To survive and prosper in today's competitive markets a business needs to have a source of competitive advantage. The search for and sustenance of such advantage may be found in superior products that customers value, by effective cost or differentiation strategies or in superior management or financial acumen. More recently, some firms have been taking greater cognizance of the possibility that the most productive route to corporate prosperity may lie in serving customers better than the competition. This study explores this area by examining the importance firms are now placing on a service orientation and service activity. The findings are based on a survey of manufacturers and suggest that those firms most committed to service were significantly higher performers than others, that certain characteristics could be identified which classify service activity and that firms are increasingly using service dimensions in an effort to create and sustain a competitive advantage.