Well-being has become a subject of interest, in particular following the COVID-19 pandemic. This study extends the body of literature on Transformative Service Research (TSR) by investigating the impact of a manager’s aggression to a frontline employee on an observing (i.e. third-party) customer’s stress from multiple angles (namely, psychological, information and outcome stress) and subsequent copying mechanisms, which ultimately impact their well-being. We adopt the appraisal theory to understand the observing customer’s emotional responses to the manager’s aggression to a frontline employee and to explain the behavioural responses to stress. Our main research question is how does a manager’s aggression to a service employee influence observing customers’ stress, coping strategies, engagement and subjective well-being? All the relationships are further investigated by testing the moderating effect of gender and cultural similarity between the observing customer and the employee.

Two-hundred and forty responses were collected by means of 2 (partial vs complete observation) x 2 (civility vs incivility service interaction between a manager and an employee) scenario-based experiments from British-based respondents in the context of the restaurant business, with a screener of ethnicity. The data were analysed by means of SEM. The results showed that the impact of manager’s aggression to a frontline employee on the observing customer’s stress depended on whether the customer was engaging in partial or full observation of the incident. Our results demonstrated that psychological stress, information stress and outcome stress related differently to the copying mechanisms, which in turn also had a differentiated impact on observing customer’s engagement and well-being. These relationships were also moderated by gender and cultural similarity.

We are contributing to both observing customer and Transformative Service Research (TSR) literatures by demonstrating that customer stress is a multidimensional construct and there are spill-over effects of service incivility incidents on observing customers’ stress-coping strategies and in turn, their engagement and well-being. We are extending the TSR perspective to the observing customers literature, given that prior research on observing customers has only focused on service-related outcomes (e.g. repurchase intentions and revenge rather than engagement and well-being). From a managerial perspective, we identify conditions under-which service incivility can be devastating to the well-being of observing customers. Service providers need to understand the drivers of engagement and well-being of observing customers even if the service incivility was related to employees’ service experience.

Service providers are increasingly including transformative value - which focuses on improving the well-being of individuals, families, communities, or society at large - in their brand positioning. For instance, Iberostar positions itself as a benchmark in responsible tourism by focusing on a circular economy, responsible fish consumption, and coastal health, while Marriott promotes itself as a leader in combatting human trafficking in the accommodation industry. Prior research suggests that such a transformative value positioning can positively influence firm performance in terms of brand equity and customer loyalty. However, it may also backfire and even result in negative perceptions about the service provider (e.g., greenwashing, femwashing, healthwashing), which may lead to customers’ rejection of the brand’s transformative value and even deteriorate the brand’s image. Given these risks, firms have to be careful when positioning their brand based on transformative value.

Despite the relevance of this topic for service research, we lack a systematic understanding of the conditions under which a transformative value positioning may work, and importantly, may also fail or backfire. Therefore, this paper uses a conceptual approach that is rooted in the service, branding, communication, and advertising literature to present key principles of a successful transformative value positioning for service brands. This paper first describes the relevance of a transformative value positioning for service brands. Next, it explains that this kind of positioning is more challenging for service brands than for product brands because services are intangible; the service process consists of a large number of customer-brand interactions; the company is the brand; employees play a key role; and the customer is part of the service delivery. Against this backdrop, this paper presents an organizing framework which is used to theorize that a successful transformative value positioning is based on the organizational DNA; is consistently implemented in actions, communications, employee behaviors and servicescape; and inspires customer engagement. Starting from this organizing framework, this paper presents and explains 15 key principles of a successful transformative value positioning for service brands.

This paper makes two conceptual contributions. First and foremost, it provides a comprehensive perspective on a successful transformative value positioning for service brands by presenting an organizing framework as well as key principles. Furthermore, this paper offers a more balanced view on transformative value positioning by also including potential backfire effects. Second, the organizing framework delineates various elements that should be considered and – more importantly – should be aligned in order to build a strong and positive transformative value positioning. In addition, this paper contributes to business practice by presenting 15 key principles which provide guidelines for managers striving for a transformative value positioning. Not adhering to these guidelines could have severe implications for service brands in terms of washing perceptions ultimately deteriorating the brand image. Overall, this paper aims to bring relevant insights from the branding, communication and advertising literature to service research in order to enhance our understanding of successful transformative value positioning.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) play a pivotal role in transformative services, bridging the worlds of service delivery and community engagement (Blocker and Barrios, 2015; Minkler et al., 2008). For instance, Australian Schools Plus and The Smith Family are CBOs working with central government to facilitate value co-creation for children experiencing vulnerability. Prior marketing and social work research (e.g., Beaulieu et al., 2018; Davey et al., 2021; Islam, 2017; Jiang, 2020; Kang, 2011; Nehls, 2021) demonstrates the significance of grass-root CBOs’ contribution to individual and collective well-being. Government and private funding agencies leverage CBOs for mobilization of resources to alleviate experiences of vulnerability. However, many CBOs find it challenging to articulate the differences they make within a service ecosystem and how their role performances alleviate experiences of vulnerability. CBOs transform the lives of their service users by contesting and altering the resources and schemas that define these service users’ reality and the broader social structures (Blocker and Barrios, 2015). Yet interestingly, transformative service research does not specifically delineate CBO roles as value co-creators and market shapers in a service ecosystem. To address these knowledge gaps, we theorize: what are the types of roles CBOs enact in alleviating experiences of vulnerability and what is the level at which these roles manifest in the service ecosystem?

Using a typology approach to theory building (Jaakkola, 2020), we use market shaping theory to explain the different dimensions that distinguish types of CBO roles and different outcomes. Using illustrative examples, our conceptualization describes roles and pathways CBOs mobilize to help underrepresented communities navigate their way through various service ecosystems both public and private (Henderson et al., 2020). The study conceptualizes CBO market-shaping roles according to action pathways i) redefining market architecture and ii) legitimating service actors, together with a typology of seven roles and role practices; market worker vs identity constructor, resource activator vs facilitator, market-shaping vs agency-enabling practitioner, network- vs resource-mobilizer, market innovator vs innovation enabler, opportunity- vs reflexivity-activator, and integration- vs capability-mediator. The study contributes to the TSR literature by offering a more nuanced understanding of how the service relationship between CBOs and underrepresented actors nurtures strengths and capabilities that lead to diminished experiences of vulnerability, currently under-explored in TSR (Johns and Davey, 2019). Second, the study theorizes the meso- and macro-level roles CBOs enact as market shapers, “initiating or triggering a change of practices in a focal market” (Kleinaltenkamp et al., 2021, p. 69) offering guidance for CBOs to better articulate their role performances. Practically, our framework enables CBOs to describe their impact with much-needed evidence, increasingly demanded in the competitive funding environment. Third, taking non-firm market-shaping actors like CBOs as the focal actor, the study demonstrates market-shaping as a potentially useful theoretical approach for determining pathways to alleviate vulnerability by enhancing participation in marketplace relationships and activities.

Stock brokerage is one of the most engaging services as, unlike retail banking services, investors’ active engagement is crucial for the successful co-creation of value (Auh et al., 2007). Prior service research focused on how service organisations enhance investors’ self-efficacy through customer education programmes (Bell and Eisingerich, 2007). Nevertheless, although improving investors’ competences may enhance their ability to participate in the service (Dellande et al., 2004), the high volatility of stock markets may negatively influence the financial performance of investors’ stock portfolio due to factors outside their control (Qin et al., 2019). Recent studies on financial markets demonstrated that an individual’s engagement with stock market investment may be devastating to their mental health in highly volatile stock markets (Qin et al., 2019). We adopt cognitive appraisal theory (Bagozzi et al., 1999) to understand how investors appraise various stock market events which act as triggers to their engagement with the stock market, stress, and coping strategies. To this end, we aim to explore how Egyptian stock market investors manage their engagement levels and in turn, cope with stress implications of such engagement on individual and/or collective levels. The Egyptian stock market is a highly volatile stock market due to political (e.g. the Arab Spring), economic (e.g. currency devaluation) and health (e.g. COVID) crises.

We employed a qualitative approach by conducting 25 interviews with both stock brokerage customers and employees. Additionally, we collected data from online discussion forums of investors on social media. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Our findings uncovered different coping strategies employed by experienced and novice investors. Depending on how an event is being appraised, investors tend to experience different emotions such as hope, fear, frustration, anger and regret which affect their engagement and stress levels and in turn, their coping strategies. These coping strategies can be classified into individual (e.g. disengagement) and collective (e.g. group support and sense of humour in social interactions to reduce stress) strategies.

This research has the potential to contribute to the wellbeing literature and transformative service research (TSR) stream by identifying different types of wellbeing outcomes and coping mechanisms relating to the financial brokerage context. This study also looks at the interplay between stress and engagement which remains underexplored to date. In terms of collective stress reduction strategies, sense of humour as a coping strategy represents an interesting finding as it can mitigate stress for investors during their group chat on online forums.

Several managerial recommendations can be put forward relating to how companies can assist their investors in interpreting and framing stock market (negative) events to reduce the intensity of negatively-valenced emotions and self-blaming attributions, which may help in reducing their stress and diminished wellbeing outcomes. We also extend the TSR literature which predominately focused on vulnerable groups of customers (e.g. refugees or people with disabilities) to other customer groups who are not necessarily disadvantaged (i.e. investors) but require support and stress management skills to cope with and overcome their stress.