Organizational Preconditions Supporting Relationship Management Capability Renewal

The Resource-Advantage Theory of Competition established that comparative advantage is a consequence of an organization's capacity to renew critical resources such as an organization's relationship management capability. To date, only limited research has been undertaken on organizational preconditions that support capability renewal. A survey was mailed to senior executives of 1500 manufacturing and service firms in the UK. The structural model representing the hypothesized relationships between a learning orientation, learning structures and relationship management capability renewal was shown to be robust with a Comparative Fit Index of 0.90. This research has established that structural dimensions important to facilitating learning about relationship management systems, processes and behavior include collectivist structures and the ability of employees to cross functional and hierarchical boundaries to access knowledge. These structural dimensions were shown to mediate the relationship between an organization's learning culture and its relationship management learning capability, subsequently stimulating relationship management change and facilitating relationship management capability renewal.