Customer Satisfaction and Service

Customer service constitutes a powerful vehicle for economic growth. Homogeneous products no longer provide distinct, long-term competitive advantages in the marketplace, and companies increasingly rely on their service delivery to differentiate themselves from competitors. In the United States, the service sector generates more than 80% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 80% of the working population. Even in China, where the economy has relied on low-cost manufacturing, services are undergoing rapid growth, accounting for more than 40% of GDP. As a result, customer service has emerged as a multidisciplinary field of study, with distinct but complementary literatures evolving in marketing, management, psychology, and operations management. This entry introduces the service-dominant logic and focuses on key research streams at both the micro and ...