International services marketing: A review of structural barriers, regulatory limitations, and marketing responses

The world's industrialized nations, such as the US, Japan and Germany, have long depended upon the production, sale, and consumption of services (in addition to manufactured goods) to sustain and fuel domestic growth. Exported services are the fastest growing sector of global exchanges - not only for the industrialized leaders but for many newly industrializing countries and lesser developed countries as well. Ironically, regulation of this important international trade sector has been virtually ad hoc effort as nations have negotiated, measured, and controlled the international economic arena almost exclusively in terms of manufactured goods. The global community has only recently begun to deal with comprehensive services marketing issues. As a continuation of that process, a literature review and analysis is used to discuss the importance of the services market, the characteristics of services which discourage importing and exporting, and the nature of various trading barriers. Governmental and organizational responses to these barriers are presented as well as a brief view of market entry strategies.