Abstract

Throughout times of market turbulences and even a financial crisis the service sector has established itself as the most important economic sector with a predicted ongoing growth in industrialized countries (Busse & Wagner, 2008; Leseure, 2010; Bouwman & De Vos & Hakker, 2008; Schniering, 2009; Walters 2012). With this there is also a growth in competition within the sector as well as an enlargement and enrichment of customer requirements (Peschl, 2010; Schroedl, 2011; Camarinha & Afsarmanesh & Koelmel, 2011). But these requirements are not a one-way-street: interdependencies between customers and service suppliers make relationships within the market of services very complex (Kotler & Keller, 2008). The study described in this article aims to shed light on these interdependencies that will later define, if a collaboration between a professional service company and its customer is successful and what the measures of success are in terms of evaluating and intangible product. Also these interdependencies will be translated into success factors that both customers and suppliers must apply in order to secure an attractive market position.

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