Journal of Services Marketing: Volume 38 Issue 5

Editorial: Stop saying “vulnerable consumers/customers”!

Rebekah Russell-Bennett, Rowan Bedggood, Maria M. Raciti

The purpose of this editorial is to call out the practice of using identity-first language and labelling consumers and customers, describing them as “vulnerable” and offers…

Viewpoint: the evolving landscape of peer review

Emmanuel Mogaji

The purpose of this viewpoint is to spotlight the role of reviewers within the collaborative triad of academic publishing. It argues that the significance of reviewers is often…

Conceptualization and validation of customer participation in health care: a study on chronic illnesses management

Muhammad Junaid, Kiane Goudarzi, Muhammad Faisal Rasheed, Gilles N’Goala

Contrary to want-based services, customer participation has got lesser attention in high-credence services like health care. Customer participation for patients with chronic…

Mediating roles of frontline employees in transformative service processes

Ane Bast, Marit Engen, Maria Røhnebæk

This paper aims to explore the role of frontline employees (FLEs) as mediators in transformative service processes within services targeting vulnerable users.

Improving donation service design: expanding choice to increase perceived justice and satisfaction

Nea North, Cornelia (Connie) Pechmann

Circumstances such as pandemics can cause individuals to fall into a state of need, so they turn to donation services for assistance. However, donation services can be designed…

The influence of seamless shopping experience on customers’ word of mouth on social media

Jingwen Li, Yaping Chang

Despite the increasing relevance of seamless shopping experience in an omnichannel context, research on how seamless shopping experience affects customers’ word of mouth on social…

How do physical and social servicescapes shape the effects of positive affective displays on customer purchase outcomes?

Pei-Chi Chen

This study aims to use emotions-as-social information theory to investigate how physical (customer perceived store atmosphere) and social servicescapes (customer information…

Service robot acceptance in museums: an empirical study using the service robot acceptance model (sRAM)

Amy Wong, Jimmy Wong

This study aims to apply the service robot acceptance model (sRAM) to examine how attitude toward human–robot interaction (HRI) and engagement influence consumer acceptance of…

Exploring the fear of missing out (FOMO) and customer bonds in service relationships

L. Jean Harrison-Walker, James A. Mead

Most research has investigated the fear of missing out (FOMO) in the context of online activities, often associated with negative personal outcomes such as fatigue and stress…