Abstract

In the non-western developing world, where the majority of the world’s street vendors can be found, serviceculture is under-researched. For instance, although street vendors are entrepreneurers, it is not always clear how orto what extent they value customers. Nor is it self-evident what kinds of service culture prevail in street vendors’business, or how such culture supports service improvement. Using a qualitative approach, involving a sample of30 street vendors who were interviewed and observed, this research described the basic characteristics of theservice culture practices and values among street vendors in micro-enterprises. The study found that uniqueservice cultures prevail among street vendors, ranging from humane clues evidenced in practices and values inencounters with customers and interaction with each other, to mechanic clues evidenced in the orchestration oftheir physical environment. A major contribution of this study is in showing that understanding the characteristicsof the service culture in terms of practices and values provides useful insights for service quality improvement instreet vending. The study made various recommendations for informal sector development.

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