International Customer Service as a New Competitive Tool

Abstract

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.

Citation

Kyj, M.J. (1989), "International Customer Service as a New Competitive Tool", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Materials Management, Vol. 19 No. 10, pp. 4-9. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000000339