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Understanding vulnerable consumers when conducting Transformative Service Research (TSR) is essential but these consumers and their contexts are often complex and difficult to research. Despite a movement towards TSR methodologies suitable for studying vulnerable participants and their contexts, a comprehensive framework that can guide service researchers is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to investigate appropriate methods, procedures, and protocols that permit researching a wide range of vulnerable groups and exposures to vulnerable situations in TSR. This is undertaken via a review of the literature and the authors’ reflections of their experiences with researching vulnerability in various configurations (e.g., disasters, refugees, healthcare, disability, and older people). Through an iterative process of personal case reflections and group discussions blended with extant literature, patterns and insights regarding appropriate research protocols, techniques, processes, and sampling are identified. These insights contribute to the development of a comprehensive TSR framework in five research method areas including 1) consideration of the context, researcher, support persons and participants, 2) recruitment considerations relating to sampling, 3) recruitment considerations in terms of ethics and set-up, 4) data collection considerations relating to research protocol and set-up, and 5) data collection considerations. The framework can guide both academics and practitioners to enhance research outcomes for both participants and researchers.

Actors increasingly engage in service ecosystems where multiple other actors can be present and influence value co-creation. Comprehending such contexts has gained importance in research, but remains an emerging field of study due to the complexity of such multi-actor encounters. To unpack this complexity, we add to extant research and establish novel actor engagement foundations to explicate value co-creation in multi-actor service ecosystems. Our research informs on value co-creation at a meta-theoretical level utilizing the explanatory power of mid-range theory. We suggest that actor pre-disposition (propensity to engage) differs from actor disposition (readiness to engage) outlined in more recent engagement literature. To achieve this, we apply a longitudinal study design and use an established, yet in business research largely neglected, measurement from organizational psychology. This paper uncovers a novel dynamic perspective on these pre-dispositions prior to and during resource investment throughout focal multi-actor engagement activities.

Purpose This study aims to systematically review and conceptualise service-related research on refugees to identify gaps in the literature, derive future research avenues and stimulate interdisciplinary research and practice to improve well-being of refugees. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a systematic literature review (SLR) of 102 journal articles published or available online from 2010 to 2020. Findings Ten themes are identified across the three phases of the refugees’ service journey (entry, transition and exit). Most of the articles focus on the exit phase. One-third of the literature analyses refugees’ access and adaptation to health-care services. The dearth of research on other refugee services reflects the failure to attend to all aspects of service provision across all phases of the refugee service journey. Research limitations/implications While the ten themes across the three phases require scholars’ and practitioners’ attention, different aspects of the SLR’s findings necessitate further investigation. To reinvigorate research and practice, and stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration, a novel Communities of Practice approach is suggested. Practical implications Practitioners and policymakers should place more focus on the entry and transition phases of the refugee service journey. Social implications Lack of research and engagement with the first two phases of the refugee journey might come at the expense of refugees. More service support is needed to buffer the journey from homeland to host country. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this SLR on refugee-related services is the first of its kind from a service research perspective.

Purpose The pandemic has accelerated the use of virtual learning spaces and led to rethinking post-pandemic course delivery. However, it remains unclear whether students’ online engagement in e-servicescapes can influence attachment to a place, i.e. a physical servicescape. This study conducted an exploratory study to inform place attachment and actor engagement literature in an online service context. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative survey design was used and 98 usable responses were collected from undergraduate and postgraduate students at a major New Zealand university during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The questionnaire consisted of 23 items relating to three dimensions of online student engagement and 19 items referring to six dimensions of campus attachment. Findings Results of the exploratory study indicate that classmate community in online lectures, referring to student–student interactions, can positively influence five of the dimensions of campus attachment, including place identity, place dependence, affective attachment, social bonding and place memory, even though students are physically not on campus. However, it cannot influence place expectation. Moreover, instructor community (student–instructor interaction) and learning engagement (student–content interaction) in online lectures have insignificant impact on campus attachment. Research limitations/implications This study emphasises the social dimension when interacting in e-servicescapes. Person-based interactions are more influential than content-based interactions for student engagement. Educational service providers should integrate the e-servicescape and the physical servicescape by encouraging more student–student interactions to contribute to service ecosystem well-being at the micro, meso and macro levels. Originality/value This study indicates that customer-to-customer interaction serves to integrate customer engagement across the digital and physical realms for process-based services like education.

Service exchange among actors and the notion of reciprocity have gained momentum in service research. However, reciprocity’s underlying facets and nature have been neglected. Drawing on a tribal notion of dynamic reciprocity facilitates the understanding of contemporary service interactions in service ecosystems. We explore reciprocity’s tribal elements of repayment, retaliation and restorative justice. This tribal view of reciprocity is also linked to relational and regenerative wellbeing. We derive a conceptual framework for service ecosystems research and practice. An expanded view of reciprocity for service exchanges within and across system levels is required to facilitate regenerative service ecosystem wellbeing.

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether the antecedents of co-creation influence braggart word-of-mouth (WoM) in a participative leisure context, theorising the concept of co-created food well-being and highlighting implications for interactive experience co-design. Design/methodology/approach A sequential mixed-method approach was used to test a theoretical model; 25 in-depth interviews with cooking class participants were conducted, followed by a post-experience survey (n = 575). Findings Qualitative results suggest braggart WoM is rooted in active consumer participation in co-designing leisure experiences. The structural model confirms that participation in value co-creating activities (i.e. co-design, customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction), alongside perceived support from service providers, increases consumer perceptions of co-creation and stimulates braggart WoM. Degree of co-creation and support from peers mediate some relationships. Research limitations/implications Limited by cross-sectional data from one experiential consumption format, the results nevertheless demonstrate the role of active participation in co-design and C2C interactions during value co-creation. This implies that co-created and co-designed leisure experiences can intensify post-consumption behaviours and potentially enhance food well-being. Practical implications The results highlight that integrating customer participation into service design, while also developing opportunities for peer support on-site, can stimulate braggart WoM. Originality/value Extends burgeoning literature on co-creation and co-design in leisure services. By encouraging active customer participation while providing support and facilitating C2C interactions, service providers can enhance value co-creation, influencing customer experiences and food well-being. Accordingly, the concept of co-created food well-being is introduced.

The global refugee crisis is a complex humanitarian problem. Service researchers can assist in solving this crisis because refugees are immersed in complex human service systems. Drawing on marketing, sociology, transformative service, and consumer research literature, this study develops a Transformative Refugee Service Experience Framework to enable researchers, service actors, and public policy makers to navigate the challenges faced throughout a refugee’s service journey. The primary dimensions of this framework encompass the spectrum from hostile to hospitable refugee service systems and the resulting suffering or well-being in refugees’ experiences. The authors conceptualize this at three refugee service journey phases (entry, transition, and exit) and at three refugee service system levels (macro, meso, and micro) of analysis. The framework is supported by brief examples from a range of service-related refugee contexts as well as a Web Appendix with additional cases. Moreover, the authors derive a comprehensive research agenda from the framework, with detailed research questions for public policy and (service) marketing researchers. Managerial directions are provided to increase awareness of refugee service problems; stimulate productive interactions; and improve collaboration among public and nonprofit organizations, private service providers, and refugees. Finally, this work provides a vision for creating hospitable refugee service systems.

This special section is entitled “Services Marketing for Impact”, a title that corresponds with the ANZMAC 2017 conference theme of “Marketing for Impact”. In their call for papers, the conference co-chairs had raised the issue that marketing academics are asked to explain the value of their work and how it contributes to society and the people they serve, from consumers through to corporations and governments (Robinson, 2017). Academics were encouraged to showcase research that emphasised the “so what” question and “to reflect on how the marketing discipline can contribute with research that is truly ‘cutting edge’ and leading conversations and societal change” (Robinson et al., 2017, p. 5).

PurposeThe overarching goal of this paper is to increase awareness among researchers and practitioners that refugees are disproportionally impacted by COVID-19, which increases their suffering. Second, it extends a recently introduced transformative refugee service experience framework by integrating and conceptualizing refugees' resource and service inclusion during a pandemic. Third, it explores lessons learned and implications from the COVID-19 pandemic for the future of service research and practice.Design/methodology/approachThis study synthesizes approaches on refugees, resources and transformative service research to develop an extended framework for addressing one of society's pressing issues during and after pandemics.FindingsRecognizing refugees as providing resources rather than just needing or depleting resources can enable more inclusion. It facilitates refugees' integration into society by drawing on their skills and knowledge. This requires hospitable refugee service systems that enable service inclusion and opportunities for refugee resource integration.Research limitations/implicationsThis article focuses on one vulnerable group in society. However, the extended framework presented warrants broader application to other contexts, such as subsistence marketplaces.Practical implicationsManagers of service businesses and public policymakers should create more inclusive and hospitable service systems for refugees. This may result in redesigning services, changing consumer behavior and reformulating public policy.Social implicationsBetter inclusion and integration of refugees and their resources should increase their individual well-being, reduce social issues in society, increase overall societal well-being and productivity.Originality/valueThis article presents a novel extended framework for service scholars and service providers to increase resource and service inclusion of refugees in a disaster context.

This article conceptualizes social distancing in the wake of disasters, such as pandemics, which affect the way actors perceive themselves in relation to the world around them. It advances that soc...

PurposeThis article explores the impact of crises, such as the coronavirus pandemic, on service industries, service customers, and the service research community. It contextualizes pandemics in the realm of disasters and crises, and how they influence actors' well-being across the different levels of the service ecosystem. The paper introduces a resources–challenges equilibrium (RCE) framework across system levels to facilitate service ecosystem well-being and outlines a research agenda for service scholars.Design/methodology/approachLiterature on disasters, crises, service and well-being is synthesized to embed the COVID-19 pandemic in these bodies of work. The material is then distilled to introduce the novel RCE framework for service ecosystems, and points of departure for researchers are developed.FindingsA service ecosystems view of well-being co-creation entails a dynamic interplay of actors' challenges faced and resource pools available at the different system levels.Research limitations/implicationsService scholars are called to action to conduct timely and relevant research on pandemics and other crises, that affect service industry, service customers, and society at large. This conceptual paper focuses on service industries and service research and therefore excludes other industries and research domains.Practical implicationsManagers of service businesses as well as heads of governmental agencies and policy makers require an understanding of the interdependence of the different system levels and the challenges faced versus the resources available to each individual actor as well as to communities and organizations.Social implicationsDisasters can change the social as well as the service-related fabric of society and industry. New behaviors have to be learned and new processes put in place for society to maintain well-being and for service industry's survival.Originality/valueThis paper fuses the coronavirus pandemic with service and well-being research, introduces a resources-challenges equilibrium framework for service ecosystem well-being and outlines a research agenda.

PurposePeople are responsible for their wellbeing, yet whether they take ownership of their own or even others' wellbeing might vary from actor to actor. Such psychological ownership (PO) influences the dynamics of how wellbeing is co-created, particularly amongst actors, and ultimately determines actors' subjective wellbeing. The paper's research objective pertains to explicating the concept of the co-creation of wellbeing and conceptualizing the dynamics inherent to the co-creation of wellbeing with consideration of the influences of all involved actors from a PO perspective.Design/methodology/approachTo provide a new conceptualization and framework for the dynamics of wellbeing co-creation, this research synthesizes wellbeing, PO and value co-creation literature. Four healthcare cases serve to illustrate the effects of engaged actors' PO on the co-creation of wellbeing.FindingsThe derived conceptual framework of dynamic co-creation of wellbeing suggests four main propositions: (1) the focal actor's wellbeing state is the intangible target of the focal actor's and other engaged actors' PO, transformed throughout the process of wellbeing co-creation, (2) PO over the focal actor's wellbeing state is subject to the three interrelated routes of exercising control, investing in the target, and intimately knowing the target, which determine the instigation of wellbeing co-creation, (3) the level of PO over the focal actor's wellbeing state can vary, influence and be influenced by the extent of wellbeing co-creation, (4) the co-creation of wellbeing, evoked by PO, is founded on resource integration, which influences the resources–challenges equilibrium of focal actor and of all other engaged actors, affecting individual subjective wellbeing.Originality/valueThis article provides a novel conceptual framework that can shed new light on the co-creation of wellbeing in service research. Through the introduction of PO the transformation of lives and wellbeing can be better understood.

The arts are labelled an important driver of value co-creation. Research suggests that businesses can translate the arts into action using the potency of art forms. Film is one of these art forms available to businesses that are willing to draw value from employing arts-based initiatives and approaches. Film as an art form, as well as its technological evolution, is opening up new perspectives for the service industry, also for designing and managing services. The technique of service blueprinting, developed in the 1980s, has since been applied and improved. Nevertheless, the conventional service blueprinting technique does not properly capture and visualise the customer's service experience. To date, the art form and medium of film has not been suitably conceptualised and integrated into the method of blueprinting of service experiences. This conceptual paper addresses this gap and showcases how digital film can be used for the development of a film-based service experience blueprinting technique to make service issues more comprehensible and service redesign more customer focused.

Employing a qualitative approach, within the context of Generation Y consumers, this research investigates the internal justification processes used by consumers contemplating to forgive a celebrity who has transgressed society’s norms of acceptable behaviour. A thematic analysis of data from in-depth interviews identified nine emergent categories, grouped into four themes or core drivers: celebrity-related drivers, consumer-related drivers, context-related drivers and time-related drivers. The findings show that although there is generally no personal relationship between consumers and celebrities, consumers tend to bond with celebrities in para-social relationships. Many consumers see these relationships as similar to how they connect with friends thus leading them to show forgiveness tendencies towards a celebrity comparable to forgiving friends. The paper presents a conceptual framework highlighting the consumer’s forgiveness justification process.

Purpose This study aims to understand the engagement between an indigenous social service provider and marginalised clients deemed “hard-to-reach” to gain an insight into how to improve the client’s engagement and well-being through transformative value co-creation. Design/methodology/approach The exploratory study’s findings draw on primary data employing a qualitative research approach through document analysis and in-depth interviews with clients, social workers and stakeholders of the focal social service provider in New Zealand. Findings The findings indicate that there are inhibitors and enablers of value or well-being co-creation. The lack of client resources and a mismatch between client and social worker are primary barriers. Other actors as well as cultural practices are identified as enablers of well-being improvement. Research limitations/implications This research reports on a single social service provider and its clients. These findings may not be readily transferrable to other contexts. Practical implications Findings indicate that social service providers require a heightened awareness of the inhibitors and enablers of social service co-creation. Social implications Both the integrative framework and the findings provide a sound critique of the prevailing policy discourse surrounding the stigmatisation of members of society deemed “hard-to-reach” and the usefulness of such an approach when aiming at resolving social issues. Originality/value This is the first exploratory study that reports on the engagement between a social service provider and its clients in a dedicated Māori (indigenous) context by employing an integrative research approach combining transformative service research, activity theory and engagement theory.

Service provision is an integral part of hosting refugees. However, the service scholar community has remained rather dormant in regard to focusing on refugee issues. This is indeed surprising given international refugee influx is today one of the more pressing issues for developing and developed countries alike. This research note aims to identify the demands on countries’ “service ecosystems” after an influx of migrants arrives in a country, and suggests research avenues for scholars. Resolving service related issues can assist practitioners and government bodies in how to better design and manage the interface between refugees and the new (service) ecosystems these actors have entered when reaching a host country. Therefore, this research note outlines the challenges of such refugee in- or through flux relating to service provision by focusing on the incoming actors (refugees) as well as the resident actors (locals, service providers, government bodies etc.). Repercussions as well as the subsequent agenda for inquiry for service scholars outlined refer to the various system levels from micro to macro, such as on individual, family, city, regional, state and national level, but also outside the system on an international level.

In recent years, discussion surrounding the construct of customer engagement in service research has gained significant attention from academics and practitioners alike. The discussion of engagement, an important topic for service research, has focused on the customer, neglecting the roles of other actors, such as employees, who can play a large part in the value co-creation process. This paper is a call-to-action for academics to include a 360-degree view of engagement into the service research discourse. The employment of a service ecosystems perspective is suggested to include engagement from an actor-to-actor perspective. The objective is to focus on all actors who intend to participate, already actively participate in, or actors who are disengaged from the value co-creation process in such systems.

Previous research has focused on place attachment in regular structural contexts and conditions. However, little attention has been paid to exploring place attachment and post-disaster scenarios. In particular, whether place attachment is maintained in the aftermath of an environmental jolt which destroys or damages the built and natural environment that individuals might have developed an attachment to is an understudied area. The city of Christchurch in New Zealand suffered two major earthquakes in September 2010 and February 2011 causing significant damage to large parts of the city’s retail, commercial and residential precincts as well as to residents’ dwellings. This post-earthquake scenario provides a suitable environment to study the research question whether citizen-consumers show signs of place attachment whilst or despite the fact that they have been dealing with a natural disaster. Analysis of a random sample of post-earthquake video interviews from the years 2011 and 2012 with citizen-consumers was undertaken. Preliminary results indicate that despite the fact that the impact of the earthquakes is at the forefront of citizen-consumers’ narrative, interwoven with this, an attachment to place is visible in respondents’ stories. Relating to six place attachment dimensions put forward in literature, citizen-consumers’ stories resonate with all six of them. The findings have implications for city councils, city managers and business owners in regard to maintaining attraction to the city as well as attracting new residents.

A number of services within society are designed to improve the well-being of its members and transform lives. Some services focus on the protection and support of vulnerable members of society, for example, those suffering the effects of drug use, mental health conditions, violence or poverty. Clients of such social services may also come from minority or marginalised cultural backgrounds. Typically, social services aim to reduce disparities and enhance individual and population well-being. A major challenge for social policy-makers and social service providers is to establish and maintain constructive engagement between the social services and those they are intended to serve. Some of these vulnerable clients are deemed ‘hard-to-reach’ (HTR) by policy-makers and service providers. Yet, the transformation of lives requires the involvement of the focal actor (client) and their service or activity system, as well as the engagement of other actors, such as the social worker embedded in their service or activity system. This paper aims to further unpack a novel approach, called integrative transformative service framework. This contribution extends its conceptualisation which fuses mainly three different approaches, namely Transformative Service Research (TSR), (Cultural-Historical) Activity Theory (CHAT) and (Regulatory) Engagement Theory (RET).

Loyalty reward schemes often have their own currency, for example, frequent flyer miles, which is a form of near money or quasi money. In a variation of earlier work by Snelders et al. (1992) , when examining both New Zealand (Study 1) and Hong Kong (Study 2) residents, respondents provided typicality ratings, similarity ratings, and answers and reaction times to the question “Is X a type of money?” for examples of money, near money and objects of value. The results from both studies showed that near money is conceptualised in a way that is like but distinct from legal tender. Two further studies investigated implications of this conceptualisation. Study 3 found that preferences for spending near money were influenced by the ostensible purpose of the currency, and Study 4 showed that near money seemed to be placed outside of regular legal tender mental accounts.

This paper takes a closer look at the emerging topic of transformative service research (TSR) and compares its facets with the more established concept of the service-dominant logic (SDL). The paper thus contributes to both theory development and practical application. This work highlights the conceptual parallels in the two approaches, for example, their holistic approach, their systems thinking, addressing entities or actors within such system(s), inclusion of the wider environment, and their focus on the co-creative and interactive nature of well-being generation and value co-creation. The paper also reveals some differences, for example TSR’s focus on eudaimonic and hedonic well-being outcomes vs. SDL’s value co-creation. The paper concludes that both perspectives have merits, but could benefit from being used integratively. By comparing the areas of theory focus, practical application, value co-creation and co-destruction, intentionality, well-being and value concepts, and TSR and SDL’s “logic”, the paper provides suggestions for future research.

In recent years, the service discipline has seen the emergence of a number of novel conceptual approaches, one in particular, called Transformative Service Research (TSR) focuses on wellbeing improvement and relieving suffering through service. However, service related wellbeing efforts can have both intended but also unintended consequences when aiming at co-creating value with individuals, communities or society at large. Nevertheless, academic debate lacks clarity regarding the effects of the directedness of service exchange and the outcome of transformative service in regard to, but also beyond, the focal actors involved. Directedness of service co-creation is closely related to the construct of intentionality. This conceptual paper aims to untangle this pivotal construct to comprehend actors’ intended co-creative wellbeing efforts to alleviate suffering of other actors, and it pays attention to potential unintended side effects. The paper synthesizes literature from philosophy and psychology relating to the construct of intentionality and applies it to wellbeing co-creation and co-destruction. Illustrative scenarios are used to support the lines of argument. The paper demonstrates how applying the literature on intentionality to transformative service contexts can assist in bringing greater transparency to the discussion of the directedness of service related wellbeing efforts and potential spill-over effects. When designing transformative services to improve wellbeing, service providers are urged to develop an awareness regarding their services and potential side effects. Likewise, policymakers responsible for devising, revising and (re-)implementing healthcare and social policies should consider such potential spill-over effects when formulating public policy guidelines. Equally, service scholars should integrate the construct of intentionality in any discussion of service-to-service exchange. This paper is amongst the first to draw on the concept of intentionality and introduces it to service research in the context of wellbeing co-creation.

This paper explores an agenda for consumer behaviour research as it relates to tribal consumerism. It is argued that while the international consumer behaviour research field is inspired by Indigenous knowledges, the quality of research will be relatively poor and unconvincing unless Indigenous researchers and voices make their way into those conversations. We argue for greater plurality through Indigenous participation in consumer behaviour research, and we challenge business schools to realise their accountability.

Previous research has extended scholars’ focus on place attachment and the servicescape as the physical service setting. However, very little attention has been paid to exploring the temporal dimension in connection with attachment and servicescapes. In particular, how place attachment is maintained during the transition phase between the removal of, or disruption to, one permanent servicescape and the reestablishment of its replacement. For example, the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, suffered two major earthquakes in September 2010 and February 2011 causing significant damage to and the subsequent removal of large parts of the city’s retail, commercial and residential precincts. Six years on Christchurch is still undergoing an extensive rebuilding process. Because of the magnitude of destruction, especially in the CBD, and the logistics of clearing damaged buildings, designing, planning and funding new works have meant that only now a new permanent city is emerging. This rebuilding process created numerous blocks of vacant land on which entrepreneurs set up businesses either as individual temporary servicescapes or part of larger precinct-based transitional servicescapes that contained a collection of individual businesses, events and/or installations. This post-earthquake scenario provides a suitable study environment in regard to the time perspective of servicescapes and how residents maintain, build or rebuild their attachment to place during this temporary or transitional period. Aligned with such an extensive rebuilding programme is the notion that attachment occurs at differing levels of servicescape, whether this is at the individual retail or service store level or the greater precinct or city level. In these transitional phases, place attachment at one level may leverage or be leveraged by the servicescapes of another level. Scholars in environmental psychology have attempted to conceptualise, understand and measure place attachment to interpret the individual–individual, individual–community and individual–place bonding for a specific place scale (e.g., Kyle et al. 2005). The majority of such research focuses on a medium-range place scale such as neighbourhood or community. In this paper we review the literature on servicescapes and place attachment and apply it to the transitional and reconstructed city of Christchurch in order to derive an understanding of the ability of temporary or transitional spaces to maintain place attachment even when the original servicescapes have been destroyed.

PurposeClassical socio‐demographic segmentation approaches of tourists mostly fail to cluster customer groups appropriately. More recent segmentation approaches have employed a more customer‐centric perspective, attempting to capture consumer behavioral patterns. Within such segmentation, one very promising approach examines the activities pursued by tourists. This research aims to identify activity patterns of outbound travelers for segmentation and ultimately to recognize experiential consumption spheres created by tourists at a destination.Design/methodology/approachThis paper applies a posteriori, data‐driven, activity‐based segmentation to outbound travelers.FindingsThe present study identifies six activity‐based clusters: average short‐haul holiday experiences (Cluster 1); short repeat healthy winter experiences (Cluster 2); new beach experiences (Cluster 3); short social encounter experiences (Cluster 4); new place experiences (Cluster 5); and seniors' new place experiences (Cluster 6).Originality/valueThis research is unlike many other studies that apply segmentation to inbound travelers. The authors' approach analyzes outbound travelers and is based on the notion that activities are the basis of the experiential consumption of consumers and the idea that customers co‐create experiences in so‐called experiential consumption spheres during activity‐based encounters with service providers at a destination.

This chapter explores a research that examines the impact of the 2010 2011 Canterbury earthquakes on cultural service providers in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It elucidates the impact of the earthquakes on cultural heritage visitation; the post-quake representation of cultural and heritage sites, features and activities; and the implementation of substitute cultural and heritage attractions. These investigations provide knowledge about substitute heritage attractions and alternative ways to encourage visitation in this post-disaster context. The notion of substitute attractions represents a key component of the Tourism Disaster Management Framework developed by Faulkner B and Vikulov S, in which the use of substitute elements helps to ensure the long-term survival of cultural and heritage service providers, particularly during the transitional post-disaster recovery context. The role of cultural and heritage services in improving community resilience has been recognised, there is relatively limited knowledge of the effect of disasters on cultural service providers and their response strategies.

Imagine you are in a restaurant and your experience is either enhanced or diminished by the behavior of other customers within the same environment. To whom do you attribute your experience? When things go well the enjoyment of other customers creates or enhances a positive atmosphere within environment (Grayson and McNiell 2009; Yoshida and James 2010) and may increase the value a customer places on the service experience. The positive atmosphere and enhanced value the customer experiences is likely to be reflected in positive attitudes and feelings toward the firm and result in positive repurchase intentions (Tombs and McColl-Kennedy 2013) and positive word-of-mouth (Hooper et al. 2013). However, if other customers’ behavior is incompatible with the particular service or creates any sort of negative event, then the value the customer attaches to the service experience decreases (Tombs and McColl-Kennedy 2013) and often results in customers not wanting to go back to that establishment. Even worse than that they are likely to indulge in negative word-of-mouth (Huang et al. 2010) therefore dissuading others from going. These approach or avoidance behaviors are often the result of customers perceiving that the atmosphere of the service environment and subsequent enjoyable or dissatisfactory experiences are reflective of the overall service experience provided by the organization. This chapter examines the responses of customers when exposed the positive or negative behavior of other customers. Specifically it applies Attribution Theory (Weiner 1980, 1986) to explain how customers allocate blame for having their experience within a service environment disturbed (either positively or negatively) and what this blame does to service evaluations and repurchase intentions. We report on a qualitative study of regular restaurant patrons. The findings revealed that the attribution of blame for a disrupted service experience will vary, i.e., to the perpetrators (other customers), the organization and its staff, or even to the affected customer, depending on such factors as controllability, and perceived stability. These factors may be more stable and better predictors of customers’ reactions to disruption than the apparently shifting locus of causality. Conversely positive behavior of other customers appeared to be attributed not to the other customers but to the firm itself. This may be because when a customer is in a positive mood they perceive the elements of the servicescape are in harmony and as such look at the service environment more holistically. Whereas the disturbance caused by other customers may produce conflicting signals from the servicescape (positive things the firm does to attract the customer in the first place and the negative actions of others within that same environment) thus causing customers to be more analytical in an effort to resolve these apparent conflicts.References available upon request.

Over the last 30 plus years a vast body of literature has been built around the concept of consumption communities, as a way of understanding consumer interactions and behaviour beyond the firm/customer interface. Considering the ubiquity of the internet and hence consumers’ ability to connect with users of any product or service well beyond their immediate location, knowledge of consumption communities has never been more pressing. The ability for customers to interconnect without traditional geographic constraints or even the influence of the firm has major implications relating to customer-to-customer co-creation, re-configuration of value propositions to allow for individualisation, and at times co-destruction of value. Despite the many terms used to describe consumption communities they all appear to be based on the premise that groups of consumers interact to share enthusiasm for and develop knowledge of a particular consumption related activity. One term that appears to have prevailed in the literature over recent years and has been applied to a variety of contexts it that of the tribe.

One can assume that there is most likely not a single person in the western world who has not been to a cinema, nor seen a trailer for a film to be released. This paper discusses consumer expectation influencers of film content and quality based on exploratory qualitative research using the screening of film trailers in New Zealand. The results show that the actors are the greatest influencers on film quality expectations, whilst genre has the greatest influence on film content expectations. This research underlines that whilst film marketers unlike film makers usually have no input in choosing actors, director or genre, they have the power to mediate how these are exposed to consumers in film trailers.

Research has increasingly focused on investigating not only interactions between companies and customers in business-to-consumer settings, but also on analysing the influence of accidental or occasional customer-to-customer interactions on the service experience. To date, there has been little research on the effects of planned co-creation efforts of customers in service encounters – where multiple customers simultaneously engage in producing and consuming a service experience. During such encounters, each customer's contribution to tasks related to creating the service experience can be analysed in terms of its influence on social dynamics within the group. Drawing on a sample of 249 customers who have experienced a group service encounter, we demonstrate that customer engagement in the group task has a positive influence on perceived customer-to-customer social interaction. We also show how the perceived task contribution of other customers significantly influences an individual's perception of their ow...

PurposeThis paper aims to demonstrate how psychological safety influences individual contributions in customer groups where multiple customers co‐create a service experience. It also shows the influence of other customers' contributions on an individual customer's own contribution to the service experience as well as the individual customer's perception of his/her own and of other customers' contributions toward service satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical research paper is based on structural equation modelling to examine customer group experiences of two different service providers, a white water rafting company and an indoor soccer company. Data from a survey of a combined total of 273 consumers were utilised to test the research model.FindingsThe results demonstrate that, on an aggregate level, psychological safety affects an individual customer's perception of his/her own and others' contributions to a service experience. The findings show that the contributions of others have a significant influence on one's own contribution. No influence or relationship could be found regarding one's own contribution and service satisfaction; however, other customers' contributions have a negative effect on an individual's service satisfaction. The results vary on a subsample level.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalisability of the findings is limited to two customer group services, one group sport experience and one group leisure experience.Practical implicationsThis research provides insights for service firms with respect to managing the provider‐to‐multi‐customer co‐creation interface.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the analysis of co‐creation efforts of individuals in groups with respect to a specific environment (psychological safety). It adds value to the discussion of factors that influence the partial creation of a service by individuals while interacting with one another and the impact on the perceived outcome. The paper provides a platform for further research on aspects of co‐creation in customer groups.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of service quality for settings where several customers are involved in the joint creation and consumption of a service. The approach is to provide first insights into the implications of a simultaneous multi‐customer integration on service quality.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper undertakes a thorough review of the relevant literature before developing a conceptual model regarding service co‐creation and service quality in customer groups.FindingsGroup service encounters must be set up carefully to account for the dynamics (social activity) in a customer group and skill set and capabilities (task activity) of each of the individual participants involved in a group service experience.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should undertake empirical studies to validate and/or modify the suggested model presented in this contribution.Practical implicationsManagers of service firms should be made aware of the implications and the underlying factors of group services in order to create and manage a group experience successfully. Particular attention should be given to those factors that can be influenced by service providers in managing encounters with multiple customers.Originality/valueThis article introduces a new conceptual approach for service encounters with groups of customers in a proposed service quality model. In particular, the paper focuses on integrating the impact of customers' co‐creation activities on service quality in a multiple‐actor model.

International audience; Businesses in various consumer service industries have begun to unbundle their service offerings by introducing numerous fees for products and services that were previously provided as "free." Anecdotal evidence in the media indicates that these fees cause widespread public displeasure, frustration, and outrage. This paper develops a framework of fee acceptability, negative emotions, and dysfunctional customer behavior, which is tested using data from the airline industry. Findings identify the strongest effects on betrayal in the case of baggage fees, followed by charges for comfort. Also, betrayal has a direct effect on complaining, whereas anger mediates the relationship between betrayal and negative word of mouth.

This conceptual opening piece was peer reviewed by the two Editors of the journal, Dr Marianna Sigala and Dr Chatura Ranaweera, as well as by the consulting Editor, Dr Jay Kandampully.

Services marketing research has increasingly focused on investigating the interactions between companies and its customers in business-to-consumer (B2C) settings. In recent years, scholars have begun to analyse the impact of accidental or occasional customer-to-customer (C2C) contacts on the service experience (Baron et al. 1996; Moore et al. 2005; Huang 2008). It appears, however, that researchers have widely neglected to study the effects of planned joint co-creation efforts of customers in service encounters where multiple customers simultaneously engage in producing and consuming a service experience. During group service encounters the customer’s individual contribution is pivotal to a successful group experience. An uneven balance of customer contributions to the group experience may not be in line with a constant quality assumption (Gronroos/Ojasalo 2004, p. 414) of a manufacturing-based productivity concept, neither on the required input level (customer’s contribution) nor the desired output level, i.e. the individually expected service outcome and the satisfaction with the service.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) nimmt seit Jahren in der gesamten Automobilindustrie eine zentrale Rolle im strategischen Management ein. Auch wenn der durch die Popularisierung des CRM ausgeloste erste „Hype“ vorbei zu sein scheint, werden die Herausforderungen, denen sich ein Automobilunternehmen zu stellen hat, dieselben bleiben. Dieselben, die sie schon vor dem Auftauchen des CRM-Buzzwords waren (Gummesson 1994). Diese Herausforderungen sind die bestmogliche Betreuung und der Umgang mit den potenziellen, bestehenden und ehemaligen Kunden. Im Fokus eines Unternehmens mussen daher die Kunden stehen und ein Denken in Kundenbeziehungen ist von strategischer Bedeutung (Gronroos 1994; Gummesson 1994). Gerade die Premiumhersteller wie Mercedes-Benz, BMW und Audi haben die Bedeutung von Kundenbeziehungsmanagement als entscheidenden Faktor fur den nachhaltigen Geschaftserfolg erkannt und tragen diesem Sachverhalt durch umfangreiche Investitionen in diesem Bereich Rechnung.

Die Erstellung von Dienstleistungen ist in der Regel mit einem interaktiven Prozess zwischen Kunde und Mitarbeiter des Anbieterunternehmens verbunden. Durch die Intangibilitat der Dienstleistung manifestiert sich die wahrgenommene Qualitat insbesondere auch in der Person des Kundenkontaktmitarbeiters und dem Erleben der Beziehung zu dieser Person (Nerdinger 1998, S. 197). Dadurch ist das Qualitatsniveau der erstellten Dienstleistung auch wesentlich von den Fahigkeiten des jeweiligen Mitarbeiters abhangig, so dass sich eine vom Kunden wahrgenommenen Diskrepanz zwischen erwarteter und gelieferter Qualitat auch auf das Kontaktpersonal zuruckfuhren lasst.