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Ever since Bitner defined the term “servicescape” as the physical environment in which the service is assembled, several scholars have attempted to better understand the impact of the built environment in the context of different service settings. While servicescape is a topic of increasing academic interest among scholars and practitioners, most studies in the area are dedicated to understanding the built environment of hedonic service. More studies are needed to examine utilitarian servicescape and in this paper, we have focused on the healthcare environment. This study aims to identify the gap in servicescape and healthscape studies by providing a theoretical structure of the current servicescape literature and comprehend the academic differences between hedonic servicescape and utilitarian healthscape studies. After reviewing 44 selected papers based on rigorous criteria, we: (1) framed the servicescape factors; (2) analyzed the servicescape literature from the perspectives of terminologies, research fields, methodologies, and frameworks; and (3) identified the current paths of healthscape research. Through this work, we highlight the significance of adopting different dimensions and factors to evaluate the distinguished service environment by the servicescape type and propose several research agendas for future studies on healthscapes. The research findings can contribute to a deep understanding of healthscapes and can introduce a new viewpoint for interpreting the servicescape in diversified service settings.

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Background Smart homes are considered effective solutions for home health care for the elderly, as smart home technologies can reduce care costs and improve elderly residents’ independence. To develop a greater understanding of smart homes for health care services (SHHSs), this study accentuated the necessity of ecological approaches with an emphasis on environmental constraints. This study was based on 2 rationales: (1) users are inclined to perceive the service quality and service experience from environments (ie, servicescape) owing to the intangibility of health care and the pervasiveness of smart home technologies, and (2) both service domains are complex adaptive systems in which diversified and undefined service experiences—not only a few intended service flows—can be generated by complex combinations of servicescape elements. Objective This study proposed the conceptual framework of a Smart Servicescape Wheel (SSW) as an ecological approach delineating the extensive spectrum of environmental constraints in SHHSs. Methods The SSW framework was established based on a literature review. Results Generally divided by perceptible and imperceptible servicescapes, the SSW consists of the perceptible Physical scape (ie, hardware components, environmental cues, and human states) and Social scape (ie, service relationships and social relationships) as well as the imperceptible Datascape (ie, computing intelligence, databases, and communication networks). Following the ecological approach, each category of the SSW is subdivided and defined at the level of components or functions. Conclusions The SSW’s strengths lie in the various application opportunities for SHHSs. In terms of service planning and development, the SSW can be utilized to (1) establish the requirements for SHHS development, (2) associate with work domain analysis by defining component layers, and (3) understand the real contexts of SHHSs for the enhanced prediction of diverse service experiences. Regarding service management, it can be applied to develop measurement items for the operation and evaluation of SHHSs.

The dramatic advancement of Internet of Things technology and smart services has encouraged the integration of smart home and healthcare service. Despite various research studies on the technology of smart home healthcare services, it is essential to approach those services from the service experience perspective. Moreover, it would be significant to consider the context and environment of smart services, namely, “smart servicescapes,” as they can influence users’ perceptions and experiences. With this background, the aim of this study was to examine the smart servicescape framework that was developed based on the smart home services in the prior study from the domain of smart home healthcare services and to ameliorate the framework to better reflect the characteristics of smart services. During the qualitative analysis of 21 user‐scenario movie clips on smart home healthcare services, the smart servicescape elements were recategorized and relabeled, and the structure of smart servicescape framework was modified. The values of the improved smart servicescape framework can be identified in two aspects. First, the framework can demonstrate the characteristics of smart services, namely, the omnipresence of Datascape and Connection infra and the mediating role of artificial intelligence. Second, this framework can be used to establish design requirements about service elements, relationships, and interactions when the smart service experiences, including smart home healthcare, are designed.