Customer satisfaction and business performance: a firm-level analysis

Purpose - To reinforce, clarify, illuminate and sometimes counter the findings and discussion of Deon Nel et al.'s article found elsewhere in this issue ("Eleven years of scholarly research in the Journal of Services Marketing"), the Journal's Editor aims to provide his response in this paper. Design/methodology/approach - Primarily, the Editor/author's comments follow the findings and discussion of the Nel et al.'s content analysis of 417 articles published in the Journal of Services Marketing (JSM) from 1998 through 2008. Realizing that some information about JSM is not publicly available (e.g. the number and content of manuscripts submitted for publication but not published), the Editor/author provides additional analysis and discussion beyond the immediate scope of the Nel et al. article. Findings - The findings largely reinforce the findings and discussion of the Nel et al. study, but offer some additional insights and alternative explanations for the patterns of publication in JSM. Practical implications - Along with the Nel team's article, this editorial assists prospective JSM contributors with data and discussion to enhance their likelihood of publication in the Journal. For business practitioners, the articles potentially provide guidance in the search for service-related information of particular interest. Originality/value - Periodically assessing where a journal has been and where it is provides some indication of the possible future direction of the publication and of the field it represents. Coupled with the Nel et al. article, this editorial attempts such an assessment.