After sales service in durable consumer goods: the case of Italian industry

This paper describes a newly developed taxonomy of after–sales strategic profiles and the related features of after–sales configuration. The taxonomy is applied to a sample of 45 firms active in the household appliance industry (white goods, small appliances and heating and air conditioning) in the Italian market. The after–sales strategy pursued by groups within the sample is pointed out and a set of configuration choices is evaluated for each group. Collected data makes it possible to stress cases of alignment and misalignment between strategy and configuration and to point out industry–specific features. Three strategic groups of after–sales strategies are found: (i) Product focus, focusing on the underlying physical product, (ii) Business generator, looking for direct revenue and profit from after–sales services and (iii) Brand fostering, aiming for long term customer loyalty. The analysis of the physical and organisational choices concerning after–sales shows generally a good fit with strategies, although exceptions exist, especially in the Brand fostering group.