Abstract
Relationship marketing research to date has focused for the most part on two sets of issues. First, what are the benefits of relationship marketing adoption? Second, how are marketing relationships built and maintained? Although these are important questions for researchers to address, we believe an understanding of the strategic impact of relationship marketing is equally important. We hold that relationship marketing should only be adopted when it offers, or contributes to, a firm's competitive advantage?a competitive advantage that, it is hoped, proves sustainable. As a first step toward better understanding the strategic role of relationship marketing, adopting a resource-based approach, we first clarify the role that resources gained through relationships may play in marketing relationships. Then we isolate and discuss the various kinds of resources that might be gained through relationships. Finally, we develop five propositions for assessing the strategic worth of these resources in marketing relationships.
Article Outline
? Strategic Role of Resources in Marketing Relationships
? Efficiently Acquiring or Developing Resources That Enhance Efficiency
? Combining Basic Resources to Create Complex Resources
? Positioning Resource Advantages in Competitive Situations
? Maintaining and Protecting Resources
? Types of Resources Gained in Marketing Relationships
? Financial Resources
? Legal Resources
? Physical Resources
? Human Resources
? Organizational Resources
? Relational Resources
? Informational Resources
? Sustainability of Relationship-Based Competitive Advantages: Critical Requirements of Resources
? Efficiency/Effectiveness
? Heterogeneity
? Imperfectly Imita ...