Services marketing in a cross-cultural environment : the case of Egypt

• Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze how adaptation/standardization, trust and network development are achieved when marketing services in a culturally distant country through handling the problems of intangibility and heterogeneity. Design/methodology/approach - Qualitative data are collected in the form of unstructured interviews and direct observation to conduct a single case study on Gamma Knife. Findings - Adaptation/standardization plays the central role in internationalization of services marketing. For service development and quality maintenance, values and ideas of the foreign company dominate the adaptation (i.e. standardization), while market-related adaptation is carried out in response to local culture and practices. Research limitations/implications - The research is based on a single case. Future research can involve similar in-depth study examining how internationalization of services works in culturally distant countries, the results of which can be compared with the current study. Practical implications - In international services marketing, in addition to meeting formal and official requirements, managers must concentrate on building trust and informal contacts. Originality/value - The research uses an empirical illustration to provide a model on internationalization of services marketing based on adaptation/ standardization, trust and network, to overcome intangibility- and heterogeneity-related difficulties. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Egypt

Services marketing

Trust

Business studies

Företagsekonomi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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