To enhance the competitiveness of the traditional handicraft industry, providers should offer service experiences using their products (i.e., servitization) instead of merely selling them. Effective management for servitization in the traditional handicraft industry must consider the differences...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a process model for the role transformation of vulnerable consumers through support services. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on four years of participant observation at a community-based support service and in-depth interviews...

This paper studies the product line decisions of firms under two consumer segments differing in their quality-sensitivity. We focus on a negative impact of the product variety on the consumers' motivation to purchase, while each product is horizontally differentiated. In the presence of this...