A dynamic, relational approach to B2B customer experience: A customer-centric perspective from a longitudinal investigation

•The study delivers a measure to assess the subjective, in nature, customer experience of B2B customers during the service delivery stage from a relational perspective while opening significant directions for future researchers.•The research design and use of panel data have also allowed testing for the impact of time in the CX formation process.•The findings show four different types of impressions upon which CX reflects: Factual, sagacious (both cognitive), emotional, and social (both affective).•The analysis has shown that the formation of the cognitive impressions is independent of the affective ones, compelling managers to manage each and both of them individually.•Time can be a foe instead of a friend: Past positive experiences can contract the customer’s present experience for the complacent supplier. Understanding the formation and dynamics of B2B customer experience (CX) is a key priority for marketing academics, with a notable gap necessitating empirical investigation. To address this gap, two studies were conducted. The first utilizes a mixed-method approach to generate and empirically assess a CX measure, with a specific focus on impressions during the service delivery stage from a relational perspective. The second using longitudinal data explored the impact of past impressions and specific supplier offerings on current customer impressions. The authors identified four types of impressions: two cognitive (factual and sagacious) and two affective (emotional and social) and highlighted that certain aspects of past impressions negatively impact the present. The paper further elucidates how the technical and functional components of the supplier's offering shape customer impressions, confirming the functional elements' impact on the affective impressions of the customer’s perceived CX and influencing the perceived relationship quality.