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Online relationship marketing

Article  in  Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · May 2019

DOI: 10.1007/s11747-018-0621-6

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Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-018-0621-6

CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL PAPER

Online relationship marketing

Lena Steinhoff 1 & Denni Arli 2 & Scott Weaven 3 & Irina V. Kozlenkova 4

Received: 29 March 2018 / Accepted: 20 November 2018

# Academy of Marketing Science 2018

Abstract
Online interactions have emerged as a dominant exchange mode for companies and customers. Cultivating online relationships—
defined as relational exchanges that are mediated by Internet-based channels—presents firms with challenges and opportunities.
In lockstep with exponential advancements in computing technology, a rich and ever-evolving toolbox is available to relationship
marketers to manage customer relationships online, in settings including e-commerce, social media, online communities, mobile,
big data, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. To advance academic knowledge and guide managerial decision making,
this study offers a comprehensive analysis of online relationship marketing in terms of its conceptual foundations, evolution in
business practice, and empirical insights from academic research. The authors propose an evolving theory of online relationship
marketing, characterizing online relationships as uniquely seamless, networked, omnichannel, personalized, and anthropomor-
phized. Based on these five essential features, six tenets and 11 corresponding propositions parsimoniously predict the perfor-
mance effects of the manifold online relationship marketing strategies.

Keywords Relationship marketing . Relationship selling . Online relationships . E-commerce . Online shopping . Online
retailing . Social media . Mobile shopping . Virtual assistants

Online relationships between customers and companies, in manage 85% of their relationships with firms without any
which relational interactions are mediated by Internet-based human interaction (Gartner 2011). Even online, though, rela-
channels, are ubiquitous. By 2020, customers likely will tionships remain en vogue among customers, who Bwant to
have a connection, a relationship, with the organizations they
deal with^ (Pettey 2017, p. 1). Accordingly, on the other side
Mark Houston served as Area Editor for this article. of the exchange dyad, companies work to build, grow, and
retain strong online relationships with their customers.
* Lena Steinhoff Relationship marketing (RM) spending thus is growing at
lena.steinhoff@uni-rostock.de
rates that continuously outpace those of brand spending
(eMarketer 2016).
Denni Arli
d.arli@griffith.edu.au For relationship marketers, online contexts create both
challenges and opportunities. Lower search costs, global com-
Scott Weaven
petition, and anonymity due to a lack of interpersonal interac-
s.weaven@griffith.edu.au
tions online represent threats to customer loyalty; the proper-
Irina V. Kozlenkova ties of online contexts instead may favor customers’ cognitive
irinak@virginia.edu
lock-in and loyalty (Ansari et al. 2008; Shankar et al. 2003).
1
Institute for Marketing and Service Research, Faculty of Business
For example, with a predominant focus on e-commerce,
and Social Sciences, University of Rostock, Ulmenstrasse 69, Verma et al. (2016) and Kozlenkova et al. (2017) identify
18057 Rostock, Germany how effective RM can increase firm performance. E-
2
Department of Marketing, Griffith Business School, Griffith commerce constitutes an important building block for online
University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia relationships, though it is just one aspect among the massively
3
Department of Marketing, Griffith Business School, Griffith vast bandwidth of online instruments available to relationship
University, Parklands Drive, Southport, QLD 4222, Australia marketers.
4
Marketing Department, McIntire School of Commerce, University of Since the 1990s, online RM has evolved from e-commerce
Virginia, 125 Ruppel Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA (hypertext web) to encompass social media and online

communities (social web), mobile apps and big data (semantic
web), and artificial intelligence and augmented reality (sym-
biotic web) strategies, all of which contribute to holistic cus-
tomer experiences (Lemon and Verhoef 2016). Rather than
taking a holistic view though, research on online RM is
fragmented. Studies focus on a single online RM strategy,
without considering ways to integrate the increasingly com-
plex toolbox of innovative online instruments. In response,
this article seeks to provide a theoretically grounded and man-
agerially relevant framework of online relationship marketing
that can guide research and business practices related to man-
aging customer–company relationships in Internet
technology–mediated relational exchanges.
We accomplish these objectives and advance extant knowl-
edge in three main ways. First, we establish a conceptual
foundation to define the domain of online relationships and
their scope, as well as specify the key similarities and differ-
ences of online and offline relational environments. Second,
with a two-pronged approach, we examine both online RM
business practices and empirical evidence. We thus can illus-
trate how online RM has evolved and proliferated in practice,
according to four major milestones that characterize the ad-
vancement of the Internet. By also synthesizing insights from
academic research, we derive key insights about the diverse
online RM strategies currently in use. Third, we consolidate
insights from this comprehensive analysis of online RM to
weave a parsimonious theory that both academics and man-
agers can consult to understand online customer–company
relationships. We suggest some selected, relevant theories
(i.e., flow, social network, media richness, reactance, and
parasocial interaction theory) that make unique contributions
to the online RM field, then offer six tenets and 11 correspond-
ing propositions for further research.
Conceptual foundation and scope of online
relationships
Morgan and Hunt’s (1994, p. 22) relationship marketing def-
inition encompasses Ball marketing activities directed toward
establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relation-
al exchanges.^ Extant RM literature offers rich insights into
the effectiveness of diverse strategies for managing customer
relationships in offline settings (Palmatier et al. 2006). Yet,
online relational contexts differ substantively from offline re-
lationships, so understanding how to form, grow, and retain
successful customer relationships in this relatively new envi-
ronment is a primary interest for both marketing managers
(KPMG 2017; McConnell 2017) and academic researchers
(Kozlenkova et al. 2017; Verma et al. 2016).
To define the scope of online relationships, we first need to
understand what constitutes a relationship. In this context, a
relationship consists of ongoing, intentional, non-accidental
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
interactions (e.g., purchases, communications) between the
customer and the seller,1 moving beyond discrete transactional
exchanges (Dwyer et al. 1987; Iacobucci and Ostrom 1996).
For relational exchanges to develop and persist, they need to
represent mutual exchanges of benefits, such that both cus-
tomers and sellers perceive some net benefit (e.g., financial,
emotional, social, communal) from the relationship with their
partner, relative to available existing alternatives (Gwinner
et al. 1998; Mathwick 2002; Sheth and Parvatiyar 1995). In
this sense, online and offline relationships are similar; the
human need for relationships is universal, and psychological
mechanisms that enable and promote the development of re-
lationships are the same in both settings (Kozlenkova et al.
2017). Online relationships also can feel as intimate and emo-
tionally rich as relational exchanges encountered offline
(Fischer et al. 1996; Mathwick 2002). Overall, people enter
into relationships to reduce their uncertainty and buy from
trusted partners in exchanges governed by relational norms
(Adjei et al. 2010; Palmatier et al. 2007a).
There are also differences between online and offline set-
tings. In offline settings, customer–company relationships rely
on face-to-face (e.g., customer shopping at a retailer’s loca-
tion) or non–face-to-face verbal (e.g., phone) or written (e.g.,
mail) interactions. Offline customer–company relationships
are consistently characterized by human-to-human relational
interactions. In online contexts, face-to-face interactions dis-
appear, and all exchanges are indirect and mediated by
Internet technologies (Yadav and Pavlou 2014). Little
human-to-human interaction takes place; instead, relational
exchanges rely on human-to-technology interactions. We de-
fine online relationships as relational exchanges mediated by
Internet technology that occur in a human-to-technology
environment.
In reality, many relationships are hybrid and fall some-
where on the continuum from exclusively offline to exclusive-
ly online. Customer–seller relationships encompass both
offline (e.g., customer–salesperson interactions in the store)
and online (e.g., service features provided through a mobile
app) components, and firms explicitly take omnichannel ap-
proaches to managing customer relationships. The scope of
our research includes these hybrid relationships, because it
covers all customer–seller relationships in which at least some
1
In business-to-consumer contexts (the focus of this research), the customer is
an individual person, and the seller is the firm as an overarching entity or an
individual firm representative (e.g., salesperson, service manager), such that
two types of relational dyads may emerge: individual–firm and individual–
individual (Iacobucci and Ostrom 1996). Dedicated interpersonal relational
ties with individual employees have important implications (e.g., Palmatier
et al. 2007b), but for this study, we focus on the firm overall as a relational
partner to address firm-based strategies to manage customer relationships. This
subsumed role of individual representatives of the seller firm also reflects an
online relationship context, in which dedicated interactions between a custom-
er and a specific employee tend to be relatively rare, compared with offline
settings.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
relational interactions occur through online, technology-
mediated channels. Thus, we acknowledge the relevance of
offline interactions for determining overall relationship perfor-
mance (Palmatier et al. 2006), but we focus explicitly on strat-
egies that pertain to the online elements of relational
exchanges.
Evolution and business practice of online
relationship marketing
Since the Internet first became available for commercial pur-
poses, firms have quickly recognized the value of nurturing
continuous online relationships with their customers. To set
the stage for our review of companies’ increasingly sophisti-
cated online RM strategies, we delineate four major techno-
logical milestones (from hypertext web to symbiotic web) that
incrementally have facilitated online relationship marketers’
efforts. Table 1 summarizes these four developmental eras,
outlines corresponding strategies for relationship marketers,
offers some examples from business practice, and fore-
shadows major findings from academic research.
Hypertext web: read-only
The hypertext web refers to the implementation and dissemi-
nation of the World Wide Web during the 1990s. It is a read-
only web, enabling users to search for and read the informa-
tion that website owners made available. During that time, e-
commerce begins to spread where consumers are able to view,
select, and order firms’ offerings in online stores. Today, glob-
al e-commerce sales of products and services have reached
US$2.3 trillion, accounting for 10.1% of overall retail sales
(eMarketer 2017). The top three global e-commerce sites,
Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba, all were founded during this
era (1994, 1995, and 1999 respectively) and have since driven
e-commerce. Together, they attract more than 660 million on-
line visitors each month (Statista 2018b), and in the United
States, more than 60% of Internet users make purchases online
at least monthly (Statista 2018c).
For firms, the spread of Internet technology and its expan-
sion to commercial purposes revolutionized the way they do
business, by adding a new online channel they could use to
interact with customers. At the same time, the introduction of
an online sales channels substantially changed the competitive
landscape. Besides existing competitors adopting the online
channel, additional, exclusively online competitors entered
the market, challenging incumbent market leaders. E-
commerce transformed various industries into global markets,
featuring wide choice and low switching costs for customers.
Competition for customers’ business also arose internally,
such that firms’ offline and online channels were subject to
potential cannibalization effects requiring purposeful
management.
Likewise, the opportunity to buy online rather than going
to a physical store or ordering via mail from a catalog repre-
sented a revolution for customers. E-commerce made cus-
tomers much more independent from time- and location-
based constraints, thus offering strong convenience benefits.
Yet, the new technology-mediated environment was also as-
sociated with new uncertainties and risks. Transacting online
with e-commerce retailers required customers to electronically
submit and share personal information and payment data, such
that early adopters of online shopping faced substantial trust
issues. Unlike in a brick-and-mortar store, customers were not
able to Btouch and feel^ products or try out different versions
(e.g., compare sizes for clothing), potentially aggravating the
selection process. Furthermore, rather than receiving instant
gratification from a purchase made in brick-and-mortar set-
tings, customers had to wait for their product to be delivered
to their home.
Social web: read-write
From the early to mid-2000s, the social web proceeded as an
important developmental step in the rise of the World Wide
Web. The web advanced to a read and write web where users
could not only read, but also contribute content and interact
with other users. Social media and online communities are
Internet-based, collaborative systems, often based on cloud
computing, in which the majority of content is produced by
users, and users interact socially beyond geographical bound-
aries. Thus, users consume, generate, and exchange content.
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, and
Wikipedia are among the most popular social media services,
used by 2.46 billion people in 2017 (Statista 2018d). They
also are popular, pervasive mechanisms for building online
relationships with customers; 84% of Fortune 500 companies
maintain Facebook or Twitter profiles to share content and
enhance customer engagement (Barnes and Griswold 2016).
Unlike more traditional forms of unidirectional, company-
initiated communications, social media enables and encour-
ages bidirectional communication between firms and cus-
tomers. Firms use different approaches to enter into dialogues
with customers, share information, collect customer feedback,
and create a sense of community. For example, Nike couples
hashtags reinforcing its main tagline, BJust do it,^ with specif-
ic segments such as #NikeWomen, which regularly receive
hundreds of thousands of likes and comments from targeted
users (Banovic 2017). The MyStarbucksIdea crowdsourced
innovation contest resulted in online submissions of 190,000
new product ideas and 300 innovative implementations (e.g.,
Skinny Mocha, K-Cups, cake pops, continuation of the key
chain card) by consumers (Geisel 2015; Tolido 2016). Lay’s
BDo us a flavor^ campaign focused on millennial customers’
Table 1 Evolution of online relationship marketing along four major technological milestones
Hypertext web
Time period Mid to late-1990s
Major E-commerce
technologi-
cal
advances
Major online Online shops, e-commerce market places
relation-
ship
marketing
tools
Implications The expansion of Internet technology to
for firms commercial purposes revolutionized the
way firms do business, by adding a new
online channel they could use to sell to
customers. At the same time, the online
channel substantially changed the
competitive landscape, facilitating the
entry of new, global competitors and
lowering switching costs for customers.
Implications Early adopters of online shopping faced
for customers substantial trust issues that needed to be
overcome, related with the sharing of
personal information and payment data
with e-commerce retailers. Also, rather
than receiving instant gratification from a
purchase as was usual in brick-and-mortar
settings, customers had to wait for their
product to be delivered to their home.
Business With close to 500 million active users in
practice 2017, the Alibaba Group claims about 80%
examples of all online Chinese retail sales. During its
annual Singles Day promotional event in
November of 2017, the company
generated US$ 25.3 billion in product
sales, thereby largely outnumbering Cyber
Monday online sales in the US (i.e., US$
3.45 billion). A portfolio of three
e-commerce platforms where Alibaba acts
as a middleman to bring together different
types of buyers and sellers constitutes the
group’s core: Alibaba.com (launched in
1999) represents an international
business-to-business trading platform;
Taobao.com (2003) in turn is a
Social web
Early to mid-2000s
Social media and online communities
Social media company profiles, platforms,
software as a service
Beyond unidirectional, company-initiated
communications, the social web enables and
encourages firms to bidirectionally communi-
cate with their customers. Firms adopt various
approaches to engage customers in dialogues,
share information with them, collect their
feedback and suggestions, and create a sense
of community. Platforms and
software-as-a-service enabled new business
models, again inviting new market entrants
and changing the competitive landscape.
Customers can use social media to interact and Customers’ behaviors become much more
communicate with fellow customers and
firms. Customers are empowered to spread
their firm-related experiences and opinions to
a large audience, leading to a shift in power
balance between customers and firms.
Platforms and software-as-a-service have
made several services (e.g., hospitality, trans-
portation) more readily accessible for cus-
tomers.
Established in 2009, ride-sharing company Uber In 2011, Buffalo Wild Wings partnered with
utilizes a cloud-based platform to connect in-
dividuals seeking transportation with over 3
million registered drivers (contractors) in over
60 countries. Revenue is generated from tak-
ing a percentage of each
customer-to-customer (C2C) transaction.
Although valued at over $69.6 billion in 2018,
the company has consistently posted losses,
suggesting that it has not yet lived up to its
potential. Platform elements are used to ensure
high-levels of service (e.g., customer ratings)
and provide convenience for customers
(cashless transactions, mobile phone applica-
tion) and has been successfully extended to
associated services such as UberEATS (which
Semantic web
Late-2000s to mid-2010s
Mobile apps and big data
Mobile applications for e-commerce and com-
munication channels, personalization (e.g.,
geotargeting, location-based marketing)
For relationship marketers, mobile apps can be a Artificial intelligence technologies promise to
blessing, enabling them to communicate with
and stay close to their customers at all times,
as well as to develop personalized offers. The
vast amounts of information collected about
customers supports firms in learning how to
best serve them and build more relevant
relationships, which increases relationship
marketing effectiveness. Yet, customers’
privacy concerns may impede relationship
formation and development.
Customers can consult artificial intelligence tools
transparent and traceable for companies, due
to constant mobile app usage and firms’ big
data collection efforts. One the one hand, this
may allow customers to receive better (i.e.,
more customized, better fitting)
communications and offers from firms. On the
other hand though, it also may prompt
customers’ privacy concerns and lead to a
sense of intrusion.
IKEA was one of the first companies to use a
SCVNGR (a location-based gaming platform)
to develop a three-month gamification cam-
paign in the United States, leading up to the
March Madness basketball tournament. The
Bhome court advantage^ program used a mo-
bile app to allow customers to complete cus-
tom challenges (e.g., taking pictures of the
sauciest wing) to receive discounts and prizes,
ranging from free chicken wings to tickets to
the NBA finals. Customers were also encour-
aged to develop their own challenges. On
average, customers completed seven
challenges, meaning that they not only com-
pleted all challenges provided by the restau-
rant but also created their own games. Users
Symbiotic web
Mid-2010s to today
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality
Virtual assistants, chatbots, embodied virtual
agents, augmented reality applications
overhaul firms’ service delivery methods and
produce efficiency gains by reducing the need
for frontline employees or service
representatives. Augmented reality applications
can help firms mitigate some of the sensory
disadvantages in online environments, such as
by letting customers visualize how specific
product offerings fit into their personal physical
environment.
for real-time assistance and interact with them in
a human-like manner. Augmented reality ap-
plications offer support in customers’
decision-making process, such that customers
can virtually try out products, spurring percep-
tions of control and ownership.
human-like virtual assistant, BAnna,^ to help
customers find their way around its website and
respond to customer queries such as product
delivery. Managers had mixed opinions about
Anna’s effectiveness for stimulating fruitful
conversations with customers. In addition to
customer frustration with Anna’s inability to
answer some questions, her humanized appear-
ance incited many customers to ask inappropri-
ate questions. According to IKEA’s mobile so-
lutions consultant, BAround 50% of questions
were sex-related,^ which led him to conclude:
BIf you try too hard to be natural, it diverts from
the real purpose of it, which is about giving the
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Table 1 (continued)
Hypertext web
business-to-consumer or
consumer-to-consumer e-commerce portal
where small business and individuals can
act as online merchants; Tmall.com (2008)
represents an online store where larger
companies, including multinational
brands, act as merchants. (Blystone 2015;
Russell 2017; Statista 2018a)
Until the recent opening of several offline Dropbox was launched in 2008 as a cloud-based
bookstores and the Amazon Go
supermarket, the e-commerce giant
Amazon has been doing business with
customers online exclusively. With its
easy-to-understand user interface and
easy-to-use self-help options, Amazon has
limited the need for (human) customer
service and typically can transact and
communicate with customers without any
human interaction between the customer
and Amazon employees. If human inter-
vention is needed, Amazon allows cus-
tomers to access a service manager by
phone, email, or live chat. In a vast
understatement, creating and nurturing
technology-mediated relationships online
with customers has seemed to work out
pretty well for the company: It enjoys 95%
annual customer retention rates, and 75%
of those customers come back weekly. (BI
Intelligence 2016; ChannelReply 2018;
Danziger 2018)
Major Overall, extant research identifies positive Despite an increased use of social media by
academic profitability effects of migrating customer
research relationships from offline to online or
insights multiple channels. Insights on online
customer loyalty are mixed. Looking at the
mechanisms driving relationship
performance, the same processes as in
offline relationships are at work, with
reciprocity and trust taking on paramount
roles.
Social web
was established in 2016 and now operates in
120 countries). However, another service ex-
tension UberRUSH was unsuccessful due to
the stochastic demand for product delivery
services and the availability of higher-value
ride-sharing or food delivery alternatives for
contractors. (Christensen et al. 2015; Karbhari
2018; Sherman 2018; Zupic 2017)
multi-platform/multi-device storage, backup,
and user collaboration facility for individuals
and businesses. Although never turning a
profit, Dropbox is installed in over 250 million
devices, generated revenues of $1.1 billion in
2017 and has been valued at $12 billion on
Nasdaq in March, 2018. The company uses a
‘freemium’ SaaS business model incorporat-
ing free storage for individuals (2GB) and
premium offers for individual and corporate
customers. Although some concerns have
been levied over data privacy, security
breaches (68 million passwords were com-
promised in 2016), and software anomalies
(e.g. re-appearance of 3-year old deleted files
in client accounts) have impacted consumer
perceptions of the organization, the simplicity
and integration of the software across plat-
forms has ensured continued market growth.
(Darrow 2016; Pah et al. 2018; Team 2018a,
b)
firms, insights on the weight of its impact on
online relationships is still limited. However,
social media and online communities bear the
potential to play important roles in customer
retention, engagement, feedback, or product
co-creation. Firms need to focus on providing
relevant content that offers value and enhances
the customer experience.
Semantic web
spent an average of 90 s per challenge,
equivalent to 3.6 years of brand engagement
during the campaign. Customers were en-
couraged to share photos of their experiences
on social media, further building online ex-
posure. The campaign resulted in customers
engaging in 184,000 unique game challenges
across 740 restaurants and more than 100
million impressions on social media. (Drell
2011; Lopez 2011)
8fit is a Berlin-based startup. Their app acts as an Consumers’ ability to try skincare or makeup
online personal trainer to accompany people
on their way to a healthier lifestyle.
Combining meal plans and workout programs
fully customized to subscribers’ goals and
preferences, 8fit takes a more comprehensive
approach than many other fitness app pro-
viders focusing either on recipes or exercise
schedules. When signing up, customers are
asked to choose between three overriding
goals, i.e. losing weight, getting fitter, or
gaining muscle. After that, subscribers indi-
cate detailed personal data related to their
current and intended physical measures, their
dietary and meal prep preferences, as well as
their fitness state and habits. From this data
then, 8fit generates a custom agenda for each
subscriber. In an effort to provide customers
with a holistic omnichannel experience, the
firm accompanies its personalized app by their
Facebook profile and website, where it en-
gages customers in additional contents such as
weekly challenges, meal prep videos for
select recipes, or health-related background
articles. (8fit 2018; O’Hear 2017)
The high smartphone penetration allows firms to Embodied virtual agents and augmented reality
advance their online RM strategies through
increased personalization, based on
geotargeting or location-based marketing, for
example. Through mobile channels, relation-
ships will happen more and more in real-time.
Nonetheless, big data leads to privacy issues.
Increased media attention and the spread of
personalization practices mean that customers
are increasingly aware that firms collect their
information, online and offline. Thus,
Symbiotic web
right answer as fast as possible.^ (Scott 2008;
Wakefield 2016)
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
products in supermarkets/drugstores is limited,
and print advertising limits the number of
products that can be promoted to customers.
Partnering with a facial recognition software
company, L’Oréal created Make-Up Genius, an
app that allows consumers to use their mobile
phones’ front-facing camera as a mirror. The
app uses 64 data points and more than 100 dif-
ferent facial expressions to differentiate features
of the customer’s facial image so that customers
can virtually try on makeup. The app has been
downloaded over 10 million times and resulted
in 260 million product trials worldwide. The
images also can be shared through social
networks, and images can be saved on the
phone to assist purchasing decisions. (Digital
Training Academy 2017; Herring 2016;
McLeod 2018)
may be powerful tools to provide customers
with personalized content and
anthropomorphized relational interactions. Yet,
also dark side effects are conceivable. More
academic research is needed to understand the
impact of these innovative possibilities on
customer relationships.
 J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

2017; Saad and Abida 2016; Wood et al. 2005

Aguirre et al. 2015; Andrews et al. 2016; Arora Castelo et al. 2018a; Castelo et al. 2018b; Huang
and Liao 2017; Keeling et al. 2010; Marinova
et al. 2017; Mimoun et al. 2012; Rafaeli et al.
desire for self-expression and brand engagement, resulting in
3.8 million submissions, 2.2 billion impressions on Facebook,
and an 8.5% increase in sales (Capgemini 2017).
The notion of online communities also is reflected in
new business models that rely on platforms or software-
as-a-service (SaaS), with cloud computing as the underly-
ing technological infrastructure. Platforms effectively
bring together users and providers of a service, such as
Symbiotic web

hospitality (e.g., Airbnb) or transportation (e.g., Uber).

The platform operator maintains relationships with both
types of clients and facilitates their exchanges (Rochet
and Tirole 2003). In the SaaS business model, software
is licensed, hosted on company servers, and delivered
customers demand increased levels of privacy

et al. 2008; de Haan et al. 2018; Eastlick et al.

2012; Mukherjee and Nath 2007; Phelps et al.

2000; Shankar et al. 2003; Son and Kim 2008;
Tam and Ho 2006; Taylor et al. 2009; Wang
2015; Krafft et al. 2017; Martin et al. 2017;

over the Internet to multiple users (Dubey and Wagle

Mazodier et al. 2018; Mothersbaugh et al.
2006; Kim et al. 2015; Koch and Benlian

2007). Due to its widespread acceptance among organiza-

tions and consumers, SaaS is predicted to account for
83% of all data traffic by 2021 (Cisco 2018), reflecting
and security from companies.

its uses in business applications (e.g., Office 365), email

software (e.g., Gmail), and collaborative software (e.g.,
Dropbox).
Semantic web

Semantic web: read-write-execute

et al. 2015

Emerging in the late 2000s and advancing to the mid-

2010s, the semantic web introduced smartphones and mo-
Yoon et al. 2008; Zhang et al. 2017; Zhu et al.

bile apps, as well as big data. In the semantic web, com-

2017; Walsh et al. 2010; Yazdani et al. 2018;
2012; Phan and Godes 2018; Riquelme et al.
Kozinets et al. 2010; Kumar et al. 2016; Liu

2016; Toker-Yildiz et al. 2017; Viglia et al.

Achen 2016; Babíc Rosario et al. 2016; Chan

et al. 2015; Mathwick 2002; Naylor et al.

puters communicate with one another, as well as analyze

Grégoire et al. 2009; Iyengar et al. 2011;
and Li 2010; Duan and Dholakia 2017;

and connect data from diverse sources, making it a read,

write, and execute web. The expansion of smartphone
usage created a market for mobile apps, which today ac-
count for 90% of Internet users’ time spent on their
smartphones (Wurmser 2018). Apple’s App Store offers
2 million apps, and Android users can access 3.8 million
apps (Statista 2018e).
Social web

For relationship marketers, mobile apps are powerful

2012

tools to communicate with and stay close to their customers

at all times, as well as enabling personalized and real-time,
location-based offers. For example, McDonald’s popular
Venkatesan et al. 2007; Verma et al. 2016;
Venkatesan 2005; Kushwaha and Shankar

Monopoly promotion operates through the company’s app,

2013; Rose et al. 2012; Shankar et al.
Ansari et al. 2008; Gensler et al. 2012;
Kozlenkova et al. 2017; Kumar and

which customers use to scan token codes to reveal prizes

2003; Thomas and Sullivan 2005;

that are redeemable online or in stores. The app effectively

stimulates communication and encourages customers to
share their personal information (e.g., sign-up and location-
al data; Verheul 2017). Approximately half of Airbnb hosts
Wallace et al. 2004

use the company’s app to support instantaneous communi-

Hypertext web

cation, leading to bookings that are eight times faster than

those made through the website (Brown 2014; Tanasoiu
2017). In this sense, apps help overcome some of the
Table 1 (continued)

asynchronicity of communication that is typical for online

contexts.
academic
literature

Due to these technological advances, staggering

related
Selected

amounts of digital data are generated every day. Internet

users leave digital footprints, such that their diverse online
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
behaviors can be tracked and aggregated to learn detailed
information about each user. The wealth of online data
promises myriad advantages to customers, in the form of
personalized services, individualized content, and relevant
messages and offers (e.g., coupons, discounts) (Martin
and Murphy 2017). This vast information collected about
customers also can help companies learn how to serve
them and build more relevant relationships, which in turn
may increase their productivity and lead to profit gains of
5%–6% over competitors that fail to make use of such
information (Biesdorf et al. 2013). Supporting firms in
their efforts, companies such as Adobe, Google, IBM,
Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, and SAP offer a variety of
software-enabled tools to leverage big data for managing
customer relationships.
On the negative side though, big data spur privacy con-
cerns among customers, which may impede relationship
formation and development, especially if the companies fail
to offer transparent data policies or suffer data breaches
(Martin et al. 2017). High-profile data breaches (e.g.,
Yahoo, Citibank, Wells Fargo) (Armerding 2018; Palermo
and Wagenseil 2017) have heightened privacy concerns and
impeded customers’ willingness to share personal informa-
tion (Shah et al. 2015). Effective online RM requires the
ethical management of customer data, above and beyond
any legal data protection requirements (Martin and
Murphy 2017). To provide customers with a greater sense
of control and security of their personal data, firms invest in
data protection seals (e.g., TrustArc, formerly TRUSTe) and
transparent privacy policies (Martin et al. 2017). For exam-
ple, Sainsbury provides an easily comprehensible consent
form that uses descriptive language to delineate terms and
conditions to which customers agree. Google has been
praised for informing customers about its privacy policy in
plain language (Dignan 2012). However, some recent
practices—such as automatically opting users in to
DoubleClick ads or personalizing Gmail advertisements—
have spurred criticisms of Google (Turow 2017). Fostering
customer control and requiring proactive and deliberate cus-
tomer opt-ins to receive company communications repre-
sent best practices (Favell 2017).
Symbiotic web: read-write-execute-concurrency
Finally, the symbiotic web is the era of artificial intelligence
and augmented reality. Machines and devices equipped with
artificial intelligence can mimic the cognitive functions typ-
ically associated with human minds, such as learning and
problem solving. Machines perceive and interpret their en-
vironment using a net of semantic linkages, then take action
accordingly. The symbiotic web features read-write-
execute-concurrency capabilities, such that humans and
technology communicate symbiotically in a human-like
fashion and in real-time. Customers readily adopt artificial
intelligence and augmented reality into their daily lives
through applications such as virtual personal assistants
(e.g., Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant,
Microsoft’s Cortana), video games (e.g., Warner’s Middle
Earth: Shadow of Mordor), smart cars (e.g., Google’s self-
driving car project, Tesla’s autopilot feature), online cus-
tomer support, music and movie recommendation services
(e.g., Spotify, Netflix), and smart home devices. Replika
launched an application in 2017 that allows users to create
conversational chatbots that use algorithms to build on their
basic programming to engage in unpredictable, emotive di-
alogues with users; only around 30% of what the Replika
chatbots say reflect preprogrammed scripts (Olson 2018).
Popular virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s
Siri, Google Assistant, and Microsoft’s Cortana already per-
form well in market tests (Koetsier 2018); Google’s Duplex
also foreshadows a future in which virtual assistants can
understand natural language, communicate with other vir-
tual agents, and complete autonomous tasks in a humanlike
manner.
For companies, artificial intelligence technologies prom-
ise to overhaul their service delivery methods and reduce the
number of frontline employees, or even eliminate the need
for customer-facing staff altogether. For example, service
robots, such as customer hotline virtual assistants or embod-
ied virtual agents, increasingly replace human service rep-
resentatives. Toshiba’s Yoko processes 50,000 after-sales
service inquiries daily in 17 countries, reducing human-to-
customer contacts by approximately 40% and support
emails by 50% (Living Actor 2016). However, IKEA’s as-
sistant Anna was retired from service in 2015, largely due to
its inadequate, inefficient service and a large volume of
inappropriate dialogue initiated by online customers
(Wakefield 2016).
Augmented reality instead relies on interactive technolog-
ical interfaces to modify physical environments, such as by
superimposing multimodal digital elements to appeal to a
range of human sensory inputs (Javornik 2016). Investments
into augmented reality to enhance customer experiences are
predicted to surpass $2.5 billion by 2018 (ABI Research
2013). With augmented reality applications, marketers can
mitigate some of the sensory disadvantages that customers
face online, such as by helping them visualize how specific
product offerings fit into their personal physical environment
(Hilken et al. 2017). Augmented reality can facilitate cus-
tomers’ decision-making process by layering virtual images
and content on a person, product, or background (Javornik
2016). For example, L’Oréal’s Style My Hair and Makeup
Genius apps allow customers to try products and view the
results on real photos of themselves, prior to purchasing them.
Topology Eyewear uses 3D face-scanning technology to give
customers a means to try on a variety of customized

eyeglasses using a smartphone-based augmented reality inter-
face (Buhr 2017). The IKEA Place 3D app allows customers
to visualize the look of over 2000 products in their own homes
and make more informed product purchases (Lunden 2017).
Academic research on online relationship
marketing
We synthesize extant marketing research pertaining to on-
line RM strategies and structure our discussion according
to the four stages of advancements in online RM, from the
hypertext web to the symbiotic web. In Table 2, we sum-
marize a selection of relevant studies. To identify existing
research, we searched Ebscohost, Elsevier Science Direct,
Proquest, and Google Scholar, using 27 different search
terms (in article abstracts and keywords) over the years
1990–2018 in 30 marketing journals (see Fig. 1), which
resulted in 108 articles.2 Two co-authors independently
coded the articles to categorize them into the relevant
era, depending on their focal topics. Following the proce-
dure suggested by Arli et al. (2018), we also conducted a
frequency analysis of keywords associated with each of
the four technological milestones. As depicted in Fig. 1,
most online RM studies refer to hypertext web– and social
web–related topics, followed by research on semantic web
topics. Academic research on symbiotic web RM strate-
gies is still developing and mostly appears in non-
marketing journals. Perhaps researchers lack the necessary
tools to analyze the advancements of the symbiotic web at
this point; in addition, there may not have been enough
time since the start of the symbiotic web era to allow
many manuscripts to complete the review process.
Research published in other disciplines signals that sym-
biotic web advances are key to fields beyond marketing.
Hypertext web: e-commerce
Research that pertains to the hypertext web mainly focuses on
e-commerce channels and customers’ migrations between tra-
ditional offline channels and the online channel. Companies
were eager to learn about customers’ attitudinal and behavior-
al responses toward this revolutionary way of shopping at a
firm, as well as the overall performance implications of mul-
tichannel selling.
Extant knowledge Early research in the domain of online
RM addresses the performance implications of selling to
2
In this literature review, we also cite some additional papers which offer
valuable insights for online RM, beyond the articles we identified by means
of our literature search. We thank the review team for their insightful sugges-
tions on related research from other domains.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
customers through e-commerce channels. Findings from
several studies show that migrating customers from
offline to online channels enhances customer profitability,
by stimulating additional revenues while reducing the cost
to serve them (Gensler et al. 2012; Kumar and Venkatesan
2005). Customers’ online shopping satisfaction, trust, and
repurchase intention is comprised of their cognitive (i.e.,
driven by customer-perceived telepresence and challenge
when using shopping websites) as well as their affective
online experience (i.e., driven by customer-perceived
ease-of-use, customization, connectedness, and perceived
benefits of shopping websites) (Rose et al. 2012). When it
comes to customer loyalty, research offers mixed effects,
with evidence of increased loyalty due to the ease of the
interaction and cognitive lock-in (Shankar et al. 2003) or
else decreased loyalty due to lower switching costs and
less interpersonal interaction (Ansari et al. 2008).
Successful online relationships also require reciprocity,
resonating with offline RM findings. Reciprocal online
relationships with sellers, relative to unilateral ones,
strongly enhance consumers’ psychological commitment
and increase sales (Kozlenkova et al. 2017). In their me-
ta-analysis, Verma et al. (2016) substantiate the pivotal
role of trust, relative to other mediating mechanisms
(e.g., commitment, satisfaction), for enhancing online
RM performance.
Comparing customers who use both offline and online
channels to single-channel customers, extant research concurs
that using multiple channels enhances customer loyalty and
profitability (Ansari et al. 2008; Kumar and Venkatesan 2005;
Thomas and Sullivan 2005; Venkatesan et al. 2007). This is
due to the increase in the number of touchpoints between
sellers and customers, which facilitate deeper relationships,
more cross-selling opportunities, and the availability of addi-
tional customer services (Wallace et al. 2004). According to
Kushwaha and Shankar (2013) though, multichannel usage
only enhances customer profitability for hedonic (e.g., cos-
metics) rather than utilitarian (e.g., computer) products.
Main insights Extant research identifies positive profitability
effects of migrating customer relationships from offline to
online or multiple channels. Insights on online customer loy-
alty are mixed. Regarding the mechanisms that drive relation-
ship performance, the processes appear to be the same as those
that affect offline relationships, such that reciprocity and trust
take paramount roles.
Several research questions thus arise from this discussion.
What is the optimal mix of online versus offline relational
interactions? How do the weights of relational mechanisms
(i.e., trust, commitment, satisfaction, and reciprocity) shift
throughout the course of an online customer–firm relation-
ship? What strategies can online companies adopt to stimulate
customers’ trust and reciprocity systematically?
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Social web: social media and online communities
The advances manifested in the social web produce a read and
write web, making bilateral communication with customers
the heart of online RM efforts in this era. Specifically, firms
use social media to manage customer relationships online.
Extant knowledge The anonymity and geographical distance
of relational partners that engage in online relationships
impedes communication, despite its essential role in creat-
ing, strengthening, and maintaining relational bonds
(Walsh et al. 2010). Social media has become an essential
communication tool (Kumar et al. 2016), such that social
media activities and participation enhance consumers’
shopping behavior (Kumar et al. 2016; Naylor et al.
2012; Zhang et al. 2017), repeat usage behavior (Toker-
Yildiz et al. 2017), interactive engagement (Viglia et al.
2018), happiness (Duan and Dholakia 2017), feelings of
support (Zhu et al. 2012), and overall relationship quality
(Achen 2016). However, online sellers need to pay atten-
tion to the detrimental effects of customers spreading their
dissatisfaction and complaints through social media
(Grégoire et al. 2009; Riquelme et al. 2016).
Online communities promote customer reciprocal behav-
iors too. Reciprocity captures voluntary, discretionary behav-
iors to help those who have helped the actor previously, as
well as other members of a virtual community who need as-
sistance (Chan and Li 2010; Yoon et al. 2008). Participation in
an online community leads consumers to believe that they will
receive reciprocal support from other members, should they
face difficulties in the future (Chan and Li 2010; Zhu et al.
2012). Thus online communities facilitate communal, rather
than simply exchange-oriented, relationships (Mathwick
2002).
A major customer-generated contribution in the social
web is word-of-mouth (WOM) communication, made
available to a large audience through social media net-
works, online communities, and online retail sites. Such
online reviews and recommendations represent an impor-
tant source of information for fellow consumers consider-
ing a purchase of a certain product. Through social con-
tagion, WOM facilitates new product adoption (Iyengar
et al. 2011), making it vital for firms to systematically
identify, target, and encourage opinion leaders and
influencers (e.g., bloggers) to adopt and talk about their
products (Kozinets et al. 2010; Liu et al. 2015; Phan and
Godes 2018). Reviewer rankings help review readers
identify high-quality contributors. Interestingly though,
bottom-ranked reviewers exert a greater effect on product
sales than do top-ranked reviewers, given their greater
perceived similarity with the typical consumer (Yazdani
et al. 2018). Top-ranked reviewers’ impact in turn is crit-
ical only for very new products and products featuring a
high review variance, due to their enhanced credibility. A
meta-analysis substantiates WOM communications’ over-
all positive impact on sales, which is contingent on plat-
form-, product-, and metric-related characteristics (Babíc
Rosario et al. 2016). Specifically, WOM on social media
platforms is more effective when receivers can assess their
similarity with senders. On e-commerce platforms in turn,
such similarity assessments do not matter for WOM ef-
fectiveness. WOM features a stronger sales-effect for tan-
gible product innovations, while for services, WOM ef-
fectiveness is not contingent on the product life cycle.
WOM volume has a stronger impact on sales than its
valence. High variance in WOM valence compromises
sales (Babíc Rosario et al. 2016).
Main insights Despite an increased use of social media by
firms, insights into its relative impact on online relationships
remain limited. Social media and online communities offer the
clear potential to affect customer retention, engagement, feed-
back, and product co-creation outcomes. Firms need to focus
on providing relevant content that offers value and enhances
the customer experience. Additionally, companies could em-
ploy a systematic approach to encourage influential customers
to engage in favorable WOM communications.
Several research questions thus arise for continued research
into the social web. What is the (quantifiable) impact of social
media and online communities on a firm’s overall online RM
performance? How can firms benefit from and effectively use
active customer contributors (e.g., opinion leaders,
influencers)? How can firms utilize customers’ networks of
relationships to not only strengthen their relationships with fo-
cal customers but also build or grow relationships with their
peers?
Semantic web: mobile apps and big data
The semantic web introduces mobile devices and applications,
as well as big data, all of which are important instruments for
online RM, by supporting enhanced personalization and con-
venience benefits. However, customer privacy concerns have
gained traction as a dark side of online RM.
Extant knowledge Mobile apps enable personalization, which
is beneficial for building relationships between customers and
firms (Koch and Benlian 2015) and increasing seller perfor-
mance (Arora et al. 2008). Personalization entails customer-
oriented marketing strategies that customize and deliver indi-
vidualized messages to the right person at the right time, in an
effort to maximize immediate and future business opportuni-
ties (Tam and Ho 2006). Personalizing online interactions
through multiple devices improves and deepens customer re-
lationships (Aguirre et al. 2015; Taylor et al. 2009). Adopting
a firm’s mobile app positively affects customers’ subsequent
Table 2 Selected online relationship marketing research
Reference
Hypertext web: e-commerce
Kozlenkova et al. (2017)
Kushwaha and Shankar (2013)
Verma et al. (2016)
Social web: social media and online communities
Grégoire et al. (2009)
Kumar et al. (2016)
Focal construct(s) Online context Theory Research design Major findings
Bilateral communication, Online shopping Signaling theory Field studies on 5231 buyers and When it comes to online relationship
seller’s reputation community (clothing), 336 sellers in an online shopping formation and its payoffs, three
social media platform community (Studies 1 and 2); aspects are critical: risk-reducing
field experiment on 772 potential signals, such as communication,
buyers in an online social media reputation, and relational obser-
platform (Study 3) vation; the level of the buyer’s
experience; and the relationship
type (unilateral vs. reciprocal).
Multichannel purchase Online retailers Regulatory focus theory Cross-sectional field study of As opposed to conventional wisdom
behavior 412,424 customers sampled from that all multichannel customers
a cooperative database covering should be more valuable than
750 direct marketers across 22 single-channel customers, the
product categories study shows that only for hedonic
product categories, multichannel
customers represent the most
valuable customer segment. In
turn, traditional (i.e., catalog)
channel customers of low-risk
categories provide higher mone-
tary value than other customers.
For utilitarian product categories
perceived as high (low) risk,
web-only (catalog-only) shoppers
constitute the most valuable seg-
ment.
Antecedents (customer, Online retailers N/A Meta-analysis based on 50 empirical Trust is most important in
seller, dyadic), studies, 153 causal relationships maintaining relationship
mediators, consequences continuity in online retailing;
relationship benefits matter more
than dependence on seller, and
relationship investment matters
more than seller expertise.
Online complaints Anticorporation websites N/A Longitudinal field study of 431 Firms’ best customers have the
participants (online complaints) longest unfavorable reactions
(Study 1) and online experiment (i.e., longitudinal
of 103 students (Study 2) love-becomes-hate effect).
Strong-relationship customers are
more amenable to any level of re-
covery attempt.
Firm-generated content Social media networks and N/A Longitudinal field study of 412/788 Firm-generated content on in social
company profiles customers combining social media has a positive effect on
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Table 2 (continued)
Reference
Zhu et al. (2012)
Semantic web: mobile apps and big data
Koch and Benlian (2015)
Martin et al. (2017)
Focal construct(s) Online context Theory Research design Major findings
media participation data, transac- customer spending, cross-buying,
tion data, survey data and profitability, after accounting
for the effects of television
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
advertising and e-mail marketing.
Specifically, firm-generated con-
tent works synergistically with
both television advertising and
e-mail marketing. The impact of
firm-generated content on cus-
tomer behavior is stronger for
more experienced, tech-savvy,
and social media-prone cus-
tomers. The valence of posts, re-
ceptivity of posts, and customers’
susceptibility to posts all exhibit
positive effects.
Online community, Online communities Decision theory Field experiment of 13,735 eBay Participation in an online
risk preference, customers and 600 prospect community leads consumers to
risky behavior lenders believe that they will receive help
or support from other members
should difficulties arise. Such a
perception leads online
community participants to make
riskier financial decisions than
nonparticipants. Online
community members are more
risk seeking when they have
relatively strong ties with other
members; when ties are weak,
they exhibit similar risk
preferences as nonmembers.
Online viral marketing Online advertising Economic market Randomized online field experiment The results support the premise that
and personalization theory of 119 customers of ecomedia scarcity due to social demand has
a positive causal effect on
consumers’ propensity to engage
in referrals.
Customer data Various industries Gossip theory Experiments on 200 consumers and Different types of customer
vulnerability 202 actual retail, financial vulnerabilities lead to negative
services, or technology customers performance effects, mediated by
(Studies 1 and 3); event study of violation and trust. Transparency
414 public companies (Study 2) and control in firms’ data
management practices can
Table 2 (continued)
Reference
Shankar et al. (2003)
Symbiotic web: artificial intelligence and augmented reality
Keeling et al. (2013)
Marinova et al. (2017)
Saad and Abida (2016)
Focal construct(s)
Satisfaction, loyalty
Co-operative, equality,
socio-emotional,
intensity
Smart technology, frontline
interactions
Social interactivity
Online context Theory Research design Major findings
suppress the negative effects of
customer data vulnerability.
Online retailers (travel Behavioral decision Survey of 144 hotel customers, 190 Loyalty to the service provider is
services) theory, prospect online customers and 675 higher when the service is chosen
theory, customers from the company online rather than offline. Loyalty
disconfirmation database and satisfaction have a reciprocal
theory relationship; each positively
reinforces the other, and this
relationship between overall
satisfaction and loyalty is
strengthened online.
Online retailers Social presence theory Survey of 822 respondents from Respondents regard technologically
panel data mediated relationships as less
friendly and co-operative but
more task-oriented than
human-to-human versions.
Technology-empowered Pragmatic and Conceptual paper Smart technologies, which can
frontline interactions deliberate learning substitute for or complement
theories frontline employees’ (FLEs) ef-
forts to deliver customized service
over time, may help resolve the
long-standing tension between
service efficiency and
effectiveness, because they can
learn or enable learning from and
across customers, FLEs, and in-
teractions.
Virtual agents, website Flow theory Experiment with 600 students The presence of virtual agents in a
commercial website has a positive
impact on perceived interactivity,
which helps increase the state of
flow.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Fig. 1 Frequency analysis based on technological milestones (hypertext
web to symbiotic web). Notes: The 27 search terms were as follows:
relation*marketing+online, relation* marketing+e-commerce, relation*
selling+online, relation* selling+e-commerce, relation* marketing+
technology, relation* marketing+digital, relation* marketing+online,
relation* experience+online, relation* marketing+social media,
relation* marketing+mobile, relation* marketing+artificial intelligence,
relation* marketing+virtual agent, relation* marketing+virtual assistant,
relation* marketing+robot, relation* marketing+augmented reality,
relation* marketing+gamification, relation* marketing+online
community, relation* marketing+privacy, relation* marketing+data
breach, relation* marketing+trust signal, relation* marketing+
omnichannel, relation* marketing+software as a service, relation*
marketing+platform, relation* marketing+social network, relation*
marketing+big data, relation* marketing+anthropomorphism, relation*
marketing+online loyalty. The journals searched were Journal of
purchases, especially if customers use more interactive fea-
tures provided by the app and rely on the app repeatedly
(Kim et al. 2015). Wang et al. (2015) show that adoption of
mobile shopping channels increases customers’ order frequen-
cy. Among light purchasers, both order sizes and rates go up
after they start using mobile shopping. Mobile channels can
facilitate the development of habitual buying and interacting
with an online seller, independent of time and location con-
straints (Wang et al. 2015). Facilitating customers’ informa-
tion search through mobile channels also is advantageous for
sellers, in that conversion rates increase as customers switch
from mobile (e.g., smartphones) to less mobile (i.e., desktop
computers) devices on the path to purchase, compared with
customers starting out on less mobile devices (de Haan et al.
2018). GPS-equipped smartphones also enable firms to pro-
vide customers with relevant content in real time based on
their current location. Mobile campaigns are shown to be par-
ticularly effective in crowded locations, such that customers
immerse in their smartphones to escape the crowding-related,
negative emotions and become more receptive to firms’ com-
munications (Andrews et al. 2016). Furthermore, customers
are more receptive of and responsive to firms’ communica-
tions (i.e., sports team-linked sponsorship messages) if cus-
tomers are geographically and socially isolated from the
Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer
Research, Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in
Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of
Retailing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Consumer
Psychology, Marketing Letters, Journal of Interactive Marketing,
Psychology & Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal
of Service Management, Journal of Business Research, MIS Quarterly,
European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behavior, Journal
of Electronic Commerce Research, Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, Electronic Commerce Research,
Journal of Services Marketing, Advances in Consumer Research,
Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, International Journal
of Electronic Business, Journal of Marketing Management, and Journal
of Relationship Marketing
community of peer customers (i.e., other fans of the sports
team) (Mazodier et al. 2018).
Big data also enable personalization but can simultaneous-
ly foster customer concerns about privacy and data security
(Aguirre et al. 2015). Online, such concerns are more salient
than in offline environments (Martin et al. 2017; Mukherjee
and Nath 2007; Shankar et al. 2003) and represent important
barriers to online relationship development (Eastlick et al.
2006; Phelps et al. 2000). Companies should strive to cre-
ate transparency and control in their data management
policies to reduce the negative potential effects of cus-
tomer data vulnerability (Martin et al. 2017), which can
be hefty. For example, a firm that suffers a data breach
also suffers an average drop in stock performance of
−.27%, equivalent to a loss of $130 million in share-
holder value on the day of the breach (Martin et al.
2017). The fear of privacy losses can prompt negative
customer responses, such that they might provide incor-
rect or incomplete information, opt out from communi-
cations, or spread negative WOM (Krafft et al. 2017;
Son and Kim 2008). Any lack of transparency will create
feelings of vulnerability that can damage the quality of online
customer relationships (Mothersbaugh et al. 2012).
Permission-based marketing to accommodate individual

customer preferences may help alleviate some of these con-
cerns (Martin et al. 2017).
Main insights Online relationships rely heavily on the ad-
vancements associated with the semantic web. Massive
smartphone penetration rates have allowed firms to advance
their online RM strategies through increased personalization,
based on geotargeting or location-based marketing, for exam-
ple. Through mobile channels, relationships happen in real
time. Nonetheless, big data lead to privacy issues. Increased
media attention and the spread of personalization practices
mean that customers are increasingly aware that firms collect
their information. Thus, customers demand increased levels of
privacy and security from companies.
Several research questions arise from this discussion. How
do mobile channels complement or substitute for other online
channels, and in which settings is one or the other more ben-
eficial? In which environments do location-based firm com-
munications lead to positive and negative customer re-
sponses? How can firms employ personalized strategies but
also avoid the pitfalls of privacy concerns?
Symbiotic web: artificial intelligence and augmented
reality
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality represent the ma-
jor advancements of the symbiotic web. For online relation-
ship marketers, these two technological developments facili-
tate online RM efforts, because they can make online relation-
ships more personal and virtually bring sellers and customers
closer together, while reducing some of the risk inherent to
online contexts.
Extant knowledge In response to the disadvantages associated
with the lack of human interaction in online contexts, mar-
keters have invested in new tools to enhance online customer
experiences, often centered on the use of Bhumanizing^ arti-
ficial intelligence technologies, such as chatbots, avatars, and
virtual assistants (Saad and Abida 2016). Embodied virtual
agents are humanlike extensions of online chatbots that act
like virtual salespeople to inform and interact individually
with customers as they browse a site (Wood et al. 2005).
Reflecting the concept of anthropomorphism (Hume 1957),
modern embodied virtual agents resemble humans and use
naturalistic language processing to facilitate realistic, real-
time conversations, as well as artificial intelligence to learn
from series of customer interactions (Keeling et al. 2010).
Effective embodied virtual agents can foster personal, emo-
tional bonds with customers (Keeling et al. 2010). However,
many embodied virtual agents currently struggle to mimic
human behaviors realistically, resulting in suboptimal infor-
mational and service outcomes that fuel customer frustration
and disappointment (Mimoun et al. 2012). If embodied virtual
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
agents’ physical human-likeness nears perfection, customer
responses reverse from negative to positive. Yet, even perfect-
ly human-like embodied virtual agents are still perceived
worse than human agents by customers (Castelo et al. 2018a).
Similar to embodied virtual agents, artificial intelligence-
based algorithms are supposed to support customers in various
tasks. Evolving research suggests that customers’ trust in and
usage of algorithms is higher for objective versus subjective
tasks and when algorithms feature cognitive only rather than
cognitive and emotional abilities. Algorithms with subjective
and emotional abilities in turn induce discomfort in customers,
such that they challenge the belief that humans are distinct
from machines (Castelo et al. 2018b). Visiotactile and haptic
imagery enabled by augmented reality technologies can evoke
a psychological state of control and ownership, allowing ex-
ploratory engagement (Huang and Liao 2017), consumer em-
powerment (Marinova et al. 2017), and better decision making
(Rafaeli et al. 2017).
Main insights Embodied virtual agents and augmented reality
may be powerful tools to provide customers with personalized
content and anthropomorphized relational interactions. Yet
more academic research is needed to understand the impact
of these innovative possibilities on customer relationships, in
line with several research questions. What are the differential
effects of anthropomorphizing online relationships? In which
conditions do virtual service assistants work better or worse
than human service assistants? Do customers form parasocial
relationships with embodied virtual agents? How do such re-
lationships differ from social relationships? Can augmented
reality effectively enhance the Btangibility^ of online
relationships?
General insights on online relationship marketing
research
Beyond these specific findings, two more general and com-
prehensive insights arise, pertaining to the substantive issues
under study and the theories and constructs employed in ex-
tant online RM research.
First, substantively, a lot of extant research highlights hy-
pertext web– and especially social web–related topics (Fig. 1).
In addition to its unquestionable relevance to online RM, re-
search on the social web is methodologically appealing, due to
the public availability and easy accessibility of data from so-
cial media networks, online communities, or online retail sites.
In contrast, emerging symbiotic web topics mainly have been
addressed by publications outside of marketing journals, de-
spite their potentially powerful promise for online RM and
their clear relevance for marketing research. Furthermore, on-
line RM research largely focuses on relationships between
sellers and customers but ignores the increasing use of online
relationships in business-to-business settings. Consider SaaS
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
business models for example: They are more prevalent in
business (e.g., AWS, Cisco, IBM, Salesforce.com, SAP)
rather than consumer relationships, so further research is
needed to address the specificities of online business-to-
business relationships. As is typical of an evolving field, ex-
tant online RM research examines specific aspects of online
relationships in isolation, which is helpful for deriving a deep
understanding of the strategy. But to advance this domain,
continued studies should investigate online RM more holisti-
cally, to clarify the contributions of diverse instruments (e.g.,
social media, mobile apps, embodied virtual agents), their
synergies, and their contingencies with regard to overall RM
performance and the overall customer experience (Lemon and
Verhoef 2016).
Second, from a theoretical standpoint, existing research
uses traditional RM theories (e.g., commitment–trust, social
exchange) and their related constructs (i.e., commitment, trust,
and relationship quality) or else does not refer to any explicit
theoretical framework (Table 2). Online RM researchers
might take a broader perspective to test the applicability of
other theoretical frameworks to online RM phenomena.
Specifically, the defining characteristic of online relationships,
the human–technology interaction, suggests the potential ben-
efits of integrating theories from fields with a longer tradition
of studying technology as a communication enabler, such as
communication and computer science. In the next section, we
propose five potentially relevant theories—flow, network, me-
dia richness, reactance, and parasocial interaction—and their
focal constructs as promising sources for extending our un-
derstanding of what drives RM effectiveness in online
environments.
An evolving theory of online relationship
marketing
In the 1990s, selling to customers through online or e-
commerce channels was the point of departure for online
RM (i.e., hypertext web). Over the past three decades though,
the exponential technological advancements throughout the
social, semantic, and symbiotic web have made the task of
managing customer relationships online much more complex.
We therefore propose a comprehensive, integrative theory of
online RM to highlight the tremendous opportunities and con-
siderable challenges that confront online relationship
marketers.
Building on our analysis of the state of the domain, in both
business practice and academic research, we identify five
areas that are unique to and capture the essence of
customer–seller relationships in technology-mediated, online
environments. Specifically, online relationships are more
seamless, networked, omnichannel, personalized, and anthro-
pomorphized. Related to each of these unique characteristics,
we discuss where the domain stands and where more academ-
ic research is needed, potentially using theories from diverse
disciplines that might make specific contributions to compre-
hensive investigations of online RM phenomena. We expli-
cate how these selected, relevant theoretical perspectives
might enhance understanding of how online, technology-
mediated customer–seller relationships function. From this
foundation, we derive six tenets and 11 corresponding propo-
sitions, summarized in Table 3, to guide online RM research.
Seamless relationships
Online relationships aim to provide customers with a seamless
experience. The introduction of an online channel for com-
mercial purposes during the hypertext web era was revolution-
ary for firms; prior to then, companies nurtured their customer
relationships solely through face-to-face, telephone, or mail
communications. The online setting eliminates constraints re-
lated to time and geographical distance; offline relational part-
ners must rely on store or office hours during which service
employees are available, but purchasing and communicating
in online relationships can take place with any seller in the
world at any time, on the customer’s demand. For customers,
purchasing and communicating with seller firms thus has be-
come more seamless than offline interactions, facilitating
stimulating flow experiences (Novak et al. 2000).
The psychological concept of flow was developed by
Csikszentmihalyi (1975, p. 36), who defines it as Bthe holistic
experience that people feel when they act with total involve-
ment.^ Thus, flow describes a psychological state in which
people exhibit a high level of engagement and immersion in
an activity and also experience feelings of fun and enjoyment.
Flow, as related to navigating and interacting online, emerges
when the perceived difficulty of an online task matches a
person’s task-related skills (Hoffman and Novak 1996).
When in a state of flow, people typically exhibit (1) an intense
focus on the present, (2) merged action and awareness, (3) loss
of reflective self-consciousness, (4) a sense of being in control
of their actions, (5) distortion of the temporal experience, and
(6) experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding
(Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi 2011). In application to
human–technology interactions, initial studies use flow theory
to explain people’s online usage behavior (Chang and Zhu
2012), such as in website navigation (Novak et al. 2000),
online gaming (Lee and Tsai 2010), instant messaging (Zhou
and Lu 2011), or online shopping (Luna et al. 2002).
Flow is a relevant concept for online relationship mar-
keters, due to its potential to create cognitive lock-in
(Johnson et al. 2003) and enhance firm perceptions (Bart
et al. 2005) among customers. The seamless online environ-
ment enables online sellers, more so than their offline coun-
terparts, to put their customers temporarily into states of flow
(Yadav and Pavlou 2014) and thereby foster long-term
Table 3 Online relationship marketing research agenda: tenets and propositions

Tenet

Research area Proposition

Seamless relationships T1 In online relationships, more so than in offline relationships, customers experience flow states that increase the bond between customers and the firm and thereby enhance
online RM performance.
P1 Temporary flow states are differentially effective throughout the customer journey, such that flow is more (less) favorable in purchase (prepurchase or postpurchase)
stages.
P2 Temporary flow states are differentially effective throughout the customer relationship, such that flow is helpful to initiate or revive a relationship over time.
Networked relationships T2 In online relationships, more so than in offline relationships, individual customers’ decisions and behaviors are affected not just by the focal seller’s actions but also by the
quality, breadth, and composition of their customer-to-customer networks and networks with other firms.
P3 Customer-to-customer networks foster both positive and negative group-related mechanisms (e.g., social comparison, status, envy, unfairness, conformity,
differentiation, solidarity, identification) that can enhance or jeopardize firms’ relationships with target and bystander customers.
T3 In online relationships, more so than in offline relationships, platforms need to manage their relationships with two types of customers while also exerting positive impacts
on the relationship between these service users and providers.
P4 The effects of positive and negative experiences in the relational exchanges between service users and providers on a platform spill over to the platform firm.
P5 Customer-to-customer networks enhance the value of online platforms and increase customer loyalty toward the platform as a facilitator of the exchanges between
customers and sellers.
Omnichannel relationships T4 In online relationships, more so than in offline relationships, the optimal mix of communication channels and the unique contribution of each channel to online RM
performance are contingent on customer and product characteristics.
P6 Customizing omnichannel strategies to individual customers’ preferences and dynamic needs over the course of the relationship incurs a trade-off between targeting
gains and efficiency losses.
P7 Complex and risky products require richer communication than simpler and less risky products.
Personalized relationships T5 In online relationships, more so than in offline relationships, the collection and analysis of big data incurs mixed effects on online RM performance.
P8 The collection and analysis of big data facilitates individual customer personalization, which enhances online RM effectiveness.
P9 The collection and analysis of big data spurs privacy concerns, representing a substantive dark side of online RM that may act as an existential threat to online RM
performance.
Anthropomorphized T6 In online relationships, more so than in offline relationships, anthropomorphized embodied virtual agents exert different (positive and negative) effects on online RM
relationships performance.
P10 Anthropomorphized embodied virtual agents stimulate psychological processes (e.g., commitment, trust, gratitude, reciprocity) similar to those evoked by human
relational partners in customers and thereby enhance online RM performance.
P11 Anthropomorphized embodied virtual agents foster negative customer responses (e.g., threat, discomfort, eeriness) and thereby impede online RM performance.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
relationships. Experiences that heighten psychological and
emotional bonds with customers are crucial to the comprehen-
sive customer experience (Lemon and Verhoef 2016). Such
powerful experiences can move a customer from a transactional
to a relational state, advance the customer relationship to the
next level, or promote relationship longevity. Flow represents a
temporary, aroused state that does not persist but rather ebbs
and flows over time (Csikszentmihalyi 2008). Across the rela-
tionship lifecycle, customers cannot constantly experience
flow—nor is a constant state of flow necessarily desirable.
For example, a state of flow may be beneficial in the purchase
stage but less helpful in other stages of customers’ online jour-
neys, such as search. In the long run, flow experiences likely
help initiate relationships and can revive relationships from
time to time, while providing a sense of excitement. Flow ex-
periences are intrinsically rewarding and have the potential to
strengthen the bonds between firms and customers, who strive
to experience that flow state again. But such excitement also
can disrupt stable, habitual customer–firm relationships, with
adverse consequences (Henderson et al. 2011). Research into
how (i.e., instruments) and when (i.e., dynamics) to activate
customers’ flow experiences online would be helpful.
Tenet 1: In online relationships, more so than in offline
relationships, customers experience flow states
that increase the bond between customers and
the firm and thereby enhance online RM
performance.
Proposition 1: Temporary flow states are differentially effec-
tive throughout the customer journey, such that
flow is more (less) favorable in purchase (pre-
purchase or post-purchase) stages.
Proposition 2: Temporary flow states are differentially effec-
tive throughout the customer relationship, such
that flow is helpful to initiate or revive the re-
lationship over time.
Networked relationships
Online relationships typically represent a network; customer–
firm relationships do not happen in isolation. The developments
of the social web vastly facilitated both customer-to-firm and
customer-to-customer interactions in online social networks.
As a consequence, the social effects of RM are gaining rele-
vance in online environments. In turn, social network theory
(Van den Bulte and Wuyts 2007) represents a rich source of
insights, providing a parsimonious theoretical framework that
describes the impact of structural elements of interactions
among multiple social entities (e.g., individuals, firms) in an
overall, multilevel network. A network perspective predicts that
tie strength (i.e., relational bonds between network actors), tie
complexity (i.e., number of ties among network actors), and tie
composition (i.e., diversity of ties among network actors) all
determine exchange performance in interfirm relationships
(Granovetter 1973). Social network theory has made notable
contributions toward understanding offline interfirm relation-
ships, which always have consisted of networks of relational ties
(Palmatier 2008). In online contexts, relationship marketers need
to understand individual customers’ roles in their network, iden-
tify key influencers among this network, and limit negative net-
work effects to keep problems with single customers from
spreading across a larger network.
Recent research prioritizes such social phenomena, inves-
tigating bystander effects in loyalty programs (Steinhoff and
Palmatier 2016), social network effects of one-time reward
campaigns (Ascarza et al. 2017), and the effects of network
players on relationship formation (Kozlenkova et al. 2017).
Online relationship marketers in particular must be aware of
and ready to manage these social effects to their advantage,
due to the scope and scale of social effects in online networks
or communities. Individual customers always are embedded
in larger networks of close and distant ties and connections
with fellow customers. These networks can spur both positive
and negative effects, because they reveal a battery of group-
related mechanisms (e.g., social comparison, status, envy, un-
fairness, conformity, differentiation, solidarity, identification).
Online relationship marketers could use such network effects
to refine their strategies to target focal customers, as well as to
determine observers’ reactions, and thus mitigate detrimental
and promote favorable social effects.
Tenet 2: In online relationships, more so than in offline
relationships, individual customers’ decisions
and behaviors are affected not just by the focal
seller’s actions but also by the quality, breadth,
and composition of their customer-to-customer
networks and networks with other firms.
Proposition 3: Customer-to-customer networks foster both
positive and negative group-related mecha-
nisms (e.g., social comparison, status, envy,
unfairness, conformity, differentiation, soli-
darity, identification) that can enhance or
jeopardize firms’ relationships with target
and bystander customers.
Platforms, as a specific form of online communities, repre-
sent two-sided markets. The third party (i.e., platform provider)
operates a platform that enables exchanges between the two
focal parties (i.e., users and providers of the focal service)
(Rochet and Tirole 2003; Yadav and Pavlou 2014). The plat-
form firms need to manage their relationships with two types of
customers, which also interact. Research thus could investigate
potential spillover effects in platform constellations. For exam-
ple, to which party, the driver or the platform, does an Uber
rider attribute a negative experience? In some certain

conditions, the rider may dismiss the service failure as a single
instance with a particular driver, but in other cases, he or she
likely blames the platform, with detrimental consequences for
the firm.
Tenet 3: In online relationships, more so than in offline
relationships, platforms need to manage their
relationships with two types of customers
while also exerting positive impacts on the
relationship between these service users and
providers.
Proposition 4: The effects of positive and negative experi-
ences in relational exchanges between service
users and providers on a platform spill over to
the platform firm.
Proposition 5: Customer-to-customer networks enhance the
value of online platforms and increase custom-
er loyalty toward the platform, as a facilitator
of the exchanges between customers and
sellers.
Omnichannel relationships
Online relationships actually are omnichannel in nature.
Originally, online firms nurtured customer relationships with
a single online channel, typically accessed through a desktop
computer. More recently, online channels have vastly diversi-
fied, and the number of available channels has grown substan-
tially. In online environments, firms use a wide range of com-
munication channels (e.g., website, email, social media pro-
files, mobile apps) to interact with customers. With an increas-
ingly dominant omnichannel approach, they synergistically
manage Bthe numerous available channels and customer
touchpoints, in such a way that the customer experience across
channels and the performance over channels is optimized^
(Verhoef et al. 2015, p. 176).
These communication channels vary in the richness they
offer for transmitting information. Media richness theory
(Daft and Lengel 1986) thus constitutes a particularly well-
suited source of insights for investigating omnichannel rela-
tionships. Seeking to explain communication effectiveness in
different channels (Daft and Lengel 1986), this theory also has
been extended to detail communication issues in new media
contexts (e.g., online shopping, email, mobile messaging, vid-
eoconferencing) (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010; Kim et al.
2013). It predicts that richer communication channels, such
as face-to-face, can transfer complex information faster and
with fewer misunderstandings than leaner channels, such as
email, because they have capacities for immediate feedback
(synchronicity), multiple cues (e.g., verbal, visual), and natu-
ral language, which help foster mutual understanding (Daft
and Lengel 1986).
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
Further research should dig deeper into the efficacy of differ-
ent online channels and devices for fulfilling customers’ infor-
mation processing and communication needs in omnichannel
relationships (Yadav and Pavlou 2014). No one-size-fits-all ap-
proach to managing omnichannel communication exists, so
managers need to assess the available channels and select those
that constitute an ideal fit for the level of complexity of a mes-
sage they seek to transmit. For example, to provide customers
with product use instructions, a YouTube video featuring voice
and visualization will be more effective than a text-based email.
Informing customers about the firm’s return policy with a video
instead might be tedious, so a brief list on a webpage might be
more appropriate for sharing this information. Researchers could
provide insights into the optimal mix of communication chan-
nels that balances enhanced meaning against the added costs of
rich media (Daft and Lengel 1986). Media richness theory thus
might make unique contributions to expanding our comprehen-
sive predictions about online RM performance.
Tenet 4: In online relationships, more so than in offline
relationships, the optimal mix of communica-
tion channels and the unique contribution of
each channel to online RM performance
are contingent on customer and product
characteristics.
Proposition 6: Customizing omnichannel strategies to indi-
vidual customers’ preferences and dynamic
needs over the course of the relationship in-
curs a trade-off between targeting gains and
efficiency losses.
Proposition 7: Complex and risky products require richer
communication than simpler and less risky
products.
Personalized relationships
Omnichannel environments go hand-in-hand with big data
and their vices and virtues. Online sellers’ collection and anal-
yses of big data demand trade-offs between personalization
and privacy concerns (Martin and Murphy 2017). On the
one hand, customers have come to expect individually rele-
vant, highly personalized, and real-time (e.g., location-based)
treatment from firms online, counting on their abilities to use
big data to generate enhanced customer insights (Burke 2002;
Fruend 2017). Personalization thus is key to enhancing cus-
tomer relationships (Researchscape International 2018). On
the other hand, privacy concerns related to the transparency
of personal data to sellers represent a substantial threat or dark
side of online relationships.
Reactance theory (Brehm 1966) can offer insights into per-
sonalization effectiveness. Personalized communications can
spur threats to their perceived freedom in customers, such that
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
they feel unable to retain privacy toward the firm. As a re-
sponse to this threat, customers may exhibit reactance by de-
liberately not complying with a persuasion attempt.
Specifically, personalization efforts lead to reactance when
the seller engages in covert rather than overt information col-
lection (Aguirre et al. 2015) and when customers have little
trust toward the seller (Bleier and Eisenbeiss 2015). Building
on initial insights that underscore the roles of transparency and
perceived control (Martin et al. 2017), researchers might con-
sider and investigate privacy policies as strategic RM tools,
rather than a mere legal duty, to mitigate customer reac-
tance. Documented policies could be designed systemati-
cally and from a customer perspective, then be tested to see
which privacy policy designs most effectively dissipate
and mitigate customer reservations. Ultimately, if firms
cannot overcome customers’ concerns and distrust when
it comes to data privacy, even the best-intended RM efforts
are doomed.
Tenet 5: In online relationships, more so than in offline
relationships, the collection and analysis of big
data incurs mixed effects on online RM
performance.
Proposition 8: The collection and analysis of big data facili-
tates individual customer personalization,
which enhances online RM effectiveness
through increased relevance.
Proposition 9: The collection and analysis of big data spurs
privacy concerns, representing a substantive
dark side of online RM that may act as an
existential threat to online RM performance.
Anthropomorphized relationships
Anthropomorphism occurs when humans perceive other
things as similar to themselves (Hume 1957). Non-
human agents may exhibit both physical humanoid fea-
tures (e.g., face) and humanlike mental processes (e.g.,
consciousness, emotions) (Waytz et al. 2010), and humans
appear more likely to engage with, build empathic con-
nections to, and respond to agents that look and behave
like humans (Reeves and Nass 1996; Waytz et al. 2010).
Computer interfaces with anthropomorphized agents can
improve levels of engagement (Nass et al. 1995), percep-
tions of intelligence (Koda and Maes 1996), collaboration
(Burgoon et al. 2000), and social interactions (Cassell
et al. 2000; Reeves and Nass 1996). Artificial intelligence
and augmented reality enable firms to introduce a Bhuman
touch,^ resembling interpersonal interaction, and thereby
encourage users to anthropomorphize the other parties in
their technology-mediated interactions. Through chatbots,
virtual assistants, or embodied virtual agents on their
websites, firms seek to make customer interactions seem
more interpersonal, real-time, and tangible (Liu et al.
2009; Mimoun et al. 2012). Often companies equip their
virtual service personnel with humanoid traits (e.g., looks,
voice, names) to encourage customers to bond with them
(van Doorn et al. 2017).
In accordance with parasocial interaction theory
(Horton and Wohl 1956), embodied virtual agents should
represent a powerful instrument to humanize online
customer–firm relationships. With a basis in communica-
tion science and significant input from psychology (Giles
2002), parasocial interaction theory provides rich insights
into the interactions and relationships of media users and
media personas. Its initial focus was media personas in
mass media, such as talk show hosts, celebrities, or movie
characters. Researchers have extended this concept to in-
dividual and institutional characters that media users en-
counter in Internet-mediated channels (e.g., social media)
(Ballantine and Martin 2005; Labrecque 2014). Even if no
interpersonal, human interaction takes place, many users
regard parasocial settings as authentic, relevant, and inti-
mate, similar to social or interpersonal relationships expe-
rienced in offline contexts (McKenna et al. 2002). Thus,
humanoid, anthropomorphized virtual assistants may en-
rich and enhance online relationships with customers.
Important research areas pertaining to relationships in
technology-mediated environments thus arise. First,
parasocial interaction theory could support predictions about
how parasocial relationships with humanoid virtual entities
work; a particularly interesting question is whether cus-
tomers prefer to imagine a virtual assistant as a human com-
panion or an artificial intelligence–based humanoid robot. A
related topic pertains to whether and how these parasocial
entities might evoke the psychological mechanisms that
offline RM research identifies as drivers of relationship for-
mation, longevity, and performance, such as commitment,
trust, gratitude, or reciprocity (Palmatier et al. 2006, 2009).
For example, interactive media support two-way, personal-
ized communications with customers (Labrecque 2014),
such as when websites feature a chatbot that guides visitors
through the website and responds to their queries in real
time. Customers’ feelings of gratitude might be more pro-
nounced if they can direct their gratitude toward a single,
relevant persona (e.g., salesperson chatbot) rather than the
more anonymous, unspecified firm as a whole (Palmatier
et al. 2009). Online personas are not necessarily limited to
anthropomorphized appearances either; website design, flow,
and textual and graphical presentations of information all
could contribute to an overall website persona (Hoerner
1999). Fruitful insights may result from research that deter-
mines which components of a firm’s online persona are most
effective for encouraging parasocial relationships with
customers.

Second, anthropomorphic online relationships may have
a dark side. Research in social robotics puts forth the notion
of the Buncanny valley^ (Mori et al. 2012), such that highly
human-like, virtual creatures evoke feelings of threat, dis-
comfort, or eeriness (Gray and Wegner 2012; MacDorman
2005). Even if robots get better at imitating humanness, they
still fail to attain fully human qualities, so people sense a
mismatch between their anticipated and actual experiences
of humanoid interactions (DiSalvo and Gemperle 2003;
Mori et al. 2012) and may blame anthropomorphized agents
for technology failures (Serenko 2007). Initial marketing
research indicates that humanoid service robots, relative to
human service employees, can decrease customers’ atti-
tudes toward the seller (Castelo et al. 2018a; Mende et al.
2017). Yet in other contexts, customers may prefer
interacting with an anthropomorphized virtual agent or ro-
bot, such as when they do not want to share a question that
feels too embarrassing or intimate. In such a case, virtual
agents may seem more trustworthy than their human coun-
terparts. Research should examine these potentially distinct
effects of humanizing online relations.
Tenet 6: In online relationships, more so than in offline
relationships, anthropomorphized, embodied
virtual agents exert differential (positive and
negative) effects on online RM performance.
Proposition 10: Anthropomorphized, embodied virtual agents
stimulate psychological processes (e.g., com-
mitment, trust, gratitude, reciprocity) similar
to those evoked by human relational partners
in customers and thereby enhance online RM
performance.
Proposition 11: Anthropomorphized, embodied virtual agents
foster negative customer responses (e.g.,
threat, discomfort, eeriness) and thereby im-
pede online RM performance.
Conclusion
This research provides new insights into online RM by ana-
lyzing its conceptual scope, state-of-the-art business practices,
and extant marketing research. Online relationships encom-
pass relational exchanges between the customer and company
that are mediated by Internet technology and take place in a
non–face-to-face (i.e., human-to-technology interactions) set-
ting. The defining characteristics that distinguish online rela-
tionships from offline relationships include geographic dis-
tance, time independence, global availability of alternatives,
and higher levels of anonymity, as well as a data-rich environ-
ment (e.g., Kozlenkova et al. 2017). In turn, online relation-
ships feature five unique aspects, relative to offline relation-
ships: they are more seamless, networked, omnichannel,
J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.
personalized, and anthropomorphized. The toolkits for engag-
ing customers in continuous relational exchanges also have
become increasingly elaborate and sophisticated, moving well
beyond mere e-commerce strategies.
To consolidate existing knowledge, which is dispersed
across diverse conceptual, business practices, and empirical
domains, we put forth an evolving theory of online RM.
With our six tenets and 11 corresponding propositions, de-
rived from our analysis of online RM business practice and
academic research and supported by diverse, selected theories,
we seek to pave multiple research avenues. We hope these
research directions spur additional empirical research efforts
to substantiate our evolving theory and generate detailed in-
sights into the effectiveness of RM approaches in online
contexts.
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to juris-
dictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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