 2002; Peppers & Rogers, 2011). As Kim and Trail (2011) report, attracting new customers can be up to 5 times more expensive than maintaining existing customer relations (loyalty). Similarly, Feinberg and Kadam (2002) state that increasing customer retention rates by 5% leads to profit enhancement of anywhere from 25% to 80%. Customers can achieve a number of benefits from an RM approach (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 1995; Stavros & Westberg, 2009), including choice reduction, which provides efficiency in their purchase decision, reduced search costs, and increased cognitive consistency in decisions (Bee & Kahle, 2006). Notably, Bee and Kahle (2006) note that RM reduces (i) the complexity of the buying situation, (ii) the amount of resources required for information processing, and (iii) the need to be familiar with the offering. Gro¨nroos (2004) added that RM provides enhanced security to customers, a sense of trust and a feeling of control, minimises purchasing risks, and reduced their costs. Notably, an RM approach varies across different industries (e.g., sport, tourism, and goods manufacturing companies) and consumer segments (e.g., sport consumers/fans, tourists, and manufacturing goods consumers; Stavros & Westberg, 2009). The sport industry is known to be fertile ground for an RM approach (Kim & Trail, 2011). A number of sport consumption and fan behavior studies have reported that both the attitudes and behavior of sport consumers towards their clubs exhibit relational characteristics (Farrelly & Quester, 2003; Harris & Ogbonna, 2008). A sport fan is an enthusiastic consumer who is motivated to engage in behavior related to sport (Hunt, Bristol, & Bashaw, 1999). Fans are often highly connected and involved personally with their favorite team (Harris & Ogbonna, 2008).