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The proposed framework first clarifies the concept of customer service in a manufacturing context. Then the key strategic choices associated with emphasizing a customer service–oriented strategy are specified. Next, the organizational arrangements necessary to implement these strategic choices are described. Finally, alternative effective configurations of the strategic choices, organizational arrangements, and customer service activities are proposed. Research propositions are presented that focus on the relationship between central contingencies in the strategic management literature and customer service in manufacturing.
Bowen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.