Kathy Winsted, Pace University
Paul Patterson, University of Wollongong
Muris Cicic, University of Wollongong
This has been printed as an abstract at the 1997 AMA Summer Educators' Proceedings and won Best Paper Award in the Services and Retailing track at that conference. The full manuscript was printed in Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 12, No. 4, 1998. An article based on these findings was also printed in Consulting Engineer in May of 1997.
While exporting of manufactured goods has been widely researched, few studies have been done to examine exporting decisions in services industries. Services represent the fastest growing portion of the world economy, yet they are still vastly underrepresented in the export packages of most countries. Services present unique challenges that make exporting potentially more difficult and riskier than for goods industries, yet they also offer huge untapped potential. This study develops hypotheses regarding exporting practices of services companies using qualitative interviews and the exporting literature. These are then tested through a survey of nearly 700 consulting engineering firms. Overcoming limitations in know-how and resources, developing positive attitudes about the benefits of exporting, recognizing foreign business development opportunities, and fostering management commitment to exporting are found to be the most important means for encouraging exporting of professional services.
Click here for full text of the Journal of Services Marketing article.
Click here for executive summary for the Consulting Engineer article.
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