Integrating Transactional and Relational Marketing Exchange: A Pluralistic Perspective

Abstract

As interest in relational marketing has increased, there has been a tendency to emphasize theoretical and empirical developments focused on aspects of relational rather than transactional exchange. In contrast to this trend, we develop a conceptual model that integrates both perspectives in order to capture a more pluralistic view of the nature of marketing exchange. We integrate the concepts of environmental context, offer proposition and need structure together with the seller and buyer’s perceptions of each. We also incorporate a variety of transactional and relational marketing approaches in order to conceptualize how and why different exchange situations occur, and how mismatches may occur between a seller’s offer and the buyer’s needs.