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.
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Kunz, W. H., L. C. Duque, L. Santamaria, H. A. Sondergaard and P. Kristensson (2025): Being innovative as a company in an aging society, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4440), pp.
PurposeWe propose a framework to better understand the factors that influence consumers’ perceptions of firms’ innovativeness and how these, in turn, can inform innovation strategies. These can be factors that are in the customer’s view, but also factors behind the line of visibility that indirectly affect innovativeness. We pay particular attention to the challenges of an aging society for innovation management.Design/methodology/approachWe conduct an exploratory analysis of the Spanish Innovation Index database. With the aim of understanding the role of age in this framework, we perform a qualitative content analysis of consumers’ expressed opinions about firms’ innovativeness (n = 8,100 over five sectors), differentiating between two large population groups: those between 16 and 29 years old and those over 60 years old. The results of this analysis are combined with the proposed framework to provide managerial guidance for innovation management.FindingsInnovation implies useful changes to the status quo. The perceived value of innovation varies between groups. Both are open to change, but the older group seeks clear benefits before adopting new practices. Younger consumers focus on specific attributes, while older ones assess innovation more globally, often rating companies’ innovativeness lower. Additionally, older consumers greatly value the perceived changes on their relational experience with firms (i.e. relevance of socialization and customer care). Therefore, companies need to rethink human contact with this segment, particularly in service settings.Research limitations/implicationsFocusing on the aging population, we outline questions based on the proposed framework. We emphasize (1) the role of social and digital innovations in shaping perceived innovativeness, (2) defining a successful integrated marketing campaign and (3) the impact of hiring older workers on perceived innovativeness.Practical implicationsThe article allows for drawing practical implications related to the customer experience at the service frontline. In particular, innovative firms in an aging society should offer integrative solutions instead of focusing solely on features or low prices, respect consumers’ habits when altering delivery methods, hire and train empathic frontline employees (i.e., including older staff), and create meaningful interaction spaces.Originality/valueThis article presents a framework to enhance understanding of customers’ views on firm innovativeness. Based on qualitative analysis of a new dataset, it provides insights for innovation management in an aging population.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-06-2025-0278 [Google]
Bongiovanni, I., D. Goyeneche, E. Tsen, E. C. James, P. Singh and R. Y. Ko (2025): Cyber-attackers as a social force: conceptualizing value sabotage in cybersecurity services, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4442), pp.
PurposeThis paper examines the role of cyber-attackers as a critical social force within the cybersecurity service ecosystem. We propose a conceptual framework that integrates attackers into the traditional service triad, reframing them as attackers who influence value co-creation and service dynamics within the cybersecurity industry, particularly in the context of Cybersecurity-as-a-Service (CSaaS). We conclude that cyber-attackers represent agents of “value sabotage,” a novel concept that captures how threat actors reshape service dynamics.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on a review of service management and cybersecurity literature, complemented by case studies of notable cyber-attacks. Building on service-dominant logic and ecosystem theory, a conceptual framework is developed, positioning attackers as influential disruptors within the CSaaS ecosystem.FindingsThe findings reveal attackers as adversarial social forces driving innovation and adaptation in the CSaaS ecosystem. An analysis of their motivations and strategies reveals how their actions compel organizations and service providers to prioritize resilience and defensive value co-creation. In turn, attackers’ actions “sabotage” the value co-creation process. Our proposed framework demonstrates a transition from dyadic to triadic service interactions, incorporating attackers as critical agents.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research could explore the generalizability of this framework across other industries and more specific comparisons between value sabotage and value co-destruction. Additional social forces could also be considered, such as regulators and end-customers (pentadic model).Practical implicationsThe findings underscore the need for organizations to adopt adaptive service strategies that prioritize resilience, threat anticipation and collaboration to counter cyber-attacks.Originality/valueThis paper uniquely positions attackers as active contributors to the service ecosystem, extending service theory and challenging conventional notions of value co-creation in service management through the novel concept of “value sabotage.” Framing attackers as malicious orchestrators of disruption, our work offers a new lens to understand how threat actors shape service design, resilience and co-creation strategies in digitally mediated service environments.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2024-0537 [Google]
Breidbach, C., L. E. C. Ferm, P. P. Maglio, D. Beverungen, J. Wirtz and A. Twigg (2025): Conscious artificial intelligence in service, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4443), pp.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify, analyze and explain the implications that could arise for service settings if artificial intelligence (AI) systems develop, or are perceived to develop, consciousness – the ability to acknowledge their own existence and the capacity for positive or negative experiences.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes and explores four hypothetical scenarios in which conscious AI in service could manifest. We contextualize our resulting typology in the health service context and integrate extant literature on technology-enabled service, AI consciousness and AI ethics into the narrative.FindingsThis study provides a unique theoretical contribution to service research in the form of a Type IV theory. It enables future service researchers to apprehend, explain and predict how functionally conscious AI in service might unfold.Practical implicationsThe ethical use of conscious AI in service could emerge as a distinct competitive advantage in the future. Achieving this outcome involves speculative yet actionable recommendations that include training, guiding and controlling how humans engage with such systems; developing appropriate wellbeing protocols for functionally conscious AI systems and establishing AI rights and governance frameworks.Originality/valueAn increasingly prolific public discourse acknowledges that conscious AI systems may emerge. Against this backdrop, this study aims to systematically explore a question that is perhaps the most critical and timely, but also inherently speculative, in relation to AI in service research by introducing much-needed theory and terminology.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2024-0536 [Google]
Chou, S. Y. (2025): Employee-customer relationships: facilitator or barrier for the integration of service robots in frontline service environments, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4444), pp.
PurposeThis study aims to advance the field of employee-robot collaboration. It adopts a relationship marketing perspective to examine how employee-customer relational bonds facilitate or hinder the adoption of collaborative service robots. It further contributes to understanding customer experience and highlights the complementary roles of employees and robots in service delivery.Design/methodology/approachThe study collected 345 valid questionnaires from catering services, hospitality, travel and tourism and retail. The data underwent reliability and validity analyses. A structural model test was performed to verify the proposed hypotheses.FindingsFirst, collaborative service robot functionality and social capability significantly positively impact their perception of collaborative robot service quality and their intention to adopt robots integrated in frontline service environments. Second, frontline employees’ financial bonds weaken the relationship between collaborative service robot functionality and perceived service quality. Third, frontline employees’ social bonds also weaken the relationship between collaborative service robot functionality, social capability and perceived service quality. Finally, frontline employees’ structural bonds strengthen the relationship between collaborative service robot functionality and perceived service quality.Originality/valueThis study investigates whether employee-customer relational bonds facilitate or hinder the integration of service robots with employees in frontline service environments. This study applies social exchange theory to understand the role and value of frontline employees within the robot-employee-customer service triad. This understanding is essential for optimizing employee-robot integration and improving overall service quality.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2023-0416 [Google]
Gain, A. M., R. J. Brodie, J. A. Kemper, C. Gonzalez-Arcos, M. Tabilo and E. Derbyshire (2025): Navigating circular economy adoption: a service ecosystem perspective, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4445), pp.
Purpose This article develops a novel conceptual framework to explain the processes facilitating a system-wide transition towards the circular economy (CE). The framework aims to provide CE scholars, practitioners, and policymakers with a deeper understanding of how to navigate the complex government-led initiatives aiming to facilitate a large-scale transition from a linear to a circular economy. Design/methodology/approach The framework is developed from a review of scholarly research on circular service ecosystems (CSEs) and service ecosystem dynamics to identify and conceptualize the processes facilitating CE adoption. This framework is illustrated using the example of Australian government initiatives aimed at reducing food waste. Findings The Circular Service Ecosystem Adoption framework and illustrative case identify the key processes that facilitate CE adoption. Specifically, the framework shows how CSEs evolve through dynamic states (from reproducing a linear economy paradigm to transitioning to a circular economy paradigm). CSE adoption is facilitated by mobilizing driving processes of evolution towards CSE and managing its inhibitors. Originality/value An understanding of CE adoption is advanced by unpacking the role of service ecosystems and their dynamics. The framework illustrates how CE adoption occurs through a dynamic, evolutionary process underscored by a shift from a linear to a circular economy paradigm in the service ecosystem. The role of government initiatives is emphasized as a catalyst, facilitating grounded and scalable impact.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2024-0539 [Google]
Jooss, S., D. Solnet, C. Knight, A. Worsteling, T. Rinta-Kahila and A. Hansen (2025): Artificial intelligence and work design: implications for frontline service employees and future research, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4446), pp.
Purpose We examine the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the work characteristics of frontline service employees and consider implications for their roles and future research. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper draws on insights from prior empirical research on AI in service work. Grounded in socio-technical systems theory, we utilize a five-pronged conceptualization of AI in conjunction with the SMART (Stimulating, Mastery, Autonomous, Relational, Tolerable) Work Design Model to examine the impact of AI on work characteristics. Findings We present evidence from five service sectors: education, finance, healthcare, hospitality and retail. We show that the impact of AI varies across the five higher-level categories of SMART work design and across sectors, revealing context-dependent and technology-specific effects. Practical implications Organizations can optimize service work through top-down redesign and bottom-up crafting, jointly optimizing AI’s characteristics and SMART work characteristics to improve both employee well-being and organizational performance. Originality/value We show the value of SMART work design as a lens to differentiate AI impact on service work and develop a conceptual model of a socio-technical AI-work design system. This model illustrates a dynamic co-design process between AI and work characteristics, with each shaping the other.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2024-0535 [Google]
Keiningham, T. L., T. S. Danaher, L. L. Berry, L. Aksoy and T. W. Andreassen (2025): Purpose ignited: the transformative power of epiphanies in driving social profit orientation, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4447), pp.
PurposeThis study explores how epiphanic experiences – sudden, identity-shifting insights – catalyze service leaders’ adoption of a Social Profit Orientation (SPO), defined as a commitment to advancing financial, social and environmental goals simultaneously. By examining the psychological and contextual origins of such moments, the paper illuminates the human dimension behind purpose-driven organizational transformation.Design/methodology/approachThe research involves a reanalysis of qualitative data originally collected for Berry et al. (2025), which included 62 in-depth interviews with leaders from 21 service-focused organizations and extensive archival materials. Using inductive thematic analysis, the study identifies and categorizes epiphanic experiences, producing a typology of four distinct pathways: Personal Crossroads, Immersion, Purposeful Imagination and Intentional Exploration.FindingsThe study demonstrates that epiphanic experiences function as inflection points in leadership development, prompting leaders to reconceptualize organizational purpose and commit to SPO. The four identified pathways show how variations in focus and engagement shape the character of epiphanic experiences and their strategic consequences. These insights highlight that systemic transformation often originates in deeply personal leader experiences rather than solely from external pressures or rational strategy.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on retrospective accounts and secondary sources, which may be subject to recall bias. Future longitudinal research is needed to assess the durability of epiphany-driven transformations and their diffusion across organizations and ecosystems.Practical implicationsOrganizations can design conditions that foster epiphanic insight – such as immersive experiences, reflective practices and exposure to diverse service contexts – to cultivate leadership committed to purpose-driven transformation.Social implicationsBy highlighting how personal transformations in leaders lead to SPO, the study underscores the potential of leadership development as a pathway for advancing broader societal well-being through service.Originality/valueWhile Transformative Service Research often explores transformations in consumers and service ecosystems, far less is known about the inner transformation of service leaders who drive systemic change. We advance this understanding by introducing epiphanic experiences as catalysts that reorient attention, identity and intention toward a SPO. Drawing on Flow Theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), we explain how states of optimal experience, in which challenge, competence and engagement coalesce, convert epiphanic experiences into enduring commitments to societal well-being. This integration unites Transformative Service Research (TSR)’s ethical focus with transformational leadership’s emphasis on moral agency, showing how episodes of flow-based learning and meaning-making can evolve into long-term social innovation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-09-2025-0461 [Google]
Köcher, S., S. Köcher, R. Chatterjee and Y. Shukla (2025): Something old and something new: a replication and extension of the disconfirmation model of consumers’ response to service failure and recovery in the contemporary servicescape, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, 36(4448), pp.711–727
PurposeThe current work focuses on the disconfirmation model of consumers’ response to service failure and recovery established by McCollough et al. (2000) and has two primary objectives: first, we aim to replicate Study 1 reported in McCollough et al. (2000) to test the robustness of the original findings in today’s service environment. Second, given the increasing prevalence of service robots in service research and business practice, we aim to extend the original work by exploring potential differences in consumers’ response to recovery efforts between traditional service encounters involving human services employees (as in the original study) and service encounters involving service robots.Design/methodology/approachBased on the stimuli from the original study, we conducted a scenario-based experiment in an airline travel context. Responses from 1,101 study participants were used for analyses.FindingsConsistent with the findings reported in McCollough et al. (2000), our results indicate that consumers’ response to a service failure and subsequent recovery is shaped by initial disconfirmation (i.e. the gap between failure expectations and actual performance) and recovery disconfirmation (i.e. the gap between recovery expectations and perceived response). In addition, the current work extends McCollough et al.’s (2000) findings in several important ways, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of consumers’ response to service failure and recovery.Originality/valueApart from providing support for the continued relevance of the findings reported in McCollough et al. (2000), our study contributes to the service failure and recovery literature by identifying differences in consumers’ response to recovery efforts depending on whether they are carried out by a human service employee or a service robot. In addition, we introduce consumers’ feelings of being appreciated by the service provider – an aspect that has not been previously considered within the service recovery literature – as a mediator of the observed differences.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-02-2025-0063 [Google]
McColl-Kennedy, J. R., M. Zaki, T. W. Andreassen, L. V. Coote, E. Brea, F. Willer and J. Andrade (2025): Digital twins: a game changer in customer experience, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4449), pp.
Purpose-Digital twins have been employed in engineering, agriculture, manufacturing, information systems, computer science and digital medicine. This article introduces digital twins to the services and customer experience (CX) literature, addressing complex challenges in CX management. Unlike traditional software tools that rely on static dashboards or front-end interfaces that merely display descriptive statistics or historical data, a CX digital twin integrates real-time data streams with simulation capabilities to anticipate emerging issues and dynamically test potential intervention strategies. We present a conceptual framework for CX digital twins, provide a practical roadmap, and demonstrate its applicability across three diverse service settings: heavy asset B2B shipping service, retail food service and healthcare. Design/methodology/approach-This article takes a conceptual approach and draws insights from literature in engineering, manufacturing, information systems and computer science. Findings-CX has traditionally been managed reactively, addressing complaints after service has concluded. We advance CX management by integrating journey mapping with dynamic, real-time inputs, allowing for proactive issue resolution, opportunity identification and experience reconfiguration through digital twins. We position CX digital twins as a transformative proactive approach, which recasts CX management to a focus on predicting and intervening in contrast to attempting to address problems only after customers report them. The article concludes with directions for future research. Practical implications-We provide a novel approach to CX management with a clear, actionable roadmap. Practically, our five-step roadmap (AAICE) enables organizations to implement CX digital twins by: (1) Assessing their operational environments to uncover inefficiencies, customer pain points and service challenges, thereby anticipating potential problems through advanced data-driven insights before they occur. (2) Analyzing historical, real-time and synthetic data flows to optimize operations and enhance CX and proactively intervening to resolve issues before they escalate, using predictive analytics and real-time monitoring. (3) Identifying opportunities to delight customers by personalizing touchpoints, such as tailoring product recommendations or providing timely support. (4) Co-designing innovative customized service offerings through simulated customer scenarios, enabling organizations to optimize processes and innovate. (5) Evaluating the effectiveness of CX digital twin implementation using sound CX and operational metrics and tools refining systems based on feedback and driving continuous improvement to deliver seamless and superior CXs. Originality/value-This article is the first to introduce the concept of digital twins in CX management. We provide a novel approach to thinking about CX through our innovative CX digital twins conceptual framework comprising four dimensions: the asset, data exchange, digital replica (agents) and feedback loop. Further, we offer a practical roadmap (AAICE) for implementation and provide directions for future research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2024-0540 [Google]
Yang, W., L. R. Wu, Y. Zhang and S. Q. Liu (2025): Happiness blooms from within: how mindset shapes consumer happiness after experiential consumption, JOURNAL OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT, (4450), pp.
PurposeThis article seeks to understand why some consumers derive greater happiness from experiential consumption, regardless of whether those experiences are perceived as positive or negative. Integrating the broaden-and-build theory, mindset theory and the concept of eudaimonia, this research examines how experiential valence and mindset collectively influence consumer happiness following experiential consumption.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs experimental methods, spotlight analysis and conditional indirect effect approaches to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults from two experimental studies demonstrate that mindset moderates the relationship between experiential valence and consumer happiness. Specifically, Study 1 shows that the effect of experiential valence on consumer happiness is less pronounced for growth-minded consumers than those with a fixed mindset, highlighting the transformative potential of a growth mindset to derive meaning and happiness even from adverse experiences. Furthermore, Study 2 reveals that eudaimonia – a positive state characterized by purpose, meaning and self-realization – serves as a critical psychological mechanism through which mindset shapes the link between experiential valence and consumer happiness.Practical implicationsThis research emphasizes the importance of understanding how mindset impacts happiness after experiential consumption of varying valence, offering actionable insights for service managers. Encouraging a growth mindset among consumers through targeted marketing strategies could mitigate the negative effects of service failures and enhance consumer happiness.Originality/valueThis article is the first to investigate the joint effects of experiential valence and mindset on consumer happiness in the context of experiential consumption. It also identifies eudaimonia as a key mechanism in this interplay, contributing to a deeper understanding of happiness in experiential consumption.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2024-0450 [Google]
Mele, C., T. Russo-Spena, I. Di Bernardo and S. Gherardi (2025): Affect-Based Well-Being in Caring Practices with Companion Robots, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4451), pp.
To investigate how socially assistive robots shape caring practices and support well-being in dementia care settings, this study focuses on agencement-emergent configurations of humans, nonhuman actors, and discourses. Using practice-based action research, the authors introduced the companion robot Hiro in two Italian nursing homes over an 8-month period, involving 22 cognitively impaired residents, followed by a 1-year follow-up. Drawing on qualitative data from observations, interviews, and field notes, the study advances three key contributions, formalized through five propositions. First, caring constitutes a sociomaterial practice, emerging through relational, embodied engagements in which care recipients actively participate in shaping the care. Second, the operationalization of agencement in human-robot dynamics shows how Hiro mobilizes sensory experiences (touch, sound, and movement) to generate relational entanglements that transform caregiving roles and flows of affect. Third, a proposed framework of affect-based well-being, articulated across three interrelated sensory dimensions-psychological (sensory intimacy), physical (sensory responsiveness), and social (sensory bonding)-extends existing service research by capturing embodied, situated, and relational dimensions of well-being. For managers, the findings provide actionable insights for using companion robots to enhance care practices by supporting affect-based well-being, reinforcing relational ties, and enabling personalized, dignified sensory experiences in resource-constrained settings.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251372448 [Google]
Andreassen, T. W. (2025): Reconceptualizing Service Productivity: A Holistic Measurement Framework, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4452), pp.
Service industries, which dominate advanced economies, display a productivity paradox: Despite quick adoption of digital and self-service technologies, measured productivity growth remains slow. We reinterpret service productivity using a Holistic Service Productivity (HSP) framework that includes customer surplus and effort in measuring productivity. We define productivity as the ratio of total value created-producer surplus plus consumer surplus-to total input, which includes both firm resources and customer time, effort, and data. Based on service-dominant logic and welfare economics, HSP addresses mismeasurement by capturing co-created value that traditional firm-focused metrics miss. A typology based on service separability and customer involvement shows the framework’s versatility, and examples and simulations demonstrate how HSP reveals hidden efficiency improvements and highlights cost-shifting. We finish with managerial and policy implications, showing how HSP can guide decision-making and enhance official productivity statistics. For managers, HSP helps distinguish real efficiency gains from cost-shifting and directs investments toward mutually beneficial solutions. By highlighting the co-created value of modern services for both firms and customers, HSP offers a new perspective for understanding and boosting productivity and presents a transformative method for measuring service productivity.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251399858 [Google]
Ding, Z. B., Y. L. Zhang, J. Sun, M. Goh and Z. J. Yang (2025): Harmonizing Human Touch and AI Precision in Customer Service, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4453), pp.
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots offer a cost-effective solution for customer service, but often fall short in delivering personalized or complex interactions. In response, many merchants invest in AI training and explore human-AI collaboration to leverage the strengths of both automation and human touch. However, this introduces a strategic tradeoff between service quality and operational efficiency. Using a game-theoretic framework, this study examines how merchants can optimally choose service strategies with AI involvement. Our analysis reveals a critical collaboration trap. Contrary to the prevailing belief that increased collaboration consistently enhances service, consumers’ sensitivity to the identity of the service agent erodes profitability, and greater collaboration will worsen this effect by accelerating task delegation to AI, thereby amplifying negative consumer perceptions. Furthermore, the study shows that a moderate-cost collaboration trap emerges: human-AI collaboration underperforms compared to human-only service when labor costs are at intermediate levels. Collaboration yields benefits only when labor costs are either very low or prohibitively high. In competitive markets, merchants can gain a strategic advantage not by enhancing their own service quality, but by capitalizing on rivals’ inefficient AI deployment. These findings challenge the assumption that more human-AI collaboration is always better and provide actionable insights for managing hybrid service strategies and optimizing AI investments.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251384692 [Google]
Guo, L., A. D. Arndt and C. Y. Tang (2025): Will Frontline Employees Feel Betrayed When Firms are Unjust to Customers? A Trickle-In Effect via Role Conflict, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4454), pp.
The conventional wisdom in service and organizational frontline research suggests that if a firm treats employees well, its employees will treat customers well. Combining survey data of current frontline employees (FLEs) with experimental data, our research suggests that, in addition to this “trickle-out effect,” there is also a “trickle-in effect,” wherein the exchange quality of the customer-organization interface may inversely influence that of the employee-organization interface. As boundary-spanners, FLEs may feel betrayed when they perceive organizational injustice toward customers by their firms. This effect is mediated by role conflict. This is because organizational injustice toward customers often prevents FLEs from fulfilling their dual role expectations of serving both organizations and external customers. Other times, these policies may be inherently incompatible with FLEs’ own job expectations. Intensified inter- and intrarole conflict could, in turn, lead to FLEs’ feelings of betrayal and contract violation. In addition, we found that the mediating effect of role conflict is simultaneously moderated by both organizational and customer identification. Only when FLEs hold strong identification with both parties are the negative consequences of organizational injustice toward customers carried through role conflict.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251387638 [Google]
Johnson, R. W., A. Bhattacharya, C. Bauer, B. Runnalls and A. Skiadopoulou (2025): Balancing New Members and Non-members: Insights into the Impact of Loyalty Program Enrollments on Service Provider Performance, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4455), pp.
Loyalty programs remain a cornerstone in the relationships between customers and service providers. While most previous research focuses on comparing the effectiveness of loyalty programs by comparing the consumption behaviors of members and non-members, few papers have investigated whether new enrollees are profitable and how such enrollments affect non-members. Results across data from two different firms demonstrate that enrolling new members in a loyalty program can increase profits. However, additional studies provide evidence that increased new member enrollment is associated with decreased non-member spending, with new members seeking more discounts than other customers. We show that non-members may feel that member benefits are undeserved, thus decreasing their own spending. Adopting a service management approach, we argue that non-members should not be neglected as they also form an important asset class. Also, we find that experienced managers and greater clarity about loyalty program rules may mitigate some of the negative effects of higher enrollments. The results suggest that managers of loyalty programs may need to more actively assess the return on investment of established reward members, new enrollees, and even non-members.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251374540 [Google]
Mandania, R., J. Cadogan, J. Y. Liu and N. Kazmi (2025): Optimizing Promotional Campaigns to Maximize Customer Lifetime Value: A Dynamic Learning Approach, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4456), pp.
Developing responsive dynamic marketing strategies can be challenging in the absence of complete customer information, such as share of wallet, limiting the ability of the firm to target promotions and other marketing efforts with a view to optimizing customer lifetime value (CLV). Furthermore, much of the existing research on CLV treats customers as receivers, rather than co-creators, of services. We address these two key challenges by developing a reinforcement learning (RL)-based promotion optimization model to determine which promotion strategies are most suitable for targeting different customer groups. Specifically, using feedback derived from customers’ real-time transactional responses to promotional campaigns, we present an RL algorithm that (a) continually refines the estimated effectiveness of promotions, aligning them to customers’ preferences to maximize their CLV, and that (b) supports value co-creation by involving customers as active participants to enhance their service experience. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the model through simulation scenarios within the context of a ferry travel agency, providing evidence of its real-world potential.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251365524 [Google]
Osorio, M. L. and E. del Castillo (2025): Customers’ Attitudes Toward Frontline Employees with Intellectual Disabilities: Scale Development and Validation, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4457), pp.
Employees with intellectual disabilities remain markedly underrepresented in frontline service roles, despite the social and economic benefits of inclusion. A key barrier is firms’ uncertainty about consumer reactions. To address this gap, we develop and validate the CAFID scale (Consumer Attitudes toward Frontline Employees with Intellectual Disabilities), designed specifically for the service sector-unlike existing, general disability attitude measures. Across multiple studies, we demonstrate the scale’s reliability, dimensionality, and validity. Results show that more favorable consumer attitudes not only support inclusive hiring but also buffer negative responses to service failures, improving repatronage and word-of-mouth intentions. With this practical tool, firms can assess customers’ readiness and support for inclusive hiring practices; policy makers can develop data-driven incentives to promote workplace equity; and researchers can explore dynamic consumer-employee interactions involving people with intellectual disabilities. Ultimately, the CAFID scale contributes to building more equitable, socially responsible service environments.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251391145 [Google]
Rayburn, S. W., G. Luria, D. Yagil, Y. Fujikawa, S. Anderson and M. Mohan (2025): Frontline Employee Improvisation: Uncovering Its Meaning, Practice, and Impact in Service Industries, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4458), pp.
Frontline employees (FLEs) often encounter unpredictable customer requests and operational inconsistencies, forcing them to improvise and deviate from standardized procedures to provide high-quality service. Although the potential benefits of this behavior are well recognized, the understanding and practice of improvisation among FLEs still need to be clarified. This research, comprising two studies and a post hoc analysis, employs mixed methods to qualitatively uncover and quantitatively evaluate a model of FLEs’ interpretation and execution of improvisation. FLEs describe improvisation as a spontaneous, responsive, and discretionary effort to solve unexpected customer problems in real time. A conceptual model is developed based on data from FLEs across diverse service sectors, highlighting the connections between FLEs and organizational characteristics, as well as FLEs’ improvisational practices that remain consistent across their experiences. The model is then empirically examined in a diverse FLE sample. Collectively, the studies identify FLE traits and organizational factors that can be harnessed to enhance FLE improvisation in response to ever-evolving customer demands. Specifically, FLE self-efficacy and customer orientation, when combined with a customer-focused and empowering organizational context, can lead to increased FLE improvisation with customers. In addition, FLEs who display improvisation in their service activities report positive well-being outcomes. This research marks a first attempt to uncover FLEs’ perceptions of improvisation’s meaning and practice and to empirically evaluate a model rooted in their experiences.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251399830 [Google]
Rhoads, M. A., A. M. Bennett, C. N. Azzari and S. M. Baker (2025): Service Design for Humanitarian Value, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4459), pp.
This multicity, qualitative study provides a nuanced understanding of how social service providers deploy human-centered service design approaches and the respective intended value creation through a diverse set of social services. This work makes three central contributions. First, it offers an initial typology of social service design approaches based on their intended value: (1) triaging to stabilize, (2) incubating to develop, and (3) empowering to liberate. Second, we demonstrate the imperative to focus on the experiences of both vulnerability and resilience for disadvantaged consumers, allowing sensitivity to consumers’ resource deficits and capabilities. Third, we introduce the concept of humanitarian value, a dynamic, adaptive, and encompassing value that addresses immediate and long-term needs, recognizes human strengths and resource deficits, and serves to enhance the well-being of individuals and communities. The findings provide a guide for social service organizations, which often operate in unstable, precarious environments, to address the idiosyncratic needs of their clients and holistically assess the persistent wicked problems and social needs in their respective communities.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251399859 [Google]
Shi, H. J., B. Q. Yin, L. F. Teng and B. L. Ma (2025): Empathetic AI Encounters: Pathways to Prosocial Behavior, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4460), pp.
The latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) not only highlight exceptional intelligence quotient but also emphasize remarkable emotional intelligence or emotional quotient. The current research investigates how interactions with empathetic AI affect individuals’ propensity to engage in prosocial behavior. Across six experiments, including a real-time human-AI interaction study and an incentivized behavioral study, we demonstrate that interactions with high- (vs. low-) empathy AI significantly increase individuals’ inclinations to donate, the amount donated, and their intentions to volunteer. Drawing on observational learning theory, we show that this effect occurs because high-empathy AI enhances perceptions of AI humanness. This heightened humanness facilitates empathetic influence, whereby the AI’s modeled empathic behaviors elevate users’ own empathic states, ultimately promoting greater prosocial action. Furthermore, this positive effect of high-empathy AI is strengthened by AI’s human-identification marks (i.e., human name and icon). The research findings offer theory-based, actionable recommendations for effectively leveraging AI in service encounters to promote prosocial behaviors.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251380568 [Google]
Wu, Y. C., K. K. F. So, X. Fang and R. J. Wang (2025): Beyond Money: How Social Motives Drive Green Purchases in the Sharing Economy, JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARCH, (4461), pp.
While the sharing economy has been described as a potential pathway to enhancing sustainability and reducing hyper-consumption, scholarly inquiry into this linkage remains limited. In this research, we examined whether and how service providers’ motivations (monetary and social) for resource sharing influence their green consumption both outside and on sharing platforms. We conducted a series of eight studies that involved surveys, lab experiments, and large-scale secondary datasets across various sharing economy platforms. Results showed that service providers who are strongly motivated by the sharing economy’s social benefits are more likely to engage in green consumption, reflected in purchases made outside the platform (e.g., buying green products) and on the platform (e.g., adopting eco-friendly practices). However, service providers’ motivations have no bearing on their regular (non-green) purchases. We identified sense of pride as an underlying process and ruled out household income, perceived financial resource availability, sense of morality, and environmental concerns as alternative accounts. The findings not only contribute to the literature on the sharing economy and pro-environmental behavior but also provide actionable insights for policymakers, sharing platforms, and marketers seeking to promote sustainable lifestyles and environmentally responsible practices among service providers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10946705251374531 [Google]
Paluch, S., J. Wirtz, V. Pitardi and W. H. Kunz (2025): Reimagining third places: the role of GenAI robots in shaping interaction and trust in a polarized society, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4463), pp.
PurposeThis viewpoint aims to examine how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) robots shape interaction, neutrality, and trust in “third places” (e.g., caf & eacute;s, libraries, and co-working hubs) within polarized societies. The authors argue that these technologies function as symbolic actors and performative infrastructures whose design and behavior are interpreted through identity-sensitive lenses. This paper introduces the personalization-polarization paradox, showing how well-meant personalization can fragment shared spaces. The authors aim to reframe trust as a collective, contextual and political phenomenon and propose a design shift from optimization toward inclusion, equity and participatory governance in civic-facing service environments.Design/methodology/approachThe authors integrate service ecosystem theory, technology affordance theory and third-place theory to build a conceptual framework. A five-dimensional lens consisting of sociability, social support, experiential engagement, restoration, and commercial integration explains how artificial intelligence (AI) mediates value co-creation in contested settings. A typology maps roles, affordances, and trust dilemmas, across physical, virtual and hybrid third places. Illustrative real-world cases (e.g., inclusive art installations and AI safety systems in recreation centers) demonstrate how identical technical features can be read differently across publics.FindingsGenAI robots in third places are not neutral interfaces; they are symbolic actors whose cues (voice, accent, form, and behavior) signal inclusion, exclusion or power. Trust depends less on technical accuracy than on symbolic fit with local norms and identities. Personalization can heighten satisfaction for some while signaling partiality to others, thereby amplifying fragmentation. Affordances are context-contingent: the same behavior (e.g., proactive greeting) may build or erode trust across groups and settings. The authors provide a typology of trust dilemmas and clarify the conditions under which AI supports sociability, care, restoration, and fair commercial interactions.Practical implicationsDesign AI for trust, not just efficiency: prioritize neutral-yet-warm greetings, multilingual accessibility, and clear role signaling. Minimize perceived surveillance; make data use visible, simple, and opt-in. Calibrate personalization to avoid unequal recognition; test for fairness in greeting, queuing, and recommender logic. Use participatory co-design with local communities to tune tone, embodiment, and interaction scripts. Conduct “symbolic equity” audits alongside privacy and security reviews. Provide low-tech pathways (human fallback and analog signage) to reduce digital privilege. Treat deployments as civic design decisions, with governance, staff training, and accountability shared across stakeholders.Social implicationsThird places are part of social infrastructure. GenAI robots’ deployments can reinforce or repair the civic fabric by shaping belonging, visibility, and informal interaction. Without care, personalization, and monitoring may exacerbate inequities, stratify access and undermine perceived neutrality especially for marginalized groups. Inclusive governance, transparency, and symbolic equity are essential to protect ambient cohesion (weak ties and casual presence) that supports democratic life. Designing for restoration and low-pressure participation can expand access for digitally hesitant or identity-vulnerable publics, preserving the civic character of shared spaces amid polarization. Originality/valueThis paper centers polarization as a core lens for service research in third places and reconceptualizes AI as performative civic infrastructure. It integrates three theoretical traditions to explain why identical technologies are read differently across publics. The authors articulate the personalization-polarization paradox, redefine trust as collective and contextual and offer a five-dimension framework with a cross-format typology (physical/virtual/hybrid). The contribution should guide researchers and practitioners toward inclusive, symbolically aware AI in everyday civic spaces.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2025-0547 [Google]
Batat, W. (2025): Phygital service research (PSR): advancing FSR and TSR toward human-first experience design in hybrid physical-digital ecosystems, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4464), pp.
Purpose-This paper introduces Phygital Service Research (PSR) as a novel paradigm that extends Foundational Service Research (FSR) and Transformative Service Research (TSR) toward human-first experience design within hybrid physical-digital service ecosystems. PSR is conceptualized as a comprehensive, multilayered framework for understanding and innovating service design, delivery and consumption in contemporary phygital environments. It emphasizes hybrid embodiment, contextual fluidity, multidimensional entanglement, holistic innovation and systemic impact. Design/methodology/approach-Using a conceptual and meta-theoretical approach, the paper draws on interdisciplinary literature from marketing, design, business and management, consumer behavior and service science. It synthesizes philosophical foundations, ontological and epistemological shifts, and methodological pluralism to articulate the core principles of PSR. As part of this pluralism, I introduce “phyginography” as a future methodological development, situating it in relation to established approaches such as ethnography and netnography. Findings- PSR reframes service experiences and value creation as fluid, dynamically poly-constructed, ethically and technologically mediated, and contextually adaptive. It highlights the limitations of existing paradigms in capturing the complexity of hybrid physical-digital service realities and proposes a human-first logic grounded in “phygital phenomenology” by integrating technology without compromising experiential authenticity. The framework emphasizes enhanced service innovation and positive impact across individual, organizational, community and environmental levels. Research limitations/implications- PSR opens new avenues for service research by advocating methodological diversity and interdisciplinary collaboration. It encourages scholars to explore phygital phenomena through multimodal inquiry and to design service models that prioritize human-centricity, inclusive and holistic innovation, systemic resilience and sustainability. As a conceptual contribution, empirical validation and sector-specific applications remain areas for future investigation. Originality/value-This paper presents the first comprehensive articulation of PSR as a distinct paradigm. By bridging FSR and TSR, PSR offers a timely and necessary framework for reimagining service scholarship and practice in the phygital age. It contributes to theory-building, strategic innovation and the design of human-first, phygitally mediated service ecosystems for positive impact.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-09-2025-0600 [Google]
Darby, V., H. Shin and J. K. Eastman (2025): Sustainable influencer services meet luxury: a risky match, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4465), pp.1281–1298
PurposeStudies have examined the social costs of luxury consumption in terms of how observers perceive luxury brand consumers. However, how consumers perceive luxury consumption and collaboration with luxury brands by a social media influencer known for engaging in sustainable practices is underexplored. Proposing social media influencers as human service providers, this study aims to examine (i) the effect of luxury consumption by sustainable influencers on consumer relationship avoidance and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions, (ii) the role of the sustainable influencer’s collaboration with non-sustainable vs sustainable luxury brands and (iii) the mechanism that explains this effect.Design/methodology/approachTwo scenario-based experiments were conducted. The hypothesized relationships were tested using ANCOVA, and a mediation analysis was performed using Hayes’ PROCESS Model 4.FindingsThe study results show that when a sustainable influencer engages in luxury consumption, consumers’ relationship avoidance increases and positive WOM intention decreases. In addition, when sustainable influencers collaborate with sustainable luxury brands as opposed to non-sustainable luxury brands, consumers respond with higher relationship avoidance, driven by perceived narcissism.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the sustainable influencer literature by tapping into the negative effect of a sustainable influencer’s luxury consumption and collaboration. Another contribution comes from the proposal of social media influencers as human service providers. This study also offers important managerial implications to sustainable influencers who rely on visual content featuring themselves in content creation and luxury brand managers seeking to collaborate with sustainable influencers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2025-0506 [Google]
Artoni, P., A. R. Veloso, S. B. Ferraz, R. R. Rocha and G. D. Shiraishi (2025): Towards a conceptualization of becoming an unexpected transformative service mediator: a process view in educational services, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4466), pp.
PurposeThis study aims to identify the process of unexpectedly acquiring the role of apomediary transformative service mediator (TSM) in the context of global societal challenges, focusing on how services can narrow vulnerabilities and social inequalities.Design/methodology/approachBy triangulating the analytic autoethnographic method (e.g. field notes and digital footprints) proposed by Anderson (2006) with syncretic combinations of introspection (i.e. personal and assisted) and in-depth interviews (pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic), this study examines the process of becoming a TSM apomediary.FindingsThis study describes the process of becoming an unexpected apomediary TSM and identifies the main hurdles that could lead to experiencing vulnerability during the transition into this new role and hinder their efforts as TSMs. The four-step framework provides guidelines to protect TSMs while serving others, contributing to a deeper understanding of how transformative services address societal challenges during times of turbulence.Research limitations/implicationsBecoming an unexpected apomediary TSM represents a new area of service research. By understanding it, organizations and individuals can better prepare for the TSM role as intermediaries, apomediaries or both.Practical implicationsThis study proposes a four-step process for managing the transition to TSM status, minimizing associated problems and facilitating the process in a changing world.Social implicationsThis study contributes to children’s well-being by addressing parents’ vulnerability as they transition to TSMs, thereby guiding and mitigating the impact of parental vulnerability on children.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have presented the conscious process of becoming a TSM, this study focuses on the unexpected process of becoming one. By revealing the inner workings of this process, this study provides managerial recommendations for serving populations experiencing vulnerability, while also contributing to the existing literature.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0038 [Google]
Asokan-Ajitha, A. and S. Sengupta (2025): Creating inclusive servicescapes: transforming service encounters for a more equitable society, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4467), pp.
PurposeService encounters, involving interactions between customers, service providers and other customers within servicescapes, play a critical role in shaping perceptions of inclusion and safety. Despite growing visibility of LGBTQIA+ consumers as a valuable segment, their experiences within servicescapes remain understudied, often filtered through heteronormative assumptions.Design/methodology/approachThis study addresses this gap by examining co-consumption dynamics, the shared use of service spaces by LGBTQIA+ and heterosexual consumers, and how these interactions influence experiences of inclusion and exclusion. Two qualitative studies to explore perceptions of safe spaces and social inclusivity during service encounters from the perspectives of LGBTQIA+ individuals and heterosexual consumers in India. Building on these insights, a conceptual model was developed and empirically tested to examine the influence of heteronormativity and openness to experience on attitudes towards gender neutrality and social inclusion intentions.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that heteronormativity negatively impacts attitudes towards gender neutrality and social inclusion, while openness to experience positively fosters inclusive attitudes and behaviours within co-consumed service settings.Research limitations/implicationsThe study advances service marketing and transformative service literature by illustrating how visible signals of inclusivity, frontline interactions and consumer attitudes intersect to shape equitable and welcoming service experiences.Practical implicationsPractical implications underscore the importance of authentic inclusivity initiatives, including staff training and feedback mechanisms, to foster safe and inclusive servicescapes that enhance consumer participation and satisfaction.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the growing body of literature on inclusive service design, offering practical implications for creating welcoming and equitable service environments that meet the needs of a diverse clientele.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2024-0569 [Google]
Bergeron, J. (2025): Comparing the direct, indirect and comparative effects of salespersons’ client and product knowledge in the financial services industry, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4468), pp.1254–1265
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically examine and compare the effects of bankers’ customer knowledge and product knowledge on client satisfaction, trust, positive word of mouth and purchase intentions in the financial services industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigated real-life buyer-seller dyads involving 402 bankers and 697 clients. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis to test the proposed model.FindingsIn the client sample, bankers’ client knowledge demonstrated a stronger effect on client satisfaction and trust than product knowledge. In the banker sample, product knowledge had a stronger impact on client trust than client knowledge. In both samples, client satisfaction had a stronger effect on both positive word of mouth and purchase intentions than client trust.Practical implicationsManagers should consider client knowledge and human relations skills as major factors in their personnel selection and training strategies. At the marketing management level, it is suggested that policies and decisions of financial institutions must favor an in-depth understanding and sharing of knowledge of clients.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is one of the first research to empirically compare the effects of bankers’ client knowledge and product knowledge, from both the client and banker perspectives. Although salesperson knowledge of customers has been assumed to be a key element of the marketing concept, it has received little attention despite its high managerial relevance.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2025-0209 [Google]
Bilancia, S., M. Delfino, U. Gargiulo and F. Maffei (2025): Decent work and core labour standards: how to achieve effectiveness?, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4469), pp.960–970
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine public and private international instruments designed to guarantee decent work standards. In a context where the International Labour Organisation (and international institutions more broadly) appears to play a reduced role in safeguarding core labour standards, the analysis focuses on how alternative mechanisms can secure global compliance. Design/methodology/approach The study combines a critical review of the literature with an empirical orientation. It investigates concrete cases and analyses selected agreements and instruments that seek to bind companies to core labour standards. A dedicated section examines litigation, using judicial trajectories as an additional lens to assess effectiveness. Findings Although binding international mechanisms to ensure compliance are lacking, the instruments analysed are already generating positive effects, not only within supply chains but also in legislation and judicial practice. While imperfect, these strategies play a significant role in advancing decent work globally, even if stronger involvement from international institutions remains necessary. Originality/value The paper addresses an urgent and widely debated issue: ensuring decent work throughout production networks. By grounding the discussion in concrete cases, it provides a differentiated assessment of international regulatory experiences and concludes with targeted recommendations to strengthen the robustness and practical effectiveness of policy interventions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2025-0188 [Google]
Brown, D., K. K. L. Hall, P. Fennell and M. P. Lorenz (2025): When service becomes surveillance: pressures in FLE guardianship, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4470), pp.1299–1317
PurposeThis research explores frontline employees’ (FLEs) perceptions of fairness regarding guardianship policies that require or authorize them to intervene in customer deviant behavior (CDB), namely, shoplifting. This study aims to investigate how firm-level (FLE increased compensation) and customer-level (FLE-customer relationship strength) factors influence emotional and psychological responses and, ultimately, fairness judgments.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on institutional theory and Service-Dominant (S-D) logic, two experimental studies with US retail FLEs test how guardianship policy type, pay incentives and customer relationship strength shape policy fairness perceptions. Study 1 uses a 2 x 2 design to examine policy type and compensation. Study 2 introduces relationship strength and tests a moderated serial mediation model involving empowerment and anger.FindingsPay increases improve fairness perceptions only when employees are authorized (vs required) to confront customers. Required confrontation decreases FLE empowerment and increases anger, which in turn reduces fairness perceptions. These effects are intensified when FLEs share strong ties with bystanding customers.Practical implicationsFindings suggest that firms should avoid rigid guardianship mandates and instead empower FLEs to use discretion in interactions with deviant customers and demonstrate that increased compensation alone is insufficient to offset perceptions of unfairness when autonomy is constrained.Originality/valueThis research extends institutional theory and S-D logic by demonstrating how customer relationships, along with psychological and emotional mechanisms, shape frontline responses to organizational policies. It builds on recent guardianship research by identifying boundary conditions and pathways that explain fairness perceptions in demanding frontline service contexts.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2025-0507 [Google]
Chapman, L. M., T. C. Haderlie and A. D. Miyazaki (2025): Social mindfulness as an institutional arrangement to promote service employee well-being, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4471), pp.901–915
Purpose – Frontline service employees face substantial physical, emotional and social challenges that undermine their well-being and job performance. Existing interventions often adopt a transactional approach, focusing on individual-level solutions rather than systemic changes. This paper aims to introduce social mindfulness – the thoughtful consideration of others’ needs – as an institutional arrangement geared toward improving service employee well-being. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper integrates service-dominant logic (SDL) and its institutional arrangements concept to explore how social mindfulness, when embedded across actor groups (managers, employees and customers), can create improvements in workplace interactions. By positioning social mindfulness as an institutional arrangement, the study examines how its core components – attention, perspective-taking and considerate behavior – address employee challenges at multiple levels. Findings – Social mindfulness can aid in promoting psychological safety, reducing emotional labor burdens and enhancing employee well-being through co-created, prosocial interactions. When adopted collectively across actor groups, it can stimulate systemic behavioral change, strengthening the service environment. Social mindfulness represents an adaptable, scalable institutional arrangement that encourages reciprocal engagement across actors. Originality/value – This paper extends SDL by introducing social mindfulness as an institutional arrangement. It extends the literature on social mindfulness by considering the construct as an institutional arrangement rather than an individual trait. It contributes to the services marketing and employee well-being literature by demonstrating how prosocial institutional arrangements can enhance value co-creation and workplace resilience.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2025-0150 [Google]
Chaysang, A., P. Patterson, N. Kimpakorn and C. Chaisuwan (2025): Determinants of customer acceptance of frontline service robots in a retail context, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4472), pp.165–178
PurposeThe core purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the functional and socio-emotional factors that shape customer acceptance of frontline service robots (FSRs) in a retail setting. In particular, it focuses not only on the antecedents but also the mediating roles of perceived value and psychological comfort and the moderating effects of self-efficacy and technology anxiety.Design/methodology/approachUsing a mixed-method research design grounded in the theory of consumption value and the technology acceptance model, this study surveyed 388 customers with recent experience engaging with an FSR in a telecommunications retail context. This research identifies key mediators and moderators influencing customer acceptance.FindingsResults reveal that customer perceived value, encompassing both hedonic and utilitarian dimensions, along with psychological comfort, mediates the impact of functional and socio-emotional elements on customer acceptance. Furthermore, self-efficacy and technology anxiety act as significant moderators, shaping the acceptance process.Research limitations/implicationsAs the importance of robots in services becomes more prominent, this study moves beyond conceptual or scenario-based studies to provide empirical insights into the drivers of customer acceptance of FSRs. It highlights practical implications for the design and deployment of FSRs in retail and other service settings, suggesting that managers should focus on enhancing customer perceived utilitarian value and psychological comfort, and to lesser extent hedonic value to drive acceptance.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to survey customers with actual FSR experiences, addressing a gap in the literature on emerging artificial intelligence technologies. It offers actionable guidance for managers aiming to integrate FSRs effectively in frontline service environments.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2025-0109 [Google]
Chen, Y. H., H. D. Zhao, Q. Y. Zhou and S. F. Zong (2025): How does service sabotage stimulate customer-oriented organizational citizenship behavior? The roles of guilt and locus of control, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4473), pp.1173–1191
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explain how and why employees’ involvement in service sabotage stimulates customer-oriented organizational citizenship behavior, and to explore the mediating role of guilt and the moderating role of locus of control.Design/methodology/approachThree studies were conducted, including two experimental studies and a questionnaire study. This study used Process and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data.FindingsService sabotage can trigger employees’ customer-oriented OCB, and guilt mediates this direct relationship. Moreover, the internal locus of control intensifies the direct effect between service sabotage and guilt, and the indirect relationship between service sabotage and customer-oriented OCB through guilt.Practical implicationsThis study provides suggestions for how organizations can effectively prevent and respond to employee service sabotage and for managers to provide targeted measures for different types of service sabotage.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to verify the consequences of service sabotage from a perpetrator-centered perspective, revealing the internal mechanism and boundary conditions of service sabotage stimulating customer-oriented OCB, and expanding the application scenarios of moral compensation theory.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2024-0432 [Google]
Della Lucia, M., S. Lazic, M. J. S. Hasni and E. Santini (2025): Human thriving through decent work: a multitheoretical framework, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4474), pp.885–900
Purpose – This conceptual study aims to advance the understanding of human thriving in business and service contexts by integrating Needs Theories (NT), Humanistic Management (HM) and Transformative Service Research (TSR). It addresses a critical unresolved issue of how services and service ecosystems can be reconfigured to support just, inclusive and transformative outcomes that promote human development. Design/methodology/approach – This paper conducts systematic literature reviews, complemented by bibliometric and thematic content analyses, to explore the multiple intersections among NT, HM and TSR. The main insights are systematized into a novel, integrated multitheoretical framework. Findings – The intersections among the selected theoretical domains reveal varying degrees of development and give rise to three core constructs: Business Ethics (NT-HM nexus), Holistic Service Management (NT-TSR nexus) and People-Centered Management (HM-TSR nexus). The framework integrates these conceptual linkages and fosters a nuanced, multilevel understanding of human thriving. Central to this integration is the recognition of human dignity as a common, emergent theme connecting all three streams and positions decent work as a vital, but partial, mediating construct. From these linkages, a set of testable propositions is derived to guide future empirical research. Practical implications – The framework provides decision-makers with actionable insights to cultivate ethical organizational practices, design services that genuinely empower and include diverse stakeholders and foster equitable service environments. It underscores that prioritizing decent work is not only an ethical imperative but also a strategic driver for sustainable organizational success and broader societal well-being, directly contributing to Sustainable Development Goals related to well-being, employment and equality. Originality/value – This study offers a novel interdisciplinary integration of distinct yet still emerging theories, relative to dominant service paradigms, to address human thriving from a human-centered, values-based perspective. By synthesizing their conceptual linkages, it provides an original multitheoretical and multilevel framework, highlighting the pivotal, mediating role of human dignity and decent work. The resulting propositions offer fertile ground for future empirical investigation, enhancing theoretical development in both service and business ethics research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2025-0185 [Google]
Desai, S., K. N. Radia and J. P. Aagja (2025): Psychological comfort and customer engagement in services: mediating role of relationship quality, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4475), pp.1068–1092
PurposeThis study aims to understand the effect of psychological comfort on relationship quality and, in turn, on direct and indirect customer engagement behaviors in financial and healthcare services across two regions. It offers insights into how service providers can build stronger emotional bonds to drive better engagement.Design/methodology/approachThis study follows a sequential mixed-methods approach. First, quantitative data from 854 respondents in financial and healthcare services across two regions is analyzed. This is followed by in-depth interviews with 16 industry professionals, which confirm the quantitative findings and reveal additional constructs.FindingsResults reveal that psychological comfort positively affects the relationship quality, which in turn affects both direct and indirect engagement. Furthermore, relationship quality mediates between psychological comfort and both direct and indirect engagement. In addition, age, service context (financial vs healthcare) and market (India vs United Kingdom) emerge as key moderators across the conceptual model.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has some limitations. First, it has reliance on cross-sectional design. In addition, it focuses solely on psychological comfort and relationship quality as antecedents to customer engagement, leaving other potential factors unexplored. Finally, self-reported data may also indicate social desirability bias.Practical implicationsThe findings offer important implications for service firms in India and the UK. Marketers should foster environments that enhance psychological comfort, strengthen relationship quality and drive direct and indirect engagement behaviors, supporting long-term growth and customer loyalty.Originality/valueThis study focuses on examining the understudied psychological comfort and its effect on predicting customer engagement behaviors via relationship quality in two service contexts across two geographies. It combines relationship marketing, social exchange and customer engagement theories to explain the phenomenon.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2024-0601 [Google]
Grossman, O. and M. Rachamim (2025): Music to the ears? The correlation between classical musical styles, repertoire sequence and audience satisfaction in service environments, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4476), pp.1240–1253
PurposeResearch in service environments has primarily examined how specific musical elements, such as tempo, rhythm and complexity, influence customer experiences. However, less attention has been given to how classical musical style, categorized by composition period and the sequential arrangement of musical styles impacts consumer satisfaction. Addressing these gaps, this study aims to examine how classical musical style and sequence is correlated with customer satisfaction during service delivery, with a focus on primacy and recency effects.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a correlational design based on surveys administered to 1,028 audience members immediately following 26 live classical concerts, in which classical music was strategically sequenced.FindingsRomantic music (composed between the years 1820 and 1900) was associated with higher customer satisfaction, particularly when positioned during the middle or closing stages of the service period. Modern music (composed after1900) placed at the beginning of the sequence enhanced satisfaction, aligning with the primacy effect. Baroque music (1600-1750) at the end was associated with lower satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe findings emphasize how service managers can leverage specific musical styles and strategic sequencing to optimize customer satisfaction, with emotional engagement discussed as a theoretical mechanism rather than an empirically measured construct.Originality/valueThis research addresses the strategic use of classical music in service settings, highlighting how the sequencing of musical styles can serve as a tool for enhancing customer satisfaction during service delivery.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-12-2024-0657 [Google]
Hasni, M. J. S., M. Della Lucia, E. Santini and S. Sacchetti (2025): Transformative service research for human well-being: contextual challenges, place-based framework and SDGs, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4477), pp.195–214
PurposeThe transformative service research (TSR) literature is continually expanding its scope across various academic streams. One of the key factors is prioritizing both individual and societal well-being. The purpose of this paper is to map TSR development and its alignment with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by considering place-specificities to understand factors, barriers and strategies that enhance individual well-being.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the systematic literature review approach, adhering to PRISMA guidelines. The Scopus and Web of Science databases were used to scrutinize, categorize and briefly synthesize 164 peer-reviewed journal articles, aiming to identify key domains, factors, barriers and strategies for advancing well-being in various places and meet the Agenda 2030.FindingsThe study proposes an integrated, place-sensitive framework that maps the interconnections between service entities, consumer entities and individual well-being outcomes across urban and rural contexts. It shows that in TSR, well-being is contextually embedded: rural contexts emphasize emotional, cultural and eudaimonic aspects of individual well-being, while urban settings prioritize the economic, social and infrastructural dimensions. The framework advances the TSR debate by aligning TSR concepts and domains with the SDGs. The findings indicate that TSR tends to prioritize certain SDGs while overlooking others, with a predominant focus on individual well-being, and this is also the case in different places. Finally, this review summarizes the key knowledge gaps into a clear and actionable future research agenda to guide research on SDGs related to service research.Practical implicationsThis review highlights key research limitations and synthesizes these gaps into a practical future research agenda. This agenda is organized into four main categories: multilevel societal change, ensuring equity, environmental resilience and institutional dynamics, which directly address overlooked areas in the literature. This clear roadmap provides immediate practical value by guiding researchers, policymakers and practitioners toward targeted interventions needed to promote effective and sustainable transformative services.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature by examining the key domains of TSR literature through the place-based lens and the SGDs and Agenda 2030 policy framework. It offers a novel perspective on how and whether service research contributes to the transformative power of services in diverse social contexts.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0001 [Google]
Heikka, E. L. and T. Pohjosenperä (2025): Exploring the role of service modularity in facilitating value co-creation: insights from knowledge-intensive business services, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4478), pp.1266–1280
PurposeThis study aims to investigate how service modularity facilitates value co-creation in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS).Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth qualitative case study was conducted in a large international KIBS firm operating in the engineering, architecture and consultancy fields. Data from both the provider and customer side were collected through interviews, focus group discussions and secondary sources.FindingsEight modular components of KIBS were identified: segmentation, categorisation and unitisation of offerings; differentiation and decoupling of processes; and organisational centralisation, specialisation and partnership building. These components facilitate value co-creation, for example, by enhancing transparency, clarifying client needs, enabling efficient customisation, fostering customer participation, aligning resources and integrating specialised expertise. This study also highlights dynamic interactions among components and introduces partnership building as a novel modular element that further embeds a relational approach into modular service design.Practical implicationsThe findings offer a useful tool for identifying and leveraging modular components to facilitate value co-creation in KIBS. It supports the strategic alignment of offerings with diverse customer needs, encouraging internal collaboration and knowledge sharing to strengthen modular service delivery.Social implicationsModular service design can foster more sustainable infrastructure solutions in KIBS by facilitating value co-creation that benefits not only direct customers but also end-users, such as citizens relying on public services in the field of urban planning.Originality/valueThis research advances the understanding of service modularity, value co-creation and KIBS by itemising the modular components and demonstrating how they interact dynamically, thus actively shaping the conditions necessary for effective value co-creation in KIBS.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0047 [Google]
Jin, D. (2025): Can the soul survive automation? Leadership identity and robotic task replacement in hospitality, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4479), pp.1224–1239
PurposeThis article applies the Tin Woodman paradox to examine how leadership styles influence organizational identity and management efficacy during robotic task transitions in the hospitality industry. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether gradual or sudden replacement disrupts organizational identity – provides a novel framework for understanding robotic change in service contexts.Design/methodology/approachThree between-subject experimental studies were conducted with US-based hospitality professionals recruited through online research panels. Study 1 manipulated the speed of robotic task replacement (sudden versus gradual). Study 2 varied the attribution of change (internal, external, relational). Study 3 tested a three-way interaction involving leadership triads (dark, bright, light), task replacement speed and change attribution. Malevolent creativity was examined as a mediating mechanism across conditions.FindingsBright and light triad leaders demonstrated significantly higher efficacy under both gradual transitions and internal or relational attributions. In contrast, dark triad leaders were associated with reduced adaptability and increased reliance on malevolent creativity, particularly in sudden change scenarios. Malevolent creativity mediated the relationship between leadership traits and efficacy, amplifying risk in low-consensus attribution contexts.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to integrate the Tin Woodman paradox into leadership and technology literature, offering a symbolic lens on identity continuity during robotic transformation. This study extends contingency and attribution theories by empirically demonstrating how leadership style, attribution framing and change pacing interact to shape efficacy. It also contributes practical guidance for managing robotic transitions in emotionally and relationally intensive service environments.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2025-0309 [Google]
Kao, W. K. (2025): I am supported: the influence of social network on customers in game live streaming, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4480), pp.1133–1150
PurposeGame live streaming (GLS) has garnered significant attention among individual service providers (streamers). Although theoretical advancements have explored its role in providing entertainment and interactivity for customers, it remains unclear how an established GLS community influences customers’ service experiences. Drawing on social network theory, this study aims to examine how social dynamics within GLS communities shape customers’ perceived emotional support and service evaluations, including electronic word-of-mouth and actual virtual gifting behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThree field studies and four scenario-based online experiments with manipulations were conducted in collaboration with six GLS streamers on Twitch. To test the proposed hypotheses, ordinary least squares regression, binary logit regression, univariate analysis, analysis of variance and PROCESS analysis were used.FindingsFirst, stronger social identity within the GLS community enhances perceived emotional support, which, in turn, leads to more favorable service evaluations. Second, customer-streamer rapport strengthens the effect of social identity on customers’ perceived emotional support, thereby exerting a sequential influence on service evaluations. However, customer-customer rapport does not significantly moderate this effect. Finally, online altruism further amplifies the impact of social identity on perceived emotional support, which subsequently enhances service evaluations.Originality/valuePrior research has predominantly examined the effects of entertainment and interactivity in GLS on customers. This study contributes to the GLS literature by exploring how GLS social networks influence customer experiences. Specifically, it investigates how individual service providers can extend their offerings beyond entertainment to shape social and emotional experiences, thereby enhancing customer service evaluations.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2025-0187 [Google]
Kwon, A., L. N. Chung and Y. Namkung (2025): Can service technologies make you feel justice like human agents?, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4481), pp.864–879
PurposeThe widespread integration of service technologies has highlighted the need to effectively manage technology-based service failures and recoveries. This study aims to analyze how different types of service failures and service agents impact perceptions of service justice and, consequently, how they influence revisit intentions in technology-embedded restaurants.Design/methodology/approachThis research conducts a 2×2 between-subjects scenario-based experimental design and self-report questionnaire survey.FindingsThe results reveal that service process failures have a more substantial negative impact on procedural, interactional and distributive justice than outcome failures. To address these failures, humans are more effective than technology agents in restoring service justice. Significant interaction effects show that procedural and distributive justice are lowest when technology agents handle process-related service failures. The effects of service failure and recovery types on revisit intentions are mediated by service justice.Originality/valueThis research expands the scope of services marketing literature by synthesizing service justice theory and role congruity theory to explain how justice is perceived in technology-embedded restaurant environments. The study demonstrates that service justice remains critical in technology-driven service failures and recoveries, and that humans play a particularly important role in restoring justice. These findings offer both theoretical and practical implications for managing justice in technology-mediated service interactions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2024-0415 [Google]
Liang, L. J., H. C. Choi and W. Lee (2025): Research progress in service automation: a critical review of consumer behavior in tourism and hospitality, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4482), pp.
PurposeThis study aims to address the conceptual ambiguity and fragmented understanding of service automation consumer behaviors in the tourism and hospitality industry. It synthesizes existing definitions, categorizes research domains and identifies emerging themes to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding consumer behavior in service automation.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted on 70 peer-reviewed articles related to service automation in tourism and hospitality. The study used thematic analysis to identify conceptual patterns, developed concept maps to illustrate interrelationships among constructs and performed citation analysis to uncover methodological trends and research gaps.FindingsThis review identifies three foundational characteristics of service automation: technology dependence, system autonomy and service delivery. Three major research themes were extracted, including consumer acceptance, humanoid and anthropomorphic design features and the impacts of service automation. The analysis also highlights prevalent application areas and methodological approaches and points to underexplored research opportunities.Originality/valueThis study offers the first structured synthesis of service automation consumer behavior literature. By developing a comprehensive conceptual framework and visualizing key research interconnections, it advances scholarly understanding of consumer behavior in the context of automated services and sets a clear agenda for future research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2025-0477 [Google]
Lin, L. Y., B. Alexander and R. Varley (2025): Exploring how autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) enhances phygital fashion retail experiences, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4483), pp.
PurposeDespite the growth of online fashion retailing, the ability to translate sensory experiences relating to texture and tactile responses remains an unresolved opportunity. The purpose of this research is to explore the potential for the growing autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) phenomenon to be used in retail marketing content in the fashion sector to enhance sensory aspects of online customer experiences.Design/methodology/approachThis research took an interpretive exploratory approach, using audio-visual prompts and semi-structured interviews to provide qualitative insights into the experiences of young fashion consumers when watching retail marketing content created commercially using ASMR-related techniques.FindingsThe findings indicate that ASMR-related content can enhance all dimensions of online customer experience and improve product and brand perceptions. The ability to create tactile-like sensations through ASMR audio-visual techniques points to an opportunity for ASMR-conscious content to be used in phygital retail environments and communications, effectively enhancing product and brand attributes.Originality/valueIn this emerging field, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study represents the first investigation of ASMR within the context of digital service interactions in fashion retail. It advances understanding of the sensory and emotional dimensions of customer experience by demonstrating how cross-modal stimuli, specifically ASMR-triggering audio-visual techniques, can evoke tactile-like sensations. The study also identifies directions for future research on the potential of ASMR to enhance digital and phygital retail customer experiences.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2025-0239 [Google]
Liu, M., G. S. U. Hewage, Z. Wang and R. M. Wu (2025): Smiles that persuade: the power of perceived status and source, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4484), pp.
PurposeSmiles are a ubiquitous and persuasive tool in services marketing, yet their effectiveness varies depending on contextual factors. This research aims to examine the interplay of smile intensity and perceived source status on consumer evaluations.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted five controlled experiments (including a pilot study) to test the hypotheses. In each study, the authors used distinct service interaction contexts and varied the gender of the source to enhance the generalizability of the findings.FindingsThis study finds that a broad smile from an individual with lower perceived social status elicits more favorable consumer outcomes, particularly attitudinal evaluations such as positive attitudes and liking, compared to a smile from an individual with higher perceived social status. This effect is attributed to the perception that lower perceived status individuals’ broad smiles align more closely with emotion norms. Additionally, this effect is moderated by source type; when the smile originates from a nonhuman source (e.g. artificial intelligence [AI] avatars), the favorable impact of a broad smile for lower perceived status individuals diminishes.Originality/valueThese findings advance the literature on social perception and nonverbal emotional communication in services marketing, offering actionable insights for refining service delivery and enhancing customer interactions in both human and AI-mediated contexts.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2025-0371 [Google]
Liu, X. X., C. Y. Yin and M. R. Li (2025): The impact of physical doll companions on solo diners’ restaurant attachment, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4485), pp.1039–1054
PurposeWith solo dining increasingly common, it is essential to investigate the role of restaurant practices that cater to this trend. This paper aims to explore the effect of dining with (vs without) a physical doll provided by a restaurant on solo diners’ restaurant attachment, and its underlying mechanism and boundary conditions.Design/methodology/approachFour scenario-based experiments with a between-subjects design were performed to test the proposed hypotheses. These experiments differed in both dining setting and the physical doll stimulus.FindingsThe results indicate that dining with (vs without) a physical doll leads solo diners to exhibit higher restaurant attachment. This effect is mediated by psychological comfort and moderated by loneliness and table distance. Specifically, dining with (vs without) a physical doll boosts restaurant attachment through psychological comfort among solo diners with higher loneliness and in the far table distance condition, but not among solo diners with lower loneliness and in the close condition.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focuses on the impact of physical dolls on solo diners’ psychological comfort and attachment in a restaurant context. The findings have significant implications for restaurant profitability and consumer well-being. This research also has several limitations regarding the transferability of findings, sample sources and the comparison of different dining companions, requiring attention in future research.Practical implicationsFindings can help restaurant practitioners understand when and how to use physical dolls to enhance solo diners’ psychological comfort and attachment, thereby effectively attracting and retaining this important customer group and ultimately achieving sustainable financial performance.Originality/valueThis research expands the investigation into the factors influencing restaurant attachment in the solo dining context by not limiting to human-human and human-robot interactions, and deepens the comprehension of the psychological effects of physical dolls, a unique type of non-human co-located dining companion.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2024-0561 [Google]
Luna-Cortés, G. (2025): Consumers’ expectations and importance attached to provider’s warmth and competence in luxury and non-luxury service settings, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4486), pp.147–164
PurposeBuilding on research on the stereotype content model (SCM), this research tests consumers’ expectations and the importance attached to service providers’ warmth and competence in luxury versus non-luxury service settings. Furthermore, this study aims to examine how different combinations of warmth and competence interact with variables associated with the quality of the service and customer intentions in luxury versus non-luxury service settings.Design/methodology/approachFive studies were conducted. Studies 1a and 1b were online between-subject experiments, which examined consumers’ expectations and the importance attached to providers’ warmth and competence depending on the service setting (i.e. luxurious versus affordable hotels). Studies 2a and 2b were field surveys answered by customers staying in luxury (i.e. Study 2a) and non-luxury (i.e. Study 2b) hotels. Finally, Study 3 tested consumers’ willingness to stay in a luxury (versus non-luxury) hotel based on different combinations of providers’ warmth and competence.FindingsOverall, consumers attach more importance to both providers’ warmth and competence in a luxury than in a non-luxury hotel. Differences regarding the primacy of one trait changes depending on the context: consumers attach more importance to providers’ competence in a luxury hotel and to providers’ warmth in an affordable hotel. Furthermore, consumers show a higher willingness to stay in a luxury hotel if providers rate high in competence and low in warmth (versus high-warmth/low-competence), while willingness to stay in a non-luxury hotel is higher if providers rate high in warmth and low in competence (versus high-competence/low-warmth).Originality/valueThe results provide answers about the primacy of one trait (warmth or competence) in luxury versus non-luxury service settings. The findings open new lines of research in service management, on how the service setting (luxurious versus non-luxurious) can explain consumers’ expectations and evaluations of providers, and how the right approach when presenting service providers in luxury and non-luxury service contexts can lead to more positive intentions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0062 [Google]
Ma, Y. R. and T. Y. Xing (2025): This is my house! Exploring the differential effects of rapport on consumer space psychological ownership, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4487), pp.
PurposeMaintaining the rapport between consumers and frontline employees (FLEs) is one of the most important marketing strategies in marketing practice. This study aims to understand the mechanism of rapport on consumers’ space psychological ownership and purchase likelihood, as well as the moderating roles of contact frequency and consumption choices.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 632 participants and analyzed it through three online experiments and two pre-experiments to test four hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that space psychological ownership is positively related to rapport, thereby increasing consumers’ purchase likelihood. In addition, the authors verify that two common rapport-building behaviors by FLEs have differential effects on space psychological ownership: non-purchase-related similarities (versus purchase-related similarities) exert a more significant impact due to differences in perceived relationship norms. Furthermore, this effect is more pronounced during first-time (versus frequent) contact with FLEs. Finally, the authors found that when consumers were making hedonic (versus utilitarian) choice, they were more responsive to FLEs’ strategy of non-purchase-related similarities rather than purchase-related similarities in the consumption space.Originality/valueThis study provides insights into a new perspective to understand rapport and psychological ownership and builds on the relationship norms literature to explain why different rapport-building behaviors will have differential impacts. This study concludes by exploring the moderating role of contact frequency and consumption choices, which informs the expansion of the boundaries of theoretical mechanisms and the development of more targeted market strategies.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0073 [Google]
Mahimkar, A., J. Hadjimarcou and E. Ramirez (2025): Workplace ostracism and frontline LGBTQ plus service employees: tracing the emotional and resource pathways to service sabotage, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4488), pp.
PurposeDrawing on the Affect Theory of Social Exchange and Conservation of Resources Theory, this research aims to examine the impact of workplace ostracism against frontline LGBTQ+ service employees by their colleagues on service sabotage, an intentional anti-service behavior toward customers.Design/methodology/approachA moderated serial mediation model was tested using survey data from frontline LGBTQ+ service employees. Emotional exhaustion and reduced social desirability were examined as mediators in the ostracism-sabotage relationship. The model also tested the moderating role of psychological ownership in the emotional exhaustion-social desirability pathway.FindingsWorkplace ostracism was found to be positively associated with service sabotage. Both emotional exhaustion and reduced social desirability mediated this relationship, individually and sequentially. In addition, psychological ownership attenuated the negative effect of emotional exhaustion on social desirability.Practical implicationsOrganizations should revise antidiscrimination policies to explicitly address ostracism and redesign recruitment practices to foster inclusivity, thereby promoting a work environment where LGBTQ+ employees can thrive and contribute positively to service outcomes.Social implicationsThe implications of workplace ostracism extend beyond organizational boundaries, reinforcing broader stigma toward LGBTQ+ individuals. Service sabotage, although often indirect retribution, may confirm negative stereotypes for customers, legitimizing further coworker exclusion and amplifying societal discrimination. This recursive cycle highlights how workplace dynamics and customer perceptions mutually reinforce bias. Effective interventions should be evaluated not only for organizational outcomes but also for enhancing LGBTQ+ employees’ dignity, belonging and authenticity. By fostering ownership, support networks and resilience, firms can mitigate sabotage, improve service outcomes and more importantly, disrupt stigma while advancing inclusion and contributing to broader cultural change.Originality/valueThis study extends service management and diversity research by revealing how workplace ostracism contributes to customer-directed harm through specific psychological mechanisms in frontline LGBTQ+ service employees. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the link between workplace ostracism and service sabotage has not been examined beyond Sarwar et al. (2020), who focused solely on nursing and did not consider how ostracism may be experienced in marginalized groups such as LGBTQ+ employees.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2025-0440 [Google]
Majid, K. and M. Laroche (2025): Reading between the lines: AI and customer acquisition in professional services, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4489), pp.
PurposeProfessional service firms face complex challenges in acquiring new clients, owing to the high degree of trust, customization and client involvement these services require. This study aims to explore how large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, can analyze early-stage text-based communications to identify linguistic markers that predict purchase readiness. By focusing on the professional services domain, the study contributes to service marketing theory by introducing a novel method to assess service interest through client-generated text.Design/methodology/approachFor two years, the authors collected responses submitted through an inquiry form for a home improvement firm. The artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT was trained to assess the level of specificity in the language used by prospective customers and generated a specificity score for each response. These scores were then used to predict the likelihood of customer purchase over time using an accelerated hazard model.FindingsThe results indicate that the specificity scores generated by ChatGPT effectively predict a customer’s position within the sales funnel and likelihood of purchase over time. Customers who provided more detailed information, as measured by AI, exhibited a higher probability of conversion.Practical implicationsThis study provides actionable insights for managers aiming to optimize customer acquisition efforts and minimize resource waste. It demonstrates how AI – specifically LLMs – can be leveraged to analyze unstructured text from prospective customers and identify linguistic signals (e.g. specificity) that are predictive of purchase likelihood.Originality/valueConsumers reveal valuable insights through the language they use. While it has traditionally been difficult to empirically analyze this verbiage, the emergence of LLMs enables the transformation of qualitative text into measurable indicators. These tools allow firms to make data-driven predictions about customer behavior. This study introduces a novel methodological approach to the analysis of customer acquisition.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-05-2025-0362 [Google]
Marques, D. S., T. Lima, S. B. Ferraz and L. E. B. Paiva (2025): Break the silence: managing professional identity of FLEs with invisible disabilities toward inclusive services, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4490), pp.932–948
PurposeThis study aims to explore strategies used by frontline service employees with invisible disabilities to manage the disclosure and concealment of their professional identities. This study develops a theoretical framework to help these workers navigate their roles effectively. This study also recommends ways in which service institutions can mitigate disparities and promote social justice.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the literature on vulnerability and professional identity, the authors conducted 21 in-depth semi-structured interviews with frontline service employees with invisible disabilities. This study analyzed 1,170 min of data using reflexive thematic analysis, both manually and with MAXQDA software, to organize relevant excerpts and ensure consistency.FindingsThis study identified three strategies with emotional costs and related outcomes: i) isolation/encapsulation: individuals withdraw from interactions to avoid stigma, but this can lead to emotional exhaustion; ii) performance and productivity adaptation: workers attempt to compensate for perceived limitations by increasing their effort, sometimes at a high emotional cost; and iii) activism/advocacy in service work: some professionals channel their experiences into awareness-building, institutional transformation, and disability advocacy. These pathways are not mutually exclusive and may shift depending on environmental support and self-perception.Originality/valueThis study presents a framework based on disability disclosure models, incorporating diagnostic impacts, context (self, social, service), the disclosure continuum, pathways to isolation or activism, and intrinsic/extrinsic outcomes. Building on prior studies of disability identity in traditional employment, this research highlights the challenges and strategies faced by frontline service employees, particularly in educational service ecosystems with high-performance expectations, frontline interactions, and meritocratic pressures shaped by institutional ableism.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-03-2025-0189 [Google]
Mele, C. (2025): The caring turn in service research, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4491), pp.
Purpose – This study aims to advance a conceptualization of care as a means to rethink service research by reinterpreting three foundational constructs-engagement, experience and value creation-and applying care as an onto-epistemological-practice lens. Design/methodology/approach – To establish contributions through envisioning and identifying, the current study brings to light care as a neglected dimension and highlights its theoretical relevance, thereby opening new avenues for inquiry. Its contributions reflect an innovative structuring approach that is particularly well suited for addressing underexplored research areas, in support of a reframing of how care is understood and theorized in service scholarship. Findings – The care lens in service encompasses three dimensions: being (ontology), knowing (epistemology) and doing (practice). It highlights caring in practice as situated, embodied and affective. Three propositions within the proposed framework reinterpret the core service constructs of engagement, experience and value creation. In this view, caring sustains well-being while nurturing well-becoming, as both a telos and ongoing journey, thereby enabling the flourishing of human and more-than-human life. Originality/value – As a distinctive contribution to service research, the current study proposes the caring turn not as a mere enrichment of existing frameworks but rather as a pathway toward their renewal. By positioning care as a core analytical and practical concern, it expands the boundaries of the field, introducing new vocabularies, sensibilities and methodological orientations that reframe not only what services do but also how they matter.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-09-2025-0634 [Google]
Mogaji, E. (2025): Reimagining transformative services in unregulated markets: conceptualising inclusive service provision in informal and developing country contexts, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4492), pp.
PurposeTransformative service research (TSR) has predominantly examined regulated markets in developed economies, overlooking unregulated contexts in developing economies where institutional voids and informal systems prevail. This paper aims to address that gap by introducing a framework positioning regulation and country development as boundary conditions shaping service outcomes. It highlights how transformative outcomes emerge not only through top-down compliance but also through bottom-up, community-driven innovations in fragile service ecosystems.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of 67 peer-reviewed studies was conducted across leading service research journals. The analysis employed a theory-building approach, drawing on institutional theory and development studies, to identify recurring patterns and construct a 2 x 2 matrix positioning transformative service contexts along regulation and country development axes.FindingsThe review shows that regulation and country development jointly shape conditions under which services achieve transformative outcomes. In developed and regulated contexts, outcomes are enabled through compliance, professional standards and institutional oversight. In unregulated and developing contexts, however, outcomes emerge from bottom-up enablers such as community mobilisation, entrepreneurial adaptation and informal governance. These “Informal Frontiers” demonstrate how resilience, social capital and grassroots innovation compensate for institutional voids, reframing vulnerability as a potential source of agency and inclusion.Practical implicationsIt offers guidance for policymakers, NGOs and service providers to design context-sensitive, inclusive models where institutions are weak, while calling for participatory and ethnographic methods to capture bottom-up innovations. Collectively, the paper advances a globally inclusive TSR agenda.Originality/valueThis study contributes theoretically by integrating macro-structural conditions into TSR and repositioning informal frontiers as fertile grounds for inclusive service transformation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0008 [Google]
Park, D. Y. (2025): Enhancing customer engagement value: a comprehensive review of integrated program strategies beyond loyalty programs, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4493), pp.1093–1118
Purpose – This study aims to develop an integrative conceptual framework that explains how customer engagement programs (CEPs) create customer engagement value (CEV) through foundational and amplification mechanisms. It addresses the fragmented understanding of CEPs and highlights the strategic potential of program integration.Design/methodology/approach -A systematic review of 226 peer-reviewed papers across marketing, management, psychology and information systems was conducted. Six representative types of CEPs were identified and analyzed within a process-based engagement model. The paper synthesizes theoretical insights using a dual-layered mechanism approach.Findings – The study proposes that CEPs generate value through four foundational mechanisms – functional, psychological, emotional and social – and are further amplified via engagement reinforcement, spillover effects and synergy. A process-based framework maps CEP integration across onboarding, iterative and reinforced engagement phases, aligning each program type with specific CEV dimensions (CLV, CRV, CIV, CKV).Research limitations/implications – This study’s framework is conceptual and requires empirical validation. It does not account for variability across industries, organizational sizes or cultural contexts, which may influence the effectiveness of CEP integration. Additionally, the study does not extensively explore the role of emerging digital technologies, such as AI and machine learning, in facilitating program integration. Future studies should empirically test the mechanisms of value creation identified in this study – engagement reinforcement, spillover effects and cross-program synergies – using longitudinal and real-world data.Practical implications – Firms can strategically combine complementary programs, such as loyalty and cocreation initiatives, to address diverse customer needs and generate sustained value. Practitioners are advised to overcome implementation barriers by forming cross-functional teams, unifying customer data platforms and aligning program communications to ensure consistent and seamless customer experiences.Originality/value – This study makes a conceptual contribution by integrating previously fragmented research streams into a unified framework of customer engagement. It introduces a novel dual-mechanism model of value creation and provides strategic guidance for designing integrated CEP portfolios. The framework enhances theoretical understanding and offers actionable insights for practitioners in customer-centric service environments.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0066 [Google]
Pham, B. T. and T. H. Huynh (2025): Greenwashing and brand avoidance: examining green scepticism, green perceived risk, and green consumer confusion, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4494), pp.
PurposeThis study aims to investigate how greenwashing influences brand avoidance, focusing on the mediating roles of green scepticism, green perceived risk and green consumer confusion in the food and beverage (F&B) industry.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research design was used, with a survey of 259 Vietnamese respondents. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test the proposed model and examine both direct and indirect relationships among the constructs.FindingsFindings indicate that greenwashing has significant positive effects on green scepticism, green perceived risk and green consumer confusion, all of which positively influence brand avoidance. Further, all three mediators significantly explain the indirect effect of greenwashing on brand avoidance.Practical implicationsThis paper provides tailored implications for managers, consumers and regulators. F&B managers should adopt authentic sustainability, transparent communication and credible certifications, while stronger regulations and consumer education can mitigate brand avoidance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to green marketing research by synthesising attribution theory, expectancy violation theory and service-dominant logic theory to explain how misleading environmental claims trigger psychological responses. It highlights the mediating roles of green scepticism, green perceived risk and green consumer confusion in the relationship between greenwashing and brand avoidance.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2025-0471 [Google]
Russell-Bennett, R., I. Gasparin, M. Gnusowski, J. Vredenburg, J. Ahmed and S. Ercan (2025): Designing transformative service initiatives (TSIs) in polarised contexts: a framework for effective practice, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, 39(4495), pp.180–194
PurposeTransformative service initiatives (TSIs) are often applied to address wicked problems in contexts that are polarised. For TSIs to be effective, they require both diversity of perspectives, a level of social cohesion and acceptance of the TSI as legitimate. Yet polarisation typically undermines cohesion and fuels resistance within communities, limiting the effectiveness of TSIs. The purpose of this study is to address the problem of how to manage diversity of perspectives when designing TSIs in a polarised context.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a theory synthesis approach and combine insights from service design with the theory and practice of deliberative democracy. The authors draw on deliberative democracy, as it offers practical tools and strategies for addressing disagreements in polarised contexts. The study brings together two distinct literature streams into a single conceptual theme to develop a framework for effective TSI design in polarised contexts.FindingsIn polarised contexts, the effective design and delivery of TSIs requires close attention to three features: actors (who should participate in the process, what types of citizens have an interest in the topic and what perspectives are represented); processes and practices (how the initiative is structured and what behaviours can be enabled to address polarisation); and outcomes (what can the process realistically yield, recognising that consensus may not always be possible).Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, the research is the first to introduce deliberative democracy theory to the services marketing literature. The core contribution of the proposed framework is the identification of bridging and bonding practices as the key mechanisms for creating procedural legitimacy of a TSI in a polarised context.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2025-0570 [Google]
Rynarzewska, A. I., C. M. Waldsmith and A. N. Nikolov (2025): Polarization: linking loneliness and social media dependency, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4496), pp.
PurposeThis study aims to examine how the social media service environment (SMSE), meant to attract and retain users, exacerbates online polarizing and morally controversial conduct and social media dependency.Design/methodology/approachLinguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software was used to investigate user-generated comments on the social media platform X for instances of polarizing and morally divisive behavior. The transferability of the results was improved by surveying online panel participants to validate and generalize earlier findings. Structural equation modeling simultaneously analyzed direct and mediator effects on social media dependency.FindingsPolarizing behavior online predicts social media dependency across two studies. Linguistic analysis suggests that loneliness-related negative emotions indirectly cause social media dependency, mediated by polarizing expression. Survey results confirmed that generating polarized content mediates loneliness and social media dependency.Social implicationsPolarization impairs democratic discourse, public engagement and institutional trust. This study examines how the SMSE can undermine consumer welfare and contribute to societal decline by normalizing and amplifying extreme views.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first in marketing to examine loneliness, polarizing behavior, and dependency in a social media context. Supported by literature, it demonstrates that the SMSE contributes to polarization and dependency by magnifying morally divisive engagement, with loneliness being a contributing factor. In defining the role of loneliness in nonconformist, “hardcore” social media users, it sheds new light on the spiral of silence theory.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2025-0508 [Google]
Sinha, M., R. Ramey, P. Gala and A. W. Wilkerson (2025): Beyond privacy: longitudinal ZMET analysis of thoughts and feelings, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4497), pp.
PurposeConsumers increasingly reveal more than they intend online yet clamor for privacy protection, saddling businesses with costly strategic and legal challenges. This study aims to reveal what drives consumers’ thoughts and feelings about privacy, and what has changed over a decade.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) to conduct qualitative interviews in 2008 and 2019 and identified the deep metaphors revealing consumers’ thoughts and feelings about their privacy concerns (PCs).FindingsMetaphor analysis revealed organizational justice theory (OJT) as the overarching theoretical framework. A two-timepoint comparison showed that consumers who once wanted balance in their relationship with firms now want control over their own resource (information) in response to the unmet need for fairness reflected in increasing PCs. The three OJT dimensions – distributive, procedural and interactional justice emerge as a framework for the data and helps develop privacy-related subdimensions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extends OJT beyond employee-organization settings to consumer-firm relationships and develops privacy-specific OJT dimensions and subdimensions as a theoretical baseline for future comparative and empirical testing.Practical implicationsManagers should widen their narrow focus on PCs to encompass consumers’ entire information-related experiences, ensuring equitable value exchange, just procedures and respectful interactions to mitigate resistance to information acquisition/use.Social implicationsBy reframing privacy as fairness, the study highlights pathways to restore consumer confidence, reduce anxiety and inform policy debates around equitable data practices.Originality/valueA longitudinal ZMET provides rare insight into evolving thoughts and feelings about privacy, offering a novel, justice-based framework for understanding and addressing PCs.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-07-2025-0505 [Google]
Snyder, H., N. Veflen, A. C. R. Van Riel, P. Kristensson and M. Mehta (2025): Beyond generations: an extended lifespan approach to service segmentation, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4498), pp.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to challenge the widespread use of generational segmentation in services marketing and argues for a shift toward an extended lifespan developmental perspective. It highlights how generational thinking can disregard consumer diversity and hinder inclusive service innovation. Design/methodology/approach-This viewpoint synthesized research from marketing and psychology to critically examine the assumptions and limitations of generational segmentation. An extended lifespan-informed approach that focuses on developmental transitions, capabilities and lived experience rather than generational cohorts is proposed. Findings-Three core criticisms of generational segmentation are outlined: a weak theoretical foundation, empirical inconsistency and the risk of misleading practical implications. The authors argue that an extended lifespan perspective enables a more nuanced, inclusive and adaptive service design. This paper provides a practical framework, research agenda and implications for service managers. Originality/value-This paper reconceptualizes segmentation as a developmental and contextual process rather than a static cohort classification. It calls on service researchers and managers to rethink how they categorize customers and to consider the social and economic benefits of more inclusive and adaptive service innovation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2025-0539 [Google]
Uude, K., C. Plewa and J. Conduit (2025): Unpacking the dynamic nature of engagement: a conceptual model, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4499), pp.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to expand knowledge about the dynamic nature of the engagement concept. To this end, the paper proposes a conceptual model of engagement dynamics that offers a systematic and comprehensive understanding of how and why engagement evolves over time, illustrated through the context of climate action.Design/methodology/approachBased on the insights of a semi-systematic literature review and building upon the actor engagement concept, the authors adopted the conceptual paper type and used a propositional conceptual approach to develop the authors’ model.FindingsThe model, comprising a set of propositions, describes the dynamic elements of engagement as well as the internally and externally caused engagement dynamics and the different levels at which they occur.Originality/valueThe theoretical derivations of this paper advance the understanding of the engagement construct and its evolving nature, facilitate knowledge diffusion across engagement research fields and provide a theoretical basis for a dynamic approach to engagement in the service and marketing discipline, which becomes particularly relevant when addressing the complex societal and market transformations driven by climate change. In practice, the authors’ model can help foster intended and counteract unintended engagement dynamics across individual, collective and system levels, which is crucial in the context of climate change, where rapid societal and environmental transformations both drive and necessitate changes in actors’ engagement in climate action.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2025-0031 [Google]
Vigolo, V., J. Davey, M. Colurcio and H. F. Holz (2025): Generation-bridging experiences in third places: a call to action for transformative service scholars, JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, (4500), pp.
PurposeThe intergenerational divide has been accentuated by the recent pandemic, the economic crisis and the digitization of social spaces, posing the risks of increased isolation, reduced civic engagement and social disparities. This conceptual viewpoint introduces generation-bridging experiences (GBXs) as a means to reduce intergenerational distance and social isolation in the context of physical third places.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on transformative service research and experience design, this study combines an analysis of the literature with real-world examples to set a research agenda for service scholars and provide guidelines for practitioners willing to design GBXs in third places.FindingsThis study defines GBX as an experience that creates value through meaningful interpersonal interactions across generations, fostering sustained individual and collective change to reduce generation tensions, loneliness and potential marginalization. Experience design is crucial to increase the transformative potential of such service interactions in third places. This study proposes a holistic framework for GBX design conceptualizing three intergenerational pillars of inclusive environment for interaction and collaboration; intergenerational co-creation; and sustained engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThis viewpoint proposes a research agenda to stimulate more theoretical and empirical service research on GBX design in third places.Practical implicationsThis study suggests a managerial guide for each GBX phase, which provides illustrative examples for service managers willing to design GBX in physical third places.Social implicationsDesigning and managing GBXs in physical third places can reduce social tensions and age-related stereotypes, and increase mutual trust.Originality/valueThis viewpoint redirects service scholars’ and practitioners’ attention to the ever-increasing importance of experience design in third places for bridging generational divides and supporting more inclusive, intergenerationally just communities.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2025-0538 [Google]
Kuriakose, V. and S. S (2025): Family incivility and employee well-being: examining the roles of emotional intelligence and family supportive supervisory behaviors, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4504), pp.
PurposeAlthough research on workplace stressors has expanded significantly, the role of family-originated incivility experienced by employees remains underexplored. This study addresses this critical gap by examining how family incivility, such as subtle disrespect and hostility from family members, drains employees’ psychological resources, ultimately impairing their well-being. Grounded in conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose and test a psychological pathway through negative affect and also investigate the buffering roles of emotional intelligence and family-supportive supervisory behaviors (FSSB).Design/methodology/approachEmploying a two-wave, time-lagged design, we collected survey data from 467 engineers across four IT firms in India. Using the PROCESS approach, we tested the hypothesised mediation and moderated mediation models.FindingsFamily incivility significantly increases negative affect, which in turn deteriorates employee well-being. Moreover, high emotional intelligence and strong family-supportive supervisory behaviors (FSSB) attenuate this indirect negative pathway, serving as critical psychological and contextual buffers against family-based stressors.Originality/valueThis study advances the work-family interface literature by moving beyond workplace mistreatment to highlight non-work domain interpersonal stressors as significant predictors of employee well-being. By integrating the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions within the COR framework, the study offers a more nuanced, cross-domain understanding of employee well-being. It also provides actionable insights for organizations seeking to foster resilience against stressors that originate outside the workplace.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-01-2025-0006 [Google]
Song, B., Z. X. Cai and H. D. Xu (2025): How to shape consumer preference for service robots? A meta-analysis of use intention, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4505), pp.
PurposeRecent technical advancements have boosted service robot adoption in the service industry. To facilitate their integration in service delivery, this study develops and tests a framework that leverages human-robot interaction to shape consumer preferences and focuses on how technical innovation in service robots can contribute to improving service value perception.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducts a meta-analysis to integrate the data of 81 independent studies, encompassing a total sample size of 59,328 participants. This study aims to explain the sociotechnical mechanisms that underpin service robot adoption and their role in enhancing consumers’ perception of service value.FindingsThis study explores the factors and psychological mechanisms that may influence customer intentions and offers new insights and a comprehensive research agenda for marketing. This study reveals that technology and sociality are factors that can drive the use of service robots.Originality/valueThis study integrates the service robot acceptance model and the interactive technology acceptance model to develop a comprehensive framework grounded in sociotechnical theory to understand service robots. By advancing the literature on relationship marketing, this study reveals the technical and social factors that can influence consumers’ willingness to adopt service robots. Furthermore, this study provides valuable insights for targeted marketing strategies in the field of service innovation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-12-2024-0425 [Google]
Espinet, A. and P. Miravitlles (2025): Beyond manufacturing: assessing theory adequacy in service firm’s internationalization entry mode choice, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4506), pp.
Purpose-This study aims to determine the suitability of main theories in studying the internationalization of service firm’s entry mode by analyzing academic viewpoints. Design/methodology/approach-We analyze 307 articles in the domain of service internationalization through a combination of bibliometric and content analysis, focusing on the internationalization of service firms and their entry mode choices over four decades of literature. Findings-The results show that the debate on the adequacy of extant internationalization theories to the study of service firms is still not cut-and-dried. We provide insights on scholars’ positioning regarding the suitability of existing theoretical frameworks. Specifically, scholars support the adaptation of existing frameworks to study service firms, although there is little knowledge on how this adaptation should be tackled. Therefore, there is a clear interest in identifying, adjusting and creating frameworks that fit the particularities of the internationalization of service firms. Research limitations/implications-There is a clear overall interest in the literature in identifying, adjusting and creating frameworks that fit the particularities of the internationalization of service firms. Practical implications-The findings provide valuable insights for future researchers in selecting the most appropriate theoretical lens for studying the entry modes of service firms. Originality/value-This study examines scholars’ perspectives on the appropriateness of traditional theories for investigating the internationalization of service firms. Consequently, we shed light on the ongoing debate regarding the adequacy of international business theories in service firm research. To our knowledge, no other recent work has analyzed this issue from this particular standpoint.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-03-2025-0072 [Google]
Gunasekara, A., Z. O. Alqhaiwi, T. T. Luu and N. Djurkovic (2025): Workplace bullying and the enacted incivility of those targeted: the roles of anger, shame and fear, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, 35(4507), pp.61–82
PurposeDespite extensive research on workplace bullying within organisational research, the mechanisms through which workplace bullying translates into enacted incivility remain underexplored. This study employs affective event theory (AET) to investigate how workplace bullying leads to incivility through the emotions of anger, shame and fear and the moderating role of trait self-control.Design/methodology/approachMulti-wave survey data were collected from 328 hotel employees in Jordan. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling.FindingsWe found that workplace bullying has a pronounced impact on victims’ enacted incivility and that impact is mediated by the negative emotions of anger and shame but not via fear. Trait self-control moderates the impact of bullying on shame and anger.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extends workplace bullying literature by linking it to enacted incivility, examining inwardly- and outwardly-focused negative emotions as parallel mediators and investigating trait self-control as a boundary condition, adding to prior contextual or personality-focused moderators.Practical implicationsOrganisations need clear anti-bullying policies and training on emotion regulation and conflict management. Targeted interventions and counselling are crucial to address bullying’s emotional impact, enhance self-regulation and reduce absenteeism.Originality/valueThe finding not only bridges a research void regarding a lack of understanding of the mechanisms underlying the nexus between workplace bullying and low intentional acts of harm such as enacted incivility but also provides crucial insights to the parallel mediating effects of inwardly- and outwardly-focused affective processes underlying such a nexus. Self-report data from a single hotel chain in Jordan is a limitation of the study.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-01-2025-0009 [Google]
He, H. and L. Zhao (2025): Unlocking creative potential through employee-AI collaboration: a self-regulatory focus on job crafting and leaders’ creativity expectations, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, 35(4508), pp.977–1000
PurposeWhile employees are not being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), they face increasing pressure to adapt and acquire new AI-related skills regardless of their attitudes towards AI collaboration. Drawing on self-regulation theory, regulatory focus theory and regulatory fit theory, this study examines how and when employee-AI collaboration (EAI-C) in the high-tech service industry influences employees’ job crafting and subsequent creative work involvement. Additionally, it explores whether leaders’ creativity expectations moderate the relationship between job crafting and creative work involvement.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a multi-source, three-wave survey involving 295 employee-supervisor pairs in the Chinese technology service industry, all of whom interacted with AI on a daily basis. This study focused on the impact of EAI-C on promotion- and prevention-focused job crafting and the role of leaders’ creativity expectations in shaping creative work involvement.FindingsThe findings reveal a positive correlation between EAI-C and promotion-focused job crafting, which in turn enhances creative work involvement. Moreover, the positive effect of promotion-focused job crafting on creative work involvement is significantly amplified by leaders’ creativity expectations.Originality/valueThis study advances the understanding of EAI-C by explaining the mechanisms through which EAI-C influences creative work involvement. It also highlights the moderating role of leaders’ creativity expectations and offers valuable implications for both theory and practice in EAI-C and creative work systems.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-12-2024-0427 [Google]
Hwang, H., W. M. Hur and Y. Shin (2025): Customer incivility and emotional labor from the perspective of the transactional model of stress: mediation of customer orientation and moderation of interpersonal conflict, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, 35(4509), pp.851–877
PurposeThis study examines the effects of customer incivility on emotional labor through customer orientation and the moderating effects of conflict with supervisors or coworkers. This relationship can be explained using the transactional model of stress.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a two-wave survey of 222 flight attendants working for a South Korean airline. The Mplus macro was used to test the relationship between customer orientation (leading to emotional labor through customer orientation) and the moderating effects of conflict with supervisors or coworkers.FindingsHigher levels of customer incivility were associated with lower customer orientation and deep acting. This relationship is moderated by conflicts with one’s supervisor.Originality/valueThis study focuses on employee conflict, which is underrepresented in service literature. Specifically, it examines the effects of customer incivility on emotional labor when employees experience internal conflict. The findings indicate that interpersonal conflict with one’s supervisor exacerbates the negative effects of customer incivility. The study shows that customer incivility reduces customer orientation and deep acting and, thus, provides insights into the importance of internal organizational conflict and customer interaction in managing service employees.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-04-2024-0124 [Google]
Ke, J. L., Q. W. Wang, H. W. Zheng and X. Zhou (2025): Installing resources into low occupational status frontline public employees: how and when inclusive climate fosters proactive service performance, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4510), pp.
Purpose High-quality public service delivery depends on the proactive service performance (PSP) of frontline public employees (FLPEs). However, few scholars realize that some types of FLPEs belong to low occupational status groups that need organizational inclusion. This study aims to explore how to motivate the low occupational status FLPEs’ PSP.Design/methodology/approach This study employed a three-wave survey of 287 respondents nested in 44 administrative approval service centers in Beijing, China.Findings The results demonstrate that an inclusive climate positively affects PSP through work meaningfulness. Moreover, the mediating effect of work meaningfulness is stronger under high perceived dissimilarity and high service climate.Practical implications The findings contribute to FLPEs’ coping behavior management practices.Originality/value PSP is critical to high-quality public service delivery. However, existing literature generally assumes that FLPEs possess equal status, overlooking the challenges posed by the occupational status differences. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of how to motivate PSP of low occupational status FLPEs.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-03-2025-0111 [Google]
Mlázovsky, M., O. Svoboda and K. Kantorová (2025): The impact of environmental attitudes and information processing on decision-making in transport services: a case study of Gen Z students, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, 35(4511), pp.951–976
PurposeStudies reveal that students of Generation Z should be environmentally conscious, and that education, among other factors, should encourage students to engage in sustainable behaviours from an early age; however, this assumption may not hold true in all regions. Notably, a particular research gap is the impact of information overload on environmental decision-making.Design/methodology/approachTo address this discrepancy, our study employs the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investigate transportation services via three model situations, i.e. public transport, electromobility, and conventional vehicles, utilising students’ behaviour as a case study. The research was conducted in Czechia using primary data from a questionnaire survey.FindingsThe results reveal that pro-environmental and transport attitudes influence choices made by Generation Z students as well fundamental personal income and the ability to process information even under information overload. The findings further indicate that higher income may compromise engaging in pro-environmental behaviour, while the ability to process information promotes such behaviour.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical validation of theoretical insights into the effects of information overload on sustainable decision-making. The findings indicate that service management can adapt strategies for enhancing sustainability and customer satisfaction by addressing the specific needs and obstacles identified in this study. This has implications for service markets in relation to changes in demographics and consumer preferences. In contrast with previous studies, which often focus on older generations and specific aspects of transport, our study encompasses a comprehensive examination of pro-environmental attitudes, information processing, socioeconomic factors, and social influences that shape Generation Z students’ preferences.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-06-2024-0187 [Google]
Nakintu, M., J. Conduit, N. Robertson and A. S. Ferdous (2025): How negatively valenced actor engagement with transformative service exchanges affects well-being outcomes, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4512), pp.
Purpose- This conceptual paper addresses a key gap in transformative service research (TSR) by theorizing how negatively valenced actor engagement, specifically actor disengagement and negative engagement, affects well-being and ill-being outcomes. While prior work has explored resource misuse and value co-destruction, our study integrates TSR and actor engagement perspectives to explain how such behaviors hinder transformative value creation across individual and community levels. Design/methodology/approach- Adopting Jaakkola’s (2020) model approach, our study develops a framework linking negatively valenced engagement, resource (mis)integration and actors’ resource-challenge equilibrium (RCE) to explain well-being and ill-being outcomes in transformative service exchanges. Findings- Our work theorizes that resource-integrating mechanisms, including an imbalance in actors’ RCE, help to explain the effect of negatively valenced engagement on individual and community-level well-being and ill-being outcomes. Research limitations/implications- The proposed framework provides a foundation for future empirical research on the mechanisms of disengagement and negative engagement in transformative services. Practical implications- Practitioners can identify and address early signs of actor disengagement and negative engagement to mitigate ill-being and sustain well-being outcomes. Social implications- Our framework provides timely insights for policymakers to enable the integration and application of various actor resource pools to address individual and community challenges. Originality/value- Our study extends TSR and actor engagement literature by shifting focus from positive engagement to negatively valenced engagement, explaining how resource misuse and value co-destruction generate well-being and ill-being outcomes in transformative service exchanges.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-05-2024-0156 [Google]
Nijhawan, P., S. Chakrabarti and S. K. Roy (2025): Unlocking the intellectual core of transformative service: a hybrid review and research agenda, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4513), pp.
PurposeResearch on the Transformative Service Research (TSR) domain has proliferated in the service management literature over the past decade. The purpose of this study is to undertake a hybrid systematic literature review of TSR to trace its theoretical evolution, examine its conceptual underpinnings and propose pathways for future research. Design/methodology/approachWe identify and categorise the fundamental themes in TSR research by supplementing a systematic literature review with bibliographic coupling of 247 extracted papers. Furthermore, based on content analysis of extracted themes, we propose a comprehensive conceptual framework encompassing facilitators and unintended outcomes of transformative value creation. We used the Theory, Context, Characteristics and Methodology (TCCM) framework to integrate, communicate and critically assess the findings and provide avenues for future research. FindingsOur review reveals that TSR research is organised around four key thematic conversations: (a) designing memorable service experience, (b) factors accentuating customer engagement, (c) systemic well-being orchestration and (d) TSR as a source of social upliftment. The proposed conceptual framework elucidates the roles, responsibilities, and underlying relationships among the service network actors and lists other situational factors, facilitating factors and unintended harms that influence transformative value creation at multiple levels, impacting individual and societal well-being. Practical implicationsThis study acts as a guide to practitioners on how to design services that enhance service network actors’ agency, as well as lists important factors that lead to a sustainable and transformative service system. Social implicationsThe study elaborates on the role of TSR as an agent of social change. The detailed analysis provides the theoretical grounding necessary to investigate how services can be leveraged to play a central role in reducing human deprivation and ensuring sustainable societal well-being. Originality/valueSuch a detailed literature review that focuses solely on TSR and consolidates TSR’s evolutionary trajectory is absent in the literature. In doing so, we integrate, critically evaluate and expand on the TSR-related research, offering a roadmap to help achieve the domain’s vision of delivering “uplifting change.”
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-02-2025-0045 [Google]
Özispa, N. (2025): Service quality gap models: trends and industry adaptations, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4514), pp.
Purpose – The present study systematically reviews the relevant literature to trace the evolution of service quality gap models since the original Service Quality Gap Model and identify the main distinctions between them. The study thereby aims to enable a deeper understanding of how subsequent models have modified the original model to be more applicable to specific sectors and changing technology.
Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review strategy and conceptual review methodology were used to achieve the study’s purpose. Using the Web of Science (WOS) database as the main source, the study applied reference tracking, visual search and AI-based validation to make the review as comprehensive as possible. The 183 publications meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed to identify modified service quality gap models, determine their differences from the original model, and then group them in terms of sector applicability and theoretical contribution.
Findings – Fourteen distinct service quality gap models were identified (for publications from 1987 to 2022). Parasuraman et al.’s (1985) model remains influential, despite repeated criticisms, with almost all (93%) of the 14 models still drawing from it. Most revisions have added new gaps and/or modified existing gaps so as to provide a more nuanced representation of current service environments. Accordingly, model complexity has tended to increase in terms of the number of gaps (between 3 and 14). In particular, employee perceptions and internal service quality have become more prominent in newer models, while technology-focused models have incorporated automated and digital service delivery as new challenges. Finally, regarding sector specificity, newer models have been most commonly adapted for technology, transportation and tourism.
Research limitations/implications – Despite the comprehensive nature of this review, several limitations should be acknowledged. First, the search strategy, while methodical, was primarily focused on the WOS database, which may have resulted in the exclusion of relevant models published in sources not indexed in WOS. Although complementary methods such as reference tracking, visual search strategies and AI-based validation were employed to mitigate this limitation, it remains possible that some service quality gap models published in less accessible journals, conference proceedings or non-English literature were overlooked.
Practical implications – First, the review’s categorization of service quality gap models enables organizations to select and/or adapt a model that is most relevant to their sector-specific challenges and business requirements. These include tourism and hospitality-related models (e.g. Lewis, 1987; Tsang and Qu, 2000; Lee et al., 2016); models for sectors with rapidly advancing technology (e.g. Kang and Bradley, 2002; Zhang et al., 2022); transport-related sectors like airlines, logistics and maritime companies (e.g. Frost and Kumar, 2000; Chen and Chang, 2005; Kahnali and Esmaeili, 2015); and healthcare (e.g. Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). Second, the findings suggest that, through strategic choices of measuring systems, organizations should capture the employees’ as well as the customers’ perspectives. However, given that these models are becoming more complex, organizations will need to offset comprehensive measurements against feasibility. Third, given the expansion of digital services, organizations will have to take technology into account while evaluating service quality. By identifying such gaps, organizations will be better able to predict changes in customer expectations and offer their employees more relevant, focused service quality training initiatives.
Social implications – First, service quality models are intended to make consumer experiences standard across sectors and enable customer expectations to be managed successfully through honesty and transparency in communication. Second, newer models increasingly focus on internal service quality, which indicates an acknowledgement that customer satisfaction cannot be achieved without first ensuring employee satisfaction. Third, newer models increasingly incorporate technological developments, which indicates a recognition of the need for equitable technological access to prevent digital divides. Finally, acknowledging the need to increase consumer trust in those sectors that have previously provided poor service experiences, newer models incorporate accountability mechanisms. These aim to improve customer experience by empowering consumers while interacting with service providers.
Originality/value – This paper represents the first systematic effort to compile and analyze all revised service quality gap models developed over the past 4 decades. While prior research has critiqued individual models or introduced alternative frameworks, no study has comprehensively examined and consolidated the full range of modifications to the original model across a 40-year span. By categorizing and evaluating the models, particularly regarding their sector-specific applicability, the present study’s findings can provide a useful resource for those, whether researchers or practitioners, investigating how service quality measurement frameworks are evolving to address specific sectors and be applicable to current business environments.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-03-2025-0122 [Google]
Qi, J., G. H. Lowman, A. Zaad and T. Bellairs (2025): The effects of managerial job engagement and behavioral integrity on employee commitment to service quality, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4515), pp.
PurposeDrawing on social influence theory, we explore the important phenomena of social identification and internalization within the manager-frontline employee service context. Specifically, we demonstrate how these two forms of social influence can be used to explain the relationships between perceived managerial job engagement, perceived managerial behavioral integrity, employee commitment to service quality (ECSQ) and employee outcomes.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was conducted based on multi-source data from 258 service employees and 23 managers, with multilevel modeling used to test hypotheses.FindingsWe found that perceived managerial job engagement and managerial behavioral integrity significantly impact ECSQ, and that job autonomy and bi-communication moderate the impact of perceived managerial job engagement on ECSQ, which in turn promotes positive employee outcomes.Originality/valueCurrent service literature largely focuses on the impact of traditional leadership behaviors on frontline service employee workplace performance while ignoring value-based leadership behaviors. To address the research gap, this study explains how both types of leadership behaviors drive service employees’ behaviors through service employees’ commitment to service quality. The moderating role of frontline service employee perceived job autonomy and bi-communication further extend the literature and suggest the contingent nature of managerial behaviors in affecting frontline service employee behaviors.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-02-2024-0045 [Google]
Sachdeva, N., U. Bamel, N. Sondhi, A. K. Rathore and S. Kumar (2025): Crafting collaboration: mapping the landscape of value co-creation through a bibliometric analysis, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, 35(4516), pp.929–950
Purpose – Historically, from a firm-led perspective, value creation has evolved to a more inclusive and collaborative value co-creation (VCC) process. This study systematically reviews the existing literature on VCC, providing a comprehensive understanding of past developments, current knowledge structure and potential for future progress. Design/methodology/approach – About 558 research articles, spanning the last two decades, published in high-quality marketing journals, were analyzed using keyword co-occurrence analysis, an imperative bibliometric technique. The data were retrieved from Scopus (c). Additionally, recent articles were reviewed to identify promising research trajectories. Findings – This paper maps the knowledge structure of VCC literature. Nine major themes emerge as prominent within the literature. The discussion highlights the conceptual richness of VCC literature. Future research directions encompassing four distinct domains and some research queries are presented to guide future theoretical and practical explorations. Practical implications – The present study highlights crucial insights contributing to the VCC literature. From the perspective of the service provider, this study reaffirms the significance of adopting customer-centric approaches and collaborating with customers to navigate the potential challenges of the dynamic business landscape. Originality/value – The study outlines important themes that emerge from previous literature, offering pathways for future research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-02-2024-0040 [Google]
Shi, Y. X., B. Zhang, R. M. Zhang and L. L. Yu (2025): Robot service failure: interaction effect of robot language style and customers’ sense of humor on service failure recovery, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4517), pp.
PurposeThis study examines the interaction effect of service robot language style (rational vs humorous) and customers’ sense of humor on recovery from artificial intelligence (AI) service failure and explores the recovery effects’ mechanisms and boundary conditions.Design/methodology/approachThree experiments corresponding to three situations (airports, restaurants and hotels) and inter-group control experiments were performed. Participants (N = 627) were exposed to robot service failure scenarios with manipulated language styles and responsibility attributions. Hypotheses were tested using ANOVA, moderated mediation analysis and F-tests for the interaction effect.FindingsRational language enhanced satisfaction among low-humor customers by triggering perceived empathy, whereas humorous language was more effective among high-humor customers. Responsibility attribution moderated these effects: attributing failures to service robots (vs employees) strengthened the interaction between language style and sense of humor.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has three limitations: (1) It focuses solely on robots’ linguistic styles (e.g. humor vs rationality), neglecting multimodal behavioral expressions (e.g. facial cues, gestures) that may enhance recovery effectiveness. (2) This study only explored the recovery effects for a single robot humor language type and the general severity of robot service failures. In the future, it is suggested to explore the recovery of robots by increasing the types of humor and different degrees of service failures. (3) Human-robot-customer triadic collaboration is unexplored. Further investigations should address how employee-robot coordination impacts satisfaction and whether human intervention remains critical in AI-driven service contexts.Practical implicationsService companies should use AI technology to evaluate customers’ sense of humor and adopt corresponding language style recovery strategies. Training employees to clarify responsibility boundaries between humans and robots can enhance recovery effectiveness.Originality/valueThis study highlights the importance of matching service robot language style with customer humor in the recovery from robot service failures and verifies the moderating effect of robot failure attribution, which has rarely been studied.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-03-2025-0099 [Google]
Su, Y., T. Y. Long, Z. Jiang and L. J. Zhao (2025): Cutting corner at work? Understanding why and when illegitimate tasks fuel service employees’ expediency, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4518), pp.
PurposeEmployees’ covert and unethical expediency at work is detrimental to the sustainable performance development of service industries. However, the limited understanding of the antecedents of employee expediency complicates efforts to develop effective coping approaches. Leveraging cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, this study aims to examine how illegitimate tasks fuel service employees’ unethical expedient behaviors through the mediating role of workplace anxiety and the moderating role of polychronicity.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted a scenario-based experiment of 232 full-time employees in service organizations and a time-lagged field study of 223 frontline service employees. Hierarchical regression analyses were employed for data analysis.FindingsService employees undertaking more illegitimate tasks experience greater workplace anxiety, which serves as an emotional catalyst for expedient behaviors. Moreover, polychronicity weakens the effect of illegitimate tasks on workplace anxiety as well as the indirect effect of illegitimate tasks on employee expediency via workplace anxiety.Originality/valueGiven the prevalence of illegitimate tasks in service organizations, our study underscores the detriments of illegitimate tasks and advance the growing literature in employee expediency.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-12-2024-0422 [Google]
Suresh, P., V. Chawla and A. Sharma (2025): How do you handle double-deviation complaints on social media? The role of double service recovery strategies, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4519), pp.
PurposeThis paper aims to examine service recovery in the context of double-deviation complaints – that is, cases in which customers experience both a service failure and a poor resolution. In addition, it considers how companies can effectively address such complaints on social media.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 identifies key attributes of service recovery efforts on companies’ social media pages and underlying recovery themes. Study 2 theorizes how these recovery attributes influence negative emotions – such as sadness, anger and disgust – expressed by customers online. It also explores double recovery strategies that can help to reduce these emotions and highlights the role of failure type in shaping effective responses.FindingsStudy 1 reveals that firms’ social media recovery attempts often lack empathy and gratitude, focus on rapid initial responses but have delayed overall resolution and rely on uniform strategies regardless of the failure type. Study 2 shows that for outcome-related failures, negative emotions can be alleviated through timely responses, proactive efforts and effective management of asynchronous conversations.Originality/valueBy analyzing actual social media complaints, this paper offers practical insights into how businesses can craft emotion-specific recovery strategies that improve customer experiences and perceptions during double-deviation incidents.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-10-2024-0363 [Google]
Yadav, H. and R. L. Dhar (2025): Adapt, absorb, or resist? A process model and nested typology of service employee responses to organizational AI adoption, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4520), pp.
Purpose-This study explores how service sector employees perceive, appraise, and cope with the disruptive impacts of organizational AI adoption-an aspect often overshadowed in literature by strategic and technical concerns. Design/methodology/approach-The study proposes an eight-stage process model based on the transactional theory of stress and coping and the conservation of resources theory. It introduces a novel nested 2 3 2 coping typology that categorizes 16 distinct strategies (reactive, preventive, anticipatory, and proactive, further differentiated by active/passive and constructive/destructive dimensions) and defines an appraisal pivot point (APP) as a critical juncture for strategy reassessment. Findings-The findings indicate that employees’ responses to organizational AI adoption are strongly influenced by personal and managerial resources. Diverse evaluations of AI-induced stressors trigger evolving coping strategies, with the APP marking a decisive moment where adjustments lead to 16 unique coping responses. Research limitations/implications-As a conceptual model, its propositions require empirical validation. Future research should test the model across varied industries and cultural settings using longitudinal designs and develop reliable measurement scales for constructs like the APP. Practical implications-The study provides actionable insights for service organizations, guiding the design of targeted HR interventions and leadership strategies. Emphasizing resource replenishment through training, support, and feedback, the model assists in shifting employee behaviors from destructive to constructive coping during AI transitions. Originality/value-The current study contributes to the service literature by proposing a holistic framework that integrates temporal, individual, and organizational dimensions into understanding employees’ perspectives amid AI-driven workplace transformations, thereby bridging a critical gap in current research and offering fresh research directions and practical insights for managing change.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-04-2025-0142 [Google]
Yan, Z., Z. D. Mansor, W. C. Choo, F. F. Liu and X. T. Liu (2025): Nineteen years of research on proactive customer service performance: a meta-analysis, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, (4521), pp.
PurposeThe current research aims to employ a meta-analytic approach to assess the strength and direction of relationships between proactive customer service performance (PCSP) and its key antecedents, along with the moderating role of national cultures (individualism/collectivism, long/short term and masculinity/femininity), measurement and time lag.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from 116 separate studies (total sample = 71,464), a quantitative meta-analysis was conducted, evaluating 23 different antecedents. The antecedents of PCSP were grouped into several domains, including job attitudes, job strains, leader behaviors, performance, family context factor, workplace factors, positive psychological states, emotional labor and individual determinants.FindingsFindings indicated that thriving at work had the strongest influence on PCSP, with mindfulness, service climate, work engagement and transformational leadership also showing strong effects. Moreover, the analysis confirmed that national cultures, measurement and time lag significantly moderated these relationships.Originality/valueThis study represents the first comprehensive meta-analysis in management and organizational behavior research to consolidate and evaluate the associations between PCSP and its antecedents, while also testing the moderating effect of national cultures, measurement and time lag.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-04-2025-0152 [Google]
Yang, J., L. L. Jia, Z. H. Chen, F. Tian, R. M. Gao and Y. Huang (2025): Innovating under pressure: how task crafting and fun activities shape service innovation in tourism employees, JOURNAL OF SERVICE THEORY AND PRACTICE, 35(4522), pp.878–900
Purpose Building upon the job demand-resource theory, this study examines the nonlinear relationship between performance pressure and service innovative behavior (SIB) of frontline employees in the tourism industry. It also explores the mediating role of task crafting and the moderating effect of fun activities.Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 454 supervisor-subordinate dyads in China’s tourism industry across three waves and subsequently analyzed.Findings The results show that (1) performance pressure has a significant inverted U-shaped relationship with both task crafting and employees’ SIB, (2) task crafting mediates the relationship between performance pressure and employees’ SIB, and (3) fun activities moderate the mediating role of task crafting between performance pressure and employees’ SIB.Originality/value The contributions of this study are as follows: (1) Identifying a nonlinear relationship between performance pressure and employees’ SIB in the tourism sector; (2) Highlighting the mediating role of task crafting from a resources perspective; (3) Establishing the boundary conditions of fun activities, extending the theoretical understanding of workplace fun.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-05-2025-0168 [Google]
Abu Elsamen, A., L. D. Hollebeek, S. Alimamy, N. Stylos and W. M. Lim (2025): Customer experience, engagement, and co-creation in augmented reality retail service, SERVICE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL, (4523), pp.
Retailers are increasingly using augmented reality (AR) to enhance the customer experience. This research investigates how AR service experiences contribute to customer co-creation. Two experimental studies using real AR applications and PLS-SEM provide evidence. Study 1, utilizing IKEA Place and WannaKicks, examines whether network externality enhances experience quality and whether customer autonomy influences this effect. Results show that network externality enhances experience quality, but the effect weakens at higher levels of autonomy, indicating that autonomous customers rely less on network cues. Study 2, utilizing Warby Parker and Dulux Visualizer, examines whether experience quality influences co-creation through engagement and whether the need for uniqueness moderates the engagement – co-creation relationship. Findings reveal that engagement fully mediates the effect of experience quality on co-creation, and the need for uniqueness strengthens this link for individual products, but not for shared products. The studies clarify how AR experience mechanisms and customer traits shape co-creation outcomes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2025.2599145 [Google]
Farjas, C., C. Herrando and I. Melero-Polo (2025): Customer experience and chatbots disruption: current landscape and research needs, SERVICE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL, (4524), pp.
Customer experience (CX) has become a key differentiating factor for companies. In the context of the constant evolution of artificial intelligence, CX is undergoing accelerated transformation. In particular, the rise of chatbots adds complexity for firms in understanding CX. Despite the potential of chatbots to provide efficiency for companies and customers, some customers remain skeptical about interactions with chatbots. This underscores an urgent need to understand how chatbots can shape CX. To address this challenge, we conduct a systematic literature review to identify articles that empirically measure CX in the context of chatbots and mapping the current landscape. This is combined with an antecedents, decisions, outcomes framework and a theory, context, methodology model. Our findings identify seven key gaps through the combined use of both methodologies, from which we derive research questions that shape a comprehensive agenda for future studies. Finally, we detail the theoretical and practical implications associated with each of the seven identified gaps.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2025.2575165 [Google]
Han, J. H., J. Han and Y. J. Lee (2025): Avoidance to acceptance: augmented reality infographics for low-acceptance sustainable foods, SERVICE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL, (4525), pp.
This paper investigates the impact of augmented reality (AR) infographics on consumers’ learning and behavioral outcomes related to low-acceptance sustainable foods (e.g. plant-based meat) in foodservice settings, with a focus on the mediating roles of absorption and perceived health and environmental benefits. Grounded in the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, Study 1 found that AR infographics were most effective in enhancing knowledge acquisition and increasing intentions to visit and share information about the foodservice operation, with absorption mediating these effects. Study 2, conducted as a lab experiment, validated the findings of Study 1 and further demonstrated that absorption, along with perceived health and environmental benefits, serially mediated the observed effects. These findings offer valuable implications for marketers and restaurant managers by highlighting the potential of AR infographics to enhance consumer engagement and effectively communicate complex sustainability information related to low-acceptance food products. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(AR)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)((sic)(sic)(sic)(sic))(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(absorption)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) 3 x 1 (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) AR (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic) AR (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2025.2589317 [Google]
Lee, C. T. and Y. C. Shen (2025): Service innovation through generative AI art platforms: the MIND affordances, SERVICE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL, (4526), pp.
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms has revolutionized the creative art industry. Although recent research has explored various aspects of AI, how the unique affordances provided by AI art platforms shape consumer responses remains unclear. To fill this gap, this study draws on the affordance theory to examine how affordances affect user behavior through user empowerment. By analyzing 2747 posts on social media using text mining, we identified four primary affordances of AI art platforms: monetization, ideation, navigation, and demonstration. Further, we surveyed 1477 users of AI art platforms to investigate the effects of these affordances on user outcomes. Utilizing partial structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the results reveal that all four affordances types positively impact user empowerment, which in-turn drives evangelism, stickiness, and AI-enabled productivity. The findings offer useful implications for AI art platform service providers seeking to develop long-term user relationships. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(AI)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)AI (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)2747(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)AI(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic):(sic)(sic)(monetization),(sic)(sic)(ideation),(sic)(sic)(navigation)(sic)(sic)(sic)(demonstration).(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)1477(sic)AI(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(PLS-SEM)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic),(sic)AI(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)AI(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2025.2587593 [Google]
Li, G., Y. X. Wang, H. Y. Zhu and M. J. Zhu (2025): The impact of AI service robots’ cognitive anthropomorphism on consumers’ subjective well-being – a moderated mediation model, SERVICE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL, (4527), pp.
Advancements in artificial intelligence have led to the widespread use of AI service robots across the service industry, significantly enhancing consumers’ subjective well-being. This study integrates means-end chain (MEC) theory and social exchange theory (SET) to develop a framework for understanding the cognitive anthropomorphism of AI service robots and its impact on consumers’ well-being. Data were collected from 264 Chinese participants through a questionnaire survey and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results show that the cognitive anthropomorphism of AI service robots positively influences consumers’ subjective well-being, with perceived intimacy and perceived threat acting as mediators. Additionally, trust is found to positively moderate the mediating effects of both perceived intimacy and perceived threat. This research contributes to our understanding of consumers’ psychological responses to using service robots, enriches the literature on subjective well-being, highlights the crucial role of trust in human-robot interactions, and provides practical recommendations for improving the design of AI service robots.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2025.2592608 [Google]
Rasul, T., W. J. Ladeira, S. H. Jafar, F. D. Santini, J. L. Rice and A. R. Elmelegy (2025): Ethical frontiers of artificial intelligence in services: a comprehensive review, SERVICE INDUSTRIES JOURNAL, (4528), pp.
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in service delivery, ethical concerns around transparency, fairness, surveillance, and accountability have intensified. Despite a growing body of research, studies remain conceptually fragmented and lack a cohesive analytical framework. This study responds to that gap by systematically reviewing 99 peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2025. Guided by the SPAR-4-SLR protocol, the review employed an ethics-weighted vectorization method and cluster analysis to examine how ethical issues are addressed in AI-enabled services. The analysis yielded four thematic clusters: governance focused on preserving human agency, debates on algorithmic justice, challenges of data autonomy and surveillance, and efforts toward building transparent and accountable AI systems. These clusters reflect both overlapping and divergent ethical priorities within the service literature. By mapping the moral structure of the field, the study clarifies dominant theoretical lenses and highlights neglected areas. It also emphasizes the strategic role ethics can play in service innovation, offering actionable insights for managers tasked with balancing automation and human values. Ultimately, this review not only consolidates existing debates but charts a path for more integrative and empirically grounded ethical inquiry in service research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2025.2580243 [Google]
Hubner, A., F. Eng-Larsson and R. Rooderkerk (2025): Call for Papers-Service Science Special Issue on People-Centric Retail and Last-Mile Services, SERVICE SCIENCE, 17(4529), pp.
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Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2025.cfp.v17.n4 [Google]
Li, Q., R. M. Cui and H. Xu (2025): Environmental Responsibility: Impact of Waste-Sorting Regulation on Secondary Market, SERVICE SCIENCE, (4530), pp.
Proper waste disposal in an environmentally friendly manner is crucial for protecting both ecosystems and public health. Among various policy tools, waste-sorting regulations and the growth of secondary markets-where consumers resell used goods-offer promising solutions for more sustainable waste management. However, how such regulations affect secondary markets remains unclear, as user motivations and convenience differ from those in the primary market. In this paper, we address this question through a natural experiment: the 2019 implementation of mandatory waste-sorting regulations in Shanghai. Using data on over 362 million resale listings from a leading online platform, we examine the policy’s impact on both resale listings and purchase volume. We employ the synthetic control method to construct a comparable control group and use difference-in-differences to estimate the policy’s impact. We find no significant change in overall resale listings. However, among environmentally responsible younger users, resale listings decrease by 8.43% and purchase volume declines by 1.95%. The effect is particularly pronounced for easily discarded goods and inactive users. Our findings reveal a trade-off: although regulations encourage responsible disposal, they may also unintentionally discourage reuse.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2025.0077 [Google]
Xiao, Q. Y. and J. E. Kang (2025): Service Bundle Sizing and Pricing for Mobility Services: Incorporating Elastic Demand and Fleet Operations, SERVICE SCIENCE, 17(4531), pp.
The last decade has witnessed the introduction and rapid growth of emerging mobility services. They are expected to further grow in the near future through the aid of developing information and vehicle technologies. With this rapid growth in services and as travelers begin to perceive mobility as a service, offering diverse types of services, such as discounted bundled pricing, may better meet the demand of travelers and, in return, secure demand for providers. In this paper, we formulate a service bundle sizing and pricing problem for mobility services. We account for the well-known travel demand property that reduced cost of travel induces more travel. We also account for trip-based service cost, which comes from complex fleet operations. In the proposed formulation, demand and fleet operations are derived as a function of the decision variables Bundle Sizing and Pricing. This model uses a traveler target mileage probability density function (DTTM-PDF) as an input and derives service bundle choice probability (and therefore, demand) as well as operational metrics. We specify DTTM-PDF and demand increase functions that can describe the data appropriately and also output a convex optimization formulation. A case study of New York City is presented.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2024.0127 [Google]
Xiong, H., Y. J. Chen and L. Hsiao (2025): Product Line Design and Dispatch Strategy on Home Service Platforms, SERVICE SCIENCE, 17(4532), pp.
In recent years, home service platforms have experienced substantial growth. These platforms typically employ commission-based contracts to incentivize suppliers to offer a variety of services to consumers. To maximize profits, platforms must strategically optimize their dispatch strategies, contract design, and product quality decisions. We develop a model to analyze these decisions in an environment in which suppliers differ in service efficiency and consumers vary in their willingness to pay for quality. Consumers with higher (lower) willingness to pay for quality are classified into high (low) segments. When the low segment becomes particularly influential-because of its large population share and relatively high willingness to pay-the platform may find it optimal to induce high-efficiency suppliers to provide low-quality products. This tendency is further amplified when the matching probability for low-quality products is high. Conversely, when the heterogeneity between consumer segments is sufficiently small, the platform prefers to induce high-efficiency suppliers to provide high-quality products, resulting in upward quality distortion for the high segment. In this case, the quality gap between the two offerings increases with the low segment’s willingness to pay for quality.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2024.0151 [Google]
Yang, B., Z. Zhang and X. C. Fan (2025): The Impact of Chapter Progress Bars on Purchase Intention in Video-Based Influencer Marketing: Consumer Impatience Perspective, SERVICE SCIENCE, 17(4533), pp.
The rise of social media has transformed consumer experience in service innovation, particularly in video-based influencer marketing. This study investigates the unintended consequences of chapter progress bars-a widely used interface feature intended to facilitate video navigation-on consumer engagement. Although designed to enhance user experience, progress bars may inadvertently heighten consumer impatience and, in turn, reduce purchase intention. Across five studies, including large-scale behavioral analysis of more than 181,500 real-time user comments and a series of controlled experiments, results show that chapter progress bars increase consumer impatience and lower purchase intention. Furthermore, impatience mediates this relationship, and the effect is moderated by efficiency goals; consumers with stronger efficiency orientations are more sensitive to segmentation cues and exhibit greater impatience and lower engagement, whereas those with lower efficiency orientations are largely unaffected. This research extends the literatures on influencer marketing, consumer impatience, and digital service design by demonstrating how interface features shape consumer psychology and purchase intention. The findings offer practical insights for creators and platform designers, emphasizing the need to balance navigation efficiency with sustained consumer purchase intention in digital content strategies.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2024.0172 [Google]
