This dissertation, using a two essay format, focuses on two separate, but related, facets of the customer-firm relationships. The first essay advances current research on relationship marketing, by examining the role of innovation in generating continuous value for current customers while building relationships with new customers. Specifically, I complement current models of relationship marketing, by accounting for the need for firms to continually differentiate their offerings to provide continual value to the relationship. This advancement addresses calls in the literature to both identify missing mediators that connect relationship investments to firm performance. In addition, I identify variables (e.g., managerial risk taking) that moderate the relationship between relational investment and service innovation. The second essay integrates research on customer-brand relationships and consumer propensity to purchase counterfeit luxury products. This study explores the non-price motivations that lead consumers to consider buying counterfeit luxury products. The arguments are built on the literatures of self-brand connection and consumer personality traits.
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