I'm no expert, but … ? Consumer use of supportive digital tools in health services

Abstract

PurposeThe use of supportive digital technology – the provision of supportive services and self-management health tools using digital platforms – by marketers is increasing alongside research interest in the topic. However, little is known about the motivations to use these tools and which tool features provide different forms of social support (informational, emotional, instrumental, network or esteem). The purpose of this paper is thus to explore consumer perceptions of supportive healthcare self-management and preferences for different levels of interactive features as social support in a health services context.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach involving 30 semi-structured interviews with consumers interested in two common preventative health services that use supportive digital tools (SDTs) (skin-cancer checks and sexually transmitted infection checks) was undertaken. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the verbatim transcripts.FindingsThis research identified there is a lack of motivation to initiate the search for SDTs; consumers are motivated by a desire to control and monitor health concerns and avoid overuse of the health system. The findings showed a preference for social support to go beyond informational support, with a need for interactivity that personalised support in a proactive manner.Research limitations/implicationsSDTs are positively perceived by consumers as part of health services. The motivation to use these tools is complex, and the social support needed is multifaceted and preferably interactive.Practical implicationsThis research assists service marketers to better design informational and instrumental support for preventative self-managed healthcare services.Originality/valueThis paper extends knowledge about the motivation and social support required from SDTs in a preventative health service context.

Guest editorial: Service marketing and the winds of change

“…The first paper, “I'm no expert, but …? Consumer use of supportive digital tools in health services” by Helen Bocking, Rebekah Russell–Bennett and Kate Letheren (Bocking et al , 2022), investigates consumer perceptions and preferences relating to supportive digital tools and of the relevant interactive experience in a preventative health service context. Drawing on social support theory (SST) and the passive–interactive–proactive (PIP) framework, the authors adopt an exploratory qualitative approach comprising 30 semi-structured interviews of customers trialling supportive digital tools.…”

Guest editorial

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High tech and high touch: the future of human service Over the last decade, the nature of services has rapidly evolved as technological advancements have become embedded in the service experience (Garry and Harwood, 2019;Bolton et al, 2018;Van Doorn et al, 2017). Service customers can be greeted in a physical servicescape by robots (Lu et al, 2020), digitally assisted by chatbots (Sangle-Ferriere and Voyer, 2019) and robo-advisors (Wexler and Oberlander, 2021), use supportive digital tools (Bocking et al, 2021) or be attended by human service agents (Volkers, 2021). Service encounters now encompass "any customer-company interaction that results from a service system that is comprised of interrelated technologies (either company-or customerowned), human actors (employees and customers), physical/digital environments and company/customer processes" (Larivi ere et al, 2017, p. 239).In this special issue of the Journal of Service Theory and Practice, we consider the nexus of high tech/high touch and its contribution to optimising the customer experience.

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