tailieunhanh - The Evolution of Relationship Marketing

There are also marked differences between retailers in terms of their pricing policies. These differences do not only relate to the general price level but also to whether a retailer predominantly pursues permanent pricing policies, or whether high prices alternate with low-price promotions. This latter strategy was an adequate tool in times of relatively high inflation and a subsequent lack of market transparency in order to attract customers. Nowadays, however, as inflation has come down and market transparency has improved, observers expect that there will be a gradual trend towards permanent pricing. With increased price transparency, competition is also likely to increase along with a downward pressure on prices | International Business Review Vol. 4 No. 4 pp. 397-418 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain 0969-5931 95 00018-6 0969-5931 95 Pergamon The Evolution of Relationship Marketing Jagdish N. Sheth and Atul Parvatiyar Goizueta Business School Emory University Atlanta GA 30322 USA The Evolution of Relationship Marketing Abstract Relationship Marketing is emerging as a new phenomenon. However relationship oriented marketing practices date back to the pre-Industrial era. In this article we trace the history of marketing practices and illustrate how the advent of mass production the emergence of middlemen and the separation of the producer from the consumer in the Industrial era led to a transactional focus of marketing. Now due to technological advances direct marketing is staging a comeback leading to a relationship orientation. The authors contend that with the evolution of Relationship Marketing the hitherto prominent exchange paradigm of marketing will be insufficient to explain the growing marketing phenomena of collaborative involvement of customers in the production process. An alternate paradigm of marketing needs to be developed that is more process rather than outcome oriented and emphasizes value creation rather than value distribution. Key Words Relationship Marketing Relational Orientation Transaction Orientation. Introduction Although marketing practices can be ưaced back as far as 7000 . Carratu 1987 marketing thought as a distinct discipline was borne out of economics around the beginning of this century. As the discipline gained momentum and developed through the first three quarters of the twentieth century the primary focus was on transactions and exchanges. However the development of marketing as a field of study and practice is undergoing a reconceptualization in its orientation from transactions to relationships Kotler 1990 Webster 1992 . The emphasis on relationships as opposed to transaction based exchanges is very likely