This study develops and tests a conceptual framework relating internationalization and after-sales service (AS) in international marketing activities. Specifically, the study tests the relationship between internationalization, importance of AS accompanying durable export products, and actual AS offerings in foreign markets. Level of foreign market competition, relative product quality, and marketer power in the foreign distribution channel were investigated as moderators in the relationship between AS importance and services actually offered in the foreign market. Research results generally support the hypotheses, suggesting that as firms internationalize, they come to understand the role of AS in international activities. However, there are factors that facilitate and/or inhibit the marketer's actual offering of these services.
The increasingly complex service context with the convergence of physical products, digitalization, and service offerings presents a major challenge for IS research on service innovation. This article addresses the resulting need for research on an adequate understanding of the perceived value of innovative digital services. It continues previous work that makes the first move in this regard-conceptualizing this value as the sum of direct value-in-context (S-D logic), and indirect and option value-in-context (both newly introduced). This article closes two research gaps. First, the option and indirect value-in-context components are clarified by developing propositions that link both to S-D logic's main concepts of service innovation. Second, the value-in-context anatomy is empirically validated with two conjoint analyses. It can be shown that both newly introduced components of value-in-context indeed are decisive factors for customers' perceptions of value with innovative digital services-implicating their conceptual separation.
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