Towards Integrating the Customer-Supplier Relationship in Perceived Value Conceptualization

Abstract

Value is a fundamental concept in relationship marketing (RM). The company's ability to create value for its customers is seen as the most successful competitive strategy. The effervescence created by this subject in the scientific community and the diversity of proposed meanings and approaches have led to a theoretical confusion around this concept. In this chapter, the authors tried to study the concept of value through an extensive and eclectic literature review. They particularly attempted to focus on the perceived side of this concept, as the customer point of view is the primary concern for companies that are marketing oriented. The developments lead us to consider the customer-supplier relationship as a source of enrichment for the concept of perceived value. From there, it is better to talk in RM about “perceived relationship value” (PRV) rather than “perceived value.” PRV is then presented as a key integrative concept to build a successful customer-supplier relationship.