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Service Marketing Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 10861

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kunio Shirahada

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate School of Knowledge Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi 923-1211, Japan
Interests: transformative service research; service sustainability; knowledge management; futures literacy
Dr. Bach Q. Ho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Industrial Engineering and Economics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
Interests: transformative service research; service mechanics; emotion; metaverse
Dr. Daisuke Sugiyama

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
NCI SYSTEMS Integration, Inc., Tokyo 105-6417, Japan
Interests: transformative service research; knowledge science; service community; service innovation; well-being

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue on "Service marketing sustainability", we are pleased to invite you to the research papers with theories and perspectives on service marketing that address issues related to human sustainability, such as environmental problems and social problems that threaten human well-being.

Sustainability is defined as "creating and maintaining the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations" (EPA, 2019). The term originated in the forestry sector and has been recognized as a concept for thinking about the conservation of natural capital (Kuhlman & Farrington, 2010). Looking back at our economic activities, as they have grown, they have put greater pressure on the ecosphere resources and affected sustainability (Shirahada & Fisk, 2013). For example, a breakdown of electricity consumption, which emits greenhouse gases, shows that activities related to the service sector and the movement of people account for a large proportion of the total. In order to combat environmental problems, the service sector and service marketing activities need to take more responsibility for sustainability.

Recently, the message of sustainability has been applied to the sustainability of humanity itself, coupled with the concept of human well-being. We need to build a prosperous life without leaving any legacy for the future. This has led to the consideration of not only natural capital, but also human, social, and economic capital as sustained objects (Goodland, 2002). The depletion of any of these capitals affects human activities and has the potential to impair well-being. Therefore, as a marketing activity, the study of mechanisms to maintain service systems (Ho & Shirahada, 2021) and the discussion of the 3Ps (Program, Perspective, Personalization) as service marketing strategies to create sustainability (Sugiyama et al., 2015) have emerged as pioneer studies.

Thus, although the study of sustainability from the perspective of service marketing is becoming more and more important for humanity, there is still not enough research on it. The aim of this Special Issue is to open up a new horizon of human value-oriented service research as “service marketing sustainability”, taking into account natural capital, human capital, social capital, and economic capital as the objects of sustainability.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Sustainable service;
  • Sustainable consumption;
  • Sustainable service education;
  • Eco-value co-creation;
  • Green service consumption;
  • Service system sustainability;
  • Sustainable value co-creation;
  • Service sustainability concept;
  • Sustainable well-being;
  • Sustainable ecosystem services;
  • Service design for sustainability;
  • Technology for service sustainability;
  • Sustainable service communication;
  • Knowledge for service sustainability;
  • Sustainable service community;
  • Sustainable service innovation;
  • Digital transformation for service sustainability.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

EPA. (2019). Learn about sustainability. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/sustainability/learn-about-sustainability

Goodland, R. (2002). Sustainability: human, social, economic, and environmental. In in Encyclopedia of global environmental change (pp. 1–3). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ho, B. Q., & Shirahada, K. (2021). Actor transformation in service: a process model for vulnerable consumers. In Journal of Service Theory and Practice: Vol. ahead-of-p (Issue ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-04-2020-0083

Kuhlman, T., & Farrington, J. (2010). What is sustainability? Sustainability, 2(11), 3436–3448. https://doi.org/10.3390/su2113436

Shirahada, K., & Fisk, R. P. (2013). Service sustainability: A tripartite value co-creation perspective. In Progressive Trends in Knowledge and System-Based Science for Service Innovation. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4663-6.ch005

Sugiyama, D., Shirahada, K., & Kosaka, M. (2015). Elements to organize the third place that promotes sustainable relationships in service businesses. Technology in Society, 43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2015.05.013

Dr. Kunio Shirahada
Dr. Bach Q. Ho
Dr. Daisuke Sugiyama
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental sustainability
  • service sustainability
  • service design for sustainability
  • knowledge for service sustainability
  • sustainable service innovation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1279 KiB  
Article
Older People’s Knowledge Creation Motivations for Sustainable Communities
by Bach Q. Ho and Kunio Shirahada
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010251 - 23 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1467
Abstract
To enhance the sustainability of local communities in an aging society, older people have begun independently organizing community activities as social support services. The knowledge created by the community-dwelling older people for these community activities is a valuable resource. Although many studies have [...] Read more.
To enhance the sustainability of local communities in an aging society, older people have begun independently organizing community activities as social support services. The knowledge created by the community-dwelling older people for these community activities is a valuable resource. Although many studies have addressed the motivations of older people to participate in social activities, few studies have explored motivations toward knowledge creation in community activities. The present study investigates how older people are motivated knowledge creation in community activities from the perspective of services marketing. We conducted in-depth interviews with older individuals participating in community activities and identified four scenes (reminiscence, resonance, reuse, and rewarding) by content analysis. These four scenes are associated with specific contexts describing how older people are motivated knowledge creation in community activities. We interpreted these scenes from the axes of the source of motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and approaches for psychological well-being (affiliation and power) and developed the 4R model. Our findings add insights to services marketing to enhance the sustainability of local communities through community activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Service Marketing Sustainability)
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19 pages, 1656 KiB  
Article
Eudemonic Servicescapes: Value Co-Creation in Karate Dojos
by Itsuro Kaneyama and Kunio Shirahada
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15920; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315920 - 29 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1791
Abstract
Martial arts (“budo”) is a service system in which instructors and students co-create physical and mental values through training encounters in a physical servicescape—the dojo. We explored how actors develop eudemonic wellbeing in this servicescape. We selected the dynamics theory of perception of [...] Read more.
Martial arts (“budo”) is a service system in which instructors and students co-create physical and mental values through training encounters in a physical servicescape—the dojo. We explored how actors develop eudemonic wellbeing in this servicescape. We selected the dynamics theory of perception of servicescapes as the theoretical framework to examine the process of behavior change based on the interaction between participants and the environment. We also employed service-dominant logic (SDL), which views services as a value co-creation process among actors, and we also employed transformative service research (TSR), which explores uplifting change to improve wellbeing. We collected data from the World Seido Karate Organization Seido-juku, which has been active worldwide for more than 40 years. We conducted interviews with 17 members and analyzed the secondary data. The results indicated that (1) the participants integrated the value co-creation learned through the training at the servicescape as a model for daily life, and (2) the servicescape created positive mental change in the participants and promoted their personal growth. Martial arts training in a dojo can enable participants to independently create a state of wellbeing at any time. It supports sustainable personal growth, and the dojo is perceived as a eudemonic servicescape. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Service Marketing Sustainability)
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18 pages, 1328 KiB  
Article
Organizational Learning for Sustainable Semiconductor Supply Chain Operation: A Case Study of a Japanese Company in Cross Border M&A
by Masaki Okada and Kunio Shirahada
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15316; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215316 - 18 Nov 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3235
Abstract
As semiconductor usage is prevailing, sustainable growth is deemed highly dependent on the semiconductor supply chain. Accordingly, it is essential to establish robust supply chain capability for a semiconductor company. Especially for Japanese semiconductor manufacturers, it is critical to secure robust and flexible [...] Read more.
As semiconductor usage is prevailing, sustainable growth is deemed highly dependent on the semiconductor supply chain. Accordingly, it is essential to establish robust supply chain capability for a semiconductor company. Especially for Japanese semiconductor manufacturers, it is critical to secure robust and flexible supply chain operation with the background of the experience of supply chain disruption caused by the East Japan Earthquake. So far, we identified that Japanese semiconductor manufacturers and Japanese automotive manufacturers have been in cooperation to secure the semiconductor supply chain. However, the global electronic industry environment has been significantly changed and it is not enough just to consider natural disasters. With this perspective, it is not yet fully studied how Japanese semiconductor manufacturers adapted to global operation through organizational learning. This paper examines how a Japanese semiconductor firm conducted organizational learning and adapted to environmental changes in cross-border M&A transactions. Traditionally, Japanese firms have established organizational routines for the management control systems of their overseas subsidiaries by relying on the expatriates’ transactive memory systems (TMS), which is based on their personnel experiences over the countries and cultural background understanding. Japanese firms have used TMS of expats to manage their global organizations. Recently, however, not a small number of Japanese companies have accelerated their globalization through cross-border M&A, which requires organizational capabilities different from those of conventional TMS formation. In this paper, we studied a case of cross-border M&A of a Japanese semiconductor company by modeling the organizational learning structure throughout the extracted concepts summarizing semi-structure interview outcome. As a result, it has been found out that, by shifting from Japanese cultural norms to more global values in terms of management systems, benefits can be achieved. The company unlearned organizational routines that relied on TMS and created new organizational routines. This study provides direction from a practical perspective on how Japanese firms can transform their global organizations and adapt to changes in the environment for sustainable growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Service Marketing Sustainability)
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15 pages, 2874 KiB  
Article
A Mathematical Model of Value Co-Creation Dynamics Using a Leverage Mechanism
by Tatsunori Hara, Satoko Tsuru and Seiichi Yasui
Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6531; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116531 - 26 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2600
Abstract
Service marketing for sustainability can be addressed in studies on human wellbeing promoted by delight and value co-creation within service systems. However, there is scant research on formal models of value co-creation dynamics with respect to customer delight. This study aimed to formulate [...] Read more.
Service marketing for sustainability can be addressed in studies on human wellbeing promoted by delight and value co-creation within service systems. However, there is scant research on formal models of value co-creation dynamics with respect to customer delight. This study aimed to formulate a mathematical model of value co-creation dynamics based on a “seesaw catapult” using a lever system. This is based on the concept presented in ISO/TS 24082 and involved service providers’ customer centricity and customers’ active participation. We solved the maximization problem for a ball’s height (i.e., customer experience) by optimizing customers’ active participation and the scale of data collection. Theoretical analysis of rotational motion dynamics revealed nonlinear, complementary, and trade-off relationships in the model. Optimal conditions for the variables were obtained, and additional conditions of the service provider’s customer centricity were derived to achieve customer delight. In this study, a switchback co-creation process of the service system was constructed based on these findings. This study contributes to the value co-creation literature by providing a normative model of co-creation dynamics that enables deductive development and generates various co-creation processes. Service marketing sustainability can be expanded by exploring appropriate co-creation scenarios that maintain and engage people in service systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Service Marketing Sustainability)
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