THE ROLE OF PURCHASE IMPORTANCE ON BUYER PERCEPTIONS OF THE TRUST AND EXPERTISE COMPONENTS OF SUPPLIER AND SALESPERSON CREDIBILITY IN BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

The success of business-to-business relationships between sales representatives and buyers depends on many factors. Past literature has indicated that the credibility (trust and expertise) attributed to the sales representative and the sales representative's firm may significantly affect a number of variables related to this relationship. Little research, however, has been undertaken to determine whether the importance of the purchase decision affects buyer perceptions of the trust and expertise components of credibility. Specifically, the current study investigates whether buyer perceptions of trust and expertise of the salesperson and the company they represent vary by the perceived importance of the purchase decision. Contrary to prevailing thought, the results indicate that buyer perceptions of supplier and salesperson expertise and trust were higher in minimally important purchases than in extremely important purchases.