TITLE:
Reciprocity Is Not a Constant: Theoretical Gaps in Social Exchange Theory from a Supplier Preference Model Perspective
AUTHORS:
Atoapem Frimpong Barimah, Vijayan Ramasamy
KEYWORDS:
Social Exchange Theory, Reciprocity, Supplier Preference, Preferred Customer Status, Buyer-Supplier Relationships
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.6,
October
27,
2026
ABSTRACT: Social exchange theory (SET) explains why buyer-supplier relationships can generate cooperation beyond formal contractual obligations. Research shows that reciprocity can influence information exchange through credibility and benevolence trust, with information exchange then linked to calculative and affective commitment. Yet reciprocity is often represented as a general positive force, leaving unclear how suppliers interpret a buyer’s action, compare the relationship with alternatives, and decide which benefits to return, withhold, or redirect. This conceptual paper develops a preference-sensitive extension of SET for buyer-supplier relationships. It identifies four gaps: construct ambiguity in reciprocity; the assumption that exchange should be equivalent; the under-specification of supplier preference formation; and the possibility that relational investment produces opportunism as well as cooperation. The proposed model treats reciprocity as an interpreted and time-dependent mechanism through which buyer behaviour changes supplier’s preference and the allocation of scarce relational benefits. It integrates supplier attractiveness, satisfaction, expected future value, learning value, alternative customers, dependence, relationship-specific investment, perceived fairness, and the preferred rule of exchange. Six propositions specify how heteromorphic returns, long-term orientation, future dependence, acceptable asymmetry, goal congruence, and portfolio context condition reciprocal responses. The paper contributes a clearer micro foundation for supplier preference and a testable research agenda centered on longitudinal, dyadic, and portfolio-level designs.