Back to the Future: Divergence in Relationship Marketing Research

Abstract

This paper suggests that there is a growing, if not permanent, divide in relationship marketing (RM) research between the holistic view of diverse organizational relationships and those who wish to return to a concentration on the customer-supplier dyad. It charts the history of RM theory and the different perspectives that have enriched its development. Although it recognizes that the scope of RM research has always been an issue, it foresees uncertain consequences resulting from the break-up of relationship marketing's traditional `broad-church' approach. In particular, it considers whether following any break-up, marketing's research agenda will be poorer as a result.

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