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This study aims to explore the drivers (i.e. service innovation, service exchange, customer wellbeing and employee wellbeing) and organizational culture in the service ecosystem in the hospitality sector.

This study adopted a quantitative approach by collecting data from employees and customers of the top 10 hotels (identified from three major websites, i.e. Goibibo, Trivago and MakeMyTrip) functional in Jammu city, North India. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and partial least square analysis are used to analyse the data.

The study findings reveal that among the four drivers (i.e., service innovation, service exchange, employee wellbeing and customer wellbeing) customer wellbeing shows a strong impact and significant impact on the service ecosystem. Following this, the study also exhibits that organizational culture significantly moderates the relationship between service innovation and the service ecosystem. However, it does not show any moderating influence among the other drivers of the service ecosystem.

This study is conducted only in the top 10 hotels (three and four stars) of Jammu city, North India, which might not represent all Indian hotels.

The study contributes by establishing the role of four service ecosystem drivers, namely service innovation, service exchange, employee wellbeing and customer wellbeing. Following this, the study empirically tested and validated the service ecosystem framework in the context of north Indian hotels. The study also establishes the significant role of organizational culture, particularly group culture and hierarchy culture, in strengthening the service ecosystem.

The development of online brand communities employed by marketers to maintain consumer relationships and brand building is increasing. This study aims to explore how value co-creation practices can cultivate consumers' brand loyalty.

Using partial least squares modeling, the hypotheses testing involves the utilization of and data collection from 599 Chinese consumers who actively engage in brand communities in China.

Value co-creation practices in brand communities cultivate consumers' affective commitment and psychological brand ownership, which in turn can further contribute to consumers' brand loyalty.

By offering a more comprehensive insight into how affective commitment and psychological brand ownership act as intermediaries between value co-creation practices and consumers' brand loyalty, this research enhances the existing knowledge on value co-creation and brand management.

This paper aims to introduce the experience-dominant (Ex-D) logic model, which synthesizes the creation, perceptions and outcomes of Ex-D logic. It is designed to offer valuable insights for strategic managerial applications and future research directions.

Employing a qualitative approach by using eight selected product launch events from reviewed 100 event videos and 55 in-depth interviews with industrial managers to develop an Ex-D logic model, and data were coded and analysed via NVivo.

Results show that the firm’s Ex-D logic is operationalized as the mentalizing of the three types of customer needs (service competence, hedonic excitations and meaning making), the materializing of three types of customer experiences and customer journeys (service experience, hedonic experience and brand experience) and the moderating of three types of customer values (service values, hedonic values and brand values).

This study has implications for adding new insights into existing theory on dominant logic and customer experience management and also offers actionable recommendations for managerial applications.

This study sheds light on the importance of Ex-D logic from a strategic point of view and provides an organic view of the firm. It distinguishes firm perspective from customer perspective, firm experience from customer experience and firm journey from consumer journey.

This paper aims to outline the role of self-transcendent emotions (STEs) such as compassion, gratitude and elevation in the context of sustainable tourism. It proposes a research agenda for further investigation of these emotions as facilitators of value co-creation in sustainable tourism.

Drawing on the literature on the psychology of STEs, sustainable tourist behaviour and value co-creation, this paper pinpoints potential developments and challenges associated with STEs in the domain of sustainable tourism by following a service-dominant logic approach.

STEs are likely to have a profound impact on sustainable tourism leading to value co-creation and mitigating the risk of value co-destruction and value no-creation. They can facilitate value co-creation by shifting the focus of actors from their own selves towards others in the tourism ecosystem, shifting the focus from extrinsic to intrinsic motivations and increasing moral values. Moreover, STEs are expected to be contiguous and reciprocal, fostering value co-creation in sustainable tourism practices. However, extreme levels of STEs can lead to value co-destruction and value no-creation.

This paper highlights the role of STEs as facilitators of value co-creation in sustainable tourism, a facet that has been overlooked in the existing literature. Further investigation is necessary in different contexts such as transformative and regenerative tourism; societal or individual crises and failures and the applications of technologies such as the Metaverse and artificial intelligence.

本文概述了自我超越情感 (STEs）如慈悲、感恩和升华在可持续旅游环境中的作用。它提出了进一步研究这些情感作为可持续旅游中价值共创的促进因素的研究议程。

本文借鉴了有关自我超越情感心理学、可持续旅游行为和价值共创的文献, 通过遵循服务主导（S-D）逻辑方法, 指出了自我超越情感在可持续旅游领域的潜在发展和挑战。

自我超越情感很可能对可持续旅游产生深远影响, 促进价值共创, 减轻价值共毁和价值无创造的风险。它们可以通过将旅游生态系统中的行动者的关注点从自己转移到他人身上来促进价值共创; 将关注点从外在动机转移到内在动机; 增加道德价值观。此外, 自我超越情感预计会是连续和相互的, 促进可持续旅游实践中的价值共创。然而, 自我超越情感的极端水平可能导致价值共毁和价值无创造。

我们的论文突出了自我超越情感作为可持续旅游中价值共创的促进因素的作用, 这是现有文献中被忽视的一个方面。有必要在不同的背景下进行进一步研究, 如变革性和再生性旅游; 社会或个体的危机和失败; 以及元宇宙和人工智能等技术的应用。

Este artículo explica el papel de las emociones autotrascendentes (STEs por sus siglas en inglés), tales como la compasión, la gratitud y la elevación, en el contexto del turismo sostenible. Además, propone una agenda de investigación para profundizar en el rol de estas emociones como facilitadoras de la cocreación de valor en el turismo sostenible.

Basándose en la literatura sobre psicología de las STEs, comportamiento turístico sostenible y cocreación de valor, este artículo señala los posibles avances y retos asociados a las STEs en el ámbito del turismo sostenible, siguiendo el enfoque de la lógica dominante del servicio (S-D).

Es probable que las STEs tengan un profundo impacto en el turismo sostenible, lo que conducirá a la cocreación de valor y atenuara el riesgo de la codestrucción de valor y la no creación de valor. Las STEs pueden facilitar la cocreación de valor desplazando la atención de los agentes desde su propio yo hacia los demás en el ecosistema turístico; desplazando la atención de las motivaciones extrínsecas a las intrínsecas; y aumentando los valores morales. Adicionalmente, se espera que las STEs sean contiguas y recíprocas, fomentando la cocreación de valor en las prácticas de turismo sostenible. Sin embargo, unos niveles extremos de STEs pueden conducir a la codestrucción de valor y a la no creación de valor.

Nuestro artículo destaca el rol de las STEs como facilitadoras de la cocreación de valor en el turismo sostenible, una faceta que no ha sido explorada en la literatura existente. Es necesario seguir investigando en diferentes contextos como el turismo transformativo y regenerativo; las crisis y los fracasos sociales o individuales; y las aplicaciones de tecnologías como el Metaverso y la inteligencia artificial.

Conspicuously absent from the branding literature is research on the brand-to-brand (Br2Br) interface enabled by social media. The author proposes how networked brands-as-actors integrate their resources as Br2Br interactions that co-create consumer–brand value. As a secondary contribution, the author provides an empirical baseline exploration of the value co-creating impact of Br2Br interactions on consumer–brand evaluations and social media engagement.

Three streams of research aid in conceptualizing the value co-creating process of Br2Br interactions. A follow-up exploratory study uses a controlled Br2Br interaction stimulus in a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design, where brand familiarity and product category complementarity are manipulated, and interaction spillover effects are analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The author finds Br2Br interactions positively affect consumer–brand evaluations and social media engagement likelihood. Spillover effects of these interactions are symmetric for consumer–brand evaluations for both brands. However, brand familiarity moderates the effects of Br2Br interactions on consumer–brand evaluations.

The author lays the groundwork for future research on the complexities of Br2Br interactions – including brand personality conflict, interaction duration and paratextual language – and the boundary conditions for Br2Br and brand-to-consumer relationships.

Given the continuing need to study service marketing adaptations that emerged in the wake of Covid-19, this paper aims to look at the formation and evolution of purchase groups (PGs) that arose in Indian gated communities during the pandemic and have continued functioning in the post-pandemic marketplace. Not only did these groups act as much-needed interstitial markets during a time of significant external disruption, but they also served as sites of value co-creation, with consumers collaborating with each other and with service providers.

Using a phenomenological research approach, the authors conducted 22 in-depth interviews with Indian consumers and small service providers to gather accounts of how PGs started and evolved with time. Subsequent data coding and analyses are conducted with NVivo 12.

Using the service ecosystem perspective, the authors illustrate seven distinct themes that capture the nuances of the formation and evolution of PGs. These consist of entrepreneurality, collectivity, and fluidity at the service ecosystem level, hybridity and transactionality at the servicescape level, and mutuality and permeability at the service encounter level.

This study provides an empirical and theoretically grounded account of a long-term service marketing adaptation that has persisted in the post-pandemic marketplace. This helps us address recent calls for such research while also adding to the work on value co-creation in collective consumption contexts and extant discourse on service ecosystems.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 for small and medium size of enterprise in Japan and Brazil.

The authors conducted a quantitative survey (20 companies in Japan and 30 companies in Brazil) combined with a qualitative interview (2 companies in Japan and 15 companies in Brazil).

According to the quantitative study, 90% of them practice Lean manufacturing and 40% of them practice Industry 4.0. In the qualitative study in Brazil, four managers responded that the Lean manufacturing is a prerequisite for Industry 4.0 since any production process with waste cannot be productive, even with sophisticated digitalization technology.

The authors explored further the relationship between “defensive Digital Transformation (DX),” which is based mainly on Lean manufacturing, and “offensive DX,” which relates to customer value creation through Industry 4.0. This study clarifies the relationship and plays as a roadmap to develop better the manufacturing from current status to the vision of Industry 4.0.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how consumer brand engagement (CBE) promotes brand love and eWOM within the influence of brand interactivity and consumer involvement, especially in the context of the smartphone industry and Chinese social media marketing. This study also examines the important role of brand love and gender in this relationship.

Data from 403 participants who are followers of the smartphone brand’s social media page was collected via an online survey. PLS-SEM was also used for examining the research model.

The findings of this research reveal that the (perceived) brand interactivity, and consumer involvement, are key factors influence CBE. As expected, brand love and consumers’ eWOM intention are significant outcomes of CBE. In particular, the relationship between CBE and consumers’ eWOM intention is mediated by brand love. However, gender did not moderate the proposed relationships.

By integrating social exchange theory and attribution theory, this study deepens the understanding of CBE and brand love by examining the relationship between brand interactivity, consumer involvement, CBE, brand love and eWOM in the context of smartphone and Chinese social media marketing.

This study proposes “genuine small talk” in hospitality settings, particularly in coffee shops and its impact on enhancing guest experiences. This study aims to delineate how genuine small talk, characterized by sincerity, mutual respect, truthfulness and empathy, differs from traditional conversational engagements and influences service outcomes.

The study adopts a case research approach, focusing on the global coffee shop industry, particularly in high-context cultural settings. Using an abductive research paradigm, it intertwines theoretical concepts with empirical data gathered from face-to-face interviews with coffee shop visitors and managers. Data analysis involved qualitative coding techniques to synthesize and interpret findings related to genuine small talk.

Genuine small talk in hospitality, marked by sincerity, mutual respect, truthfulness and empathy, significantly enhances customer experiences. It transforms service encounters, turning negative experiences into positive ones and fostering customer loyalty. The study finds that genuine small talk is a strategic tool for emotional resonance and repeat patronage, yet its effectiveness depends on the staff’s ability to discern and adapt to customer moods and preferences.

This study highlights that genuine interpersonal interactions are key to enhancing customer experiences in hospitality. These genuine exchanges, characterized by sincerity, mutual respect, truthfulness and empathy, not only improve the immediate service encounter but also foster long-term customer loyalty. By transforming transactional interactions into meaningful connections, genuine small talk serves as a strategic tool in the hospitality industry, potentially reshaping service dynamics and elevating the perceived value of customer service. This research underscores the importance of staff training in emotional intelligence and adaptability to customer preferences, crucial for implementing genuine small talk effectively.

This research contributes to the hospitality literature by elucidating the nuanced role of genuine small talk in service encounters. It extends existing discourses of service interactions by highlighting the potential of genuine small talk in fostering connections and enhancing guest experiences.

This article investigates the practical implementation of the ecosystem approach in different branches of public management within an urban context. It explores how ecosystem thinking is introduced, disseminated and applied in a local government organization.

We utilize a qualitative case study methodology, relying on official documents and expert interviews. Our study focuses on the city of Espoo, Finland, which has actively embraced ecosystem thinking as a fundamental framework for its organizational development for almost a decade.

The case of Espoo highlights elements that have not been commonly attributed to the ecosystem approach in the public sector. These elements include (1) the significance of complementary services, (2) the existence of both collaborative and competitive relationships among actors in public service ecosystems and (3) the utilization of digital platforms for resource orchestration. Our study also emphasizes the need for an incremental adoption of ecosystem thinking in organizational contexts to enable its successful implementation.

The study provides valuable insights into the introduction and dissemination of ecosystem thinking in public management. It also further develops previously developed hypotheses regarding public service ecosystems.