Understanding marketing's trend toward long-term exchange relationships and the practice of relationship marketing is important for both marketing and public policy. The author examines the implications this form of exchange can pose for the interests of exchange participants and society. Focusing on the legal foundations of exchange as found in the law of property and contract, the principle values that constitute this infrastructure of law provide the basis of the author's inquiry. These values are considered to stand for and reflect basic societal interests and therefore furnish an important basis from which to assess the implications of this increasingly prevalent exchange form. Results of the analysis suggest that exchange relationships can enhance the internal efficiency of participants’ interaction in exchange. However, the nature of long-term exchange also can challenge aspects of external efficiency or the allocation of resources to their best possible use in society. Employing the economic criteria of social wealth, the author finds that the benefits of enhanced internal efficiency outweigh concerns posed by these exchanges for external efficiency. Implications for public policy and marketing practice and research are discussed.
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