DefinePK

Abstract

The concept of value and, more specifically, customer value is of increasing interest to both academics and practitioners. Many see it as the next source of competitive advantage. Like other regions of the country, the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan has a presence of SMEs in many sectors. A major one amongst these is the marble sector; characterized by two sub-sectors, marble mining and marble processing. A review of various studies in the marble sector reveals that about 70 percent of marble reserves in Pakistan are being wasted due to poor mining and processing techniques. The situation is further aggravated by a lack of sound marketing strategies that are focused on value creation that enable these SMEs to enhance competitiveness and achieve greater profitability especially in the international markets. This paper, which is part of the preliminary work for PhD research being carried out by the author at the University of Southampton, UK, tries to examine some of the issues and perspectives regarding customer value creation and relates these concepts to the marble sector of N WF.P. The literature reviewed for this purpose lays emphasis on the concept of value from the dimension of employees and processes. It also highlights some of the drivers and barriers to value creation. By identifying some of the issues and perspectives to customer value creation, this paper would be a first step towards enhancing the competitiveness of Pakistan's marble industry especially in the international market.