The Implications of “Big M” Marketing for Modeling Service and Relationships

Rust and Chung (2006) provide an excellent integration and assessment of current models of service and relationships, as well as a thought-provoking agenda for future research. In this brief essay, I identify some challenges, opportunities, and priorities for improving models of service and relationships. Rust and Chung (2006) integrate two distinctive streams of research—models of service and relationships—that are rapidly converging. This convergence is noteworthy because it reflects a shift in the content and boundaries of the marketing discipline, as exemplified by the new definition of marketing recently adopted by the American Marketing Association: