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This study aims to identify the key activities after sales and the intended criteria by the customers, considering their expected services after the product purchase process.

This study is a qualitative approach, and the co-creation logic and the Delphi technique were used in two rounds to design and validate the proposed model. To achieve this study’s aims, extensive literature, interviews, interaction and exploratory meetings were reviewed with manufacturers and consumers, and then the dimensions of the proposed model were regulated, corrected and validated in the two-round Delphi technique. The final model is presented after establishing the model in the test pilots and getting feedback from industry experts. To present a conceptual model, the enabler’s logic and the underlying results in the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model were used.

The findings of this study include the identification of dimensions for the after-sales services model and the designing of a conceptual model in both sections of enablers and results. The enabler section of the proposed model includes seven dimensions, three main sectors and four support sections.

This model can be used to design, deploy or improve after-sales services system in manufacturing companies.

For the first time in an innovative procedure, the approach of value co-creation was used to design one of the organizational systems (after-sale services system). On the other hand, the conceptual pattern was proposed inspired by the EFQM Excellence Model, to create the necessary proportionality between the enabler and results sections.

To analyse the role of after‐sales services in manufacturing contexts, and the related after‐sales performance measurement systems.

An exploratory case study research was performed in the automotive, household appliance, IT and consumer electronics industries. The sample is made up of 48 firms with after‐sales operations in Italy.

The role attributed to after‐sales activities in the IT and consumer electronics and household appliance industries shows an orientation to improve company image, customer satisfaction and retention (marketing focus). A different situation characterises the companies studied in the automotive industry. In most firms, however, measurement systems are quite simple and short‐term oriented, especially in the IT and consumer electronics and household appliance industries. The measurement of non‐financial performance emphasises effectiveness rather than efficiency, and the automotive industry, on the whole, presents more advanced measurement systems, together with more integrated strategic management of after‐sales. The household appliance industry, on the other hand, due to the significant presence of SMEs, is characterised by less sophisticated performance measurement systems.

Provides a representation of current empirical practices in after‐sales role and performance measurement, a topic insufficiently covered by conceptual and empirical research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of after‐sales services on customers' satisfaction as well as on their behavioural intentions, namely “repurchase intention” and “word‐of‐mouth” (WOM).

The research conducted followed a quantitative methodology. The selected research tool was a questionnaire, which was administered via phone interviews using the CATI process. The study conducted was targeted to customers of a large retail chain marketing electrical appliances in Greece and 420 usable responses were utilised. A path analysis was performed using the “Amos 4.0” software.

After‐sales service quality affect satisfaction, which in turn affects behavioural intentions. Hence, after‐sales services affect the overall offering and thus, the quality of the relationship with customers.

Limitations are related to the use of only two after‐sales services and the restricted geographical area of the field research.

An understanding of the effect of after‐sales services in satisfaction and post behavioural intentions is important to services marketing managers because it allows them to differentiate their offering substantially in a way that strengths the relationship with their clientele in the short, as well as in the long, run.

The paper manages to identify the effects of after‐sales service on satisfaction and behavioural intentions, especially in a dynamic retail sector where customers are highly involved. This study contributes to the body of academic knowledge by shedding more light into the role of after‐sales services to the overall offering provided.

This paper aims to study the mixed after-sales service which simultaneously offers return and replacement services. The authors develop a model to propose what kind of after-sales service the firm should choose and how to make the after-sales service policy to improve the profit. The study aims to extend the literature on the mixed after-sales service and give some support to the managers to make decisions.

In this paper, the authors use the optimization modeling method to describe the situations of a firm offering two exclusive after-sales service policies and a mixed after-sales service policy, respectively. They compare the results in different cases and analyze the impact of different parameters on the boundary values and other results. Finally, the authors include three numerical examples to illustrate the major results.

The authors find that the mixed after-sales service can successfully segment the market, meet various customers’ distinct needs and differentiate the service prices to improve the total profit. Moreover, the authors find the boundary values which indicate the optimal interval for each service. Then, for a certain situation, they can clearly tell which after-sales service dominates and provides the optimal selling price, order quantity and total profit. Besides, the authors show the impact of different parameters on the boundary values and other results.

This paper combines after-sales service into traditional models and provides a new mixed service to segment the market and improve total revenue. It provides some managerial implications for the decision-makers.

The primary purpose of this paper is to assess and review fixed‐line telecom customers' perception of the quality of after‐sales services provided by Ethiopian Telecom.

The paper was conducted on telecom customers who are in Addis Ababa using self‐administered questionnaires sent to a sample of 450 respondents. In addition to this, interviews were conducted with managers and selected employees to provide supporting data. The data were processed, analyzed and interpreted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.

The results show some degree of customer dissatisfaction, but not to the extent expected. Dissatisfied customers point at lack of clarities of bills and delays in making decisions on complaints as some of the main reasons for their dissatisfactions. Other reasons include telephone interruptions during rainy seasons, old cables and networks, and damaged and stolen cables, which combined, increase the frequency of faults and interruptions. Nearly 40 percent of respondents have negative assessments of the role of employees in delivering good quality after‐sales service.

Despite the fact that some improvements have been shown in recent reports, Ethiopian Telecom has a long way to go in achieving its objectives with respect to customers' satisfaction.

Previous studies on telecommunication in Africa have not focused on service delivery and customer satisfaction. The paper, therefore, contributes to filling a research gap in telecommunication studies in Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular.

The purpose of the paper is to overcome the limitations of the current models available in the literature in terms of relation and consistency between business strategy, service chain configuration and performance measurement systems, and on the alignment between strategic, tactical and operational levels of after‐sales decision‐making processes.

The paper draws on a literature review of after‐sales performance measurement systems and provides a first validation of the proposed integrated model through industrial case studies related to the provision of durable consumer goods in a business to consumer scenario.

The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the factors which influence the performance of after‐sales, in order to allow enterprises to consistently design their corporate after‐sales service strategic performances with those required at operational levels within a service chain.

Further development must be carried out in order to: enlarge the sample of companies and cases where the model can be applied, with a specific extension on a business‐to‐business industry; extend the model to the whole supply and service chain; enrich the framework in order to consider other aspects, as empathy; and develop a full integration with the SCOR model, including the definition of best practices.

The integration of the strategic and operational views subsumed by the framework would allow enterprises in relating more consistently their corporate After‐sales strategic and operational performance within a service chain and to assess the cause and effect relationship between operational drivers and financial and competitive results.

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize how different service strategies are properly aligned with the external environment, and how organizational factors lead to a specific level of service‐related performance outcomes.

A multicase research design on Western‐European firms is used as the research methodology. This study answers the following three strategic questions: what typical service strategies exist that enable firms to move from products to services?; what is the appropriate alignment of the service strategies with the external environment and organizational design?; and what performance level can be achieved through the service strategies?

After‐sales service providers are faced with a high competitive intensity and their customers invest in low‐priced products. Customer support providers' market consists of customers who are looking for outstanding product quality. Development partners' customers expect specific solutions for the operating processes.

The study focuses only on manufacturing companies in business‐to‐business markets. The findings are limited to this sector.

The paper assists managers in concentrating on the right triggers for implementing the service strategy.

Both scholars and managers tend to be somewhat vague in suggesting strategies to move along the transition line from products to services. This study identifies specific service strategies that enable manufacturing firms to shift their position on the transition line.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the patterns of service strategy changes in manufacturing firms and indicates how each pattern is interrelated with modifications in organizational design elements.

The paper draws on a longitudinal study using a survey of 97 manufacturers of capital goods. In addition, 15 case studies have been conducted. Survey and qualitative data are obtained in 1997, 2001, and 2004.

The findings highlight four patterns of service strategy changes: from customer service strategy to after‐sales service provider, from after‐sales service provider to customer‐support service provider, from customer‐support service provider to development partner, and from customer‐support service provider to the outsourcing partner. Evidence of specific alignment between service strategy and organizational design elements is provided.

The main limitation of this paper is the purposive sample.

Managers should follow the patterns of service strategy changes by extending the service offerings and modifying the organizational design elements.

Previous studies investigate service strategies and organizational design elements only at a specific time, which leads to a static perspective. This paper offers insights into interrelations among service strategy changes and organizational design elements.

This study aims to examine the concept of brand equity and willingness to buy second-hand products in the automobile context. The customer-based brand equity model is used as a theoretical lens to examine after-sales services, brand credibility and brand loyalty as drivers of brand equity and willingness to buy the second-hand product.

A survey questionnaire based on convenience sampling is used to collect the data from the car owners. A total of 433 survey responses were used to empirically test the measures and propositions by using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The findings suggest that after-sales services are a key factor in developing brand credibility and brand loyalty. Results are also in support of the positive and significant impact of brand credibility and brand loyalty on brand equity and willingness to buy second-hand products.

Brand equity represents a differential response and preference to marketing efforts that a product obtains as a result of its brand identification. Although practitioners are actively engaged to position themselves as a unique, attractive and strong brand, little is known about the equity of the brand in the case of second-hand products. This study provides an alternate branding view to the academic scholars and to the marketing manager as this study explicitly probes into the effect of after-sales services in developing brand credibility, brand loyalty, brand equity and wiliness to buy second-hand product as an outcome.

Relationship marketing (RM) has been widely accepted as an important determinant of long‐term business success and is believed to be especially well suited for services because of the personal contact between customers and service providers. Past research has focused mainly on the advantages of RM for companies, while less attention has been paid to relationships from the customer’s point of view. We suggest that relationships may be described as ranging from spurious to true, depending on customer‐perceived relationship benefits, trust and commitment. A qualitative study of customer relationships was conducted in a car dealership, where profitability depends on customer commitment to both after‐sales services and the car brand. Customer relationships were found to be more spurious than true. The study revealed that behavioural commitment to after‐sales services was high, but that affective commitment was low to moderate. Customers were satisfied but did not perceive the services to be superior to the competitors’ service offerings. They trusted authorised repair in general and did not feel that after‐sales service would have more than a minor influence on their future car purchases.