This paper provides a guideline for how the entire process chain of automotive after-sales services could be researched in China. In addition, Schwartz's individual level value theory is introduced as a beneficial operationalisation approach to cultural marketing. So, values are modelled as exogenous variables in order to show which ones are really causal. A total of 301 Chinese workshop customers were surveyed to assess the critical success factors of after-sales services via partial least squares structural equation modelling. After-sales services have become very important in the automobile industry. However, this area has not been sufficiently researched, particularly with regard to China, the most important car market globally.