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Differences in orientations between Western European and Chinese service organizations

Heiko Gebauer, Institute for Technology Management, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Max von Zedtwitz, School of Economics and Management (B-55), Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend knowledge of differences between Western European and Chinese service organizations in typical manufacturing companies.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The qualitative study involved 23 minicases with Swiss manufacturing companies which operate a service organization in Western Europe and China. The results of the minicases were validated externally by using factor and discriminant analysis.

Findings – The results suggest that the service orientation of corporate culture, human resource management and the entire organization is significantly lower in Chinese service organizations than in their Western European counterparts, leading to significantly lower financial service-related performance outcomes.

Research limitations/implications – For service management theorists, the findings suggest that increasing financial service-related performance outcomes in China is affected to a high degree by Chinese cultural characteristics.

Practical implications – For managers, the findings suggest that implicit logic for increasing financial service-related performance outcomes starts with overcoming typical and, in some respects, limiting cultural characteristics.

Originality/value – Unfortunately, the existing literature provides surprisingly little in the way of suggestions as to the actual differences between Western European and Chinese service organizations. This research closes this gap by validating factors that differentiate Western European from Chinese service organizations.
Article Type:

Keyword(s):
Manufacturing industries; Service industries; Customer orientation; Performance levels; Switzerland; China.
Journal:
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
Volume:
19
Number:
4
Year:
2007
pp:
363-379
Copyright ©
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN:
1355-5855
Introduction
The service business in traditional manufacturing companies has become an imperative for businesses seeking competitive advantages. Over the last couples of years, manufacturing firms have improved their financial service-related performance outcomes such as service revenue and profit (Quinn et al., 1990; Belz et al., 1997; Mathieu, 2001; Sawhney et al., 2004; and Neu and Brown, 2005). There has been an above-average increase in service revenue in comparison with product revenues, leading to an increase in the share of total revenue attributable to services from 13 to 23 per cent between 1994 and 2004. The share of total profit attributable to services increased from 11 to 34 per cent (VDMA, 2004).
One major success factor in the increase in financial service-related performance outcomes is the creation of a global service structure that is capable of responding locally to the service requirements of customers (Oliva and Kallenberg, 2003). Financial service-related performance outcomes include direct service profitability and the share of service revenue to total revenue. It relates to the degree to which manufact本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。