Actors’ Exchange Paradigms and Their Impact on the Choice of Marketing Models

Abstract

Academics belonging to the IMP group and the service school of marketing initially launched the ongoing debate on whether the traditional “’marketing mix” or “4 P’s” model is outdated, incomplete, insufficient and/or limited. Most of these authors conclude that the 4 P’s model (even with a relationship dimension added to it) is inadequate and contend that the discipline needs some kind of’post marketing mix” model. Some recommend as a solution a “paradigmatic shift in marketing,” from transaction marketing towards relationship marketing. In other words, to move the domain of marketing from exchange transactions to exchange relationships. Others suggest building a “marketing continuum” in which both types of exchanges co-exist. In this continuum, however, each type of exchange is restricted either to a particular product/service category, to specific types of customers, or to certain characteristics that are assumed to be intrinsically related to either of them (atomistic, frequency, etc.).