No other sector in the economy influences business decisions like professional services, and while large commercial firms are major contributors to economies and employ highly educated people, they also engage teams of marketers who frequently work across national and international boundaries to...

THE OPERATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF SERVICE CUSTOMISATION LEVELCustomisation offers the opportunity for organisations to capitalise on the many potential benefits to both themselves and to clients, afforded by offering a greater choice of goods and services for customers. Many organisations have...

To date, consumer behaviour research is still over-focused on the functional rather than the dysfunctional. Both empirical and anecdotal evidence suggest that service organisations are burdened with the concept of consumer sovereignty, while consumers freely flout the ‘rules’ of social...

There are few research-based insights into professional service firms’ (PSFs) contemporary marketing practices. This is unfortunate as the professional services sector is a key contributor to growth in Australian and other economies around the world. As professional services are unique in a...

Using a sample of small, regional professional service firms, this paper investigates relationships between firm performance and aspects of strategic planning. Constructs measuring vision, mission, latent abilities, competitor orientation and market orientation are identified using exploratory...

Using a sample of small, regional professional service firms, this paper investigates relationships between firm performance and aspects of strategic planning. Constructs measuring vision, mission, latent abilities, competitor orientation and market orientation are identified using exploratory...

Providers of professional services, such as management consultants, marketing communication, and legal service firms recognize the importance of fostering long-term relationships between consultants and their clients. At a more sophisticated level, the relationship could be examined via the...

This study investigates how professional service firms (PSFs) compete in the market. Drawing on strategic marketing literature, a managerial rather than customer perspective is adopted. The study investigates the competitive positions sought by professional service providers and the specific...

What are the barriers that separate nations? While recent work provides intriguing clues, we have remarkably little concrete evidence as to the nature, size, and shape of barriers. This paper offers direct and indirect evidence on trade barriers, moving us toward a comprehensive geography of...

International trade occurs in physical space and moving goods requires time. This paper examines the importance of time as a trade barrier, estimates the magnitude of time costs, and relates these to patterns of trade and the international organization of production. Estimates indicate that each...