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The objectives of this paper are firstly to outline the scope and the content of marketing, and secondly to explore the nature of the marketing of services as distinct from the marketing of products. In fulfilling both these objectives the paper provides a background for other contributions in this collection dealing with a variety of marketing of financial services examples and situations.

Reports on research concerning the role and nature of communication during the innovation process of new financial services. A causal framework has been developed on the antecedent role of communication in financial service innovation and its impact on success. Project team communication is conceptualized by: intra‐project communication (communication between project team members); and extra‐project communication (boundary‐spanning communication). Examines the effectiveness of these communication flows from an information processing perspective and assesses the amount of uncertainty reduced about customers, competitors, technologies and resources. Also assesses the impact of the reduction of uncertainty on new financial service performance. In view of the context, i.e. financial service innovations, we included the specific characteristics of services (intangibility, inseparability of production and consumption, heterogeneity and perishability) into our theory and research design. Finally, the theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Approaches to land use planning have gone through considerable evolution during the past 30 years. Western nations have learned hard lessons about the consequences of not considering ecological process and structures when undertaking land use planning, development, and when harvesting resources. As a result, modern concepts of conservation biology and landscape level planning have developed and are beginning to be implemented in North America, Europe, Australia and portions of South America. An approach to ecological based landscape planning, as developed through several applications in Canada, is discussed. The approach incorporates principles of conservation biology and relies heavily on abiotic landscape components for mapping and interpretation. Landscape planning is defined and discussed according to three key components: (1) the planning framework; (2) ecological analysis; and (3) implementation of the whole. The planning framework includes the goals and objectives of the plan which is based on prevailing socio‐cultural values. The analysis attempts to determine full landscale representivity then maximize ecological integrity.

The article presents empirical evidence which indicates the immense diversity in entry mode choice patterns among various service industries. It attempts to explain this variation in terms of certain service attributes and motives for foreign market entry, using the transaction cost analysis as its theoretical basis. While entry mode choice associated with “hard” services (those that do not require the providers to be physically proximate to the receivers) resembles that in manufacturing firms, organisations providing “soft” services (characterised by inseparable production and consumption) enter world markets almost exclusively via foreign direct investment and contractual transfers. This diversity poses challenges to practitioners, policy makers and researchers in this field.

This is the fourth comprehensive register of current research in marketing to appear in this Journal. It is hoped that it will prove useful as a source of information to all those with interests in the subject. The projects listed do not include research work undertaken by commercial organisations or studies conducted in educational institutions where the results are not intended to be generally available. Otherwise, every effort has been made to obtain basic information from research workers willing to discuss their efforts with other interested individuals.

Undertakes a pilot study, the results of which are reported here, into the degree to which marketing techniques are being applied in the local authority sports/leisure centre situations in the UK. Details the use of a questionnaire which focused attention on both marketing tools and major aspects of marketing philosophy. Finds evidence of marketing thinking having penetrated various organisational areas. Concludes that the study may have been of a pilot nature but there is evidence so far at least of marketing thinking being applied under one or more of the topic areas included in the questionnaire.

Suggests research themes and conceptual extensions which may be useful to researchers of the leisure industry in the marketing context who are trying to increase commencial productivity or disciplinary relevance of their work. Examines two disparate issues which arise when the meaning of marketing and leisure is considered: the meaning of leisure in the context of marketing; and the meaning of marketing in the context of leisure. Concludes that researchers in the leisure marketing area should be aware of the extent to which consumer behaviour in general can be conceived of as leisure; local authorities can make use of the principles of commercial marketing; and knowledge of either of these areas can make organizations more responsive to the needs of their customers.

Focuses on a survey (and its results) carried out to investigate the marketing orientation of the companies who supply the UK's service of incoming tourism. Provides indications from the survey results that there are indications of low levels of marketing orientation with the respondent companies in the service industry of incoming tourism relative to the UK. Presents four sections to add weight to the survey findings. First, outlines the results of a previous study as background to the present survey results. Second, discusses, briefly, the nature of the service of incoming tourism. Third, reports on the survey results and finally discusses and draws conclusions from the results and study. Summarizes and discusses the results in conclusion and considers that an initial base understanding has been developed by the surveys and urges further additional research.

Introduction All people of responsibility in marketing need to plan for the future. The marketing manager has to ensure that his company has the resources and products that will be needed in the 1980s and beyond. The marketing educator is training the marketing executives of the future. To do this they need to be aware of the direction of change of the total environment in which they operate and the organisations in which they work. The alternative to planned change toward a target in an identified future is to drift aimlessly or to make changes to suit crises as they arise.

This article focuses on the approaches that companies' marketing services take in the planning of their marketing operations, based on a recent survey of UK companies that market services as opposed to physical products. Results indicated that the planning of the marketing operation in many service companies is not as well developed as it could be.