Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, Evans 2006 (JoM) — meta-analysis; seller expertise + similarity are strongest antecedents; word of mouth is the most consequential outcome

Claim: Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, and Evans (2006) meta-analyzed factors influencing relationship-marketing effectiveness:

• Seller expertise and similarity had the strongest effects on relational mediators (trust, commitment, relationship quality)
• Word of mouth was the most consequential outcome of strong relationships
• Service contexts produced stronger relational effects on outcomes (r = .58) than product contexts (r = .43)
• Individual relationships produced stronger cooperation effects (r = .68) than organizational relationships (r = .55)

Source: Palmatier, R. W., Dant, R. P., Grewal, D., & Evans, K. R. (2006). "Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Relationship Marketing." Journal of Marketing 70(4): 136–153. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jmkg.70.4.136

Confidence: Verified.

For Candid — three implications:

1. Trust is built primarily through demonstrated competence-relevant similarity and domain expertise — not through generic charm or brand polish. Pitches that lead with construction-domain knowledge (the actual mechanics of how a residential GC operates) outperform pitches that lead with general marketing strategy.
2. Service-context premium. Candid is selling a service, not a product — Palmatier et al. predict relational effects matter more in our category than in product B2B.
3. Word of mouth as the highest-leverage outcome. A satisfied GC client telling another GC at the HBA chapter meeting is doing more work than any paid distribution. This is consistent with the foundation brief's [[rule-hba-chba-peer-channels-as-primary-distribution]].