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between a consumer and a service supplier’s systems, physical resources and employees. The distinctiveness of this interactions led Langeard and Eiglier (1987) to formulate the concept of servuction as a term that describes the co-production of a service. Servuction combines the words service and production. There is an important argument for the development of a new terminology to describe alterations in economic processes and in the economy more generally. The application of old terms to new processes leads to confusion and can also obscure understanding (Daniels and Bryson, 2002). The concept of servuction goes someway towards developing a term that describes a pure service relationship. However, the term has its limitation as it foregrounds the service elements in production processes. The complex interrelationships that occur between production and consumption have been understood for some considerable time. Marx was aware of this issue and he argued that »[p]roduction, then, is also immediately consumption, consumption is also immediately production. Each is immediately its opposite« (Marx, 1973: 91). Marx suggested that the term productive consumption could be used to describe the relationship between these activities. Marx’s point is that the relationship between production and consumption is a »mediating moment« (ibid, 91). Production creates the objects for consumption, but »consumption also mediates production, in that it alone creates for the products the subject for whom they are products. The product only obtains its ›last finish‹ in consumption« (ibid, 91).This is a vital point in that a product only becomes a real product when it is being consumed. Marx provides the example of a railway on which no trains run arguing that this is only a potential railway, a garment only becomes a real garment by the act of being worn and a house that is not lived in is not a real house. In the same way, a service only becomes a service when it is coproduced in a relationship between a service provider and consumer. The delivery of a service provides an opportunity for a firm to develop a relationship with a consumer. This can be a relationship that is formed during a face-to-face meeting or one that is facilitated by information communication technologies. The relational element that is central to a service production process represents a relational asset that can provide a firm with a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Srivastava et al., 2001). The manufacture and sale of a standard good that is not wrapped around with services provides limited opportunities for the producer to develop longterm relationships with consumers. Relational assets are not owned by a company, but they are available to a firm and can be managed and developed. Such assets include customers, suppliers (parts, raw materials, finance) and strategic partners. Relational assets are formed around dyadic relationships based on face-to-face contact, direct experience, reputation and ultimately trust. The issue is that »the potential exists for