While the basic concept of “relationship” is pivotal to research and theory across a spectrum of communication studies, cultural assumptions about this basic concept may vary significantly, and yet escape scholars' awareness. This study exposes assumptions buried in foundational U.S.‐based Organization‐Public Relationship (OPR) scholarship to illustrate how differing assumptions about “relationships” correspond to understandings of communication processes and goals. “Relationalism” is introduced as an analytical lens to provide insights beyond the dichotomous relational patterns of individualism‐collectivism, explore global perspectives, and help explicate a graduated range of relational assumptions that challenge OPR theoretical premises. Relational assumptions identified in OPR scholarship have heuristic value for communication areas that have “relationships” as a pivotal concept.