Reciprocity as a fundamental building block of relationship marketing

The primary purpose of this paper is to (1) highlight the need to understand in greater detail what a marketing relationship actually is and (2) provide an introductory examination of the role of reciprocity in the development of relationships. Reciprocity, the fitting and proportional exchange of good for good, is proposed as being a fundamental process in relational exchange. This construct is briefly reviewed, along with the critical exchange issues of power and equity. We propose that reciprocity is an essential consideration in determining the impact of key antecedents on relationship marketing outcomes.