Today, we identify service articles published in Marketing, Management, Operations, Productions, Information Systems, and Practitioner-Oriented Journals in the last months.
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Tran, H.-A., H. Evanschitzky, Y. Gregoire, B. Nguyen, A. Gustafsson and S. Ludwig (2025): The role of empathy in providers’ online customer complaints management, JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE, (4366), pp.
Customers share negative service experiences to complain and warn prospective customers. Our research uses semi-supervised machine learning to fine-tune a BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) model, which examines the effects of affective empathy (acknowledging and responding to the complainer’s emotions) versus cognitive empathy (demonstrating perspective-taking to understand the complainer’s situation) in provider responses to complaints. Specifically, we examine the effects of these responses on prospective customers’ reactions. Our two field studies, which cover 12,638 negative reviews on TripAdvisor and 36,478 complaints on Facebook, reveal that cognitive empathy is generally more effective than affective empathy in increasing prospective customers’ likes and purchases, particularly when a complaint is formulated concretely. However, affective empathy is more suitable when a complaint is intensely affective. Four experiments confirm that cognitive empathy (vs. affective empathy) leads prospective customers to view providers as more competent, ultimately enhancing their purchase intentions. These insights offer guidelines to providers on how to respond to online customer complaints.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11747-025-01114-4 [Google]
Culotta, A., G. Z. Jin, Y. Sun and L. Wagman (2025): Safety Reviews on Airbnb: An Information Tale, MARKETING SCIENCE, (4367), pp.
Consumer reviews, especially those expressing concerns of product quality, are crucial for the credibility of online platforms. However, reviews that criticize a product or service may also dissuade buyers from using the platform, creating a potential incentive to blur the visibility of critical reviews. Using Airbnb and official crime data in five major U.S. cities, we find that both reviews and personal experiences concerning the safety of a listing’s vicinity decrease guest bookings on the platform. Counterfactual simulations suggest that a complete removal of vicinity safety reviews (VSRs) could hurt guests if they do not adjust their beliefs accordingly, and such removal can increase revenues from reservations on Airbnb, with positive sorting toward listings formerly with VSRs. Conversely, highlighting VSRs would generate opposite effects. However, the incentive to suppress VSRs can be mitigated if guests have a rational expectation of average vicinity risk after all VSRs are removed or if guests can learn from their own vicinity safety experience for a long-enough time. Because VSRs are more closely correlated with official crime statistics in low-income and minority neighborhoods, our findings suggest that suppressing or highlighting VSRs would have different effects on different neighborhoods.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2023.0552 [Google]
Ding, Y. and E. J. Kyung (2025): Optimizing Animation Speed: Convex Effects on Perceived Waiting Time and Digital Customer Experience, JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, (4368), pp.
Incidental waits are an unavoidable element of the consumer experience on any digital platform. Firms typically utilize no animation or single-speed, repeated animations during these waits. How might the use of such animations and their visual qualities influence perceived waiting time? Can simple design changes by managers influence the customer experience? Although prior research suggests a linear relationship in which faster animations reduce perceived waiting time, we find a convex relationship between animation speed and time perception: moderate-speed animations minimize perceived waiting time compared to no, slow-moving, or fast-moving animations (experiments 1a-1c). We refer to this effect as the convex effect of animation speed. This effect occurs when people use animation speed to infer wait time (experiment 2a) and because moderate-speed animations draw more attention than static images or faster animations (experiment 2b). Animations that introduce dual-attention elements (experiment 3a) or atypical animations (experiment 3b) shift attention away from movement speed, attenuating this effect. Finally, this effect extends to website click-to-landing rates (experiment 4), conversion rates (experiment 5), and product evaluations during mobile shopping (experiment 6). These findings highlight the practical value of optimizing animation speed in user interface design to enhance both customer experience and business outcomes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaf037 [Google]
Ghosh, B. (2025): Stories of Service Slip-Ups: Judgments of Pre-Service Deservingness Shape Reactions to Service Failures, PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, (4369), pp.
Consumers frequently share service, often leading to brand avoidance. Existing research focuses on service-related factors that emerge during or after the encounter, leaving a critical gap in understanding how pre-service factors influence reactions. This study reveals that consumer actions before the service-despite being entirely unrelated to the failure-significantly influence third-party responses. Across four studies, including a consequential choice-based experiment, it is shown that consumers perceived as undeserving of the service do not trigger typical negative reactions when they complain. Interestingly, these deservingness perceptions, formed before the service encounter and based on factors unrelated to it, drive a shift in third-party reactions. Moreover, third parties shift the blame onto the complainant and actively support the brand due to justice-restorative motives instead of just dismissing the complaint. Theoretically, this study introduces pre-service deservingness as a previously unexplored factor, demonstrating that fairness heuristics shape marketplace behavior even when events are unrelated and temporally distinct. Additionally, it uncovers a shift from skepticism to active brand advocacy, where third parties intervene to restore justice rather than merely discount complaints. From a managerial perspective, brands can strategically navigate service failures by leveraging third-party justice perceptions to influence consumer advocacy and brand defense.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mar.70058 [Google]
Pizzi, G., S. Matta, F. Caboni and D. W. Stewart (2025): Immersive and Generative Technology: New Tools for Marketing, New Tools for Consumer Response, PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, (4370), pp.
Immersive technologies, including AR, VR, XR, and generative technologies such as Gen-AI, are reinventing marketing practice and consumer experience. In this article we provide an introductory review of how these technologies are (re)shaping consumer behavior in domains where the physical and digital converge, and consumers’ response to them. Our review finds that while immersive technologies enhance engagement through personalization and multisensory feedback, they also raise concerns about accessibility, authenticity, and digital fatigue. Similarly, Gen-AI, which is transforming many facets of marketing, including customer service, product development, marketing communications, and consumer research, raises new questions related to attribution, co-creation, authenticity, and transparency. We outline our contributions to theory, propose managerial guidelines for integrating these technologies into marketing practice, and identify future research questions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mar.70036 [Google]
Wang, L., E. Y. Chan and A. Gohary (2025): When Disease Concerns Divide: How Out-Group Classification Reduces Satisfaction With Service Robots, PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, 42(4371), pp.2574–2587
As service robots become more prevalent in retail and hospitality settings, understanding the psychological factors that shape consumer satisfaction is critical. While prior research suggests that heightened disease concerns should increase acceptance of robotic services due to their hygienic advantages, we propose and demonstrate the opposite effect. Across eight experiments, we find that when disease concerns are salient, consumers are less satisfied with service robots. This occurs because disease concerns prompt consumers to classify anthropomorphized robots as out-group members, triggering avoidance responses. These findings challenge assumptions about disease-avoidance behaviors and contribute to research on consumer-robot interactions, social categorization, and the psychological dimensions of technology adoption.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mar.22247 [Google]
Berry, L. L., M. Bisognano, N. A. Y. Twum-Danso and R. L. A. Awdish (2025): The Value — and the Values — of Listening, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 100(4457), pp.1482–1486
The idea that clinicians should listen to their patients is deceptively simple. You take a history and ask questions as you conduct a physical exam. But unhurried, deep listening is not so simple, even for clinicians committed to providing thoughtful, compassionate care. Clinical visits are now structured around efficiency, which offers a false sense of economy. Attempts to mitigate financial and productivity pressures lead to ever-shorter appointment times, which deepens distrust in health care systems, clinicians, and public health in general. The challenge is to identify solutions that marry our values and skills as clinicians with the necessary practicality of allowing both organizations and the people within them to thrive. In this essay, we draw on our perspectives in delivering and studying effective clinical care and in serving in leadership positions to offer six concrete approaches to values-driven listening that respect both the practical and the person-focused needs that make excellent care possible. Values-driven listening enhances clinician-to-patient, clinician-to-clinician, and leader-to-staff (clinical and nonclinical) relationships.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2025.06.002 [Google]
de Rooij, P., A. van Liempt, M. Shahvali and J. Packer (2025): Experiential factors predicting the short-term impact of a museum visit, Journal of Leisure Research, (4458), pp.1–23
We investigate the experiential factors predicting the short-term impact of a museum visit. Two recently developed frameworks were used: the Dimensions of Visitor Experience (DoVE) framework by Packer et al. (Citation2018) and the experience impact framework by Duerden et al. (Citation2018). We employ a survey method, collecting data from 523 respondents over a year. The results of a SEM analysis reveal that reflection and joy significantly enhance memorable impacts of the visit, while sociability plays a smaller, yet still significant role. Reflection alone significantly and largely influences perceived meaningfulness, and both sociability and reflection significantly contribute to transformative impacts. This research provides valuable insights for museums to design experiences that enhance their impact on visitors, thereby demonstrating their value to stakeholders and supporting museums’ financial sustainability.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2025.2478184 [Google]
Amorim, P., F. Eng-Larsson and R. P. Rooderkerk (2025): Navigating online order fulfillment failures: Impacts on future customer behavior and the role of retailer mitigation, JOURNAL OF RETAILING, 101(4372), pp.382–408
In online grocery retail, out-of-stocks can cause order fulfillment failures. Store-based fulfillment models have heightened this challenge. Here, online customers often receive orders not fulfilled as expected, with products being substituted, partially fulfilled, or reimbursed. When order fulfillment fails, the customer may change future ordering behavior by delaying the next order or by spending less in the online channel. Using data from the online operation of a leading omnichannel grocery retailer, we evaluate the magnitude of impact on the next order when the prior one is not fulfilled as expected. We also explore the role of retailer efforts in mitigating this impact. We find that failures significantly delay the time to the next order by 7.22% on average, with delays becoming more pronounced for non-perishable products. Spending reductions are especially evident when promoted items fail to ship. Mitigation efforts, substitutions in particular, often exacerbate delays and compound the dissatisfaction. Although substitutions help recover lost sales, they negatively impact future customer behavior. This suggests that selective stockout prevention, coupled with improved substitution practices, should be prioritized to optimize economic and customer outcomes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2025.04.008 [Google]
Gao, L., I. Melero-Polo and F. J. Sese (2025): The role of customer experience dimensions in expanding customer-firm relationships: A customer expansion journey approach, JOURNAL OF RETAILING, 101(4373), pp.493–517
Expansion of customer-firm relationships has become crucial for firms to ensure survival and growth. However, siloed management of multiple expansion behaviors represents the dominant approach in academic research and business practice. This study advocates an expansion as a journey approach, where the customer expansion process is modeled through a customer expansion journey comprising a number of states that can be inferred from customer expansion behavioral manifestations and that represent varying intensities in the interdependencies and ties between the customer and the firm. In addition, we adopt a multidimensional view of the customer experience and investigate the roles of the various experience dimensions (i.e., recency, peak, trend, and fluctuation) in determining consumers’ upward and downward movements along the expansion journey at different rates. Using a uniquely rich dataset in the Spanish telecom market for a representative sample of 12,496 customers over four years, and applying advanced hidden Markov modeling techniques, we provide an empirical illustration of the proposed framework. We derive novel theoretical and practical insights into the multifaceted and dynamic customer expansion process, its underlying states, and the role of customer experience dimensions in the transitions across states.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2025.05.004 [Google]
Sohn, S., L. Labrecque, D. Siemon and S. Morana (2025): Artificial intelligence versus human service agents: How their presence shapes consumer information privacy concerns, JOURNAL OF RETAILING, 101(4374), pp.263–278
Service agents act on behalf of retailers to interact with consumers. Agents’ service delivery requires information from consumers, which may raise consumers’ concerns about their information privacy. While previous research has linked service agents’ presence to perceptions of being watched, little is known about how artificial intelligence (AI) (vs. human) agents’ passive or mere presence affects consumer information privacy concerns-a gap this research aims to address. In a series of experimental studies and drawing on reactance theory, we find that consumers express lesser privacy concerns in the presence of AI (vs. human) service agents, which in turn leads to a greater willingness to share personal information and increased intention to engage with the retailer. To explain this effect, we identify consumers’ perceptions of service agents’ power: consumers perceive AI (vs. human) agents as having less power over them and therefore have lesser privacy concerns. The findings are consistent across various retailer types (e.g., florists, home de
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2025.03.003 [Google]
Bravo, F., A. Gandhi, J. Hu and E. F. Long (2025): Closer to Home: A Structural Estimate-Then-Optimize Approach to Improve Access to Healthcare Services, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, (4375), pp.
Geographic inequalities in healthcare access extend beyond rural-urban divides include socioeconomic, racial, and other disparities. Proximity to hospitals, clinics, healthcare providers, and pharmacies varies widely, posing a challenge in deciding where strategically locate such facilities. Demand for each service depends on local population health, individual preferences, provider capacity, and other factors. This study introduces a novel structural estimate-then-optimize (SETO) framework, combining structural demand estimation using a modified Berry-Levinsohn-Pakes approach that accounts for provider capacity with a choice-based optimal facility location model to maximize health service utilization. Our methodology is illustrated with a case study on the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program in California, a public-private partnership that administered millions of COVID-19 vaccinations. Demand estimates indicate that residents of socioeconomically vulnerable communities are more sensitive to travel distances to pharmacy-based vaccination sites. Strategically adding 500 retail stores serving lower-income communities increases predicted vaccinations by 2.9% overall (770,000 additional vaccinations statewide) and by 5.3% in the least healthy neighborhoods. Our integrative SETO approach outperforms heuristics that allocate resources based on current vaccination rates, existing service gaps, population density, or predicted demand. The case study demonstrates the importance of (1) accounting for heterogeneity in estimating demand and (2) selecting partnerships to complement existing networks with spatially heterogeneous supply and efficiently fill service gaps. Our study provides a systematic approach to optimize healthcare delivery networks, using publicly available aggregate data while accounting for individuals’ preferences, highlighting the value of combining a structural demand model with prescriptive analytics.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.06274 [Google]
Cachon, G. P., T. Dizdarer and G. Tsoukalas (2025): Pricing Control and Regulation on Online Service Platforms, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, (4376), pp.
An open debate in platform design is who should control pricing: the platform (centralized pricing) or its service providers (decentralized pricing). We show that a key trade-off is between regulating competition and enabling price tailoring. Centralized pricing allows the platform to manage competition, but it faces information asymmetry as it cannot observe agent costs. Decentralized pricing lets agents adjust prices to their costs, but without oversight, competition can become too strong (prices too low) or too weak (prices too high). For commission-based platforms, either form of price control can prevail depending on market conditions, implying that neither dominates. However, a relatively simple tweak-adopting an affine fee structure based on posted prices or quantities served-allows the platform to decentralize pricing control without sacrificing optimality. This flexibility further supports agent classification as independent contractors, offering platforms a valuable strategic option for how to structure their workforce.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.04078 [Google]
Carrera, C., V. Martinez-de-Albeniz and M. E. Sosa (2025): The Bright Side of Lower Quality: Evidence from Restaurant Exploration, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, (4377), pp.
The value derived from hedonic goods is affected by reference effects at the time of consumption, usually in the form of quality standards. Consumption typically involves two steps: First, the consumer chooses a given good, among a pool of available choices; then, the consumer experiences the good and derives a satisfaction from it. Between both steps, consumers might build expectations about the good that might affect the ultimate realized utility. We investigate the role of quality references in this two-stage (choice-outcome) process. We develop a flexible framework for estimating quality references and their effect in choice and outcome that can include consumers’ own past experiences, as well as that of others, and can give salience to more recent or more distant past experiences. Using novel longitudinal data from online restaurant reviews, we find evidence of quality loss aversion in the choice decision stage in accordance with prospect theory. However, in the outcome stage, we do find evidence of the opposite to loss aversion, that is, satisfaction is affected much less than one would expect when going to a lower quality restaurant. This is consistent with consumers adjusting their expectations downward and suggests that expectation adjustment protects consumers when they experience a good of lower-thanreference quality. Our results challenge the implicit assumption made by most recommendation systems that the expectation building process after making a choice does not change the outcome and imply that it may be better to patronize activities by alternating between high-and low-quality choices.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.04141 [Google]
Debo, L. G. and R. I. Snitkovsky (2025): A Modeling Framework for Tipping in the Presence of a Social Norm, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, (4378), pp.
Tipping is a complex phenomenon cutting across various stakeholders-firms, customers, and workers. Analyzing the long-run impact of policies related to tipping is therefore challenging. To facilitate such analysis, we develop a modeling framework in which a tipping norm forms endogenously in a market consisting of a firm that offers service to potential customers. Customers choose whether to consume the service or not and, if yes, how much to tip the server afterward. With tipping, customers show appreciation to the server by sharing a fraction of their surplus but also undergo social pressure to comply with the prevailing norm. This tipping norm is shown to evolve endogenously through a dynamic process of sequential market adjustments over time: the average tip in each period determines the tipping norm for the following period, causing the firm to adapt the price and customers to adapt their tips accordingly. Characterization of this equilibrium outcome allows us to derive qualitative results on the long-run impact of different exogenous factors on tipping: we find that the equilibrium tip-to-price ratio increases when customers are more sensitive to social pressure, their range of service valuations spreads out, or they consider the service more valuable. Building on this framework, we further investigate several economic implications of tipping pertaining to social welfare, labor cost, and service quality, thus uncovering incentives and trade-offs to which the tipping mechanism gives rise from the firm, the worker, and the customer’s perspectives.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.03422 [Google]
Wang, Q., G. Lyu, L. He and C. P. Teo (2025): Does the Locker Alliance Network Improve Last Mile Delivery Efficiency?, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, (4379), pp.
The Locker Alliance Network (LAN), a cutting-edge initiative under Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, aims to revolutionize parcel pickup processes. This government-led project seeks to implement two major changes in Singapore’s urban logistics: (i) establishing an open-access facility for all logistic service providers (LSPs) and (ii) enhancing the last mile delivery efficiency of each LSP, thereby reducing its operational footprint. This research investigates the impact of locker network design on the delivery efficiency of individual LSPs and explores strategies for the government to construct an inclusive network for all LSPs. Our study explores two operational modes: the two-trip mode, in which home and locker deliveries are managed separately, and the mixed-trip mode, which consolidates both into one route. We extend the Beardwood-Halton-Hammersley theorem to estimate the delivery trip length to remaining home locations, assuming consumers can choose between locker pickup or home delivery. This enables us to explicitly formulate the LAN design problem as a nonlinear optimization model. Furthermore, our models for both operational modes reveal that optimal locker network design tends to expand in a nested manner relative to the market share of an LSP. This finding suggests that governments could design locker networks based on the profiles of the largest LSP, ensuring that the expansion of these networks aligns with the existing logistics infrastructure. Leveraging data from LAN’s pilot program in Singapore, our research underscores the pivotal role of network design in last mile delivery efficiency. A poorly designed locker network can inadvertently reduce productivity by increasing the length of delivery trips, thus negating the potential benefits of the system. In contrast, an optimized network can mitigate this negative impact on delivery efficiency. Beyond network design, low customer adoption emerges as another critical bottleneck. Our findings show that, as more customers shift to locker pickup, especially in mixed-trip modes, delivery efficiency improves. Therefore, network design and a higher adoption rate of locker pickup are key to LAN’s success. The government’s role in driving deeper customer engagement, alongside efforts to optimize network design and delivery operations, is vital to unlocking the full potential of this smart nation initiative.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.04567 [Google]
Yang, C., K. Bauer, X. Li and O. Hinz (2025): My Advisor, Her AI, and Me: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Human-AI Collaboration and Investment Decisions, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, (4380), pp.
Amid ongoing policy and managerial debates on keeping humans in the loop of artificial intelligence (AI) decision-making processes, we investigate whether human involvement in AI-based service production benefits downstream consumers. Partnering with a large savings bank in Europe, we produced pure AI and human-AI collaborative investment advice, which we passed to the bank customers and investigated the degree of their advice taking in a field experiment. On the production side, contrary to concerns that humans might inefficiently override AI output, our findings show that having a human banker in the loop of AI-based financial advisory by giving her the final say over the advice provided does not compromise the quality of the advice. More importantly, on the consumption side, we find that the bank customers are more likely to align their final investment decisions with advice from the human-AI collaboration, compared with pure AI, especially when facing more risky investments. In our setting, this increased reliance on human-AI collaborative advice leads to higher material welfare for consumers. Additional analyses from the field experiment along with an online controlled experiment indicate that the persuasive efficacy of human-AI collaborative advice cannot be attributed to consumers’ belief in increased advice quality resulting from complementarities between human and AI capabilities. Instead, the consumption-side benefits of human involvement in the AI-based service largely stem from human involvement serving as a peripheral cue that enhances the affective appeal of the advice. Our findings indicate that regulations and guidelines should adopt a consumer-centric approach by fostering environments where human capabilities and AI systems can synergize effectively to benefit consumers while safeguarding consumer welfare. These nuanced insights are crucial for managers who face decisions about offering pure AI versus human-AI collaborative services and also for regulators advocating for having humans in the loop.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.03918 [Google]
Yu, Y., W. Xue, L. Jia and Y. Tan (2025): When Emotion AI Meets Strategic Users, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, (4381), pp.
When organizations adopt artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize individuals’ negative emotions and accordingly allocate limited resources, strategic users are incentivized to game the system by misrepresenting their emotions. The value of AI in automating such emotion-driven allocation may be undermined by gaming behavior, algorithmic noise in emotion detection, and the spillover effect of negative emotions. We develop a gametheoretical model to understand emotion AI adoption, particularly in customer care, and analyze the design of the associated allocation policies. We find that adopting emotion AI is valuable if the spillover effect of negative emotions is negligible compared with resource misallocation loss, regardless of algorithmic noise and gaming behavior. We also quantify the welfare impacts of emotion AI on the users, organization, and society. Notably, a stronger AI is not always socially desirable and regulation on emotion-driven allocation is needed. Finally, we characterize conditions under which leveraging the AI system is preferred to hiring human employees in emotion-driven allocation. We also explore the alternative application of using emotion AI to monitor strategic employees and compare it with hiring a human manager for monitoring. Intriguingly, algorithmic noise may increase the profit of AI monitoring. Our work provides implications for designing, adopting, and regulating emotion AI.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.02860 [Google]
Ong, P. and I. P. L. Png (2025): Deskilling technology affords work amenity, increases labor supply, STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, (4382), pp.
Research Summary We investigate how deskilling technology (map apps) affects the choice of individuals to provide ride-hail service. In a vignette experiment, technology increased participation in work by 8% and 4% among low- and high-skill drivers respectively. Technology can increase participation by raising productivity or affording an amenity (reducing disutility of work). A field experiment revealed that the technology afforded more amenity to low-skill drivers and they incurred more stress when driving without technology. Strategically, the amenity is important as it may reduce wage pressures.Managerial Summary Technologies that deskill work may afford an amenity by reducing the disutility of work. In formulating technology strategy, managers must consider how the amenity varies by worker skill and how it affects the supply of labor. In the context of ride-hail drivers, we show that navigation technology affords an amenity. The amenity is larger and the effect of technology on increasing labor supply is more pronounced among drivers with less skill. Strategically, the amenity is important as it may reduce pressures for higher wages from low-skilled workers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.70017 [Google]
Florea, D.-L., D. Rangarajan, M. E. R. Nieto-Saucedo, M. S. Shanka and C. N. Osakwe (2025): Customer education in business-to-business contexts, INDUSTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 128(4383), pp.54–70
Current trends in business-to-business (B2B) services are increasingly bringing customer education (CEd) to the spotlight. Despite the growing recognition of the benefits of CEd, understanding how it is deployed in B2B firms remains a gap in academic literature. Our study addresses this gap by following a qualitative, empirical approach to investigate how CEd is managed across 29 B2B firms. The findings from our research suggest that CEd is a complex set of activities involving multiple stakeholders from both the customers as well as the B2B firm. Our research identified CEd as a process comprising three stages: (a) prepare for CEd, (b) deploy CEd, and (c) measure CEd. Basing ourselves on the findings from our research, we propose a conceptual framework of CEd in B2B contexts. Our findings contribute to the literature by offering a process-based view of CEd, clarifying the intra-organizational coordination it requires, and demonstrating how CEd unfolds across the customer journey. This research advances theoretical understanding of CEd as a cross-functional capability in B2B settings. We provide managerial recommendations and suggest areas for future research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.05.006 [Google]
Gebauer, H., B. Glaa, L. Witell and H. Perks (2025): Key adjustments to service offerings to accommodate product innovations: The Case of electric vehicles, INDUSTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 128(4384), pp.71–87
This paper is positioned at the intersection of servitization and product innovation, addressing an important research gap regarding the key adjustments required in service offerings when introducing product innovations. We focus on electric vehicles as an eco-friendly product innovation often associated with high technological turbulence. Through a single case study of a truck manufacturer and eight confirmatory cases of other commercial vehicle manufacturers, this study examines how these companies adjusted their service offerings (e.g., financial services, parts and repair services, fleet management services, and connectivity services) in response to the launch of new product innovations. When introducing product innovations, these manufacturers adjust the scope and sophistication of their service offerings-for instance, by advancing financial services, parts and repair services, fleet management services, connectivity services, and by adding charging infrastructure services. Meanwhile, services for existing products also evolve in terms of scope and sophistication (e.g., adding product life extension and fuel optimization services). Surprisingly, these adjustments mostly occur within existing organizational structures. At the same time, they contribute to a potential increase in the share of service revenue, reflecting the growing share of electric vehicles in commercial vehicle sales. These insights offer important theoretical and managerial implications for integrating servitization with product innovation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.05.001 [Google]
Li, L., C. Xu, Q. Zhang, Y. Liu and Q. Li (2025): Leveraging generative AI capabilities for competitive advantage: A moderated mediation analysis of environmental dynamism and service innovation, INDUSTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 128(4385), pp.10–20
As generative AI increasingly transforms industrial markets, B2B firms face the imperative to strategically leverage it to sustain competitive advantage. Grounded in dynamic capabilities theory, this study establishes a novel framework to examine the interconnections among generative AI capabilities, service innovation, and competitive advantage under varying levels of environmental dynamism. Analyzing data from 260 Chinese firms, this study reveals that the three dimensions of service innovation-service concept, service process, and customer experience-serve as key mediators between generative AI capabilities and competitive advantage. Furthermore, a counterintuitive discovery is that environmental dynamism negatively moderates the mediation effects of service concept innovation and customer experience innovation on the relationship between generative AI capabilities and competitive advantage. These findings contribute to the literature on AI integration in B2B contexts by elucidating the conditions under which generative AI capabilities translate into competitive advantage, offering practical insights for firms navigating dynamic industrial landscapes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.05.007 [Google]
Locander, D. A., B. J. Babin and J. M. Galvan (2025): Advancing the service-specific and solution-centric model of creativity: The roles of salesperson intuition, emotional intelligence, and cognitive laziness, INDUSTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT, 128(4386), pp.150–168
This research draws on the Service-Specific and Solution-Centric Model of Creativity. Specifically, the research examines how salespeople’s reliance on intuition, cognitive laziness, and objective ability-based EI come together to shape salesperson creative selling, a known driver of sales performance. Results from 173 B2B salespeople reveal that intuition and cognitive laziness are distinct and have unique influences on creative selling, and subsequently, sales performance. In particular, reliance on intuition positively influences creative selling, whereas cognitive laziness effect is negative. Additionally, in contrast to past findings that utilize subjective EI scaling, this study deploys an objective EI assessment, to test the effect of EI on creative selling. Furthermore, creative selling positively influences both behavioral and outcome sales performance, facilitating the indirect effects of reliance on intuition and cognitive laziness on sales performance.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2025.06.004 [Google]
Sklyar, A., D. Sorhammar, C. Kowalkowski and B. Tronvoll (2025): Digital service orientation: unlocking servitization in service operations and service sales, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT, 45(4387), pp.117–139
PurposeManufacturers increasingly harness digital technologies in their servitization efforts. However, the research has mainly focused on higher-level aspects of servitization, often overlooking the role of organizational routines at the firm-customer interface. This especially concerns two key customer-facing functions, service operations and service sales. This study explores how digital service orientation can be induced within these units’ organizational routines.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from 534 respondents (270 in service operations and 264 in service sales) from a market-leading manufacturing corporation implementing a digital service strategy were analyzed with a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).FindingsThe analysis uncovers alternative configurations of routine elements that induce digital service orientation in customer-facing units. These configurations combine four core routine elements: technology foresight, adaptability, agility, and rule-bending. Notably, distinct cross-functional patterns-assertive, responsive, and nimble-emerge across service operations and sales.Practical implicationsFor managers, the cross-functional patterns offer a useful tool for inducing digital service orientation across customer-facing functions.Originality/valueThis exploratory study advances servitization research by identifying cross-functional patterns that induce digital service orientation. The findings reveal a surprising degree of homogeneity between service operations and sales, with greater alignment than previously assumed. This study also highlights the role of rule-bending in managing the often-overlooked tensions inherent in digital service strategies. Additionally, it points to a more limited role of customer focus, particularly in the context of intermediate services.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-08-2024-0710 [Google]
Barrios, A., S. Camacho and E. Reficco (2025): Digital technologies for inclusive innovations in humanitarian response, JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, 201(4388), pp.
This article examines the role digital technologies play in facilitating inclusive innovation processes. The empirical focus is on a group of humanitarian organizations that innovated to respond to the Venezuelan refugee crisis in Colombia between 2020 and 2022. The data sources include interviews with service actors, field observations, and reports to donors. The information was analyzed using a service ecosystem approach to identify how actors interacted with digital technologies to find new ways to co-create value. The findings indicate that digital technologies enhanced inclusive innovation processes through different mechanisms, facilitating a dialogical innovation process between NPOs and refugees. These mechanisms include managing information gathering, enhancing data quantity and quality, providing transparency in analysis, transforming tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, and providing an ongoing flow of information. The article concludes by discussing how findings expand the current theory on inclusive innovation and their implications for policy and practice.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115714 [Google]
Lin, C.-Y., E.-Y. Chou and H.-Y. Liang (2025): Connecting with authenticity: Exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms between employee authenticity and customer citizenship behaviors, JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, 201(4389), pp.
This study investigates the impact of employee authenticity behaviors (EABs) on the facilitation of customer citizenship behaviors (CCBs) and explores the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms. Dyadic data of 368 service employee-customer pairs are collected. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analysis are performed to test the hypotheses. The results show that EABs, including authentic understanding, authentic honesty, and authentic emotional display, positively influence social rapport between service employees and customers. In turn, customer-employee rapport positively affects CCBs (i.e., suggestion, assistance, benevolence, and tolerance). Additionally, the findings indicate that customer internal attribution positively moderates the relationship between EABs and customer-employee rapport. Meanwhile, customer expertise and empathy are shown to positively moderate the relationship between customer-employee rapport and specific CCBs. This study enhances the understanding of CCBs and provides valuable insights into how employee authenticity can foster these behaviors in service settings.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115682 [Google]
Chan, T. K. H., Z. W. Y. Lee, M. Pan and K. Sun (2025): Understanding the Drivers and Outcomes of Ideologically Charged Social Media Firestorms: The Sociotechnical and Social Learning Perspectives, JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 42(4390), pp.737–766
Social media firestorms, characterized by the rapid spread of negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM), can ignite widespread criticism of a firm’s brand transgressions, service failures, product-harm crises, or ideological conflicts. This study, grounded in the sociotechnical and social learning perspectives, examines the drivers and outcomes of social learning in ideologically charged firestorms, which represent an emerging form. We investigate the effects of social consensus and message persuasiveness, platform content centricity, and individual-firm relationship closeness on the social learning of negative eWOM behavior and purchase behavior. Two studies, comprising longitudinal quantitative and qualitative surveys, were conducted. The results indicate that message persuasiveness is strongly associated with the social learning of negative eWOM behavior. Negative eWOM behavior subsequently influences post-firestorm purchasing behavior. The moderating effects of platform content centricity and individual-firm relationship closeness are discussed. These findings advance the literature and offer practitioners actionable insights into managing digital crises.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2025.2520170 [Google]
Zhou, S., Y. Chen and X. Li (2025): Impact of Non-Diagnostic Digital Services on Online Healthcare Consultation, JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 42(4391), pp.951–982
The persistent preference of patients for well-known healthcare providers inevitably leads to demand imbalances within the healthcare sector. Luckily, our research reveals that online healthcare platforms (OHPs) can address this issue by offering non-diagnostic digital services. Using an OHP-based online prescribing service as an example, our study reveals that this non-diagnostic digital service has resulted in a significant increase in consultations, particularly for less prominent hospitals and junior physicians. This shift promotes a more equitable distribution of healthcare demand. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the balancing effect primarily arises from attracting low-uncertainty demand-consultations that focus less on diagnosis-and from fostering trust between patients and physicians. Our findings present a compelling information systems (IS) solution to the pressing issue of patient demand imbalance. By illustrating how a non-diagnostic digital solution can transform healthcare delivery and enhance resource allocation, we contribute to improved healthcare efficiency. This paper offers insights for researchers focused on OHP design and for health practitioners seeking to leverage digital solutions to manage demand.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2025.2520180 [Google]
Momcheva, A., F. Salvador, R. Bonet and M. Caserta (2025): On-Demand Schedules, Worker Absenteeism and Patient Dissatisfaction in Home Care Services, JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, (4392), pp.
Service companies often adopt on-demand scheduling to balance labor costs and fluctuating market demand. However, research shows that such practices can reduce worker productivity and retention. In this study, we examine how on-demand scheduling affects two critical outcomes: worker absenteeism and patient dissatisfaction. We extend the conceptualization of undesirable scheduling by introducing schedule discontinuity-the presence of unpaid interruptions within a worker’s daily schedule-alongside the more commonly studied schedule inconsistency, or variability in work hours across weeks. Using data on 1.2 million home care visits in a Canadian healthcare provider, we find that both schedule inconsistency and discontinuity significantly increase absenteeism and patient dissatisfaction. Specifically, moving from the 25th to 75th percentile in discontinuity (inconsistency) raises absenteeism by 20.00% (19.29%), and customer complaints by 27.33% (40.27%). To assess the practical implications for employers, we formulate and solve a schedule optimization problem that minimizes schedule discontinuity (or inconsistency), while satisfying demand and supply constraints. Applying a machine learning predictive model to these optimized schedules, we estimate reductions in the probability of absenteeism by 9.5% (8.2%) and in the probability of patient complaints by 7.7% (2.3%), demonstrating that modest scheduling adjustments can substantially improve worker and service outcomes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joom.70015 [Google]
Sun, X. and R. Oliva (2025): Failure Modes in Servitization: A Process Theory, JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, (4393), pp.
The implementation of servitization as a business strategy remains a significant challenge for firms seeking to offer integrated product-service bundles. Despite the growing body of research in the servitization literature, an integrative framework for explaining the recurring failures in servitization efforts has yet to emerge. Through a qualitative meta-analysis of empirical evidence documented in existing case studies, we develop a process theory that examines the tensions between product and service businesses during the service business development process. Our study identifies three common servitization failure modes, highlights the contributing factors across various stages of servitization, and establishes causal links between structural elements and behavioral outcomes to explain the heterogeneity in service business performance. By adopting a process perspective, we provide a more nuanced understanding of servitization dynamics, offering new insights that complement and extend established theories on firm growth and capability development. We conclude by discussing managerial implications for firms pursuing a servitization strategy and outlining future research steps to test and further refine the proposed theory.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joom.70009 [Google]
Vickery, S. K., M. J. Castel, S. Narayanan and M. L. Nicolae (2025): A Model of Hospital Patient Engagement for Value Co-Creation: Does It Affect Performance? A US Hospital Industry Study, JOURNAL OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, (4394), pp.
A holistic model encompassing a hospital patient engagement system and its relationship to the quality of provider-patient interactions is presented. Based on service-dominant logic, the study examined whether the effects on hospital performance of providers’ systemic patient engagement efforts to enable value co-creation are fully mediated by experiential quality (realized patient engagement). The research model was tested via 2SLS regressions using survey data matched with secondary data. Mediation hypotheses were tested using bootstrapping. The results showed that experiential quality fully mediates the beneficial effects of a hospital patient engagement system on patient recommendation, readmission rate, return on assets, and excess margin. Post hoc tests confirmed the broad applicability of a hospital patient engagement system for reputational and financial advantage.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joom.70019 [Google]
Foroudi, P., M. J. Robson, R. Marvi and S. Spyropoulou (2025): Enhancing Customer Engagement Through Artificial Intelligence Authenticity, JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, (4395), pp.
Given the limited research on the factors and mechanisms underlying artificial intelligence (AI) authenticity, we examine its use in fostering breakthrough knowledge and enhancing customer engagement. We devised a robust model grounded in mind perception and social exchange theories, with a focus on the outcomes of AI authenticity. Tested across 452 virtual health home stations, the findings reveal that both performance expectation and effort expectation serve as mediators between AI authenticity and customer engagement. This research provides managers with comprehensive insights into the defining attributes and operational mechanics of AI authenticity, thereby highlighting its critical importance in boosting customer engagement.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jpim.70008 [Google]
Worner, D., L. Falcke, M. Ritter, S. West and T. Friedli (2025): Open Innovation for Circular Business Models: Addressing the Right Challenge at the Right Time, JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, (4396), pp.
Academic Summary In response to escalating societal challenges, such as climate change and resource constraints, this article examines the transition from linear toward circular business models (CBMs). It explores the challenges of CBM transitions and how to tackle them through open innovation. We leverage 68 interviews with 45 firms, including 12 focal manufacturers and their open innovation partners. We identify 13 challenges and their relevant time horizons. They concern the product and service portfolio, data governance, life cycle valuation, circular strategy, and the legal environment. By iterating our inductive analysis with insights from the literature, we develop a framework that explains the link between open innovation and CBMs. We develop three mechanisms: (1) capture value by coupling internal innovation and data sharing to incentivize life cycle valuation, (2) technology co-development with supply chain partners for an improved circular product and service portfolio aligned with data governance to create value, and (3) orchestrate complementary partners to promote circular strategies and resources for the legal environment to deliver value. Our framework contributes to the literature on CBMs and open innovation by explaining when and how different forms of open innovation can help in the transition from linear toward CBMs.Practitioner Summary In response to growing environmental pressures, this study explores how firms can transition from linear toward circular business models (CBMs) by leveraging open innovation. Drawing on 68 interviews with 45 firms, including 12 manufacturers and their innovation partners, we identify 13 key challenges grouped into five strategic themes: product and service portfolio, data governance, life cycle valuation, circular strategy, and the legal environment. Our findings emphasize that CBM transition is an iterative process, rather than a one-time shift, that comes with many challenges. Our study proposes open innovation as a strategic option to address these challenges. Firms need to deploy varied approaches over time: internal innovation and data sharing in the short term to drive circular value capture; supply chain co-development in the mid term to enhance circular value creation; and the orchestration of complementary partners in the long term to improve value delivery and system-wide circularity. We offer a practical framework and a temporal innovation roadmap to help managers structure their CBM efforts. This roadmap provides clear guidance on when and how to apply open innovation strategies, enabling decision-makers to address challenges, align internal and external partners, and transition their linear business models toward circularity.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jpim.70004 [Google]
Gupta, G., W. M. Lim, N. Chaudhuri and D. Sharma (2025): Alexa, it’s not just us! Voice commerce through the lens of service providers and consumers, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4397), pp.
PurposeVoice commerce is emerging as a promising new form of electronic commerce (e-commerce) where consumers’ service encounters are mediated through tools like voice assistants. While prior research has underscored the role of the attributes of these voice assistants in affecting various aspects of consumer behavior, including purchase intention, satisfaction and loyalty, there is limited understanding of how other attributes-such as those relating to the service, the service provider and the consumer-influence this behavior. Therefore, this study seeks to explore these attributes in greater detail through the service perspective.Design/methodology/approachLeveraging an inductive approach based on interviews with 15 e-commerce business developers and 18 shoppers, this study shines a light from the service perspective on the range of attributes that influence consumers’ purchase intention in voice commerce.FindingsKey findings reveal that service attributes like service complexity and service consumption phase, along with service provider attributes such as brand familiarity and multichannel integration, emerge as crucial determinants of consumers’ purchase intention in voice commerce. Moreover, consumer attributes involving the perception of relative advantage and privacy risk, along with familiarity and susceptibility to social influence and normative pressures, significantly impact their purchase intention in voice commerce.Originality/valueThis study not only enriches understanding of the diversity of attributes driving purchase intention in voice commerce but also offers a conceptual framework that emphasizes the importance of the service perspective in voice commerce.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-01-2024-0016 [Google]
