8th ed. (Chicago: Advances in Consumer Research, 1990), 111.
service being acquired.4 An understanding of the consumer motivations involved will enable self service marketers to be better able serve their clienteles.
Research indicates that both conceptual and practical marketing is required in the dynamic service sector of the economy.5 Although many factors require research, knowledge of consumer preferences and desires is a primary area in which sufficient knowledge and understanding is lacking. What research has been performed indicates strongly that a desire to participate motivates a significant proportion of consumers to use self service distribution outlets. While such motivations undoubtedly exist, it seems unlikely that they would be the dominant motivations for all types of self service distribution.
With respect to the self service distribution of gasoline in particular, one study found that, of the total
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