Service Orientation of a Retailer's Business Strategy: Dimensions, Antecedents, and Performance Outcomes

Augmenting products with services is a major way retailers have of gaining differentiation in today's competitive market. Despite its importance, this topic has received relatively little research attention. Unlike previous research, this study adopts a more comprehensive perspective on retail services by examining three important research gaps related to a service-oriented business strategy: First, the authors elaborate on the dimensions of a service-oriented business strategy and introduce a new measure of this strategy. Second, the authors examine the antecedents of a service-oriented business strategy. In practice, there appears to be considerable variability in terms of the extent to which retailers demonstrate a service orientation, but there is a major gap in the understanding of what factors influence this orientation. Third, the authors investigate the neglected link between a service-oriented business strategy and performance outcomes. To examine these three important areas, the authors conducted an empirical study of clothing and furniture retailers in both the United States and Germany. This study provides evidence for the proposed conceptualization of a service-oriented business strategy. The authors also find that the investigated antecedents account for some variance of a service-oriented business strategy, which in turn positively affects company performance in the market and thereby profitability. Furthermore, the authors discuss several important research issues as well as managerial implications and future research avenues.