The RELQUAL scale: a measure of relationship quality in export market ventures

In this article, the authors develop a new measurement scale (the RELQUAL scale) to assess the degree of relationship quality between the exporting firm and the importer. Relationship quality is presented as a high-order concept. Findings reveal that a better quality of the relationship results in a greater (1) amount of information sharing, (2) communication quality, (3) long-term orientation, as well as (4) satisfaction with the relationship. The four multi-item scales show strong evidence of reliability as well as convergent, discrimmant and nomological validity in a sample of British exporters. Findings also reveal that relationship quality is positively and significantly associated with export performance. Suggestions for applying the measure in future research are presented. (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved