Creating customer value in new technology-based services

Abstract

Summary form only given. It is becoming increasingly difficult nowadays to differentiate on technical features and quality alone, because of the ever-shorter periods of technical superiority. Companies may overcome this problem by looking at customer needs, instead of technical features. This is the core of the so called 'customer value concept', which advocates thinking in value attributes instead of tangible features. The intangible character of these services makes it harder to copy, because their quality largely depends on the firm's personnel and culture. In this paper the concept of customer value is elaborated by evaluating the results of a conjoint analysis into extra service creation at an R&D intensive multinational company in the area of office equipment.