Commercial Friendship

What it is

Linda L. Price and Eric J. Arnould studied it in five studies using numbers and interviews, built a measure of it and found it limited by context and by the tension between practical and expressive goals. It was associated with higher satisfaction, stronger loyalty and more positive word of mouth, and the order in which it developed varied for providers and clients.

In effect

In the article on reciprocity and self-disclosure, it is the service-setting counterpart of a conversation between acquaintances, where talk drifts from the task to the person.

What it does not say

The findings are associations. They do not say that friendliness causes loyalty in every service, or that every client wants a personal relationship with a provider.

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