Systematic Performance Differences Across the Manufacturing-Service Continuum

It is becoming clear that management theories developed for manufacturing may not be wholly applicable to service firms. Evidence suggests that economic rents tend to occur at the business level in manufacturing , whereas they arise at the corporate level in services. We address this issue in terms of the characteristics of goods and services, and their effects on the drivers of firm performance across the manufacturing - service continuum . We deduce that the effects are non-linear and vary according to whether products are tangible standardized goods, customized goods and services, or standardized intangible services.