Guest article by Florence Nizette and Wafa Hammedi – NaDI-CeRCLe Research Center, Unamur – Belgium.
NEXSER Initiative
In an increasingly globalized academic environment, knowledge production remains deeply unequal. While many research questions, particularly in service research, are inherently global, opportunities to contribute to theory development, high-impact publications, and international academic networks remain unevenly distributed across regions, institutions, and scholars. Addressing these structural imbalances requires more than symbolic collaboration; it calls for intentional, inclusive and impact-oriented academic ecosystems.
This is precisely the main ambition of NEXSER (Network for Excellence in Service Research in Emerging Countries). Led by two by NaDI-CeRCLe (Research Center in Marketing & Service Management) and the CEREFIM (Research Center In Finance) at the University of Namur in Belgium and funded by the European Union, NEXSER was launched to strengthen service research in emerging countries by promoting North–South collaboration, supporting doctoral training and mentorship, and advancing research that generates meaningful societal impact. At its core, NEXSER is grounded in a simple but powerful conviction: inclusive academia is better academia. By creating structured opportunities for doctoral mobility, mentoring, joint research activities, and sustained dialogue, the network moves beyond one-directional or extractive knowledge flows. Instead, it promotes co-creation, mutual learning and research that is deeply anchored in diverse contexts and lived realities. In doing so, NEXSER aligns with a growing call within academia to rethink academic excellence, evolving the focus from metrics only toward including also relevance, responsibility and real-world impact.
Within this broader vision, the first North–South Doctoral Symposium, titled “Bridging Research Horizons: D4i – Dialogue for Impact”, marked a key milestone. From December 15–19, Marrakech (Morocco) became a vibrant hub for doctoral students, early-career scholars and senior academics from both the Global North and the Global South. Organized at Cadi Ayyad University, the symposium translated NEXSER’s values into practice, offering a concrete space where inclusion, dialogue and impact-driven service research were not only discussed, but actively experienced. This first edition was supported by the European Commission and ServCollab. ServCollab’s mission, serving humanity through collaboration, was a topic discussed in this first edition, inspired by ServCollab, and presented by ServCollab Community members.
Doctoral Voices at the Center
In line with NEXSER’s inclusive philosophy, doctoral researchers were placed at the heart of the symposium. The doctoral panel showcased diverse research trajectories from institutions across the Global North and South, ranging from empirical studies of service practices to methodological innovation and theory development. The event also featured several keynote speakers on topics related to the design, development and publication of academic research.
Listening to the PhD candidates’ experiences underscored how international exposure, mentoring, and academic dialogue can meaningfully shape doctoral trajectories. It also sharpened a key takeaway for the NEXSER initiative: academic inclusion is not only a matter of representation, it is something that develops through lived participation and shared practice. It grows through opportunities for mobility, sustained dialogue, and active recognition of diverse scholarly identities and research contexts.
Lobna Bouanani El Idrissi, PhD student from Cadi Ayyad University (Morocco), described her experience:
“In 2023, I had the pleasure of participating in the NEXSER initiative led by the NaDI-CeRCLe team at the University of Namur, Belgium. The exchanges conducted with Prof. Wafa Hammedi helped me overcome many difficulties in analyzing literature, updating my research, and focusing on recent gaps. Workshops enhanced my skills in article writing, literature analysis, and methodological tools. By the end of this journey, I returned with a clearer research voice, repositioned contributions, and a renewed motivation to frame my research for social impact and international relevance.”
Dr. Doaa Talaat, from Cairo University (Egypt), echoed this perspective:
“The NEXSER initiative has been a truly enriching experience that broadened my perspective professionally and personally. Visiting the research Center NADI-CeRCLe allowed me to engage with inspiring academics committed to impactful service research and community engagement. I met members of the global service research community, opening doors to collaborations and co-authorship. Attending postgraduate classes exposed me to new teaching approaches and student–professor interactions. Initiatives like NEXSER serve as catalysts for uniting the global service community, sparking ideas, and nurturing partnerships that continue to influence our field long after the program ends.”
Context, Impact, and Inclusion in Practice
A defining feature of the symposium was its strong emphasis on contextualized service research, reflecting NEXSER’s commitment to pluralistic and inclusive knowledge production. Through doctoral presentations, workshops, and site visits, participants explored how cultural, institutional and societal conditions shape service interactions, innovation processes, and pathways to impact. Immersion in Moroccan service settings offered a powerful reminder that global theories and dominant frameworks cannot be applied uniformly across contexts. Instead, service research gains relevance and legitimacy when it is grounded in lived experience, cultural nuance, and local realities. For the service research community, this underscores the need to move beyond context-free theorizing and to embrace contextual diversity as a source of theoretical enrichment rather than a limitation.
Key Takeaways for the SERVSIG Community:
1. Impact is grounded in context.
Service research must account for the sociocultural and institutional environments in which services are embedded. Contextual immersion enriches theory and enhances relevance.
2. Collaboration drives innovation
Structured collaboration helps to stimulate novel perspectives and support the co-creation of knowledge with real-world significance.
3. Inclusion strengthens academia
Creating spaces where diverse voices, contexts, and epistemologies are valued leads to more robust, grounded and socially responsible service research.
Looking Ahead
Initiatives such as NEXSER highlight that advancing service research involves not only the knowledge we generate, but also the people and contexts that shape it, and the communities it is designed to benefit. Sustained, context-sensitive collaboration is a strong driver of meaningful and inclusive scholarship, and it will remain a key ingredient in how our field evolves.
We are excited about the next NEXSER events and the opportunities they will create for continued exchange, learning, and joint progress. We also warmly thank all partners for their outstanding contributions and continued support of this collective initiative. Interested in contributing (mentoring, collaborating, or joining upcoming activities)? We’d love to hear from you! Let’s build the next steps of NEXSER together.
