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This paper aims to explore the potential contributions of the for-profit sector in integrating resources with social marketing organisations for value co-creation at the meso level (midstream) of the social marketing eco-system. The paper addresses calls for further theorisation and understanding of value co-creation beyond the micro level (downstream).

The paper draws from social marketing, value co-creation and eco-systems literature to present a conceptual model for meso-level value co-creation between social marketing and for-profit organisations.

The paper proposes four dimensions of resources which can be integrated: cognitive, labour, economic and network. Additionally, it is proposed that from these integrated resources, three co-creation outcomes can be achieved – co-learning, co-design and co-production – which lead to improved value propositions.

This paper offers a framework for strategic planning and evaluation regarding partnerships and collaborations with for-profit organisations, which potentially lead to greater value propositions being offered.

This paper furthers the theoretical discussions and understanding of value co-creation in social marketing at the meso level. The paper identifies a new actor – for-profits – as a potential collaborator for value co-creation with social marketing organisations and contributes new understanding about value co-creation at the meso level between social marketing and for-profit organisations. Further, the paper describes and reviews the potential contributions of for-profits to social marketing efforts.

Designing a social marketing intervention for low-income earners requires an understanding of the key motivations. As part of the Low-Income Earner Energy Efficiency Programme, this study investigates the key factors that influence energy behaviours amongst Australian young low-income earners as part of the Reduce Your Juice social marketing programme. The authors also investigate the effect of gender.

An online survey of 753 low-income renters was conducted using validated measures. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The two factors that had the highest influence on intentions for energy-saving behaviours was the “mind” factor of self-efficacy and “money” factor of price concern. There were gender differences in the effect of bill control and price concern on intentions for different energy efficiency behaviours.

This study provides guidance on the factors to emphasise when designing an energy efficiency programme for low-income earners.

This study provides evidence for different motivations amongst low-income earners for energy efficiency programmes and that a “one size fits all” approach may not be effective.

While there is high interest in the public sector for motivating young-adult low-income earners to change their energy behaviours, little is known about the key factors that motivate intentions to engage in these behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to extend transformative service and social marketing practitioners’ and academics’ understanding of how gamification and serious m-games are designed, and second, to model the effects of game design elements on key transformative service and social marketing outcomes, satisfaction, knowledge, and behavioural intentions.

The research adopted a two-study, mixed-method research design, encompassing focus groups (n=21) and online surveys (n=497), using four current marketplace serious m-games. Study 1 was qualitative and the data were analysed in two cycles using an inductive and deductive approach. Study 2 was quantitative and the data were analysed using PLS-SEM.

The qualitative results of Study 1 discovered a framework of five game design elements for serious m-games. In Study 2, a conceptual model and hypothesised relationships were tested at a full sample level and by each serious m-game. Results show different significant relationships for each serious m-game and moderate to high levels of explanation for satisfaction and knowledge, and low to high levels of explained variance for behavioural intentions. The findings are therefore not only robust across four different serious m-games, but also demonstrate the nuances of the relationships.

This research contributes to two service research priorities: leveraging technology to advance services, and improving well-being through transformative services. This research demonstrates that gamification through serious m-games is one form of technology that can be designed to create a satisfying and knowledge-creating service experience, which can also influence intentions to perform health and well-being behaviours.

This editorial aims to identify new research priorities in the service marketplace that are emerging because of consumer and organizational trends in the shadow of the global pandemic.

A conceptual approach is used that draws on observations from practitioners to synthesize changes in consumer values, motivations and behaviors as they pertain to service consumption, design and delivery. This editorial draws on current trends and recent service research to discuss the current state of the marketplace and to uncover areas in which research voids exist.

This editorial offers ten research priorities for service researchers. These research priorities are supply chain and staffing shortages; sustainable services, older consumers embrace digital technologies; digital financial services; consumer pursuit of personal and spiritual awareness; participating in virtual communities, networks and worlds; affinity for peer-to-peer commerce; transformative places; seeking self-love services, and social distance concerns.

Academicians are provided with a series of research priorities that are interesting, timely and relevant for the new service marketplace.

Service academicians are encouraged to pursue empirical and descriptive investigations in-line with the priorities developed in this editorial. These research priorities are relevant, timely and interesting.

This work presents scholars with a historical overview of trends in service research. The challenges posed by the pandemic represent the beginning of a new era in service research thought and practice as many previously held theories and understandings of consumers’ marketplace behaviors have permanently changed due to behavioral changes that transpired during governmental mandated lockdowns.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss two parallel but distinct subfields of marketing that share common interests (enhancing consumers’ lives and improving well-being): social marketing and transformative service research. The authors also suggest a research agenda.

The paper offers a conceptual approach and research agenda by comparing and contrasting the two marketing fields of transformative service research and social marketing.

Specifically, this paper proposes three opportunities to propel both fields forward: 1) breaking boundaries that inhibit research progress, which includes collaboration between public, private and nonprofit sectors to improve well-being; 2) adopting more customer-oriented approaches that go beyond the organizational and individual levels; and 3) taking a non-linear approach to theory development that innovates and co-creates solutions.

This paper presents the challenges and structural barriers for two subfields seeking to improve human well-being. This paper is the first to bring these subfields together and propose a way for them to move forward together.

This editorial aims to organise the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into seven ServCollab service research themes to provide a way forward for service research that improves human and planetary life.

A conceptual approach is used that draws on observations from the scholarly experience of the editors.

This editorial offers seven research themes for service researchers: services that enable the WELL-BEING of the human species; services that provide OPPORTUNITY for all humans; services that manage RESOURCES for all humans; ECONOMIC services for work and growth for all humans; services from INSTITUTIONS that offer fair and sustainable living for all humans; service ecosystems with the PLANET; and COLLABORATION services for sustainable development partnerships.

Service scholars are urged to pursue collaborative research that reduces suffering, improves well-being and enables well-becoming for the sustainability and prosperity of Planet Earth.

This editorial provides service scholars with a new framework synthesising the SDGs into research themes that help focus further service research.

Profound economic, social, political and environmental problems are cascading across modern civilization in the 21st century. Many of these problems resulted from the prevailing effects of rational economics focused on profit maximization. The purpose of this paper is to reframe the mindsets of scholars, firms and public policy decision-makers through enabling Service Thinking practices.

Marketing, service and allied discipline literature are synthesized, and Raworth's (2018) Doughnut Economics model is adapted to conceptualize and construct the Service Thinking framework.

Service Thinking is defined as a just, mutualistic and human-centered mindset for creating and regenerating service systems that meet the needs of people and the living planet. Service Thinking is enabled by five practices (service empathy, service inclusion, service respect, service integrity and service courage).

Actionable implications are presented for service ecosystem entities to uplift well-being, enhance sustainability and increase prosperity.

Service Thinking practices are shaped by influencing forces (marketing, education and law/policy) and operant service ecosystem resources (motivation–opportunity–ability or MOA), which makes Service Thinking applicable to four economic entities in the service ecosystem: the household, the market, the state and the commons.

This paper aims to identify future research opportunities that address human–technology service interactions.

This editorial is based on the author’s personal reflections and conceptualizations of ideas from past previous research and theory.

The authors identify three opportunities for further research on technology and humanity: service technology and social interaction and service technology and societal prosperity.

Service researchers need to realize that topics such as technology, robots, artificial intelligence are not mutually exclusive from topics that seek to improve the human condition, such as transformative service research. We encourage service researchers to explore how digital technologies in service domains impacts consumers, communities, and even, global humanity.

Researchers have guidance on areas in which pioneering theoretical and methodological opportunities abound.

This editorial offers new perspectives on technology and humanity considering the effect of the global pandemic.

This paper aims to represent a response to issues raised in the continuing quantitative-qualitative debate by Valtakoski (2020). Which appeared in a Journal of Services Marketing (JSM) special issue on qualitative research in service-oriented research.

The authors performed a content analysis of 1,268 papers that were published in JSM (1987-2019). In addition, the authors had data that is held in JSM’s manuscript central submission portal.

The analysis shows that while there is a dominance of quantitative methods in the journal, the proportion of qualitative papers is growing. During 2014-2019, 83.4 per cent of submitted papers to JSM represented quantitative research and 14 per cent represented qualitative research; however, 75 per cent of accepted papers were quantitative and 25 per cent were qualitative/mixed methods. Thus, the proportion of published qualitative studies are increasing and have a higher chance of receiving an acceptance decision compared to quantitative studies. Additionally, the largest percentage of qualitative papers published in JSM derive from corresponding authors outside of North America.

Service researchers who opt to use inductive research methods, which tend to use qualitative research, will not confront discrimination based solely upon the use of a research methodology among editors or reviewers at JSM.

JSM welcomes qualitative research that has rich practical implications.

This study is one of the first to provide authors with a detailed analysis and responses to the qualitative-quantitative debate in marketing.

This paper aims to define the term “socially unacceptable services” and call for novel research in these under-researched service industries.

Personal reflections.

Service offerings exist that, despite their ability to create value for customers, clients or partners, many in society at large deem to be offensive, inappropriate or harmful for a variety of reasons. Service researchers have ignored the existence and impact of socially unacceptable services on consumers and society for too long.

Given the expanding role of the transformative service research (TSR) paradigm in the services marketing domain, especially given its emphasis on exchanges that influence consumer and societal well-being and the reality that many socially unacceptable services profoundly influence consumer and societal welfare in both positive and negative manners, the time is opportune for service researchers to begin exploring socially unacceptable services from a TSR perspective.

Given that buyers and sellers who enter socially unacceptable exchanges often seem satisfied by doing so, the authors encourage researchers to unearth how consumers obtain value from these exchanges and to explore whether consumers enter these exchanges with full information to make informed decisions.

This viewpoint is one of the first to provide authors with an impetus to begin research program in socially unacceptable services and offers researchers a list of potential research topics in this new area. The authors believe that socially unacceptable service research may emerge as a separate research paradigm.