Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing Insights

Abstract

A theme emerging in the services marketing literature indicates that services marketers should look beyond their own industry boundaries to gain marketing insight. A number of conceptual typologies for grouping services have been developed. However, none of these conceptualizations have been studied empirically.

This article presents an empirically based taxonomy, developed through cluster analysis of consumer's percep tions of services. The results of the study offer several insights into strategic marketing for service marketers.

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