۱٫ Introduction

Factors such as globalization, growing competitiveness, and the development of information technologies are changing the dynamics of relationship marketing (RM). The new competitive framework, defined by the relevance of online channels, has changed how relationship management with consumers is approached. Researchers have agreed that RM is a form of customer-centric marketing, which emphasizes understanding and satisfaction of the needs and wants of individual consumers, rather than those of mass markets (Kasiri, 2017; Khan, 2014). However, in order to maintain such long-term relationships, it is not sufficient to simply offer better goods and services to satisfy customers’ needs. In order to survive in today’s competitive market, firms must attempt to connect with customers by offering permanent contact and better experiences as a differentiating strategy (Berry and Carbone, 2007; Bolton et al., 2014; Thakur, 2016). Concepts as relationship quality (RQ)—understood as the degree of appropriateness of a relationship to fulfill the needs of the customer associated with the relationship (Hennig-Thurau and Klee, 1997)—may allow us to understand the proneness of consumers to keep their commercial relations alive. In this sense, new concepts such as customer relationship proneness (CRP)—which is defined as a conscious tendency to engage in relationships with retailers of a particular product category (De Wulf et al., 2001)—can be considered as an evolution of some relational constructs, such as commitment, and may more accurately reflect the current competitive environment. In this respect, the development of new technologies—particularly the Internet—seems to represent a huge opportunity for firms that are capable of creating these emotional connections and safeguard the level of consumer loyalty. At the same time, firms are capable of comparing and contrasting competing products and services with minimal expenditure of personal time and effort (Liang et al., 2008). In doing so, firms have to consider key organizational concepts, such as market orientation (MO) and knowledge management (KM), as these concepts allow firms to obtain market intelligence (i.e., on customers and competitors), manage and disseminate information inside the firm, and propose adequate strategies to satisfy customers and generate relational bonds with them.