A conceptual model of customer evaluations of service provision in continually delivered business service contexts (CDBS) is presented and empirically tested in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry. The study demonstrates the importance of considering specific aspects of service provision,...

This paper identifies three potential barriers to career advancement in sales: being excluded from informal networks, a lack of cultural fit, and a lack of mentoring. Using a sample of 241 account executives and managers from an organization in the television broadcasting industry, study results...

This research investigates how contact employee–customer shared ethnicity affects face-to-face service encounters. Drawing on insights from cultural orientation literature, social identity theory, and resource exchange theory, the authors propose that encounters involving employees and...

Buyers' expectations regarding customer service have increased dramatically in recent years. Requests for tailored or customized service often represent standard business practice today. Survey research was undertaken to examine: (1) how well firms are doing in responding to customers' requests...

A survey of businesses in the automobile aftermarket industry provided insights into how reverse logistics performance can be influenced by a few key strategic decisions. Resource commitment is critical to program performance. However, it is important that the resources be focused on developing...

Increased outsourcing of logistical services by manufacturers has prompted reconsideration of traditional relationships between manufacturers and third party logistics firms. Firms are moving away from single transaction business arrangements and forming cooperative relationships with third...

Communication between buyers and sellers is central to the supply chain philosophy. Further, the trend toward more detailed customer demands has made it even more important for firms to solicit input and feedback from their customers in order to better tailor their offerings to customer needs....