Rebekah Russell-Bennett and Mark Rosenbaum co-editors of the Journal of Services Marketing (JSM) are pleased to announce and congratulate the winners of the best paper awards and best reviewer awards.
JSM usually presents the awards at a major service research conference. However, this year due to the pandemic, the awards were presented during SERVSIG’s virtual Award Ceremony on June 11th, 2021.
Most Outstanding Paper
Dora E. Bock, Jeremy S. Wolter, and O.C. Ferrell (2020), “Artificial Intelligence: Disrupting what we know about services”
https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2019-0047
Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently having a dramatic impact on marketing. Future manifestations of AI are expected to bring even greater change, possibly ushering in the realization of the fourth industrial revolution. In accord with such expectations, this paper aims to examine AI’s current and potential impact on prominent service theories as related to the service encounter.
This paper reviews dominant service theories and their relevance to AI within the service encounter.
In doing so, this paper presents an integrated definition of service AI and identifies the theoretical upheaval it creates, triggering a plethora of key research opportunities.
Although scholars and practitioners are gaining a deeper understanding of AI and its role in services, this paper highlights that much is left to be explored. Therefore, service AI may require substantial modifications to existing theories or entirely new theories.
Highly commended papers
Nadia Zainuddin, and Ross Gordon (2020), “Value creation and destruction in social marketing services: A review and research agenda”
https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2019-0046
This paper aims to provide a review of the extant literature on value creation and destruction in social marketing services for social change, for the purposes of developing a research agenda for future research in this area. Creating value in social marketing services is now identified as a key focus for social marketing (Russell-Bennett et al., 2009; Domegan et al., 2013), yet work in this area is nascent and conceptual, methodological, and empirical work is needed to advance the research agenda (Zainuddin et al., 2013; 2016).
To help shape the future of research on value in social marketing services, this paper appraises the contributions of the current research literature, and identifies gaps in the current knowledge. A systematic literature review was conducted, following the PRISMA protocol for conducting and reporting systematic reviews (Moher et al., 2009). The review covers the areas of value creation in social marketing, value destruction in social marketing, dimensions of value in social marketing, and from value-in-exchange, to value-in-use, to value-in-behaviour in social change.
A research agenda for further work in this area is provided within the themes of 1. conceptual development, 2. broadening ontological, epistemological, and methodological foundations, 3. research contexts, and 4. measuring and evaluating value in social marketing services. Within each of these themes, a series of research questions are provided to guide further work in the four identified themes.
This paper is the first to offer a review of the extant literature on value creation and destruction in social marketing and social marketing services, and offer a research agenda for future work in this area. This paper contributes to services marketing and the development of service thinking as key component of social marketing, and the role that value creation plays in this (Russell-Bennett et al., 2013).
Deepak S. Kumar, Keyoor Purani, and Shyam A. Viswanathan (2020), “The indirect experience of nature: Biomorphic design forms in servicescapes”
https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-10-2019-0418
This paper aims to introduce the concept of biomorphism (i.e. indirect experience of nature) in servicescape designs and validates its impact on consumer responses. Using the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, this study explores the relationship between biomorphic servicescape designs and the servicescape preference. Further, it explains how biomorphic designs can help users to get better connected with the servicescapes by introducing the mediating role of attention restoration and place identity (emotional and cognitive), as explained by attention restoration theory.
Two empirical studies were carried out to test the hypothesised relationships: an exploratory pre-experimental design with one-shot treatment using 200 images as stimuli and 3,680 responses; and a 3 × 2 factorial design with three-dimensional images with about 654 responses for three service contexts chosen a priori: fashion retail, restaurant and hospital lobby.
This study conceptualises the role of biomorphism – elements that mimic natural forms – in servicescape designs and establishes that, akin to natural elements, the indirect experience of nature in servicescapes also has a positive influence on attention restoration, perceived place identity and servicescape preference of the consumers. This implies that the effects similar to that of a biophilic servicescape can be achieved through servicescape elements that mimic natural forms.
Extending the idea of biophilia, this research adopts the concept of biomorphism from architecture and environmental psychology domains and introduces biomorphic servicescape designs, which could be more practical at times compared to biophilic servicescapes. It establishes the influences of biomorphic servicescape designs on consumer preferences. Grounded in the S-O-R model, it further explains this relationship through mediating effects of attention restoration and place identity. Being new to marketing and management domains, this research may trigger a series of research studies on biomorphic service environment designs, with desirable implications for services marketing and services operations functions.
Outstanding Reviewers
– Genevieve O’Connor
– Thomas Leclercq
– Paul Patterson
Previous JSM Excellence awards
– 2012 JSM Award
– 2013 JSM Award
– 2016 JSM Award
– 2018 JSM Award
– 2020 JSM Award
