ABSTRACT
High-performance service firms anticipate customers’ needs, meeting the demand for high quality goods and services from suppliers, and continuously respond to changing domestic and global environments. As a result, leading firms in various service sectors are reaping benefits such as increased market share, cost savings, greater customer loyalty and satisfaction, and reductions in complaint rates. Some of these firms (and sectors) include Citigroup (financial services), Disney (entertainment), FedEx (package delivery), Knight-Ridder (publishing, information systems), L. L. Bean (mail order), Metlife, New York Life, Paul Revere,2
and USAA (diversified financial and mutual insurance), Hyatt, Loews, and
Ritz-Carlton, which is an independent division of Marriott (hotels) (Spechler, 1991; Tisch, 2004).
