Trust in Transactional and Relationship Marketing: Implications in a Post-CrisisWorld

The financial crisis, which began in America in mid-2007, developedinto a deep and protracted recession with associated negative socialdimensions. One of the causalities has been trust, specific and generalized,in marketplace transactions. This theoretical paper considersinstrumental and symbolic value associated with social exchange. Itexamines the nature and creation of trust, reciprocity, and wariness.Marketing practice is now understood to take place within a pluralisticmarketplace in which both transactional and relational perspectiveshave assumed greater strategic clarity. This paper considers the likelyimpacts of a decrease in trust on buyer and seller expectations andthe consequences for transactional and relational marketing dynamics.Suggested reconsiderations and realignments of strategic marketing areconsidered.