Relationship marketing – a new paradigm in marketing theory and practice

There is much debate as to where the place of relationship marketing (RM) in general marketing theory is, its domain, the way it should be defined and so on. This paper addresses two problems concerning the status of RM, with reference to previous research and the commercial practices of Romanian companies. The first part of the analysis refers to the paradigm status of relationship marketing. Established authors advocate for a new paradigm in marketing thinking. However, there are also opinions according to which relationship marketing represents only a new dimension that can be added to the existing transactional paradigm. The second part of the analysis focuses on the possibility of a paradigm shift occurring. A survey targeting Romanian companies was conducted in order to support the ideas presented here. The study is based on the methodology developed in the international research project Contemporary Marketing Practices (CMP).