Boenigk et al. (2021) have recently introduced the concept of Transformative Services Initiatives (TSI) to the service research community. The authors defined TSIs “as activities of organizations (public, private, nonprofit) or volunteers that serve people experiencing vulnerabilities and improve their well-being” (p. 542). In a higher education/refugee context, the authors provided first empirical proof that refugees actively participating in a TSI experience positive effects on their access to higher education. However, the access to higher education is only one dimension in a refugee’s integration process (Ager and Strang 2008). Complementary insights on the labor market integration, facilitated by TSI initiatives of public service organizations, are both missing and much needed (Daunfeldt, Johansson, and Westerberg 2019).

Against this background, our study focuses on a TSI of a public service organization that aims to support people to better integrate into the German job market. Our research context is “The Hamburg Welcome Center for Professionals and Potentials (HWCPP)”, a welcome service center newly implemented in 2021 to offer all public services needed to work in and move to Germany.

Interestingly, the HWCPP is responsible for two very different target groups: on the one hand, the TSI targets the vulnerable group of people with a refugee background who are seeking access to the German job market. On the other hand, the TSI provides services for highly qualified skilled workers (Professionals) from abroad, whose perspectives on the German job market have improved due to the “Skilled Workers Immigration Act” introduced in March 2020.

From a theoretical Transformative Service Research point of view, we generally hypothesize that participating in and interacting with a public TSI, will fundamentally improve people’s access to the job market within both target groups (Boenigk et al. 2021). At the same time, however, the unique “under one umbrella”-structure of the HWCPP potentially worsens the job market opportunities for refugees because it ignores that refugees have different service needs and competencies of administrative literacy when compared to high potentials. For example, we expect that the understanding of the job requirements by reading job announcements is very different in the two groups, or the individual ability to do job interviews in the German language in a professional way. Therefore, we aim to answer two research questions. First, what are the outcomes of a TSI in the context of public job market integration processes? Second, are displacement effects observable between the two target groups?

Our longitudinal study is based on a large employment data set from the HWCPP before (2020) and after the implementation of the public TSI (2022). During data analysis, we will (1) analyze effects in both groups on job market access related to participating in the TSI, and (2) analyze potential displacement effects to the detriment of the refugees. Findings, discussion, and implications will be presented at the conference.

The economic integration of refugees into their new host countries is a very important step toward their full integration and subsequent wellbeing (Ager and Strang 2008; Boenigk et al. 2021). Even though some refugees, using their entrepreneurial spirit and skills, could start their own business and become self-employed, a very large majority of refugees still rely on companies to employ them (Strang and Ager 2010). Therefore, their employability and ability to find jobs is a critical part of their economic integration. Since most refugees have been hired for jobs in various service sectors (Shneikat and Alrawadieh 2019), having a deeper understanding of factors that enable or impede refugees’ employment has major implications for service organizations.
This paper investigates the employability of refugees in host countries from the employer perspective. The previous studies have included either demographic profile of refugees like their gender, age, education level, country of origin or more macro factors like overall economy or the job market opportunities (e.g. Bakker et al. 2017; Correa-Velez et al. 2015) as determining factors for their employment. This paper, on the other hand, using multiple studies, examines how employers’ perceptions of refugees and their vulnerabilities affect their decision to hire refugees as employees of their companies.
The first study, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 32 employers in various service sectors in Turkey, a host country with over 5 million refugees, reveals that those employers see refugees either as “victims” or “burden” that do not have much to contribute as employees, or they see refugees as “individuals with resources” that would provide valuable contributions to their companies as employees. This finding is well aligned with the two alternative approaches to vulnerabilities: deficit-based vs strength-based approach to vulnerabilities. Furthermore, this study also sheds light on different factors that contribute to employers’ such dichotomous perceptions of refugees.
In a second study, the factors identified in the first study will be empirically tested using a survey method with a larger group of employers in Turkey and Germany. This study aims to provide more generalizability and robustness to the findings of the first study. Finally, a third study will be conducted with employed and non-employed refugees to reveal refugees’ perceptions of their own employability to provide a more holistic understanding for this important issue and offer.
This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on refugee well-being by providing a more holistic understanding of factors that contribute to the employability of refugees. Understanding such factors will have implications not only for refugees’ integration into their host countries and their overall well-being, but also for service organizations and public policy-makers as well.

The collective creation of a positive impact to reduce inequalities and consumer vulnerability across service sectors is an emerging transformative service research priority (e.g., Anderson and Ostrom 2015) and a key strategic UN sustainable development goal. Improving the well-being of a collective system better equips individuals in that collective, to alleviate pressing economic and societal challenges such as the quality of work and social and physical health; inspire grassroots activity to provide broader access to resources, among other factors. However, to date, governments and organisations have found it challenging to identify ways to measure collective well-being. Despite much attention paid to the conceptualisation of collective well-being within service literature (Leo et al., 2019, Frow et al., 2019, Finsterwalder and Kuppelwieser 2020) in form of service system well-being (SSW), to date, a scale to empirically examine SSW is not developed. As a comprehensive multi-dimensional SSW scale, particularly one that includes the operationalisation of micro, meso and macro levels of a service system well-being is needed to capture the level of collective well-being in a system. To address the knowledge gap, the study employs a series of studies, to develop multidimensional SSW scale. By adopting standard scale development procedures (DeVellis 2012, Netemeyer et al. 2003) SSW scale is theorised and validated as a third-order micro-meso and macro level construct. After the development of preliminary items, Study 1 (N = 435 of service employees) was used to purify items using factor analyses. Study 2 (N = 592 of service employees) used structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the scale’s dimensionality, reliability, and validity. The dimensions of existential and transformative well-being contribute to micro-level well-being. The dimensions of social, community and collaborative well-being contribute to meso-level well-being. Government, leadership, strategic and resource well-being drive macro-level well-being. In addition, a nomological network was specified to assess the impact of SSW on service actor life satisfaction and customer orientation. We contribute to the services marketing literature in several ways. First, on the basis of Leo et al. (2019) conceptualisation, we develop and validate items that reflect the domains of collective well-being within service contexts thus contributing to service system literature. Second, we strengthen the theoretical understanding of micro, meso and macro levels of the service system and test their significance for the emergence of SSW by operationalising them. The prior literature (Leo et al. 2019, Frow et al. 2019) discusses the levels of micro-, meso- and macro-aggregation; however, it is necessary to operationalise these distinct levels of well-being to assess how well-being cascades and emerges into a holistic concept. We enhance the conceptualisation of the service system in relation to well-being that enables empirical testing. Finally, we empirically illustrate that SSW uniquely predicts relevant marketing outcomes, such as life satisfaction and customer orientation and demonstrate its impact for individual and organisational strategic outcomes. In doing so, we reinforce the utility of the construct in driving transformative outcomes for individuals, organisations and service systems at large.

Recently, designing transformative services that can improve the well-being of disadvantaged consumers and communities has been identified as a priority for service researchers (Field et al., 2021). As a fundamental constituent of Transformative Service Research (TSR), service design plays a significant role in materialising well-being outcomes such as access, inclusion, health, and reduced inequalities (Anderson et al., 2013). The central function of service design is to explore the overall activity that the service user is trying to perform, understand their resources and challenges in deriving value out of service interactions, and create the appropriate conditions for certain forms of interactions and flow of resources to happen (Fisk et al., 2016). To embrace the above-mentioned research priority, this paper investigates how design elements of a service system enhance well-being and reduce disparities between service outcomes for disadvantaged consumers and other consumer groups.

Drawing upon the resource-challenge conceptualisation of well-being (Dodge et al., 2012; Finsterwalder & Kuppelwieser, 2020), a qualitative enquiry was conducted by employing a multiple-case design approach to unravel service design factors influencing well-being outcomes for vulnerable service users. Data were collected through five case studies of refugee-support services in the UK. Refugees are exemplars of vulnerable service users who may suffer from multiple vulnerabilities, making them susceptible to lower levels of value whilst interacting in a service setting. Therefore, the chosen setting provides a rich empirical context to study design characteristics through which service can address consumer vulnerability and trigger uplifting changes that warrant transformative well-being outcomes. The study investigated services provided by community groups, not-for-profit organisations, local authorities, and the national government. To address the research questions, 75 semi-structured in-depth interviews with service providers (managers, frontline practitioners, volunteers, etc.) and refugee service users, together with complementary focus groups and field observations, were carried out.

Through within-case and cross-case analysis, the components of a transformative service design for disadvantaged service users were identified, and a resource-challenge informed service design framework has been devised. Furthermore, a transformative organisational capabilities framework has been developed by inspecting the organisational characteristics of various service providers in the study and their commonalities and idiosyncrasies. This study responds to the call for service research on service issues affecting disadvantaged individuals and communities. The findings provide a comprehensive perspective of a transformative design that can improve the well-being outcomes of service for vulnerable service users. Moreover, the study offers insight for service organisations working with vulnerable consumers regarding the capabilities required to foster a transformative service design to further deliver services that can address consumer vulnerability and enhance their well-being.