ABSTRACT
The successful marketing of services internationally has assumed a greater importance over the past two decades for two reasons. The first reason is that the United States is a post-industrial society, one which depends largely upon the service industry for the achievement of economic goals. This dependence on services has increased over the past several decades. In 1970 service consumption accounted for 68% of U.S. GNP and increased to 72% by 1980 (see Table 2). These figures suggest that the American economy is fueled by service production/consumption, thus supporting the proposition that services have assumed a crucial role in American business. Second, during this same period, the United States emerged as a debtor nation. Total U.S. imports grew by 424% while total U.S. exports grew by only 369% (see Table 1). These figures suggest that during the 1970s American consumers’ needs were met more effectively by foreign businesses than by domestic ones.
