Evolving service thinking: disruption and opportunity in hospitality and tourism

Abstract

Guest editorial Evolving service thinking: disruption and opportunity in hospitality and tourism During the month of May, 2018, over 50 inquisitive and accomplished scholars from the service marketing and management as well as the tourism and hospitality domains, came together to ponder the theory of evolution in service. While not seeking to delve into the depths of Charles Darwin's thinking, but rather draw inspiration from insights such as "it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change," interdisciplinary teams of thought leaders were charged with reimagining service thinking. Grounded in a hospitality and tourism mindset, and extrapolated to a broader service context, the nine papers that form this special issue provide the stimulus for change in increasingly complex and dynamic markets. With this charge, it should not be a surprise that technology-informed thinking underpins several of the issue's contributions, including the examination of new business platforms, such as peer-to-peer business models, smart service provision to enhance guests experience, and the implications of big data in the customer value creation process. Such themes are accompanied by contributions that address more traditional aspects of service and hospitality research, such as the human element of service, service innovation, or service experience co-creation but they do so through a twenty-first century lens, emphasizing the need for traditional thinking to evolve in a new paradigm. Whether it be emerging or re-imagined service research themes, all contributions in this special issue provide thought-provoking insights that have the potential to disrupt, or provide opportunities for, the rapidly evolving hospitality and tourism industrya strong contributor to the ever-growing service sector. The nine themes covered in this special issue include: peer to peer platform business models; service systems value creation/ destruction; service experience stakeholder management; technological disruptions in service; smart service experience; big data and customer value; social innovation in service; hospitable service and human touch; and innovation and authenticity. Below is a brief introduction to each of these research themes. Wirtz et al. (2019), adopting an ecosystem framework, considers the emergence of peer-to-peer sharing platform business models. In recognition that such platforms have redefined the role of brand owner (i.e. platform owner), service providers and users, a comprehensive review enables a thorough understanding of all sharing platform stakeholders' roles with the intention of enhancing the platform's utility. The emergence of new business models like peer-to-peer sharing platforms presents unique challenges such as identifying ideal service system designs. In response to these challenges, Van Riel et al. (2019) develops a framework that conceptualizes how twenty-first century service systems need to be configured for enhanced sustainability. In cons...

Effectuation and causation configurations for business model innovation: Addressing COVID-19 in the gastronomy industry

“…First, the gastronomy industry has already embraced the relevant industry trends ( KPMG, 2016 ) to move from conventional business models (e.g., dine-in restaurant model) towards a differentiated set of business models before the COVID-19 situation ( Bogers and Jensen, 2017 ). In particular, we note the advent of digitally integrated models such as platform models ( Aksoy et al, 2019 ). Second, the magnitude and swiftness of COVID-19 made traditional dine-in business models redundant.…”