Book reviews 75

Pierre Eiglier and Eric Langeard fascinating field, for which the systemic per-
SERVUCTION: Le marketing des Services spective may be the most adequate. However,
Paris, McGraw-Hill, 1987. the usual problem with the systemic approach
is that it generally remains quite abstract.
This pitfall is easily avoided by the authors.
Is it really possible to mention the very They evidently have considerable expertise in
term ‘services marketing’ without mentioning that field, both as researchers and as con-
in the same breath the indissociable names of sultants. Consequently, the book is filled with
Eiglier and Langeard ? They pioneered the excellent practical examples which clarify re-
field not only in Europe but also in the United markably the intricate field of services
States. They co-authored a number of major marketing. They provide the readers with a
studies published in the best academic and great deal of figures, which are clear and well
professional conferences and journals, in co- structured. These three elements (i.e., the sys-
operation with the great names in that field. temic approach, the practical examples and
But until now they had not published a book the figures) make the book very clear in a
summarizing and synthesizing their works. domain which is still relatively new. Some
Their newly published book Seruuction fills models proposed here are very innovative and
that gap. Anyone who has carried out re- published for the first time: the book cer-
search in services marketing knows the word tainly does not give the impression of ‘deja
‘servuction’, coined by Eiglier and Langeard vu’.
at the very inception of their pioneering work: The first part of the book is centered on
servuction means the process of producing the internal management of services. (I per-
services. In fact the whole book is a full and sonally liked very much the two chapters on
precise analysis of the production of services. managing the contact personnel and on
The theoretical perspective is decisively sys- managing the customer’s participation.) The
temic, which is essential to emphasize: services second part deals with definition of services
marketing is essentially different from prod- to be offered, communication, pricing, distri-
uct marketing because it involves to a far bution (this latter chapter is excellent and
greater extent the employees and the inner most clearly reflects the long-accumulated ex-
organization. It is mainly centered on the pertise of the authors). The third part is
behavioral interaction of human beings (em- somewhat innovative since it deals with an
ployees and customers) who are confronting overlooked and fundamental problem:
their expectations, beliefs, attitudes and at- launching new services. The essential weak-
tributional processes. This service encounter ness of the book, which may be corrected in
is produced by a number of factors which are future editions, is that it overlooks the rela-
both physical (e.g., the store appearance) and tionship between internal and external
psychological (e.g., the customer expecta- marketing practices which are intimately in-
tions), which are controllable (e.g., advertis- terdependent. Of course, this is understood
ing) or not (e.g., variable mood of the contact and presumed in the systemic approach.
personnel). Thus, managing the services However, it would have been another strong
marketing department implies much more point of this work if the authors had taken
than managing things; it mainly involves the the time to explicitly point out how these two
management of human beings whose encoun- marketing practices are related practically and
ters produce services. Because it is more com- conceptually.
plex and multidimensional than the field of A central weakness in many books previ-
product marketing, services marketing is a ously published in services marketing is that
16 Book reviews

the services versus products dimension is book, I find the two chapters on consumers’
treated superficially: the marketing pratices participation and management of contact em-
management and strategy are not clearly dif- ployees. In fact they are also the most central
ferentiated conceptually. On the contrary, in to the specificity services versus goods: the
Eiglier and Langeard’s Seruuction this authors have been working at least since 1977
specificity of services is pointed out. For in- on this question, which is reflected in the
stance in the chapter on Communication, they quality of these two chapters. They present a
explain why ‘everything speaks out in a most interesting discussion on the relation of
services company’ (tout parle dans une en- participation and dominance between the ac-
treprise de service); this chapter contains the tive versus passive customers and the active
general principles of communication strate- versus passive contact employees and its ef-
gies as they apply to services companies fects on the global management of the services
specifically. The chapter on price is structured companies. I believe that their typology of
around the idea that services are different consumer-employee interaction (low versus
from products in terms of perceptual schemes high customer’s participation x low versus
(non-stockable and abstract, in particular). high employee’s involvement) would be im-
The reader is not served the usual basic con- proved if they had introduced the customer’s
cepts of pricing theory in a ‘services’ wrap- involvement. Many studies show that con-
ping but a genuinely ‘services’ analysis of the sumers’ involvement significantly influence
pricing strategy. Another point I liked is the their cognitive activity and attribution
analysis of the time dimension: the authors schemes: a consumer may participate actively
understand well that the consumers’ decisions in producing a service in which he does not
are constrained not only by monetary budgets feel involved (e.g., a daily, low-priced cafeteria
but also by time budgets, which is typical of lunch). Even with this weakness, this model is
the services industry: however I would have still innovative and points out what is the
appreciated it had the authors related this proper subject of services marketing.
discussion to the bureaucratization of services This is not a research book and it need not
companies where normative rules, weighing apologize for it. This is a conceptual book
on the contact employees’ shoulders, lead which has the great merit of putting things
them to dysfunctional and anti-commercial together in an orderly and meaningful way so
behavior. Similarly, the role of technology in that this ‘terra incognita’ of services market-
the consumer-contact employee interaction is ing may become easier to conceive and under-
assessed too normatively: it would have been stand. Who can afford not to read it?
adequate to point out that, in the services
industry, ‘high tech’ can lead (also) to ‘low Jean-Charles Chebat
touch’, as stated by Len Berry. Universitk de QuPbec,
Among the best written chapters of this Montrtal, Canada