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“Big Ideas in Services Marketing”, published in 1987, identified seven precepts fundamental to the just emerging field; this paper aims to explore the relevance of these ideas three decades later and discuss what should be changed and what should be added.

Deep reflection on the central ideas proposed in a paper written 30 years ago through the lens of the author’s personal research and learning journey was the basis for preparing this retrospective essay.

The seven ideas presented in the original paper have stood the test of time although one of the seven “services branding” was incompletely developed. After 30 years, four more ideas need to be added, i.e. competing on value, meeting and exceeding customers’ expectations, saving customers’ time and effort, and generosity.

The proposals in the 1987 paper offered an early framework for consideration by scholars who have produced a worthy body of work and brought services marketing into its own as a legitimate discipline.

Compares, contrasts and assimilates the contributions of the TQM manufacturing and service quality management literatures. A manufacturing model of TQM is proposed, and then developed and enhanced in the light of concepts, tools and techniques which have emerged from the service quality literature. Examination of the core TQM precepts in the light of the service literature highlights certain key asymmetries and differences between the manufacturing and service literatures on quality management, both being characterised by different strengths and weaknesses. While the manufacturing literature is practitioner oriented and highly evangelical and universally prescriptive in tone, the service quality management literature adopts a more measured and academically rigorous approach, although it is arguably less successful in generating practical solutions for management. While the service quality management literature has clearly been enriched and significantly influenced by the TQM manufacturing literature, it is now contributing to the conceptual development of the core precepts of TQM and nurturing a sensitivity to the contingencies which render their application appropriate. Indeed, as the performance characteristics of services increasingly contribute to the success of manufacturing organisations, the issue in future may well be the conceptual transferability of TQM from service to manufacturing.

This paper explores differences in the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in different types of service process, using a typology which distinguishes between services positioned along the continua of volume and variety. A case‐study‐based analysis of the implementation of six core TQM precepts was conducted to explore differences in implementation between professional (low volume, customised) services, mass (high volume, standardised) services and service shops (positioned midway on the continua). The study revealed some significant differences in the maturity of TQM implementation in the different types of service. The results suggest that mass services are conducive to the implementation of quality measurement, SPC and preventative approaches to quality improvement. However, professional services are more conducive to the cultural managerial changes associated with TQM. Interestingly, whilst it was hypothesised that TQM practices would be most readily transferable to mass services, the results suggested that the service shop was the most conducive environment for TQM implementation.

The paper aims to present a study of the question of customer information management in business‐to‐business (B2B) firms, what distinguishes firms that manage customer information well, and what internal processes are necessary for success.

This paper summarizes the themes from several research studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

The study finds that companies that distinguish themselves from others in the area of customer information management practices pay attention first to their company's overall strategy, establish and/or enforce data quality standards, involve functional departments in the development of customer databases and their applications, and use both relational and transactional data in their data applications.

Managers in this area would do well to follow the precepts suggested in this work, especially in terms of developing quality databases before embarking on a customer marketing strategy.

The value of the paper is the consistent themes throughout research studies in various B2B contexts.

This article outlines the nature of corporate marketing myopia and details the salient characteristics of a corporate marketing logic. The notion of identity‐based views of the firm is held to be highly meaningful to the comprehension of corporate marketing. In addition, the paper aims to broaden the understanding of the antecedents of corporate marketing by making reference to earlier, integrative endeavours (sensory integration, design integration, communications integration, branding integration and identity integration).

The commentary explains the nature, antecedents, and benefits of an organisation‐wide corporate marketing logic.

A corporate marketing logic characterises those organisations which realise their institutions and corporate brands can be important sources of differentiation. Moreover, it is held that organisations need to be involved in multi‐lateral relationships vis‐à‐vis customers, other stakeholders and with society at large. It is also mindful that an organisational marketing orientation should accord sensitivity to CSR/ethical concerns. A key precept of the corporate marketing logic is that it is institution‐wide ethos which is enacted via an organisation's culture. A long and a short definition of corporate marketing are enumerated.

Perceiving organisational marketing via the prism of identity‐based views of the firm and utilising the new corporate marketing mix (the 8Cs of corporate marketing) affords a practical and pragmatic means by which senior managers can foster and maintain a corporate marketing ethos and culture.

A corporate marketing framework is introduced which is informed by: identity‐based views of the firm perspective and by key corporate‐level constructs.

Few service organizations in the US and Europe have not by now attempted to implement at least some of the principles of TQM in their operations. Indeed some service organizations have made repeated attempts to re‐invigorate their quality management programmes and have experienced waves of waxing and waning enthusiasm about TQM. How should service managers determine whether TQM is realized within their organizations? Is their implementation partial or comprehensive? Should it be refocused on improvement areas hitherto neglected? Presents a model of TQM which is translated into an auditing tool to enable service managers to determine the maturity of TQM implementation in their organizations and refocus their improvement initiatives.

The organizations need to use strategic drivers such as market orientation (MO) and knowledge management (KM) for the development of product and process innovations, which can become a major source of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). However, there is a gap in the use of these precepts, specifically in Brazilian companies. The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationship among MO, KM orientation, innovation (product and process), SCA and organizational performance (OP).

The research was developed through a survey in 1,072 companies from the industrial manufacturing, commerce and services activity sectors. For the analysis of data, the study used the structural equation modeling method.

This study contributes to managerial decisions in the choice of investment in strategic drivers and innovation, to obtain competitive advantages and economic gains. The results highlight that companies that use market information have formal structures to support innovation processes achieving more successful results.

The framework proposed in this research can be used for different industries and segments.

The theoretical value of this paper is the contribution to the literature with the provision of a framework to analyze the strategic drivers, which are antecedents of innovation in different sectors of activity and in different sizes of companies. It is highlighted as managerial contributions, that the study identified evidence that organizations seek a superior OP to the competitor, creating competitive differentials that result in SCA.

We are beginning to observe the growth of Islamic finance beyond the borders of traditionally Islamic markets such as the Middle East and the Far East. The proliferation of such religious financial institutions in non-Islamic and more secular markets has raised some pertinent questions about how these quasi-religious institutions brand themselves in light of the need to balance the conflation of Islamic theology with that of financial economic principles.

The study adopts a process-based qualitative methodology proceeded with an initial data reduction-theoretical conceptualization of the extant literature. This is followed by data display via quote research of participants’ precepts and concludes with a synthesis the extant academic conceptualizations with empirical perspectives.

The findings highlight a framework explaining the interface between Islamic and non-Islamic participation on the branding of Islamic financial institutions in the UK. The findings also set forth a need for consideration of non-religious and purely economic participation in the Islamic financial system in light of branding.

This study derives its incremental contribution by extending the extant academic literature on the branding and consumption of Islamic financial products and services within non-Islamic and secular markets. Furthermore, by adopting a multi-disciplinary, qualitative lens and engaging pertinent individuals within the field, the study provides a rich framework from which to explore the branding of these quasi-religious institutions and the interface between religious and non-religious consumption. This framework puts forth to the leaders of Islamic financial institutions of the between- and within-group interactions in terms of religio-financial consumption and branding.

This paper aims to examine the attractiveness of the Tong Ren Tang (TRT) as a Chinese corporate heritage tourism brand and consider the significance of TRT for Chinese national identity. The study considers the saliency of Balmer’s augmented role identity notion vis-à-vis corporate heritage institutions/corporate brands. Insights are made from and for corporate heritage, heritage tourism and national identity literature.

A conceptual model comprising five hypotheses was developed and this informed a survey-based questionnaire administered to domestic tourists/customers visiting Tong Ren Tang’s flagship shop in Beijing.

The attractiveness to domestic Chinese tourists/customers of the TRT corporate heritage tourism brand was found to be attributable to its multiple role identities: national, corporate, temporal, familial and imperial. As such, this study lends credence to Balmer’s augmented role identity notion. Chinese domestic tourists/customers – as members of an ethnic Chinese community – in visiting TRT not only consume an extant corporate heritage by tangible and intangible means but can also be seen to express, and reaffirm, their sense of Chinese national identity.

For TRT’s managers, there should be an appreciation that the attractiveness of TRT as a corporate heritage tourism brand rests not only on what it sells but also in what it symbolises in national and cultural terms. This finding is applicable to the managers of many other corporate heritage/corporate heritage tourism brands.

Adopting a primordial perspective, the TRT pharmacy was found to be of singular significance to China’s national identity. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Confucian and Daoist religious/philosophical and China’s erstwhile Imperial polity are significant and enduring precepts of Chinese national identity. As such the TRT flagship shop/brand is of singular importance, as China has eviscerated much of its cultural heritage – particularly in relation to its corporate heritage brands.

This is the first empirical study to focus on corporate heritage tourism brands and one of the first studies to examine a Chinese corporate heritage/corporate heritage tourism brand. Also significant in focussing on the TRT corporate heritage brand. Established in 1669, TRT’s history spans five centuries: a corporate provenance which is exceptional within the People’s Republic of China. The study links the corporate brand notion with the nascent corporate heritage brand domain and the established area of heritage tourism.