Editorial: Opportunities in the new service marketplace
ISSN: 0887-6045
Article publication date: 3 May 2022
Issue publication date: 7 June 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the opportunities in the service marketplace that have arisen because of the changes brought about by the global pandemic (COVID-19).
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual methodological approach is used to analyze trends in the history of service research and discuss how articles presented in this issue help scholars and practitioners with planning for opportunities and confronting challenges in the new (post COVID-19) service marketplace.
Findings
This special issue puts forth six viewpoints and seven research articles that outline opportunities in the new service marketplace from regional and global perspectives. Further, the research articles presented in this issue identify four opportunities for managers to consider when designing services in the new service marketplace; these are labeled as reassurance and fear reduction, rethinking physical space and supply chains for multichannel service delivery, the rise of local and community importance and resilience building to combat customer discourtesy.
Practical implications
Managers can understand how the pandemic has profoundly and permanently impacted consumers’ perceptions and expectations for service delivery and processes.
Originality/value
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 because of behavioral changes that transpired during governmental mandated lockdowns.
Keywords
Citation
Russell-Bennett, R. and Rosenbaum, M.S. (2022), "Editorial: Opportunities in the new service marketplace", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 445-449. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2022-0121
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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