Friendship is studied as a culturally and
contextually embedded entity. Focusing on the interactions between
network marketers and their prospects, this article proposes
four key central elements through which participants make sense
of themselves when their identities are in transgression and
conflict. Instead of being essentialist, the four elements of
friendship – intimacy, control, trust, and positiveness
– are highly interactional and dynamic elements that can
be negotiated by participants in a conversation. It is argued
that Grice's Cooperative Principle is valid, but this should
be enhanced by participants' specific culture and prior experience.
The notion of “face” in politeness models should be expanded
in light of its dynamic characteristics in interaction.