Our Relationships with Organizations

1
Our Relationships with Organizations

• Integrating marketing, public relationships and
  communication

2
A Relationship Approach

• How do organizations initiate relationships with
  us?
• Introductions?
• Disclosures?
• Doing things for us?
• Maintaining contact with us?

3
Relationship Maintenance

• Five maintenance strategies
• Positivity Keep good feelings
• Mutual assurances Build trust
• Openness Share news, information
• Cooperation/collaboration Share tasks
• Creating shared social networks Network of
  interaction with others and the organization

4
Social Exchange Theory

• Economic model
• We assess costs/rewards of behavior
• We seek to minimize costs/maximize rewards
  (minmax principle)
• Based on perceived rewards/costs
• Future costs/rewards be considered too
• Applied in many areas
• Interpersonal relationships
• Consumer decisions
• Organizational relationships

5
Too calculating?

• Ever felt like the other person owed you a
  favor because of one you did for them?
• When you want to break up, may say Its just not
  worth it any more
• When urging you to leave relationship, friends
  might say You can do better
• When youre in a bad relationship, you justify it
  by saying This is the best Ive ever had
• May work to stay in a troubled relationship
  because Ive invested a lot in this
  relationship
• Ever feel you built up equity in relationship
  that would get you through a rough patch?

6
Compared to what?

• Evaluations are comparative
• CL comparison level of expectations
• Expectations based on prior experiences
• Outcome less than expected ? cost
• Outcome more than expected ? reward
• CLalt comparison level of alternatives
• Outcome less than alternatives ? cost
• Outcome more than alternatives ? reward

7
Critiquing Organizational Relationships

• Identify an organization that you have a
  relationship with (products or services)
• Identify the ways that that org initiated a
  relationship with you (with examples)
• Identify the ways that that org maintains its
  relationship with you (with examples)
• Identify failings, weaknesses, mistakes the org
  has made, and suggest specific actions to
  fix/improve those problems
• Write up your analysis in a 3-page (minimum)
  paper (double-spaced) with partner.