The marketing of services 609
Palmer, A. (2001) Principles of Services Marketing,
3rd edn, McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead.
Zeithaml, V. and Bitner, M. (2000) Services
Marketing, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, New
York.
The literature on services marketing has grown
significantly during the past couple of
decades, reflecting the growing importance
of the services sector. The following article
discusses the development of the literature:
Fisk, R. P., Brown, S. W. and Bitner, M. J. (1993)
Tracking the Evolution of the Services Mar-
keting Literature, Journal of Retailing, 69 (1),
61–103.
A number of articles appeared towards the
end of the 1970s seeking to identify the
nature of services and their distinctive
marketing needs. The articles in the Refer-
ences by Lovelock (1981), Sasser et al.
(1978), and Shostack (1977) are worth
revisiting. In addition, the following are
still worth reading because they establish
many of the basic principles of services
marketing.
Bateson, J. (1977) Do We Need Service Market-
ing?, Marketing Consumer Services: New
Insights, Report 77–115, Marketing Science
Institute, Boston.
Berry, L. L. (1980) Service Marketing Is Differ-
ent,Business, 30 (3), May/June, 24–29.
Eiglier, P. and Langeard, E. (1977) A New
Approach to Service Marketing, Marketing
Consumer Services: New Insights, Report
77–115, Marketing Science Institute, Boston.
Levitt, T. (1981) Marketing Intangible Products
and Product Intangibles, Harvard Business
Review, 59 , May/June, 95–102.
Zeithaml, V. A. (1981) How Consumers’ Evalu-
ation Processes Differ Between Goods and
Services, in Donnelly, J. H. and George, W. R.
(eds),Marketing of Services, American Market-
ing Association, Chicago, pp. 186–190.
For a good selection of classic articles covering
the breadth of services marketing issues, the
following is useful:
Gabbott, M. and Hogg, G. (1997) Contemporary
Services Marketing Management: A Reader,
Dryden, London.