Traditionally, the Journal of Service Research awards are given out during the Frontiers in Service conference.
This summer 2026 at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, the winners for the best paper published in 2025 were announced. Join us in recognising the authors’ contribution to our field, as well as the JSR best reviewer and outstanding associate editor of the year.
Roland T. Rust Best Paper Award Winners
Roland Rust, Candice Marti, Kris Lindsey Hall, Melanie Lorenz, Florian von Wangenheim
Kris Lindsey Hall, Susana Jaramillo, Melanie Lorenz, Candice Marti and Patrick Fennell
“Profiling as a Service Failure,” Journal of Service Research, 28(3), 389-412.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705241300668
The article shows how customer profiling — when frontline service interactions are shaped by stereotypes around gender, age, race, or other personal characteristics — constitutes a distinct type of service failure that triggers strong emotions and coping behaviors. This research gives both researchers and managers a concrete framework for recognizing, preventing, and recovering from a service failure type that traditional metrics may miss.
Roland T. Rust Best Paper Award Finalists
Jochen Wirtz and Ruth Stock-Homburg
“Generative AI Meets Service Robots,” Journal of Service Research, 28(4), 527-543.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705251340487
The article is the first to explore the theoretical and practical implications of GenAI robots in physical service encounters, opening up a new stream of service research.
Outstanding Associate Editor Award Winner
Yanny Gregoire, Lars Witell, Florian von Wangenheim
Lars Witell, Linköping University
Outstanding Reviewer Award Winner
Katrien Verleye, Ghent University
Previous awards:
– 2024
– 2023
– 2021
– 2020
– 2018
– 2017
– 2016
