International Business and International Marketing

SUMMARY: Services play a major role in the economy today. In many countries, 50% of their GDP is derived from services. Earlier, exporting of services was considered to be a very difficult, if not impossible, task, and there was little overseas expansion by service-based industries. But now, all the handicaps of services, of their being intangible, perishable, heterogeneous and inseparable in nature, are being overcome. The use of the latest technology and innovative product development are crucial for the development of the service industry. Any service industry, whether banking, insurance, retailing or professional services, will have to identify its strengths and its weaknesses before expansion into global markets. They will also have to develop products that are easily exportable.