Considered Service-specific journals were Journal of Service Research, Journal of Service Management, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Service Industries Journal, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, and Service Science.
For more information about the alert system methodology go here
For all previous alerts go here
Bouncken, R. B. and V. Tiberius (2021): Legitimacy Processes and Trajectories of Co-Prosumption Services: Insights from Coworking Spaces, Journal of Service Research, (2552), pp.1
Our study applies legitimacy theorizing to service research, zooming in on co-prosumption service business models, which reside on significant direct contacts among provider-actors and customers as well as fellow customers in the service space. Our findings are based on a longitudinal flexible pattern matching method on 17 coworking spaces. The service cocreation nuances the double role of customers as evaluators and cocreators of legitimacy. This is because customers can have immediate perceptions of the actions and values of the services in their legitimacy evaluation while cocreating the service. Legitimacy shaped via social and recursive processes occurs in three stages: provisional, calibrated, and affirmed legitimacy. Findings inform four trajectory mechanisms of value-in-use pattern provenance, emergent Business Model development adaptive to the spatial context and loyal customers, visible trances as well as inside-out and outside-in identification processes. Further, the processes in the micro-ecosystem of an interstitial service space can develop a superordinate logic which overlays the potentially present coopetive and heterogenous institutional logics and interests of service customers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705211050208 [Google]
Belk, R. (2021): Ethical issues in service robotics and artificial intelligence, Service Industries Journal, 41(2553), pp.860-876
As we come to increasingly rely on robotic and Artificial Intelligence technologies, there are a growing number of ethical concerns to be considered by both service providers and consumers. This review concentrates on five such issues: (1) ubiquitous surveillance, (2) social engineering, (3) military robots, (4) sex robots, and (5) transhumanism. With the partial exception of transhumanism, all of these areas of AI and robotic service interaction already present ethical issues in practice. But all five areas will raise additional concerns in the future as these technologies develop further. These issues have serious consequences and it is imperative to research and address them now. I outline the relevant literatures that can guide this research. The paper fills a gap in recent work on AI and robotics in services. It expands views of service contexts involving robotics and AI, with important implications for public policy and applications of service technologies.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2020.1727892 [Google]
Ishaq, M. I., E. Di Maria and R. Qaiser Danish (2021): Analyzing antecedents and consequences of multidimensional green brand equity, Service Industries Journal, (2554), pp.1-27
As consumers are paying more attention to environmental issues, many hoteliers are in the process of transforming their businesses to reinforce their promises to achieve sustainability to pursue higher brand equity. In this context, the current research endeavors to test the nomological validity of a newly established multidimensional green brand equity (MGBE) scale in the hospitality industry, and investigate the relative impact of brand credibility, country of origin, and brand trust on MGBE dimensions and its consequences in the European hotel industry. The data were collected from 1291 tourists and analyzed using structural equation modeling. This study confirms the nomological validity of a unique MGBE scale – sustainability, social influence, perceived quality, brand leadership, brand awareness, and brand association – and indicates that COO has a stronger impact on brand leadership, whereas brand credibility has a stronger influence on sustainability. Moreover, perceived quality and brand leadership have a stronger impact on purchase intentions, while sustainability and social influence have a strong influence on brand preference. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2021.1987416 [Google]
Chen, H. S. and T.-M. Jai (2021): Trust fall: data breach perceptions from loyalty and non-loyalty customers, Service Industries Journal, 41(2555), pp.947-963
Due to increased technological development in the service industry, protecting consumers’ personal data has become a critical concern. When companies’ information systems are attacked and customers’ profiles are compromised after data breaches, customers may feel more vulnerable about their information privacy. This study uses hotel data breaches as circumstances and aims to understand whether loyalty and non-loyalty program customers would distinguish differently the perceived severity, vulnerability, trust depletion, and crisis response strategies of an organization in response to a data breach. The results indicated that a data breach does not cause significant differences in perceived vulnerability and perceived severity between the two groups. However, loyalty program customers significantly reduce their trust toward the organization after a data breach crisis. This study provides implications to address the importance of customer data protection and crisis responses as part of customer relationship management. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2019.1603296 [Google]
Legendre, T. S. and M. A. Baker (2021): Credit card churning customers, endowed loyalty, and protestant work ethic, Service Industries Journal, (2556), pp.1-23
There is scant research that examines the effect of credit card churning customers (as a type of endowed loyalty) compared to earned loyalty program customer perceptions. Additionally, this research identifies a critical variable to better understand cross-customer comparisons, protestant work ethic (PWE). Study 1 uses an exploratory qualitative approach to gain insights into this phenomenon, specifically identifying the unique variable of PWE. Study 2 uses a 2 (self: earned vs. endowed) × 2 (other: earned vs. endowed) × 2 (PWE) quasi between-subjects experiment. Results find that anger mediates the three-way interaction effects to attitudinal loyalty intention, but it was only valid among low PWE customers. This study contributes to the social comparison theory and loyalty literature by introducing the impact of loyalty status acquisition methods. Practically, this study results urge credit card companies and associated hospitality firms to be aware of churners and propose implications to minimize the negative effects. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2021.1987415 [Google]
Castillo, D., A. I. Canhoto and E. Said (2021): The dark side of AI-powered service interactions: exploring the process of co-destruction from the customer perspective, Service Industries Journal, 41(2557), pp.900-925
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots are changing the nature of service interfaces from being human-driven to technology-dominant. As a result, customers are expected to resolve issues themselves before reaching out to customer service representatives, ultimately becoming a central element of service production as co-creators of value. However, AI-powered interactions can also fail, potentially leading to anger, confusion, and customer dissatisfaction. We draw on the value co-creation literature to investigate the process of co-destruction in AI-powered service interactions. We adopt an exploratory approach based on in-depth interviews with 27 customers who have interacted with AI-powered chatbots in customer service settings. We find five antecedents of failed interactions between customers and chatbots: authenticity issues, cognition challenges, affective issues, functionality issues, and integration conflicts. We observe that although customers do accept part of the responsibility for co-destruction, they largely attribute the problems they experience to resource misintegration by service providers. Our findings contribute a better understanding of value co-destruction in AI-powered service settings and provide a richer conceptualization of the link between customer resource loss, attributions of resource loss, and subsequent customer coping strategies. Our findings also offer service managers insights into how to avoid and mitigate value co-destruction in AI service settings. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2020.1787993 [Google]
Huang, B. and M. Philp (2021): When AI-based services fail: examining the effect of the self-AI connection on willingness to share negative word-of-mouth after service failures, Service Industries Journal, 41(2558), pp.877-899
Recent proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in service encounters gives rise to questions on how consumers respond to these novel technologies. This study seeks to examine the influence of AI service failures on consumers’ propensity to share negative word-of-mouth. Three experiments demonstrate that consumers are less willing to share negative word-of-mouth after a service failure caused by an AI recommendation system, in contrast to a human employee, despite there being no difference in the failure, firm blame, or dissatisfaction with the failure. Further investigation suggests that this effect is driven by consumers’ perceived connection with the AI that uses their past behavior to predict their future preferences. The conclusions shed light on the overall understanding of consumer-AI interactions. The results also provide managerial implications for firms to implement AI effectively and carefully in their service offerings. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2020.1748014 [Google]
Flavián, C. and L. V. Casaló (2021): Artificial intelligence in services: current trends, benefits and challenges, Service Industries Journal, 41(2559), pp.853-859
The automation of services taking advantage of the significant opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and other Industry 4.0 technologies is receiving increasing attention both from academics and practitioners. Interest in the subject has been boosted significantly by the healthcare crisis generated by COVID-19 and the need to maintain social distancing while continuing to provide efficient services. The purpose of this brief paper is threefold: (i) to introduce and summarize the current state of automated forms of interaction in services; (ii) to provide an overview of the six papers published in this special issue; and (iii) to describe the possibilities for future research that emerged at the AIRSI2019 (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Service Interactions) Conference. The AIRSI2019 conference was the precursor to this special issue and provided an excellent opportunity to explore with leading international researchers the extraordinary development possibilities presented in this research context. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2021.1989177 [Google]
Amirtha, R. and V. J. Sivakumar (2021): Building loyalty through perceived value in online shopping – does family life cycle stage matter?, Service Industries Journal, (2560), pp.1-39
This study explores the influence of Family Life Cycle (FLC) stages on the perceived value-customer loyalty relationship in e-shopping. A customized Indian FLC classification system comprising ten FLC stages was used in this study. Perceived value was measured as Utilitarian Value (UV) and Hedonic Value (HV), which acted as second-order constructs formed by utilitarian and hedonic benefits. Customer loyalty was measured as Re-Purchase Intention (RPI), positive Word of Mouth (WOM) and Willingness To Pay More (WTPM). Based on the split into FLC stages, 827 married women e-shoppers in metropolitan cities participated in the study. Value-loyalty and benefits-loyalty relationships were measured using PLS-SEM and differences in group behaviour were observed using PLS-MGA. Results showed that UV had a significant dominant effect on all value dimensions, while HV had a significant effect on only the dimension, WOM. Moreover, the values/benefits influencing dimensions of loyalty differed as women transcended from one FLC stage to the next. In effect, this study showed strong empirical evidence that FLC stages play a significant role in e-shopping Value-Loyalty and Benefit-Loyalty relationship. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2021.1960982 [Google]
Pathak, B., M. Ashok and Y. Leng Tan (2021): Value co-creation in the B2B context: a conceptual framework and its implications, Service Industries Journal, (2561), pp.1-28
This study aims to bring a renewed focus on Value Co-Creation (VCC) between an organisation (service provider) and its customers in the business-to-business (B2B) context. From the literature review, a conceptual framework of factors affecting VCC was developed by adding Customer to the Technology-Organisation-Environment framework (T-O-E). The enhanced Customer-Organisation-Technology-Environment (C-O-T-E) framework was empirically investigated from the focal firms’ perspectives using semi-structured interviews with seventeen executives from knowledge-intensive service organisations. The research captured a total of sixteen factors affecting VCC and highlighted co-conception for competition as a new form of co-creation, where the customer-service provider’s long-term relationship positively enables a competitive strategy. These findings have significant implications for how service providers achieve competitive advantage in a challenging B2B marketplace. (English)
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2021.1989414 [Google]
Başgöze, P., Y. Atay, S. Metin Camgöz and L. Hanks (2021): The mediating effects of program loyalty in loyalty rewards programs: an experimental design in coffee shops, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(2562), pp.932-949
Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of reward structure on the customer’s value perception of the program, loyalty to the program and loyalty to the firm. Design/methodology/approach A 2 (type of reward) x 2 (timing of redemption) between subjects experimental design was conducted. In addition, the indirect effect of the customer’s value perception of the program on loyalty to the firm via loyalty to the program is tested with Hayes and Preacher’s mediation procedure. Findings Study results indicated that type of reward has a positive impact on the perceived value of a loyalty program. Program loyalty mediates the relationship between the perceived value of the loyalty program and customer loyalty, as well as the relationship between type of reward and customer loyalty. Originality/value The findings of this study demonstrate the importance of the type and timing of loyalty program rewards on customer perceptions of the value of the loyalty program. In addition, this study is a step forward in providing a deep understanding of the impact of such perceptions on loyalty. These findings fill a number of research gaps and provide tangible guidance for practitioners.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-01-2021-0020 [Google]
Chou, E.-Y., H.-Y. Liang and J.-S. C. Lin (2021): Believe to go the extra mile: the influence of internal CSR initiatives on service employee organizational citizenship behaviors, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(2563), pp.845-867
Purpose Leveraging the power of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is strategically important to corporations. Although various studies have explored the positive effects of CSR, few have been devoted to the investigation of CSR related to service employees from the internal marketing perspective. Therefore, this study fills this research gap by developing a conceptual model based on social influence theory to explain how internal CSR initiatives affect service employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Design/methodology/approach This study develops and empirically tests a theoretical model examining the impact of internal CSR initiatives (i.e. internal dissemination of and management support for CSR) on service employees’ attitudes toward an organization (i.e. employee–company identification and value congruence), which ultimately enhance their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) toward customers, other employees and the organization. Survey data from 271 frontline employees of service firms actively involved in CSR-related activities were examined with structural equation modeling. Findings The results suggest that perceived internal dissemination of and management support for CSR affect service employees’ citizenship behaviors toward customers, other employees and the organization through the mediation of employee–company identification and value congruence. Practical implications Internal CSR initiatives are highly related to service employees’ various OCBs that are beneficial to improving the service performance of firms. Therefore, it is imperative for companies to devote attention to internal marketing dissemination while promoting CSR. In addition, as managers’ attitudes and behaviors trickle down to employees, service supervisors’ support of CSR activities plays a significant role in forming employee perceptions of a firm’s CSR dedication. Originality/value This study represents one of the first to view internal CSR initiatives as an effective internal marketing lever. Moreover, the relationship between internal CSR initiatives and service employees’ OCBs – OCB toward customers, other employees and the organization – is proposed and tested with an empirical model, providing significant contributions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-08-2019-0178 [Google]
Hu, W.-H. and C.-J. Lin (2021): The link between extraversion and service outputs: a moderated mediation model of work vigor and coworker support, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(2564), pp.974-995
Purpose Based on the broaden-and-build theory, this study aims to clarify that the relationship between extraversion and service outcomes will be mediated by work vigor, and that, in turn, this mediating effect will be moderated by coworker support. Specifically, the authors examine vigor as an attitudinal resource to drive organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach This research collected 181 valid questionnaires from service industries through a two-wave survey. The authors used hierarchical regression analysis to conduct each hypothesis test. Owing to the conditional mediating effect, the authors differentiated each variable centering and used the fractional number and the product as the predictor variable, moderator, and interaction effects after centering. Findings The relationships between extraversion and customer orientation and service performance mediated by work vigor in that the indirect relationships are stronger when perceived coworker support is higher than is lower. Research limitations/implications Future studies are suggested to probe into different forms of social support (e.g. family support), mechanisms of coworker support (e.g. task-related vs. non-task-related assistance), and different workplace contexts. Practical implications Extraversion, as a personality trait, is a significant reference index to examine an applicant’s qualifications during recruitment, particularly in service organizations. Appropriate job assistance and emotional conciliation from coworkers can effectively facilitate employees’ work vigor and service outputs. Originality/value Previous studies suggested the influence of different personality traits on different dimensions of work engagement. Accordingly, investigation indicates that extraversion can effectively predict work vigor which is an important attitude of willingness to put personal efforts at work to facilitate frontline service outcomes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-02-2020-0039 [Google]
Liao, C., P. Du, Y. Yang and Z. Huang (2021): Carrots or sticks in debt collection services? A voice metrics and text analysis of debt collection calls, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(2565), pp.950-973
Purpose Although phone calls are widely used by debt collection services to persuade delinquent customers to repay, few financial services studies have analyzed the unstructured voice and text data to investigate how debt collection call strategies drive customers to repay. Moreover, extant research opens the “black box” mainly through psychological theories without hard behavioral data of customers. The purpose of our study is to address this research gap. Design/methodology/approach The authors randomly sampled 3,204 debt collection calls from a large consumer finance company in East Asia. To rule out alternative explanations for the findings, such as consumers’ previous experience of being persuaded by debt collectors or repeated calls, the authors selected calls made to delinquent customers who had not been delinquent before and were being called by the company for the first time. The authors transformed the unstructured voice and textual data into structured data through automatic speech recognition (ASR), voice mining, natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning analyses. Findings The findings revealed that (1) both moral appeal (carrot) and social warning (stick) strategies decrease repayment time because they arouse mainly happy emotion and fear emotion, respectively; (2) the legal warning (stick) strategy backfires because of decreasing the happy emotion and triggering the anger emotion, which impedes customers’ compliance; and (3) in contrast to traditional wisdom, the combination of carrot and stick fails to decrease the repayment time. Originality/value The findings provide a valuable and systematic understanding of the effect of carrot strategies, stick strategies and the combinations of them on repayment time. This study is among the first to empirically analyze the effectiveness of carrot strategies, stick strategies and their joint strategies on repayment time through unstructured vocal and textual data analysis. What’s more, the previous studies open the “black box” through psychological mechanism. The authors firstly elucidate a behavioral mechanism for why consumers behave differently under varying debt collection strategies by utilizing ASR, NLP and vocal emotion analyses.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-12-2020-0290 [Google]
Riotta, S. and M. Bruccoleri (2021): Revisiting the patient–physician relationship under the lens of value co-creation and defensive medicine, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(2566), pp.868-892
Purpose This study formulates a new archetypical model that describes and re-interprets the patient–physician relationship from the perspective of two widespread phenomena in the healthcare delivery process: value co-creation (VCC) and defensive medicine (DM). Design/methodology/approach Grounded in the existing literature on VCC and DM, the authors designed and conducted 20 in-depth interviews with doctors (and patients) about their past relationships with patients (and doctors). After putting the recorded interviews through qualitative analysis with a three-level coding activity, the authors built an empirically informed model to classify patient–physician relationships. Findings The authors identified four archetypes of patient–physician relationships. Each archetype is described along with its representing characteristics and explained in terms of its consequences as they relate to VCC and DM. Research limitations/implications This research contributes to the literature on both VCC in healthcare and DM, in addition to the patient–physician’s relationship literature. Practical implications Being aware of patient–physician relationship mechanics, building long-term relations with patients and investing in service personalization and patient-centred care can effectively mitigate the risks of DM behaviours on one side while increasing the likelihood of VCC actualization on the other. Originality/value Although strictly linked to the interactions between patients and doctors, VCC and DM are typically considered disentangled. In this research paper, the authors identified four archetypes of patient–physician relationships in relation to these two phenomena.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-06-2020-0142 [Google]
Silva, J. H. O., G. H. S. Mendes, P. A. Cauchick Miguel, M. Amorim and J. G. Teixeira (2021): Customer experience research: intellectual structure and future research opportunities, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(2567), pp.893-931
Purpose This article aims to synthesize and integrate current research on customer experience (CX), identifying the intellectual structure of the field, systematizing a conceptual framework and identifying future research opportunities. Design/methodology/approach To analyze 629 articles published in peer-reviewed journals in almost four decades, this study employs both bibliometric co-keyword and thematic literature analysis in a complementary way. Findings This article maps the CX literature by describing its intellectual structure in terms of three research domains (customer, organizational and technological), their corresponding most relevant research themes and topics. Moreover, this study develops a conceptual framework and research propositions to summarize and integrate the CX literature. This work recognizes technology as an important driver for the development of CX research. Lastly, this article provides future research opportunities for moving the field forward, considering an integrative view among domains. Originality/value This paper complements other reviews on CX by using a novel methodological approach (co-keyword and thematic analysis) that enables the identification and visualization of the CX intellectual structure. In addition, the study explores the increasing connection between technology and CX research, by raising evidence that technology, by continuously modifying services and consequently CX, has become a transversal component in the research field. These outcomes may be useful for academics and practitioners.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-08-2020-0193 [Google]
Badejo, F. A., R. Gordon and R. Mayes (2021): Transforming human trafficking rescue services in Nigeria: towards context-specific intersectionality and trauma-informed perspectives, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2568), pp.878-890
Purpose: This study aims to introduce context-specific intersectionality and trauma-informed perspectives for transformative services theory and practice. While transformative service research concerning vulnerable people has focused on well-being and alleviating suffering, there has been less attention paid to how the intersection of scales of social categorisation such as class, gender and cultural norms shapes experiences and outcomes. Likewise, there is a paucity of attention to how lived experiences of trauma among people, such as human trafficking survivors, can and should influence service interactions, delivery and outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: The authors draw upon insights from a focused ethnographic study featuring narrative interviews with ten human trafficking survivors and seven rescue service industry stakeholders, as well as field observations, in Nigeria. Thus, this work enriches the limited scholarship on transformative services across Africa, where local cultural contexts have a significant influence on shaping service environments. Findings: The authors identify how the intersections of socio-economic class, gender dynamics, cultural norms and trauma shape the service experience for survivors. Originality/value: The authors argue for the criticality of intersectionality and trauma-informed perspectives to transformative services to improve the mental and economic well-being of survivors of human trafficking in the long term.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2020-0290 [Google]
Batat, W. (2021): A phenomenological exploration into sustainability in the foodservice industry in the MEA region, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2569), pp.918-932
Purpose: Previous research on sustainability in the foodservice industry has emphasized its environmental, social and economic dimensions predominantly studied within a Western context or in developed countries. This paper aims to question this positioning by considering the MEA (Middle East and African) context. Second, this paper examines sustainability forms according to the type of restaurant and explains how these forms compare with and contribute to the broader scholarship on sustainability in the service marketing literature and practice. Design/methodology/approach: The paper follows a phenomenological perspective and a grounded theory approach. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 40 owners of different types of restaurants (traditional, modern and fast-food) in the capital city of Lebanon, Beirut. Findings: This paper identifies four dimensions that are expressed in different ways depending on the type of restaurant. This paper also found that sustainability in the foodservice industry in the MEA region has some differences and similarities relative to the literature where current studies mainly focus on the Western context. While the most dominant form of sustainability in the MEA context is related to the social dimension implemented by restaurants through philanthropy and community support activities, the less important aspect refers to activities about ecology and environmental protection. Research limitations/implications: The research highlights that sustainable activities in the MEA context are shaped by deep-rooted traditions of philanthropic offerings and community-based activities profoundly embedded within the Arab region. Second, the study contributes to current practices and research related to the foodservice literature by emphasizing the dynamics of the change in terms of sustainability perceptions across different kinds of restaurants and how the type of restaurant can affect the adoption and implementation of sustainable activities. The limits of this study are related to its small sample size and the exclusion of psychographic factors, such as age and gender, which can deepen the knowledge of sustainable actions implemented by female and male restaurant owners and people of different age ranges. Social implications: With its focus on the foodservice industry in the MEA underpinning restaurateurs’ lack of ecological sustainability, this research shows that nongovernmental organizations could play a vital role in terms of raising awareness about ecological issues and how restaurateurs can be involved in eco-friendly initiatives. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the foodservice literature and the emerging research on sustainability in restaurants by presenting an approach based on examining sustainable restaurants in a developing country context. The paper does so by adopting a restaurant owner’s perspective and analyzing three types of restaurants, namely, traditional, modern and fast-food restaurants.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2020-0243 [Google]
Davey, J., E. Kahiya, J. Krisjanous and L. Sulzberger (2021): Shaping service delivery through faith-based service inclusion: the case of the Salvation Army in Zambia, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2570), pp.861-877
Purpose: While service inclusion principles raise the awareness of scholars to service that improves holistic well-being, little research explicitly investigates the spiritual dimensions of service inclusion. This study, therefore, aims to explore faith-based service inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study of the Salvation Army’s Chikankata Services in Zambia was undertaken. Semi-structured interviews with the organization’s leaders and professionals were analyzed thematically. Findings: Service inclusion pillars evince contextualized meaning and priority. In resource-constrained, vulnerable communities, faith-based service inclusion prioritizes two additional pillars – “fostering eudaimonic well-being” and “giving hope,” where existence is precarious, fostering (hedonic) happiness is of low priority. Findings reveal that pillars and processes are mutually reinforcing, harnessed by the individual and collective agency to realize transformative outcomes from service inclusion. Research limitations/implications: This paper provides unique insight into faith-based service inclusion but acknowledges limitations and areas warranting further research. Practical implications: The study yields important managerial implications. Service providers can use the framework to identify the contextual priority and/or meaning of service inclusion pillars and relevant reciprocal processes. The framework emphasizes the harnessing potential of individual agency and capability development for transformative well-being. Social implications: Faith-based service inclusion, predicated on inclusion, human dignity and holistic well-being, has important implications for reducing the burden on scarce resources while building resilience in communities. Originality/value: By examining a faith-based service in sub-Saharan Africa, this paper provides a holistic framework conceptualizing pillars, processes, agency and outcomes to extend Fisk et al.’s (2018) service inclusion pillars and to better understand the shaping of service delivery for service inclusion.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2020-0283 [Google]
Fall, N. A. M., F. Diop-Sall and I. Poncin (2021): Drivers of the experience value of mobile money transfer service: Senegaleseuser perspectives, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2571), pp.901-917
Purpose: Digital service innovations have enabled service market access, transforming Africa. This paper aims to investigate individual and contextual drivers of experience value of mobile money transfer (MMT) service during post-adoption given impacts of individual/cultural characteristics in Senegal. Design/methodology/approach: Mixed methods. Study 1 qualitatively investigates the effects of individual-contextual drivers on the experience value of MMT and behavioral intentions. Study 2 quantitatively tests the main causal effects between drivers and MMT. Findings: Conceptual models of experience value including ethical and social dimensions proposed in MMT are positively related to behavioral intentions. Need for social interaction (NSI), self-efficacy (SEFF) and social pressure (SP) – sources of experience value creation/destruction – must be integrated into business practices. Results show the indirect positive influence of NSI on behavioral intentions through MMTs experience value. Moreover, traditional cultural orientation (TCO) is a source of value creation/destruction. Managers should build ethical relations with users, integrate social functions in MMT and understand users’ cultural and individual characteristics for better customer relationship management policy. Originality/value: Few studies examine how MMT experience creates/destroys value in a Sub-Saharan African context, specifically in Senegal. The authors show that SP might destroy value and reveal how individual variables such as SEFF, NSI and TCO affect experience value creation/destruction. Surprisingly, NSI creates value, revealing MMT as hybrid self-service technology.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2020-0282 [Google]
Fisk, R. P. (2021): Commentary: enabling service wisdom for MEA organizations and society, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2572), pp.857-860
Purpose: This commentary seeks to enable service researchers in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) regions and those in other regions to pursue service research that addresses the many difficult service system problems in the MEA. Design/methodology/approach: This commentary is based on more than 40 years of service research experience and unique insights from a service research pioneer. The commentary addresses what service systems are and why they are important to human progress. Findings: Three service wisdoms are offered to enable service researchers. Serving Human Needs focuses on the essential role of service because all human economies exist to serve human needs. It also provides the aspirational goal of improving human well-being by transforming service systems. The topic of Designing New Service Rules urges service researchers to design new service systems based on the win-win logic of mutualism. Collaborating With Each Other is the third service wisdom. With more than 7 billion humans living today, mutually beneficial collaborations are one of the best strategies for improving human well-being and the well-being of our crowded planet. Practical implications: Practical ideas are offered for improving the human condition through collaboratively serving each other’s needs. Social implications: Because service systems are both nonmonetary and monetary solutions to human needs, their social implications are profound. Human life itself depends on service systems. Originality/value: This commentary offers service researchers guidance in understanding services, in designing better services, and in pursuing collaborative solutions to service system problems.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2021-0233 [Google]
Gokalp Aras, N. E., S. Kabadayi, E. Ozeren and E. Aydin (2021): Right to health and access to health-care services for refugees in Turkey, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2573), pp.962-976
Purpose: This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of factors that contribute to refugees’ exclusion from health-care services. More specifically, using institutional theory, this paper identifies regulative pillar-, normative pillar- and cultural/cognitive pillar-related challenges that result in refugees having limited or no access to health-care services. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on both secondary research and empirical insights from two qualitative fieldwork studies totaling 37 semi-structured meso-level interviews, observations and focus groups in three Turkish cities (Izmir, Ankara and Edirne), as well as a total of 42 micro-level, semi-structured interviews with refugees and migrants in one large city (Izmir) in Turkey. Findings: This study reveals that systematically stratified legal statuses result in different levels of access to public health-care services for migrants, asylum seekers or refugees based on their fragmented protection statuses. The findings suggest access to health-care is differentiated not only between local citizens and refugees but also among the refugees and migrants based on their legal status as shaped by their country of origin. Originality/value: While the role of macro challenges such as laws and government regulations in shaping policies about refugees have been examined in other fields, the impact of such factors on refugee services and well-being has been largely ignored in service literature in general, as well as transformative service research literature in particular. This study is one of the first attempts by explicitly including macro-level factors to contribute to the discussion on the refugees’ access to public health-care services in a host country by relying on the institutional theory by providing a holistic understanding of cognitive, normative and regulative factors in understanding service exclusion problem.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2020-0256 [Google]
Greene, M. and A. C. R. van Riel (2021): Learning from the resourceness blind spot for service innovation at the base of the pyramid, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2574), pp.933-946
Purpose: This paper aims to investigate whether and why the base of the pyramid (BOP) actors display passive innovation resistance because of which they reject service innovations without evaluation and forfeit potential to improve their well-being. The resourceness concept, referring to the outcome of how actors appraise and integrate resources in pursuit of a purpose at hand, is used as a theoretical lens to investigate the everyday consumption behaviour of BOP households and helps to investigate how and why passive innovation resistance occurs. The outcomes of the study help address important theoretical and practical considerations for the development of successful new service concepts at the BOP. Design/methodology/approach: Narrative interviews with 29 households in Zambia provide data, from which patterns in how potential resources do or do not become real are identified and related to the concept of passive innovation. Findings: Economic, social and other factors in the BOP context clearly influence non-random patterns of resource integration which are correlated with passive innovation resistance. This can lead to service innovations being ignored and/or misunderstood prior to evaluation for adoption. This is a risk to the potential positive impact of service innovation for poverty alleviation at the BOP. Practical implications: Service innovation at the BOP must begin with a deep understanding of “how” and “why” consumers typically appraise and integrate potential resources to achieve a beneficial outcome in their context. To overcome the barrier of passive innovation resistance, marketing education must stimulate an understanding of potential benefits and motivation towards the change associated with the adoption of service innovation. Social implications: The findings support more successful service innovation strategies for the BOP, which can provide vital infrastructure for the alleviation of poverty. Originality/value: The application of a service-dominant logic perspective in the BOP context and the conceptual linkage between resourceness and passive innovation resistance is novel. Valuable insights are gained for service practitioners at the BOP and for further conceptual development of innovation resistance in the BOP context.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2020-0254 [Google]
Johns, R. and J. Davey (2021): Guest editorial: Solving problems for service consumers experiencing vulnerabilities: a marketplace challenge, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2575), pp.685-691
Purpose: While there is burgeoning service literature identifying consumer vulnerabilities and questioning the assumption that all consumers have the resources to co-create, limited research addresses solutions for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. Service systems can provide support for consumers but can also create inequities and experienced vulnerabilities. This paper aims to identify current and further research needed to explore this issue and addresses marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. Design/methodology/approach: This viewpoint discusses key issues relating to solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. A call for papers focused on solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities resulted in a large number of submissions. Nine papers are included in this special issue, and each one is discussed in this editorial according to five emergent themes. Findings: Vulnerabilities can be temporary, or permanent, and anyone can suddenly experience vulnerabilities. Inequities and vulnerabilities can be due to individual characteristics, environmental forces, or due to the structure of the marketplace itself. Solutions include taking a strengths-based approach to addressing inequities and using a multiple-actor network to provide support. Practical implications: The recommendations addressed in this paper enable more positive approaches to solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. Social implications: Taking a solutions-focused lens to research relating to vulnerabilities will contribute toward addressing inequities within the marketplace. Originality/value: Increasingly, service literature is identifying inequities; however, very limited research addresses solutions for solving marketplace problems for consumers experiencing vulnerabilities. This paper suggests taking an approach focusing on strengths, rather than weaknesses, to determine strategies, and using the support of other actors (Transformative Service Mediators) where required.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2021-542 [Google]
Kuppelwieser, V. G. and P. Klaus (2021): Customer experience quality in African B2B contexts, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2576), pp.891-900
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to replicate the EXQ measurement scale in the business-to-business (B2B) environment of two African countries. This paper contrasts EXQ’s measurement specification and structure in these two countries with a European sample. Design/methodology/approach: This paper carried out two empirical studies to replicate and test the EXQ scale in an African context. Following the scale’s previous application, this paper replicated the EXQ in Morocco and South Africa, and added a European study conducted in the UK. Findings: The findings highlight that, despite having the same customer experience (CX) delivery structure, the B2B experience in Africa differs significantly from other countries. Further research replicating CX measurement in the African environment is therefore needed, preferably starting with a qualitative study. Originality/value: This study provides insight into how the B2B CX, measured by EXQ, differs from one country to another. Most significantly, the Moroccan sample demonstrates a never-before-reported high correlation between the service and post-purchase experience.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2020-0321 [Google]
Soetan, T. O., E. Mogaji and N. P. Nguyen (2021): Financial services experience and consumption in Nigeria, Journal of Services Marketing, 35(2577), pp.947-961
Purpose: To understand the financial services experience and consumption in Nigeria from the perspectives of both the customers and managers. This study aims to explore this under-researched area and contribute towards a transformative financial service in the country. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews with 26 bank customers and seven top bank executives. Findings: A conceptual framework, which has emerged from the analysis of the results, revealed three overarching factors that shape these experiences from the perspective of both consumers and managers – service maintenance, service technology and service dynamics. Practical implications: For sustainable service maintenance, bank executives need to increase the overall level of transparency in their operations, particularly regarding bank charges, to ensure that customers are not subjected to hidden and unnecessary charges. The use of technology in service provision and delivery should play a prominent role. Managers should also provide innovative and user-friendly technology, communicating with customers and raising awareness of the benefits. Customers who are reluctant to adopt the technology should be educated and reassured. Recognising the service dynamics, managers should improve customer services and relationships, effectively manage the mobile money agent relationship and market new and relevant products to their target audience. Social implications: The understanding of the financial services experience and consumption of citizens and residents in the demonstrate how the appropriate programmes and policies that enhance financial inclusion could be introduced and implemented in the country. It enables financial service managers to improve their services to their customers and policymakers to develop timely, relevant and appropriate policies to address and/or bridge the identified gaps in financial inclusion. The understanding of the financial services experience and consumption of citizens and residents in the demonstrate how the appropriate programmes and policies that enhance financial inclusion could be introduced and implemented in the country. Originality/value: Through the sampling, this paper reiterates the need for consumer engagement and collaborative customer-provider relationships in redesigning financial services. This aligns with the transformative research agenda, which aims to increase access to financial services, decrease disparity and ensure consumers’ financial well-being.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2020-0280 [Google]
