FROM RELATIONSHIP MARKETING TO RELATIONSHIP QUALITY: AN OVERVIEW
Keywords:
Relationship marketing, Relationship quality, Trust, Relationship satisfaction, CommitmentAbstract
Relationship marketing is a novel marketing paradigm that is here to stay. In the annals of business history, it has ushered in a new era of marketing wherein firms can capitalize on their matchless and irreproducible strength in the form of high quality exchange relationships with other business firms and/or customers. Relationship marketing was introduced in the B2B sector, but over the years, it is seen gaining foothold in the B2C sector as well. This paper introduces the concept of relationship marketing and summarizes the overtime transition from relationship marketing to relationship quality. It then dwells on the concept of relationship quality and its dimensions. The review of literature suggests that trust, relationship satisfaction and commitment are the three widely-acknowledged dimensions of relationship quality. Keeping in view the importance of exchange relationships in business dealings, firms should try to not only create exchange relationships but also nurture them by ensuring that the exchange partner holds a positive opinion on these three dimensions (namely, trust, relationship satisfaction and commitment) in his/her relationship with the firm.
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