Some dangerous axioms of relationship marketing

Abstract

Relationship marketing has been accused of being overconceptualized and underdeveloped empirically. Whether or not this is so, there is a danger that some key concepts and assertions have become axiomatic and therefore are not being subjected to sufficient critical scrutiny at the theoretical or practical level. We argue that there is value in a fresh approach to relationship marketing and particularly to the scrutiny of these 'dangerous axioms', five of which are identified and explained in this paper. The discussion is followed by a call for a redefinition of these key concepts of relationship marketing, which might avoid the pitfalls and dangers of uncritical acceptance of some of these normative assertions