Transformative service research: An agenda for the future

Abstract

This article conceptualizes and presents a research agenda for the emerging area of transformative service research, which lies at the intersection of service research and transformative consumer research and focuses on well-being outcomes related to service and services. A conceptual framework provides a big-picture view of how the interaction between service entities (e.g., individual service employees, service processes or offerings, organizations) and consumer entities (e.g., individuals, collectives such as families or communities, the ecosystem) influences the well-being outcomes of both. Research questions derived from the framework in the context of financial services, health care, and social services help catalyze new research in the transformative service research domain.

Transformative service research and service dominant logic: Quo Vaditis?

“…Since service organizations have been and still are criticized for ignoring or harming consumer well-being (Rosenbaum et al, 2011), a rethinking process has been called for in service research to address the role services and service can play in enhancing and improving humans' lives rather than being potentially harmful or destructive (Anderson et al, 2013). Some research has started to concentrate on these well-being issues (e.g., Ozanne and Anderson, 2010;Rosenbaum et al, 2007), but many more services have well-being implications, such as financial services (see Anderson et al, 2013;Rosenbaum et al, 2011).…”

“…Some research has started to concentrate on these well-being issues (e.g., Ozanne and Anderson, 2010;Rosenbaum et al, 2007), but many more services have well-being implications, such as financial services (see Anderson et al, 2013;Rosenbaum et al, 2011). Imagine the impact on the wellbeing of a family if, after a major disaster has struck a region, the family's house insurance delays paying out for years and blocks, or legally challenges, such payments, thus preventing the family from rebuild their home (e.g., InsuranceWatch, 2014;Peters, 2014).…”

“…This encompassing definition opens the field for a broad range of potential research topics and applications related to improving the welfare of individuals and groups embedded in social systems and ecosystems. However, TSR is in its infancy and only a few researchers have to date tried to explain, develop, and apply TSR in their research (e.g., Anderson et al, 2013;Rosenbaum et al, 2011). Fisk et al (1993) classify this early and first evolutionary stage as a discovery and risk taking phase in marketing research.…”

“…Fisk et al (1993) classify this early and first evolutionary stage as a discovery and risk taking phase in marketing research. In line with this early stage, the latest calls are for TSR research to provide "a conceptual framework that can serve as a catalyst for future research" (Anderson et al, 2013(Anderson et al, , p. 1209 in order to inform and motivate service researchers to engage in this area. This is in line with Ostrom et al's (2010, p. 5) earlier call to focus one of service science research's future priorities on "improving well-being through transformative service" and "through cocreation of value".…”

“…Additionally, the broadening of the service concept through the inclusion of the service sustainability notion (Edvardsson and Enquist, 2008;Grove et al, 1996;Shirahada and Fisk, 2011) has had an impact on the formulation of the TSR concept. Further, TSR has been conceptualized at the intersection of transformative consumer research and service research (Anderson et al, 2013). On the other hand, SDL offers a value concept (e.g., Vargo and Lusch, 2004), which seems similar to the creating of "uplifting changes and improvements" (Anderson et al, 2011, p. 3) found in TSR literature, thus masking the value of TSR's contribution.…”