BOOKS FOR MANAGERS

the Introduction. It will be especially useful on MBA and advanced undergraduate courses, and most of the cases are also suitable for use on corporate programmes provided allowance is made for the need to assimilate the detailed information presented.

Patrick Maclagan

Euro Rea %

ean Marketing: lngs and Cases

Edited by CHRIS HALLIBURTON and REINHARD HLJNERBERG Addison- Wesley, 1993; 490 pp; Softback ISBN 0 201 63189X

This volume of readings and case studies is a timely compendium of key issues in European Marketing. The editors, Halliburton and Hiinerberg, have done a remarkable job integrating readings and cases to present an authoritative, wide-ranging book. The chosen readings reflect the interest in Europe with con- tributions from academics, practising managers, consultants and market researchers. Articles include surveys, academic papers, market research findings and focus on cross-border examples rather than country- specific studies. Award-winning case studies complement the themes of the papers and have been written and tested on students and managers. The readership is likely to be masters students and executive managers involved in European Marketing projects.

The introduction poses a number of key questions for debate: Is Europe a single marketplace or a series of national markets? What are the limits and extents of the European Union? Who will be the winners and losers where national markets are threatened by the forces of open com- petition? What implications are there for European Marketing in terms of globalisation v localisation? Is Pan-European

Marketing feasible, indeed, desirable?

Part one, the overview, defines Europe before tackling the Euro- consumer and Pan-European Marketing issues with an excellent case study on Pan- European and Multi-domestic strategy options.

Part two amplifies the standardisation/globalisation debate. Analysis of strategic issues precedes examples drawn from a wide range of European sectors including pharma- ceuticals, brewing, transport and automobiles. A case study looks at the strategies of a large and a small firm involved in the same business sector (wedding dresses) across Europe.

In part three, marketing mix issues are separated into five readings. A survey of the European food industry suggests that a lead country approach is more common than a Europe- wide launch. Separate discussion of pricing argues for increased brand variety in order to maintain price differentiation. A third paper claims that local advertisements do not differ in any great respect from cross- border ones. The case studies on Heineken and Peugeot are memorable for applications of segmentation and positioning strategies.

Part four deals with Marketing processes in shaping a pan- European organisation. The accompanying case (implemen- tation of a European strategy in the detergents sector) is useful either as a review exercise or starter case for all issues of European marketing.

A final section looks at the relevance of Eastern Europe (with a case study on the European footwear industry) and a discussion on the opposing forces of global integration and consumer fragmentation and individualism. Marketers are beginning to see the breakdown

of conventional segmentation concepts, a leitmotif which runs strongly through the book and deserves more attention.

One minor criticism concerns the layout and design of the book. The presentation and design are rather dull. A spot colour to highlight key points and headings would help the reader. Summary margin notes would also make the book more user- friendly. Notwithstanding, the text forms a useful collection of relevant European Marketing issues by experts in the field.

Brendan McMahon

European Casebook on &n&yell Through

: I3 trategy and Implementation by SANDRA VANDERMERWE and CHRISTOPHER LOVELOCK with MARIKA TAISHOFF Prentice Hall, (European Casebook Series on Management), 1994, pp. 452 f17.95 1SBN 013 097130 8

A book of case studies dealing specifically with services and having an international per- spective is of special interest to those of us working in this area for the range of books of text and cases dealing with services is very limited; especially if a European or pan-European emphasis is sought. The authors will be familiar to many people working in services. Sandra Vandermerwe, a Professor at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland and Christopher Lovelock, formerly of the Harvard Business School, and more recently a Visiting Professor at IMD, are well-known for their contribution to research in services. Marika Taishoff is a Research Fellow at IMD and an active case study researcher.

The book commences with a concise introduction which outlines the organisation and design of the book, the criteria for case selection and fit, and the geographic and industrial spread

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BOOKS FOR MANAGERS

of the cases selected. The introduction provides an overview of the challenges facing services which are addressed as seven specific questions:

Why Services? - Why have services become so integral and instrumental in achieving successful, customer-focused strategies across so many industries? What Services? - What kinds of offerings do cutomers want, and what are the services which add value to them and differentiate the firm? How? - How should firms redesign their value chains to give services of the highest quality to customers, and what structures should they build to enhance the delivery process? By Whom? - What are the roles of people and partners in this service delivery process, and how can they be mobilised to effectively deliver these services? Services Through What? - How can IT be leveraged to add value to the service offering, and what is the ideal mix of IT and human channels of service delivery? Where? - How can firms configurate and operate so as to deliver services to customers on a pan-European and global basis? How Well? - Why must standards of performance, profitability and customer satisfaction be modified when services become an essential part of market offerings, and how can this be done?

The introduction provides a very good guide as to what the cases emphasise and an exhibit provides a clear overview of the extent of the coverage of each of these seven questions, for each case study. The cases in the book

illustrate the importance of services not only to traditional service organisations such as banks, airlines and professional service firms, but also for the manufacturing and the non-profit sectors as well.

The book comprises 29 case studies, divided into seven sections, with three to five cases within each section. The majority of the cases have a European setting either from a country specific, pan-European or global perspective. However,the case book also includes four case studies from the United States and Asia. The industry coverage covers familiar services organisations such as Federal Express, SAS, British Telecom, McDonalds, AT&T, Bay Bank, and Singapore Airlines. It also includes a coverage of service issues in manufacturing organisations such as Ciba-Geigy, Digital, Hewlett Packard, SKF and IBM. Additionally, the book includes four case studies from professional service firms and two from the non-profit sector. The cases are chosen to cover a wide range of industries ranging from ball bearings to passenger airlines, from fuel to animal feed, from carpet fibre to telecommunications and from banking to professional services.

Each of the seven sections has a brief two page overview of the key issues that are emphasised in the case studies. This is followed by a brief summary of each case. The introduction of the book, together with the text at the start of each of the seven sections, makes it extremely easy for the reader to gain an understanding of the approach taken, issues emphasised and content of each

of the cases. It provides just enough detail for readers to take a view as to which specific cases are of interest to them.

The cases themselves are written mainly by the authors themselves. Their extensive case writing experience has resulted in a much better quality and structure than is apparent in many books of case studies which have been ‘cobbled together.’ Overall, the cases are interestingly written and focus on highly contemporary issues. Although space does not permit a detailed review of individual case studies I have to mention some of the classics: Ciba-Geigy (concern with restructuring the firm’s internal services), McDonald’s (dealing with environmental and ecological issues), SAS (dealing with the dramatic turn-around of that airline), SKF (restructuring the ‘before’ and ‘after’ market for bearing services), Federal Express (building long-term strategic alliances with Laura Ashley). These are complemented by a number of excellent cases on leveraging information technology to assist in the value delivery process such as Bay Bank Systems Inc. Singapore Airlines and British Telecom.

This case book will be a welcome addition to all those interested in services and how they can be used to create differentiation and an enhanced value proposition to consumers. This book is the first volume in the European Case Book series and is to be commended for the quality of its cases and the ‘user friendliness’ of the introduction and overview of each of the seven sections.

Adrian Payne

EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Vol13 No 1 March 1995