Sandra Vandermerwe

The Internationalisation of Services

Service internationalisation will undoubtedly be an important managerial focus in the future. This article proposes a classification system which illustrates modes and strategies of service internationalisation as a guide for managers taking their services into world markets. These modes are influenced by a combination of the nature of the service (the degree of interaction between service provider and consumer) and the way it is delivered (the degree to which services are embodied in or delivered through goods).

Internal Services: Gaps in Needs/Performance and Prescriptions for Effectiveness

Internal services are fundamental to corporate competitiveness today. Not only do they support line functions but also are directly adding value to the company′s final offerings. However, the level of performance of internal service providers is not meeting the requirements of their users. The authors, continuing their research in this area, surveyed 300 executives on the importance and performance of internal services. They demonstrate the perceived gap between service users′ needs and service providers′ performance, try to understand why this gap exists, and offer some organisational diagnostics for identifying these gaps and prescriptions for redressing them.

A framework for constructing Euro-networks

Firms operating transnationally in Europe must restructure to become Euro-organizations if they are to succeed in the future. Using the old, national model to capture consumers is a competitive disadvantage nowadays. Sandra Vandermerwe offers a framework for this Euro-structuring to take place. The base line is understanding future Euro-customers. Euro-consumer clusters are emerging and need to be identified; there are major shifts occurring in industrial purchasing criteria; suppliers and customers are entering new relationships; Europewide decentralized networks are the new corporate structure; and firms will locate according to where each element of the system belongs best. Managers must strive for an integrated pan-European network of operations if they are to succeed in the new unified Europe.

From fragmentation to integration: A conceptual Pan-European marketing formula

To survive in the Europe of 1992 and after, managers must know how to capture the new Euro-consumer markets. The marketplace of yesteryear, made up of small, insular and often protected domestic markets will soon be defunct. In its place a new vibrant Pan-European* geographic and economic space is emerging which needs a fresh approach. Forward thinking managers are already anticipating consumer needs and behaviour and beginning to switch from fragmented domestic marketing to fully integrated marketing strategies and organisations. It is true that Philips, Bennetons and Olivetti, to name some of the companies quoted most often, have largely been operating that way for some years. Most firms though still have a long way to go. This article puts forward a general model to assist managers conceptualise and configurate the single EC market. It also suggests some ideas on how to construct integrated Pan-European marketing strategies and organisations for the new emerging marketplace. Managers will have to add their own specifics to what is proposed to make it as useful as possible.

Integrating computers and marketing management: A European overview

The authors look at the role of computers in marketing management, examining some current literature on computers and marketing decision support systems (MDSS). They then present the results of a survey to gauge the extent to which computers are being used by marketing management in Europe, and explore the potential for accelerating the process of integrating computer technology into the marketing managers job. Specifically they examine the current personal computers (PCs) usage patterns of 50 marketing executives in a selection of high-performing industrial corporations in Europe. The article then briefly highlights areas of greatest PC applications by these executives and the benefits they have brought in practice. It also identifies the problems they have experienced and their views on how better and more effective utilization can be made of the technology in order to enhance their managerial capabilities.