Search results

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/EUM0000000000305. When citing the article, please cite: Larissa S. Kyj, Myroslaw J. Kyj, (1989), “Customer Service: Product Differentiation in International Markets”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Materials Management, Vol. 19 Iss: 1, pp. 30 - 38.

Oligopolistic markets typically revert to some form of non‐price competition in order to differentiate their goods and services. Customer services that are associated with tangible product offerings present an opportunity for firms attempting to differentiate themselves. This article presents findings that suggest the stated preferences for customer services in selected customer markets is heterogeneous, thereby enabling providers of services to differentiate themselves according to the needs of existing market segments.

In business to business marketing, customer service offers firms the opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors and thereby establish a competitive edge. However, competing on the basis of customer service presents its own problems in the area of effectively segmenting markets and dealing with the free‐ride phenomenon. This article reviews the premise of customer service competition. The findings are integrated into a set of guidelines for the organization contemplating the use of customer service as a competitive tool.

Marketing literature on consumer behavior has been generally oriented toward the “at‐need” purchase, goods that are purchased only when current consumption needs are felt. Marketing management strategies have been proposed under the assumption that buying occurs shortly before actual consumption. Behavior patterns that did not fit this mold were either ignored or given the label of unsought goods. This standard approach has overlooked purchase behavior that has a time Jag to consumption. “Pre‐need” goods are purchased in anticipation of their future use. This article identifies the characteristics of “pre‐need” goods and services and elaborates on them through case examples. Finally, a case is advanced for the important managerial and research implications of including the “pre‐need” dimension in consumer behavior analysis.

This article examines the use of customer service as a competitive weapon in industrial markets. The database consists of respondents from industrial firms throughout the United States. While the majority of respondents indicated a willingness to use the service option, only a few had an organisational customer service philosophy as embodied in a written customer service policy statement. An analysis of the data concluded that firms with a written customer service policy were more likely to use customer service as a competitive weapon. Furthermore, these firms also assigned greater importance to respective customer service attributes.

Customer service has long been recognised as the output of an organisation′s logistics effort. There is some evidence that suggests that the types and levels of customer service desired are contingent on a particular industry or position within the marketing channel. Most of these investigations, however, have emphasised only regional or national relationships. Logistics by its very nature has a significant international orientation and therefore it is necessary to understand the role of customer service from an international perspective. However, it is not clear whether an international customer service policy is feasible or for that matter even desirable. This article develops a framework for studying customer service across national boundaries. While it may be desirable to print warranties in local languages, measurable factors such as average delivery time and product tracing retain their traditional importance.

The general orientation of services marketing literature with regard to consumer or buyer behavior has been with “at‐need” purchases, those purchases made only when current consumption needs are felt. This standard approach has overlooked purchase behavior that has a time lag to consumption. “Pre‐need” services are purchased in anticipation of their future use. The characteristics of “pre‐need” services are identified and a model or framework is developed for integrating the pre‐need dimension with the marketing mix variables. The model leads to important managerial and research implications in the pre‐need marketing of services.

In today′s complex and interdependent society the meaning of the individual and the meaning of the community become critical for the functioning of a well‐ordered society. Examines the basic flaw in classical economic reasoning which promotes an anti‐social meaning of reality. Namely, its premisses limit reasoning to the analytical meaning of the individual isolated from significance given to the importance of community. Draws the conclusion that the scientific paradigm of economic thought is limited in its ability to account for the ethical and moral functioning of individuals as part of a moral community. It is a theory of reasoning with little regard for broader human ends than self‐interest efficiency. However, when the economic “technique” is applied to society it becomes normative for behavioural definitions.

Reviews the history of privatization of residential real estate and the development of an embryonic real estate marketing system in Kiev, Ukraine. These changes since the fall of communism partially explain reported differences and similarities in rents and values in Kiev when compared with Philadelphia in the USA. In general, residential values are very high in central Kiev, an area influenced by substantial inflows of Western governmental and business demand. On the other hand, prices and rents per square foot are very low by Philadelphian standards in all other areas of Kiev. An inefficient marketing system may explain the much larger variations that seem to exist in all ratios studied in Kiev compared with Philadelphia.