Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the role of mediators in supporting value co-creation for vulnerable consumers in a service context. The authors propose that in transformative services, the roles of actor mediators facilitate control and empowerment for the vulnerable consumer – labelling these transformative service mediators (TSMs). Design/methodology/approach The authors develop a theoretical framework for the activities of mediators in value co-creation considering the interrelationships of vulnerability, structure and agency. The authors then use Prahalad and Ramaswamy’s DART (Dialogue, Access, Risk Assessment and Transparency) model as the integrating framework to describe the TSM roles in the context of the foster care service ecosystem. Findings The authors introduce a future research agenda regarding TSM roles in transformational service experiences and value co-creation with vulnerable consumers. Service researchers and providers are encouraged to explore effective training and motivation of TSMs. Research limitations/implications Understanding value co-creation for vulnerable consumers is an emerging area in service research. The TSM concept introduces a new approach to explore how value co-creation and transformative outcomes can be enhanced in service contexts where consumers experience vulnerability. Practical implications This paper presents an agenda for future research. The outcomes of future research based on TSM roles may help guide service providers in identifying opportunities for enhancing well-being and reducing vulnerability in service delivery. Originality/value This paper suggests that exploring the role of TSMs in the service process offers new insights into reducing vulnerability in service relationships.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) (climate responsibility and natural resource utilization) on corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability. Design/methodology/approach – Building on extensive literature, a conceptual model of environmental CSR-corporation that includes three factors of consumer behavior is proposed. Findings – The study highlights that environmental CSR has a positive effect on corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability. Practical implications – The findings of this study highlight the importance of managing environmental CSR for corporations that intend to gain reputation and profitability. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to highlight the effect of environmental CSR on corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability.

This paper examines the service dimensions required to be inclusive of people with access needs within a major-sport event context. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities seeks to counter disability discrimination and enable citizenship rights of people with disabilities, including access to goods and services, across all dimensions of social participation including major-sport events. Providing for people with disability and access needs is also an emerging tourism focus with initiatives addressing accessible tourism included in the World Tourism Organization's mission and recent strategic destination plans. To enhance the understanding of service delivery for an accessible tourism market in a major-sport event context, a case study of the Vancouver Fan Zone for the FIFA Women's World Cup, 2015 is analyzed through the lens of transformative services. From this analysis future research directions are identified to benefit those with access needs who wish to participate in major-sport events.

There have been various ways of measuring service experiences in the past, but Generation Y has different values and mindsets than those of the generations that preceded them. This paper suggests mobile ethnography as an ideal method for data collection, where Generation Y customers are integrated as active investigators. The paper aims to contributing to the debate on museums as experience-centred places, to understanding how the experience is perceived by Generation Y, to identifying the customer journey, to providing an insight into service experience consumption from the mind of Generation Y and to deriving managerial implication for the museum industry of how to approach Generation Y. The exploratory paper undertakes a thorough review of the relevant literature as regards measuring the customer experiences, service design and the museum setting, before mobile ethnography is applied to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra with a sample of Generation Y visitors as the future visitor market. This is one of the few studies to have addressed mobile ethnography in a service context and examined the museum experience of Generation Y. The paper finds that there is a need to involve museum management in service design to improve the servicedelivery process, especially with regard to the the different mindsets of the Millenials.2