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Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy (5th ed.)
Christopher Lovelock and Jochen Wirtz
Prentice-Hall
Upper Saddle River, NJ
2003
Review DOI 10.1108/08876040410548320
Adam Smith claimed in his well-known book, The Wealth of Nations, that only work resulting in physical products will create lasting value. Today times are different. Companies are searching for new and better ways to differentiate their market offerings and customer relationships in order to attract and keep customers and make a profit. Products become platforms for services or components in service concepts and many companies, also outside traditional service industries, try to stay competitive through services..
The world of services has changed in dramatic ways over the last 30 to 50 years. Most economies today are service economies in terms of share of GDP and most new jobs are created in different service industries. The value creation logic through and marketing of products in the industrial era compared to the value creation through services in the service economy requires new frameworks, concepts and models. Training in the fields of services marketing and management is a strategic question for managers in their never-ending efforts to develop their organizations and stay competitive. A relevant text-book may be an important contribution.
This new edition of Services Marketing represents a significant revision, restructuring, and updating of the book to reflect the challenges facing service managers in the early twenty-first century. Trends such as technology infusion in services, service infusion in manufacturing, the experience economy and organizing service systems in networks, alliances and partnership have all been addressed in some way. This text-book is versatile, and flexible for instructors teaching in a variety of environments.
Service Marketing takes a managerial, integrative as well as international perspective. The text is rooted in academic research, complemented by memorable concepts, cases and frameworks. The book is designed to bridge the gap between the real world and academic theory and the authors have done a good...