Call for Paper for a Special Issue of the Journal of Service Management.
Service Management and the Imperative of Sustainability
Guest Editors: Verleye K, Koskela-Huotari K, Fehrer J & Kaartemo V
Deadline: 1 March 2026
In light of pressing environmental challenges (e.g., climate change, forest fires) and societal issues (e.g., inequality, poverty), sustainability has become an increasingly critical imperative for citizens, business practitioners, and governmental bodies. Importantly, it also calls for a rethinking of the principles and conceptual foundations of service management (e.g., Grönroos 1990; Pugh and Subramony 2016; Subramony et al. 2017).
This Special Issue invites conceptual, qualitative, and quantitative research that explores sustainability challenges from a service management perspective—with attention to the interplay among a multitude of actors, including both human and non-human agents, across organizations and service ecosystems.
We especially welcome research that examines the principles and conceptual underpinnings of service management through the lenses of responsibility, circularity, and/or sustainability (e.g., Karpen et al. 2023). What current theoretical assumptions might hinder academic progress in this area? Equally important is uncovering the challenges—and the mechanisms behind them—that practitioners face when enacting more sustainable service management practices. Relevant research questions may include:
– How can service management practices be reimagined to address environmental degradation and/or social inequalities?
– What role do power dynamics and governance play in service management and its sustainability outcomes?
– How can service organizations ensure that sustainability initiatives are inclusive for underrepresented stakeholders or underserved communities?
We also welcome studies that examine how individual customers, employees, and managers experience and engage with initiatives aimed at fostering for more circular or more sustainable service organizations and service ecosystems (e.g., Verleye et al. 2024). Equally important is research that explores how different actors–whether individuals or organizations–contribute to circular and sustainable value co-creation in service ecosystems as well as which value cocreation practices might result in negative sustainability outcomes. Additionally, we encourage investigations into how unsustainable value cocreation practices can be discontinued, along with the challenges and opportunities related to such processes. Potential research questions include:
– How do different actors perceive and emotionally respond to sustainability initiatives?
– What value cocreation practices contribute to positive sustainability outcomes or fostering long-term engagement with sustainability goals?
– How does stakeholder reflexivity influence the adoption, rejection or continuation of (un)sustainability value cocreation practices?
Besides a human lens on sustainability, we are also interested in research that explores how non-human agents—such as technologies, algorithms, material artifacts and living beings beyond humans—participate in and influence on (un)sustainable service practices and what their potential is in helping to address sustainability challenges. Here, service scholars are encouraged to, for example, shed light on how emerging technologies – such as generative and agentic AI – can enhance the visibility, transparency, and collaboration. Meanwhile, critical attention must be given to the limitations of technologies, ensuring that their deployment aligns with principles of equity, inclusivity, and responsible governance. Here, potential questions include:
– What role do non-human agents play in (un)sustainable service management?
– How can non-human agents contribute to a more sustainable service delivery?
– What are the risks and limitations of deploying technology, such as generative AI or platforms, in sustainability-related challenges in service organizations and service ecosystems, and how can they be mitigated?
– How can service managers leverage data-driven insights to align operational efficiency with sustainability goals?
On a more systemic level, service scholars are encouraged to investigate mechanisms and strategies that enable service ecosystems to transform towards more sustainable futures (e.g., As’ad et al. 2024; Fehrer et al. 2024), even under conditions of tensions, uncertainty and disruption. Research could also examine mechanisms for reinforcing long-term engagement and accountability in sustainability-oriented service ecosystems. Equally important is uncovering the barriers that may hinder service ecosystems in their necessary transformation processes (e.g., Koskela-Huotari et al. 2024). We also welcome research on the role of contestation (Feddema et al. 2025) in the context of targeted interventions and institutional reforms and how to navigate the delicate balance between transformation and persistence in service ecosystems striving for sustainability. In this context, prospective theorizing (Gümüsay & Reinecke 2024) becomes a critical process to guide actors in imagining, legitimizing, and mobilizing action towards more desirable, sustainable futures. Potential research questions related to this theme include:
– How can service ecosystems be steered to become more sustainable, for example, by incorporating circular economy principles?
– What roles do institutionalized social structures and recurrent value cocreation practices play in enabling or constraining sustainability transformations in service systems?
– What mechanisms facilitate the dismantling of unsustainable service practices and the emergence of new, sustainable norms?
– How can prospective sensemaking support actors in aligning visions and strategies for sustainable ecosystem transitions?
Key deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 01/01/2026
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 01/03/2026
Guest editors
Katrien Verleye, Center for Service Intelligence & CVAMO, Ghent University, Belgium
Kaisa Koskela-Huotari, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
Julia Fehrer, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Valtteri Kaartemo, Tampere University, Finland
Full call for paper available here.
