Americans who travel internationally are often shocked to discover retail outlets closed during weekend and evening hours in cities such as Paris, Rome and Berlin. Based on the implicit assumption that demand clearly exists, retailers at various locations throughout the globe have increased...

Even though service marketers are interested in influencing customer choice at the service provider level (i.e. the service brand level), the decision to patronize a particular service firm seldom occurs until after the customer decides to use a service provider in the first place. Ultimately,...