The Role of Soft Factors in Implementing a Service-Oriented Strategy in Industrial Marketing Companies
Titel:
The Role of Soft Factors in Implementing a Service-Oriented Strategy in Industrial Marketing Companies
Auteur:
Homburg, Christian Fassnacht, Martin Guenther, Christof
Verschenen in:
Journal of business-to-business marketing
Paginering:
Jaargang 10 (2003) nr. 2 pagina's 23-51
Jaar:
2003-01-23
Inhoud:
It has been recognized that in today's highly competitive industrial markets, one of the few ways left to gain differentiation from competitors is by offering value-added services. To do so, however, requires a service-oriented strategy and the active implementation of this strategy which includes significant internal changes in management philosophy and approach. Unfortunately, no study has examined the implementation aspects of a service-oriented strategy. In this context, our research focuses on two important “soft factors,” corporate culture and human resource management, that are necessary for a successful implementation of a service-oriented strategy in industrial marketing companies. We analyze the mediating role of these two soft factors in the causal chain leading from a service-oriented strategy to organizational performance. We find that the soft factors play an important mediating role in the link between a service-oriented strategy and organizational performance.