Lawrence F. Cunningham, Clifford E. Young and Hongxia Zhang
Journal of International Marketing Strategy,Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 39-XX

This study investigates customer-based views of generic services from a Chinese consumer perspective. The data for the study were collected using students in a university setting as surrogates for Chinese consumers and were analyzed using a multidimensional scaling technique. The study indicates that only two dimensions, customization/standardization and person/object are responsible for most of the variance in the classifications. The paper discusses the implications of the findings in both the context of theory and for service businesses operating in the Chinese environment. The study is limited by the use of university students as surrogates for consumer and the limitations of multi-dimensional scaling. Despite these limitations, the study is useful to Chinese managers of service organizations because it provides information on how Chinese consumers view generic services in general and in relation to each other in the Chinese environment. Chinese managers may gain insight into the possible ways that these managers may reposition their service in relation to other services. For Chinese service managers, this information may lead to the formulation of better strategy especially in the area of non-technical services.
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