Purpose The metaverse represents an emerging service platform offering advanced assistive technologies, accessible settings and opportunities for inclusive participation. It has the potential to significantly enhance the participation, self-expression and engagement of people with disabilities (PWD) in digital service environments. This study aims to address a significant gap in services marketing literature by investigating how desired self-identity (DSI) expression influences PWD’s perceived usefulness of the metaverse platform and perceived advertising value within the service environment and how advertising value as a service touchpoint affects disability acceptance. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was used. Data were gathered through an online survey completed by 437 PWD users of metaverse service platforms in the UK. Findings The findings demonstrate that when PWD achieve DSI expression through brands in the metaverse, they perceive both the service platform as more useful and service-embedded advertising as more valuable. Perceived service usefulness also positively influences perceived advertising value, which, in turn, positively affects disability acceptance. Originality/value This study contributes to services marketing scholarship by extending self-congruity theory into immersive virtual service environments, demonstrating how self-brand congruence mechanisms operate within digital service platforms. By examining the relationships between DSI, perceived service usefulness, advertising value as a service touchpoint and acceptance of disability, it offers new insights into how inclusive service design in virtual environments can enhance well-being for vulnerable consumers. The study advances transformative service research by demonstrating how service experiences, including service-embedded advertising, influence the psychological well-being of PWD.

Purpose Self-service technologies (SSTs) are increasingly prevalent in retail and service environments, but not all customers respond favorably. While some prior work shows that consumer entitlement has a profound impact on human service provider interactions, little is known about the role of entitlement in a service landscape transformed by SSTs. This research aims to investigate consumer entitlement as a novel antecedent to consumers’ perceptions and evaluations of SSTs, proposing that entitled consumers respond more negatively to SSTs because of their greater rejection of customer effort. Design/methodology/approach Five scenario-based experiments were conducted across various retail and service contexts (n = 1,592). The authors tested the mediating effect of rejection of customer effort on responses to SSTs (attitudes, satisfaction and intentions) (Studies 1a–2), and tested effort reduction as a mitigation strategy (Study 3). Findings Consumers higher (vs lower) in entitlement responded more negatively to SSTs due to their greater rejection of customer effort. Emphasizing personalization, control and financial incentives did not attenuate the effect, underscoring the robust influence of entitlement. Instead, reducing customer effort in using an SST attenuated the effect. Originality/value This research extends the entitlement and SST literatures by introducing a novel antecedent of consumers’ responses to SSTs, and proposing rejection of customer effort to explain how entitlement shapes consumers’ experiences in the modern service landscape. It offers managerial insights for designing service technologies that align with consumer expectations while realizing the potential benefits of SST implementation.

Purpose Innovation and sustainability are two important pillars required to achieve competitive advantages. However, it is still unknown how the combined impact of both factors affects business performance. To address this gap, the present work incorporates sustainability-oriented service innovation (SOSI) as a variable to expand the research field in the service sector. The purpose of this study is to analyze value co-creation as an antecedent and innovation and business performance as consequents of SOSI and evaluate the moderating role of sector type, concretely hotels and retail business. Design/methodology/approach To contrast the proposed hypotheses, a quantitative approach was used, and the data were collected from 450 Spanish hotel and retail establishment managers. The data were then analyzed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling to validate the measures and to test the proposed model. Findings The results of this study highlight the important role that SOSI, driven by the positive influence of co-creation of value, plays in innovation performance. Moreover, innovation performance emerges as a driver of business financial and nonfinancial results, which, in turn, play an important role in their financial results. Finally, the findings support the existence of significant differences across sector activity in terms of the effects of value co-creation on SOSI and the impact of nonfinancial results on financial results. Originality/value This research contributes to progress in conceptualizing SOSI and provides empirical evidence that identifies the links between its antecedents and consequences.

Purpose Peer-to-peer (P2P) service platforms often face challenges in aligning customer experience with their brand promises due to the influence of independent service providers. Customer experiences with individual service providers spill over to the evaluation of the platform, affecting its brand image. This conceptual paper aims to propose a differential positioning framework to manage these spillover effects and mitigate brand free-riding, offering a strategic approach to brand management in decentralized P2P services. Design/methodology/approach This study develops a differential positioning framework for platform service providers using a process model with a narrative-based approach. The process model, as a conceptual approach, is more useful for studying complex phenomena, where rich narratives and broader explanations are more valuable than formal, testable propositions. Findings This study highlights brand free-riding on P2P service platforms, where service providers benefit from the platform’s brand equity without proportionally contributing through brand-aligned service delivery. The authors examine how customers’ experiences with service providers spill over to evaluations of the platform brand and identify the underlying mechanisms and key moderators driving this process. Grounded in brand management literature, the authors propose a differential positioning framework that leverages service providers’ alignment with the platform brand to manage spillover effects and mitigate brand free-riding. Originality/value This research adopts a brand-centric perspective to examine how effectively individual service providers deliver the experiential dimensions of a platform’s value proposition. Moving beyond traditional platform governance, this study introduces an actionable framework that proactively manages the platform’s brand image while giving service providers greater flexibility. The framework also fosters value co-creation on P2P service platforms by improving customer–provider matching and reducing uncertainty, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.

Purpose What is the purpose of service research? This call for more human-centric service research argues the ultimate goal of service research should be to benefit consumers and service providers but also humanity and the planet. To achieve this goal, a pluricentric understanding of service research is needed. However, the authors find that the opposite is happening within the service research domain. The rapid development of large language models (LLM), colloquially known as artificial intelligence (AI), has ushered in a surge in service research, and research overall, into AI and AI usage alongside wider research into service robots and technology. Design/methodology/approach The authors conceptualize the importance of human-centric services. In particular, the authors focus on services with humans as the central actors as well as services with humans as beneficiaries and further introduce 11 key areas for service research. Findings The authors recognize the relevance of this research but call for the importance of diversified service research for the academic service field to remain relevant. Although AI is an important and relevant topic, the field of service research benefits from diverse and broad service research of which AI is one important part, but not the only one. Seeing a rapidly increasing tendency of research into AI dominating service research at the expense of other research topics, the authors highlight the importance of human-centric service research. Originality/value To advance a human-centric research approach, the authors introduce and develop 11 research avenues for future service research and develop how each of the articles in this special issue contribute to that goal.

Purpose This 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/approach By 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. Findings This 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/implications Becoming 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 implications This 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 implications This 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/value While 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.

Purpose The 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/approach Drawing 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. Findings This 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/implications This viewpoint proposes a research agenda to stimulate more theoretical and empirical service research on GBX design in third places. Practical implications This 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 implications Designing and managing GBXs in physical third places can reduce social tensions and age-related stereotypes, and increase mutual trust. Originality/value This 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.

Purpose Research 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/approach The 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. Findings Romantic 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 implications The 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/value This 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.

Purpose This study aims to explore the implementation of contemplative mindfulness, rooted in Eastern traditions, in service-oriented firms. It examines how employees’ mindfulness practices impact key service outcomes, including service creativity performance and adaptive behavior in service offerings, which have been underexplored in prior research. Design/methodology/approach This study examines 282 service firms using 565 questionnaires. It uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to explore the relationship between contemplative mindfulness practices and service performance-related variables. Findings This study reveals that a heightened presence of practices related to mind and memory, present-moment awareness and right effort is indispensable for achieving higher levels of service creativity performance. In addition, this study identifies that present-moment awareness and attention practices, along with the right effort, are necessary for facilitating adaptive behavior in service offerings. Furthermore, this study highlights that clear comprehension practices and ethical viewpoints are peripheral conditions that influence both service creativity performance and adaptive behavior in service offerings. Research limitations/implications The study’s focus on 282 firms and its specific survey methodology limit the generalizability of the findings to other industries. Practical implications Firms seeking to boost service creativity and adaptability should acknowledge the crucial role of contemplative mindfulness practices practiced by employees in service settings and actively promote awareness of their numerous benefits for staff. Originality/value This study adds to the existing literature on service management by going beyond Western-centric mindfulness ideas to examine contemplative mindfulness. It also creates a practical framework for applying contemplative mindfulness practices in service firms.

Purpose This paper aims to enhance the understanding of circular service innovation through a practice theory perspective. It addresses the following research question: How can circular service innovation be understood and conceptualised using a practice theory-based approach? Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a six-year longitudinal analysis of the service Refill’s development within a larger ecosystem involving multiple actors, including the focal firm, customers, distributors and designers. Findings This paper identifies the value co-creation practices (VCPs) underpinning both the circular Refill service and the linear service it replaces, detailing their transformation in the shift from linear to circular. This transition is driven by changes in the elements that organise practices – procedures, understandings, engagements and materials – and is captured in a theoretically grounded typology of circular VCPs: regenerative making, adaptive providing, looped exchanging and stewardly using. Research limitations/implications The proposed framework contributes to the literature by illustrating circular service innovation as a transformation of VCPs. It further highlights the role of organising elements in shaping these innovations. Practical implications This paper provides managers with a blueprint for how circular service innovation involves the transformation of VCPs. Furthermore, the proposed framework highlights the need to redefine the organising elements of VCPs to achieve circularity, including engagements, understandings, procedures and materials. Originality/value This paper offers an original contribution by conceptualising circular service innovation through the lens of practice theory, articulated in a dedicated framework.