The development of a customer portfolio is a logical process for the development of a business. Conceptual work, using a range of independent variables, has been undertaken in the past decade but few (if any) results of its application have been documented. Shows how a fabric supplier has...

Business markets are complex. Sellers have to deal with customised demand, both passive and active markets, multi‐person interactions and interconnected relationships. Reports the case study of HDoX, a producer of hydrogen peroxide, an industrial chemical that has wide applications from the...

Much attention has been paid to the pricing of goods, but services now constitute almost half of the US economy and they have their own pricing requirements. Services differ from goods in that the choice of pricing structure is more fluid, as for example in determining the unit of charging. In...

Customer support, such as equipment maintenance and repair, is an essential element in the successful marketing of a wide range of products, from computer systems to domestic appliances. Consequently, companies need to establish and maintain appropriate channels for high‐quality customer...

Purpose – Recent concern about governmental hospital performance has intensified interest in the working conditions of doctors. In North Cyprus, there are several problems related with the functioning and performance of hospitals, such as lack of patient satisfaction, long waiting times for...

Purpose – The aim of this study is to generate insights into whether market orientation – as defined by Kohli and Jaworski – is being practiced in the Ghanaian public sector. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a case‐study of a local government, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (the...

With public services operating as monopolies, dissatisfied users cannot exit from the relation without changing patronage. Apart from exit from the region, voicing their dissatisfaction in order to influence the service offer becomes the only alternative. Industries and companies may be...

Are quality initiatives in the public sector part of a political project or can they be a legitimate goal? These contrasting, but not necessarily incompatible, interpretations will be examined in this paper, first, by reviewing approaches to quality and their application in the public sector in...

In the UK the Benefits Agency is seeking to process its business more efficiently, and commissioned research to investigate the number and nature of the contacts customers have with the Agency. The paper draws on this research and outlines the case for adopting a longitudinal perspective to...