Ten lessons for qualitative transformative service researchers

Abstract

Purpose This paper offers key methodological insights for scholars new to qualitative transformative service research (TSR). Design/methodology/approach The paper offers ten lessons on conducting qualitative TSR that the authors have gleaned, across more than 30 years (combined) of qualitative inquiries and engagement with other scholars conducting and publishing what may be now termed TSR. Findings The key lessons of conducting qualitative TSR work include: displaying ethics in conducting and presenting qualitative TSR; preparing for and understanding the research context; considering design, mechanics and technical elements; being participant-centric; co-creating meaning with participants; seeking/using diverse types of data; analyzing data in an iterative fashion, including/respecting multiple perspectives; presenting evidence in innovative ways; and looking inward at every stage of the research process. Social implications The paper provides implications for addressing the vulnerability of both research participants and researchers with the aim of improving research methods that lead to improved service research and well-being outcomes. Originality/value Clearly, the complexity and importance of the social problems TSR scholars investigate – poverty, war, disaster recovery, inadequate healthcare – requires preparation for how to engage in transformative service research. Importantly, the paper fits with recent persistent calls within the broader literature of services marketing to: use service research and design to create “uplifting changes” within society and broaden the paradigmatic underpinnings of service research to include dynamic, process-oriented approaches, which capture the dynamic and relational aspects of service ecosystems.

The Mechanism of the Effects of Experiential Marketing on Urban Consumers’ Well-Being

“…is study revealed the intrinsic mechanism that the essence of the experience economy was well-being. In the era of the experience economy, the focus of enterprise management has changed from products and services to providing customers with experience [2]. erefore, the great change confronted by marketing today is the emergence of experiential marketing.…”

“…Consumers are exposed to services provided by supermarkets, banks, hotels, and telecommunication institutions almost every day. However, the traditional service research mainly focuses on consumer satisfaction, loyalty, repurchase intention, and word-of-mouth communication as the outcome of services [1], thus ignoring the question of how the quality of consumer life, such as consumer wellbeing, is affected by services, [2,3]. Consumer well-being refers to consumer perception of the positive contribution of products or services in improving the quality of life [4] and has become an important element ensuring sustainable urban development.…”

“…Consumer well-being refers to consumer perception of the positive contribution of products or services in improving the quality of life [4] and has become an important element ensuring sustainable urban development. In recent years, how to improve consumer well-being has attracted amounts of attention of service researchers and practitioners [2,5]. As a new research paradigm in the field of service, transformative service research (TSR), which focuses on how to create tremendous improvements in the well-being of consumers at the individual, community, and even global levels [3], has integrated consumer and service research and advanced towards the relationship between service and consumer well-being greatly [5].…”

“…Anderson et al sampled three service sectors of financial service, healthcare services, and social services and discussed how they affected consumer well-being [3]. In addition, by reviewing the literature in China and abroad, it is found that the current research on transformative service research mainly focuses on three aspects: first, to explore the impact of service employees on consumer well-being, such as the interaction between service employees and customers [6] and technical quality and functional quality of service employees [7]; second, to explore the impact of service offerings on consumer wellbeing, such as refurbishing service [8], diversified service choices [9], and service attributes [10]; and third, to explore the impact of service organizations on consumer well-being, such as organizational socialization and organizational support [2,5]. us, the existing literature has not yet addressed the impact of service processes on consumer wellbeing in service entities.…”

Methodological Bricolage and COVID-19: An Illustration From Innovative, Novel, and Adaptive Environmental Behavior Change Research

“…Researchers must seize this moment to use and create novel mixed methods methodologies for addressing the current crisis and to inform future cataclysmic and catastrophic social changes as well. (p. 285) This article addresses the call for innovative and novel mixed methods research (Azzari & Baker, 2020;Dodds & Hess, 2020;Gretzel et al, 2020;Fell et al, 2020;Fetters & Molina-Azorin, 2020;Mars & Ball, 2016;McSweeney & Faust, 2019;Pauwels, 2010) through a discussion of how the pandemic required our research team to reevaluate and continuously adapt data collection plans of visitor learning and proenvironmental behavior change in a Canadian National Park between June and September 2020. This continual process of adaptation resulted in both novel and innovative approaches in mixed methods research.…”