Mahr 2019 Making Sense of Customer Service Experiences

Making SENSE of Customer Service Experiences: A
Text Mining Review

Citation for published version (APA):
Mahr, D., Stead, S., & Odekerken-Schröder, G. (2019). Making SENSE of Customer Service Experiences:
A Text Mining Review. Journal of Services Marketing, 33(1), 88-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-10-
2018-0295
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Making sense of customer service experiences:
a text mining review
Dominik Mahr
Service Science Factory, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands and Department of Marketing and
Supply Chain Management, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Susan Stead and Gaby Odekerken-Schröder
Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the concepts and theories underlying customer service experience (CSE) and its
underlying five dimensions (physical, social, cognitive, affective and sensorial). In this research, the contribution of the sensorial dimension to
CSE research is emphasized. Senses are especially important in forming perceptions within servicescapes that are typically rich in sensory
stimuli.
Design/methodology/approach – This study systematically identifies 258 articles published between 1994 and 2018 in services and
marketing journals. The analysis uses a text mining approach with the Leximancer software to extract research concepts and their
relationships.
Findings – The results demonstrate a shift from CSE research focused on brands and products toward value and interaction, around three focal
areas: service system architecture, with its value creation processes; servicescape, with an increasingly digital interaction interface and outcome
measures, with a stronger focus on emotional and relational metrics. In CSE research, the physical, social and cognitive dimensions are mostly
researched in the focal areas of servicescape and outcome measures. Although important in practice, the sensorial dimension is the least
investigated CSE dimension in service marketing research. Text mining insights demonstrate rich opportunities for sensorial research, particularly in
studies on servicescape.
Practical implications – The synthesis will inform managers and service providers which elements of CSE are most relevant to customers when
forming perceptions. These insights help service providers to control, manage and design (multi)-sensory stimuli that influence how customers will
make sense of the servicescape.
Originality/value – This research is one of the first studies to examine the conceptual structure of CSE with a text mining approach that
systematically analyzes a large set of articles, therein reducing the potential for researchers’ interpretative bias. The paper provides an assessment of
the role of the largely neglected but crucial sensorial dimension, and offers future research suggestions into this emerging topic.
Keywords Customer experience, Multisensory, Sensory, Leximancer, Text mining, Review, Servicescape, Service research
Paper type Research paper
Introduction Helkkula, 2011; Klaus and Maklan, 2012; Lipkin, 2016; Pine
and Gilmore, 1998; Schmitt, 1999) and recognize CSE as a
With rapidly changing service landscapes, the need to
cornerstone of marketing (De Keyser et al., 2015). Recent
understand, manage and design better customer service
conceptual research on CSE defines it as a multidimensional
experiences (CSE) becomes inevitable for service managers
construct consisting of physical, social, cognitive, affective and
and researchers alike (Roy, 2018). In total, 81 per cent of global
sensorial elements that encompass customers’ direct or indirect
marketers’ report that they mainly compete on the basis of
interactions with a (set of) market actor(s) during the entire
customer experience (Gartner, 2018). An increasing interest in
(purchase) journey (De Keyser et al., 2015; Lemon and
this topic from both an academic and a managerial perspective
has led researchers to recognize CSE as a research priority in Verhoef, 2016).
contemporary services and marketing literature (Bolton et al., Despite these significant advancements on the conceptual
2018; Jaakkola et al., 2015). A plethora of studies have recently nature of CSE (De Keyser et al., 2015), an over-focus on
emerged in services literature which identify CSE as a complex, individual dimensions of CSE rather than incorporating all
multi-layered concept (Berry et al., 2002; Gentile et al., 2007; CSE dimensions simultaneously in one research has led to
fragmented CSE research (Bustamante and Rubio, 2017;
Lipkin, 2016). In the retail context, studies have strongly
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on contributed to a better understanding of store atmospherics
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/0887-6045.htm and product choices (Roschk et al., 2017; Yakhlef, 2015).
Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, empirical studies in
Journal of Services Marketing

33/1 (2019) 88–103 Received 14 October 2018
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 0887-6045] Revised 27 November 2018
[DOI 10.1108/JSM-10-2018-0295] Accepted 28 November 2018
88
Making sense of customer service experiences Journal of Services Marketing
Dominik Mahr, Susan Stead and Gaby Odekerken-Schröder Volume 33 · Number 1 · 2019 · 88–103
the services context that have addressed all five suggested Customer service experiences and its underlying
dimensions of CSE (i.e. physical, social, cognitive, affective and dimensions
sensorial) are limited. Recent studies reveal that particularly little
Multiple definitions of CSE exist across the services and
is known about the sensorial dimension of CSE (Bustamante and
marketing literature. This article focuses on the current, most
Rubio, 2017; Keiningham et al., 2017). This seems at odds with
accepted definition that considers CSE to consist of physical,
findings from consumer behavior studies where scholars,
social, cognitive, affective and sensorial dimensions (for further
throughout the past decade, reveal the importance of visual,
discussion, we refer to Lemon and Verhoef, 2016).
auditory, olfactory, taste and habitudinal stimuli on CSE in the
Understanding the multidimensionality of CSE is a central
retail context (Berry et al., 2002; Gentile et al., 2007; Holbrook
focus of the emerging bodies of services, marketing and
and Hirschmann, 1982; Yakhlef, 2015). In a similar vein, a large
management literature (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). Although
variety of marketing studies have altered the servicescape to
there is widespread contemporary agreement on the
trigger sensory effects through aesthetic appeal, scents, music importance of the concept of CSE, there are still divergent
jingles, food samples and surface roughness (Krishna, 2012; views on what constitutes CSE. In the past few decades, various
Mattila and Wirtz, 2001). Drawing on literature from other research disciplines have presented an increasing number of
domains such as psychology, neuroscience and cognitive science scholarly articles showing different perspectives on (re-)
also provides diverse and rich insights about the senses. However, defining, analyzing and capturing CSE (De Keyser et al., 2015;
the large variety and scattered foci impede CSE researchers from Helkkula, 2011; Klaus and Maklan, 2012; Lemon and
manually synthesizing and translating these contributions to the Verhoef, 2016; Lipkin, 2016; Roy, 2018).
services context. Reviewing these different perspectives on CSE research is
In this article, we focus on the most recent conceptualization helpful for understanding how scholars arrived at the five
of CSE with its five corresponding dimensions. The aim of this dimensions (physical, social, cognitive, affective and sensorial)
study is to synthesize the rapidly growing contributions about of CSE. Literature reviews on CSE by Helkkula (2011) and
CSE and its five dimensions across leading journals in the Lipkin (2016) reveal that different theoretical lenses led to
services and marketing domains. The following research diverging approaches and characterizations of CSE. Helkkula
questions guide our investigation: (2011) views CSE literature as either process-based (i.e. papers
concerned with the service system architecture), outcome-based
RQ1. What is the conceptual structure of CSE and how has it
(i.e. papers operationalizing outcome qualities) or phenomenon-
evolved over time? based (i.e. papers view CSE as a holistic context-specific
RQ2. What theoretical concepts distinguish the five phenomenon). In contrast, Lipkin (2016) classifies CSE
definitional dimensions of CSE? literature according to three levels of customer activity within
the service environment. The first and most traditional
RQ3. To what extent is the sensorial dimension present in perspective is stimulus-based, which refers to a passive response
CSE research? by the individual to largely controlled and created stimuli
offered by the provider (Lipkin, 2016). This so-called
RQ4. What concepts and theories of sensorial CSE cross the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) paradigm (Mehrabian
boundaries of services and marketing research and and Russell, 1974) provides the theoretical grounds for these
offer opportunities for future research? studies. The paradigm postulates that stimuli in the
servicescape have an impact on customers’ perceptions
Key motivations for this research are the need to understand,
(organism), which leads to particular customers’ reactions
design and evaluate the five definitional dimensions of CSE,
(responses). Some literature criticizes the S-O-R model, as it
including taking advantage of the opportunity to o provide
considers customers to be in a “passive state,” implying that
directions for service researchers to further advance this
experiences are formed in an automated process (Pareigis et al.,
emerging field (De Keyser et al., 2015; Lemon and Verhoef, 2012; Lipkin, 2016).
2016; Lipkin, 2016; McColl-Kennedy et al., 2015). Using a The second interaction-based perspective extends the previous
novel text mining and topic modeling approach, we extract and perception and views customers as active individuals that
consolidate the concepts and focal dimensions across a large set subjectively assess social interactions (Edvardsson et al., 2005;
of articles in a rigorous, automated and systematic way. This is Pareigis et al., 2012). Studies classified as interaction-based
suitable for studying complex phenomena in an unbiased and have overcome previous limitations and identify customers’
content-driven format (Biesenthal and Wilden, 2014) – in active role in sensing and interpreting the servicescape, which is
particular, when contributions are cross-disciplinary, which is driven by prior experiences (Lipkin, 2016). According to
the case for CSE. The approach extracts word occurrences and Lipkin (2016), the shortcomings of the interaction-based
applies a Bayesian algorithm to predict emerging concepts and approach is the linear and temporal perspective that
their relationships, helping to better understand the research investigates CSE.
area, its development and research opportunities in the services Finally, the most recent and advanced perception of CSE
marketing domain. In doing so, this article identifies important according to Lipkin (2016) is the sense-making-based
pathways to advance services research and CSE research in perspective. In this view, studies understand CSE as a holistic
particular. It also guides future research studies that will and dynamic concept requiring iterative sense-making
ultimately help service managers to design services that create processes (Heinonen et al., 2013). Studies that apply this
richer multisensory experiences for their customers. perspective investigate visible and invisible interactions within
89
the servicescape (Bolton et al., 2014; Carú and Cova, 2015) understanding product perceptions. Garlin and Owen (2006)
with a large focus on customers’ inner realism. Furthermore, also find a link between auditory (i.e. sound) impressions and
customers understand the physical and social realities of the the emotions and feelings that customers use as cues to
servicescape by engaging in cognitive and affective processes interpret their experience (Hultén, 2011). In contrast, Dinh
(Lipkin, 2016). It is notable that the sensory dimension et al. (1999) show that olfactory and tactile cues increase
remains essentially absent in this sense-making perspective. customers’ sense of presence and memory within a virtually
Outside the services context, studies on atmospherics reveal depicted and perceived environment. Finally, the sense of taste
that environmental stimuli typically activate cognitive and is distinct and usually assessed in combination with other
affective processes (Roschk et al., 2017); however, the reasons senses because humans can only distinguish five pure tastes
behind customer reaction to such stimuli still remains (sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami), so any inferred
unexplored (Rosenbaum and Massiah, 2011). As inner realism evaluation relies on a combination of sensory perceptions
(Helkkula and Kelleher, 2010) to a large extent determines the (Krishna, 2012). Ghanzanfar and Schroeder (2006) also find
cognitive and affective CSE dimensions, CSE may not always that the integration of senses across receptors (i.e. eyes, ears,
be externally observable. Spence et al. (2014) suggest that the nose, skin, taste) depends on the congruency of the stimulus
sense-making process is a complex mechanism wherein signals. Rich simulations from different sources occurring
experiences are not only transported by affective and cognitive simultaneously appear to refer to the same event (Driver and
iterations but are also affected, to a large extent, by sensorial Spence, 2000). Against this academic background, substantial
iterations. The resulting perceptions cannot be understood on a research in psychology and marketing highlights the impact of
sense-by-sense basis, but are the result of a multitude of cues in sensory stimuli or cues on customers’ product perceptions.
the servicescape that lead to a multisensory perception However, in a services context, it is less obvious what role
(Krishna, 2012), implying that customers selectively transfer senses play in CSE formation (Scott and Uncles, 2018). In the
multisensory cues by means of their senses into cognitive and broadest sense, services literature refers to the sensory
affective perceptions (Spence et al., 2014). The complexity of dimension as the sense-making process of the customer when
inner realism makes it particularly difficult for services and interacting with the physical service environment (Bitner,
marketing researchers to understand and capture the 1992). Berry et al. (2006) were among the few scholars who
connected and holistic sensory experience in a complex service integrated the concept of sensory perception into a conceptual
environment (Scott and Uncles, 2018). Given that senses play model. The authors captured senses within a mechanic clues
an important role in shaping CSE, we believe that the services dimension, which refers to environmental stimuli such as
discipline in particular would benefit from a clear sights, smells, sounds, tastes and textures. This dimension is
conceptualization of the sensory dimension. distinct from functional clues that pertain to the technical quality
of the offering and human clues that emerge from the behavior
Sensory dimension of customer service experiences and appearance of the service provider.
When studying a concept as complex and interwoven as senses, Building on these insights, Palmer (2010) later defines
it is essential to increase the understanding of the sensory sensory stimuli in a way that is more centralized to the overall
phenomena and what “sensory” constitutes, exactly. service experience by using Gupta and Vajic’s (2000) definition
Consumer behavior, psychology and neuroscience research stating that CSE results from any sensation or knowledge that
have studied senses extensively (Driver and Spence, 2000; customers derive from an interaction with different elements in
Streicher and Estes, 2016; Sunderland et al., 2012). To derive a the context created by the service provider. Palmer (2010) not
common understanding of what senses and sensory perception only confirms the importance of the services context as a driver
entail, this article therefore first draws on well-established of CSE but also suggests that customers perceive sensory
research beyond services literature. stimuli in a manner unique to the individual – this applies to
Krishna (2012, p. 334) distinguishes between sensory stimuli sensory perceptions in isolation as well as in combination. In
and perception. Sensory stimuli are “stimuli that impinge upon fact, cues in a services context often are perceived as
the receptor cells of a sensory organ” and may appear as visual, multisensory stimuli, (e.g. a combination of taste and smell),
auditory, olfactory, taste or habitudinal cues. Perception, on where multiple senses drive cognitive and affective perceptions
the other hand, is an “awareness or understanding of sensory (Krishna and Schwarz, 2014; Sunderland et al., 2012;
information,” which can be sensory, cognitive or affective. The Yanagisawa and Takatsuji, 2015).
concept of senses goes as far back as Aristotle, who introduced Although the contributions of marketing and psychology
the theory of aesthesis (i.e. sensation) in the fourth century. research lead to a clearer understanding of multisensory
Aristotle argued that the order of senses is hierarchical, starting perception, these studies mostly adopt a product perspective.
with haptics and that all other senses increase the acuity of the However, much work still needs to be done to understand the
touch sensation (Krishna, 2012). Later studies indicate that impact of the multisensory CSE (Keiningham et al., 2017;
human perceptual systems can receive multiple sensory signals Scott and Uncles, 2018). In line with this idea, Krishna (2012)
simultaneously, which can form in isolation or in combination shows how subconscious triggers appealing to customers’
as a starting point for further interpretation (Agapito et al., senses affect their perceptions and induced behavior;
2013). substantial literature also identifies the effects of the senses on
Consumer behavior research relies extensively on insights of customers’ purchasing behavior (Adolphs et al., 2000; Bolton
combined senses to assess product perceptions. For example, et al., 2014; Peck and Childers, 2008). In particular,
Orth and Malkewitz (2008) demonstrate the key role of vision Yanagisawa and Takatsuji (2015) note that sensory stimuli lead
and haptics for discovering changes in the environment and to multisensory perceptions, which affect posterior emotions.
90
This finding suggests that sensory stimuli drive cognitive and Science to identify relevant journals and CSE articles. The
affective perceptions of CSE; as of yet, however, there is no citation index allowed us to identify peer-reviewed services and
universally accepted or integrated conceptualization of the marketing journals which were ranked according to the impact
sensorial dimension in CSE research. factor. For our analysis, we included services and marketing
In the services context in particular, reliance on sensory cues journals with a five-year impact factor higher than one (IF > 1).
is crucial; services do not offer any tangible cues that customers In total, 16 services journals and 27 marketing journals met the
can use to judge the experience (Kwon and Adaval, 2018). In initial criteria and were consolidated based on four main
fact, sensations that are derived from sensory organs (i.e. eyes, criteria, outlined in the next section.
ears, nose, skin and taste receptors) and “act as the initiator of The next step, a keyword search in Web of Science, including all
individuals’ perception of the surrounding world, a process 43 journals was conducted. For the selection of keywords, we
through which sensory inputs are selected, organized, and made use of peer discussion with experienced researchers in the
interpreted, resulting in a conscious sensory experience” field. As a result, we defined a list of the most relevant keywords
(Agapito et al., 2014, p. 225). Additionally, empirical studies for CSE research, which were used in an issue-by-issue search of
emphasize the importance of the sensory dimension over the all selected journals. The search proceeded in two stages. First,
other four dimensions of CSE, suggesting that the role of the we searched in all journals for the terms “customer experience,”
senses is key for value-creation processes in the servicescape “user experience,” “service experience” or “experience centric
(Agapito et al., 2014; Brakus et al., 2009; Gentile et al., 2007). service” in the title, abstract and keyword section. This restriction
Thus, it is essential to broaden perspectives on this topic and ensured that CSE was the focal concept in the articles. As we
draw on well-established marketing and psychological research were particularly interested in the sensory dimension of CSE, in
streams to cross research boundaries and shed some light on the second search step, we investigated the same set of journals by
this complex and most relevant dimension of CSE. using a search for the following combination of words: “senses
AND experience” or “sensory AND experience” or “sensorial
Methodology AND experience” or “multisensory AND experience” or “multi-
sensory AND experience.”
CSE has gained prominence in the services and marketing
Given the aim of this article, the results of the data search
discipline over the past years, with a broad set of published
served to generate a comprehensive list of papers that have been
studies (Bustamante and Rubio, 2017). To consolidate scholarly
conducted in the corpus of CSE literature across decades; in
understanding about the concept and its underlying foundations,
addition, it reveals those papers that have contributed to the
certain initial papers reviewed the concept; however, either they
sensorial dimension. Thus, for an article to be included, the
did not follow a systematic approach or they based their analyses
following criteria had to be met:
on manual coding (Lipkin, 2016) which might be subject to published in English language;
researcher bias (Wilden et al., 2017). The current study uses a contains at least one of the search words in the title,
systematic text mining and machine learning approach with the
abstract or keyword section;
aim of expanding the scale and scope of existing CSE reviews. published and available in any online archive or database;
Text mining is a form of unstructured ontological discovery
and
(Randhawa et al., 2016) that consolidates concepts and themes considered a full article (e.g. calls for papers, abstracts or
across a large set of articles in a rigorous, automated and
proceedings were not included).
systematic way, particularly suitable for studying complex
phenomena in an unbiased and content-driven format The search resulted in an initial set of 331 articles: of which 151
(Biesenthal and Wilden, 2014). belong to marketing journals and 180 to services journals
This article makes use of the Leximancer 4.0 software, which (Figure 1). The authors independently scanned all 331 articles
applies a Bayesian learning algorithm to identify word co- to ensure that they met the inclusion criteria and that the focal
occurrence frequencies as well as relationships within the text concept was CSE and/or the concept of senses in the context of
corpus that have been used in other contexts. Put simply, words CSE. In particular, the articles had to meet one of the following
that occur frequently make up a concept; concepts that “co- criteria: it had to provide a definition of CSE or senses; it
occur”, often within the same sentence, are clustered in close provides a conceptualization of CSE or senses or it provides
proximity and grouped to a theme (Cretchley et al., 2010). dimensions of CSE or senses. The coding resulted in an overlap
Thus, the themes explain the groupings of the clusters and are of 93 per cent. For the articles where the coders did not come to
named after the most prominent concept in the cluster. an agreement a third, independent coder was involved. This
Leximancer uses a clustering algorithm that outperforms other coding process led to a final sample of 258 articles (73
approaches such as latent dirichlet allocation (LDA), as it does excluded). Of these 258 articles, 206 CSE articles resulted from
not decide on the number of themes prior to the analysis, but the first search and 52 sensorial-related articles resulted from
rather selects the number of themes through a machine- the second search.
learning algorithm based on the discovered concepts and their
relationships (Wilden et al., 2017). Text mining analysis
The first two steps in the data analysis phase included
Sample selection downloading all 258 articles from the journal database and
To comprehend the status quo and evolution of CSE research converting PDFs into Microsoft Word files. This step removed
as rooted in marketing and emerging services literature, we reference lists and any headers and footers stating the article
used Thompson Reuters’ InCite Citation Index and Web of title, journal name, authors or year of publication, and page
91
Figure 1 Overview of systematic literature review
numbers to avoid causing meaningless or biased co- synonymous concepts and the interpretation of the graphical
occurrences of words after running the analysis (Netzer et al., depiction) is an important action that is still undertaken by the
2012). The data set was then clustered into publications on researcher.
CSE that occurred between 1994-2008 and 2009-2018. The We excluded general terms (such as research, results, showed,
first publication that matched our search criteria was found in significant and model) which are commonly used throughout
1994. Drawing on Lemon and Verhoef’s (2016) influential articles, but do not specifically add meaning to the content
article, the authors find that although Schmitt (1999) already analysis (Cretchley et al., 2010). In addition, singular and
identified five types of experiences [i.e. sensory (sense), plural words were merged (such as environment and
affective (feel), cognitive (think), physical (act), and social- environments). Finally, we excluded our search terms
identity (relate) experiences], only ten years later, Brakus et al. “customer,” “experience” and “service” as they would logically
(2009) introduced the sensory dimension as the fifth dimension dominate the results and could blur the underlying concepts
to the CSE definition. We therefore anticipate a potential and themes of CSE we are interested in.
conceptual shift in CSE research as of 2009. For the 52 articles
that matched our sensory keyword search, we did not split the Findings
set into different time frames, as our intention was to reveal a
detailed overview of key concepts that can help define the Evolution of themes and concepts in customer service
multisensory dimension in CSE research. experience research
The analysis with Leximancer resulted in a semantic Comparing and interpreting the graphical depiction and
extraction of a thesaurus of words that carry related meanings tabular insights from CSE publications between 1994-2008
and form a theme (Randhawa et al., 2016). Thus, the output of (T1) and 2009-2018 (T2) helps to address RQ1. Specifically,
the software procures are visual and tabular representations of we interpret themes, concepts and their semantic distance and
concepts, themes and their relationships (Liesch et al., 2011). read samples from the focal articles that form these themes
As such, the software identifies closely related concepts and (Randhawa et al., 2016). To understand how the field of CSE
clusters them in a theme. The relative size and color refer to the research has evolved, we investigate whether prominent themes
relative importance of the themes, which follow the color wheel and concepts have changed.
with red determining the most important theme. The distance First when investigating T1 (n = 31), it is noted the
between concepts gives an indication of the semantic semantically closely related and most noticeable themes are
relationships, meaning that strongly connected concepts brand and consumer, and to a slightly lesser extent interaction
appear in close proximity (Smith and Humphreys, 2006). (Figure 2), indicating a strong provider- and product-centric
Additionally, when interpreting the graphic depiction, an focus. Specifically, the most dominant theme brand in T1
important element to consider is the presence, or most consists of concepts such as marketing, business, firms and
importantly, the absence of a concept. Following Liesch et al.’s industry. The close proximity between the concepts of product,
(2011, p. 25) reasoning, it may be “potentially instructive if brand and value, support this product-centricity. The
important concepts fail to occur sufficiently frequent within the connection to the second most prominent theme consumer can
text to be identified and associated with other concepts.” be observed through the concepts of firm and relationship.
Although Leximancer follows an unsupervised learning Furthermore, central concepts in customer–firm relationship
algorithm, thesaurus generation (through, for example, studies entails consumer satisfaction, along with positive and
concept seed word cleaning, classification of conceptually negative evaluations as outcome variables (Patrício et al.,
92
Figure 2 Time 1 (T1: 1994-2008)
2011). According to Palmer (2010), customer satisfaction and focus to a much broader concept that is subject to influence
quality have been criticized for their shortcomings in predicting from the interaction within the servicescape with contextual
purchasing behavior and bias toward cognitive outcomes as stimuli, which is not necessarily controlled by the provider
opposed to affective outcomes. (Rosenbaum and Massiah, 2011). In this vein, CSE is
With the development of the service-dominant (S-D) logic understood to be shaped on the basis of physical, social,
(Vargo and Lusch, 2004, 2008) within the period of T1, cognitive, affective and sensory perceptions (Bolton et al.,
customer-centricity and broader perspectives on the 2014).
servicescape and service interactions became prominent In line with these changes, several new themes emerge in T2.
(Lipkin, 2016; Nenonen et al., 2018; Rosenbaum and Massiah, Zooming into the conceptual map of Figure 3, we identify three
2011). Themes of interaction and quality include three of five key areas of CSE research that enable a better understanding
CSE dimensions: physical, social and affective (i.e. emotional). on the evolution and current state of CSE research. Figure 3
The emotional and social dimensions are mostly associated shows the key areas through three circles, which summarize
with interaction, whereas the physical dimension is related to concepts relating to the service system architecture (circle A)
quality. (Patrício et al., 2011), servicescape (Bitner, 1992; Rosenbaum
As a relatively new emerging research area, it is not surprising and Massiah, 2011) (circle B) and outcome measures (Helkkula,
that the majority of CSE articles (n = 175) fall under the second 2011) (circle C). The following explains each research area
period: 2009-2018 (T2). Two formative CSE studies appeared further.
in 2009 and 2010, which demonstrate the change and
broadening of the research focus (Brakus et al., 2009; Service system architecture
Zomerdijk and Voss, 2010). Their CSE definitions now Research on service system architecture focuses mostly on two
encompass the sensory dimension as the fifth dimension. In dominant themes: value and processes. The themes data and
addition, CSE has shifted from a dyadic provider-customer information are somewhat distant, but can be seen as support
93
Figure 3 Time 2 (T2: 2009-2018)
processes. Surprisingly, the theme of value in T2 is now Servicescape

detached from the consumer theme, and in turn dominantly The second area of research constitutes concepts that focus
connected to provider-related concepts. In close proximity on the servicescape. The servicescape is defined as a physical
are concepts such as company, management and marketing. setting in which a service exchange is performed, delivered
Additional concepts include resources and perspectives. and consumed (Bitner, 1992). Interaction and online are two
Furthermore, the closely connected concepts of business, of the central themes that emerge from the analysis of T2,
companies and need, along with perspective and resources, where interaction can be considered the key activity in CSE
link to the second largest theme of processes. Processes can be research taking place in the servicescape (Patrício et al.,
described by not only systems, technology, activity and 2011). Additional concepts include role, create and
practices but also innovation and development. The knowledge. Comparing T1 and T2, role is one of the few
relatively close proximity between the concepts design, concepts that remain rather stable in both size and position.
system, innovation and development constitute an This concept is captured in both T1 and T2 under the theme
important change to T1 and have been identified as key interaction, and in close proximity to provider-related
concepts for creating meaningful value propositions (Yu and concepts, indicating a rather constant research interest
Sangiorgi, 2017). across time. This finding supports the notion of redefining
This is different from T1 where processes (showing as a actors’ roles in the servicescape (Patrício et al., 2011).
concept) appear scarcely addressed under the theme of Under the service logic, it has been shown that the actors’
interaction, which is now directly linked to the theme of value knowledge and understanding of their role in the
and more distant to the theme interaction. In contrast to T1, an servicescape significantly influences value creation
interesting finding is that the theme brand and the concept processes (Moeller et al., 2013; Wetter-Edman et al., 2014).
relationship is no longer in close proximity to the theme value. Interestingly, the social dimension of CSE links to theory,
Instead, brand is now a concept under the separate theme which in turn links to engagement. In line with this,
relationship in T2, which can be considered an outcome measure engagement theory has recently been shown to include and
of CSE (circle C). refine actors’ engagement in the servicescape (Li et al.,
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2018). Also engagement and the individual constitute provided insights indicating the concept sense relates to both
dominant concepts that bridge the servicescape themes with sensing and senses. Thus, we find a connection between the
themes related to outcome measure. (online) environment and consumer senses, but no connection
The second most dominant theme in the servicescape online related to the sensory dimension. Surprisingly, the cognitive
is an important change to the servicescape literature in general. dimension remains absent in the output of T1 and T2,
Online did not emerge as a concept in the analysis of T1, but indicating that little or no attention has been paid to this
now forms a relatively large theme under T2. Concepts of time, dimension. As the aim of RQ3 and RQ4 focused on the sensory
flow store, shopping and retail represent the clear shift toward dimension, we conducted a second text mining analysis.
an online environment in the retailing industry. In comparison
to T1, where the physical dimension was associated with the Multisensory customer service experiences
concept of quality, T2 observes a strong shift toward an online The second step of the analysis focused on papers that
environment. investigate the sensory dimension (n = 52). The analysis of
these articles is necessary for answering RQ3 and RQ4. First,
Outcome measures product is revealed to be the most dominant theme in Figure 4.
In the third research area that describes as outcome measures, In contrast, service is only a relatively small concept under the
themes that emerge are consumer, relationship, purchase and theme of experience, indicating that limited attention has been
positive (Figure 3). While consumer and purchase are clustered in paid in sensory experience research. The sensory concept is the
close proximity, concepts such as expectations, behavior, most prominent and closest connected concept under the
performance and purchase shape these themes. In line with theme product (Figure 4). Furthermore, all five human senses
Helkkula’s (2011) characterizations, these studies expand the are in relatively close proximity to the theme product as opposed
scope of CSE toward largely measurable outcome variables. to experience or the service concept. Vision and touch constitute
Furthermore, we found a link between consumer and the concepts of product and are closely related to packaging,
perception, positive and negative evaluations and satisfaction association and perception. Somewhat unrelated to the product
(Svari et al., 2011). Interestingly, satisfaction receives less theme are sound (i.e. hearing) and taste, which can be
attention in T2 as opposed to T1 where it is a theme itself. considered individual themes. Taste is strongly related to the
Additionally, the concept of emotions shifts from the concept of smell and food, indicating that studies have focused
servicescape, where it is closely linked to interaction, toward an on these two senses in the conjoined context of food (Krishna,
outcome measure concept. In addition, the concept of sense 2012). Another interesting finding is that the theme of sound is
appears under the consumer theme and is closely connected with related to color, which appears separately from vision. Vision is
the concept of environment in the servicescape. closely connected to the theme of brands. In contrast to
A new theme labeled relationship emerges in T2. Moreover, Figure 2 (T1) and Figure 3 (T2), Figure 4 reveals that all five
brand, quality and employees play a central role in relationship dimensions of CSE are visible. This shows that studies
building and maintaining (Nguyen et al., 2014). In particular, investigating the sensory dimension of CSE also consider the
quality and brand have received far less research attention in other four dimensions.
comparison to T1. In contrast to the five human senses, which are mostly
investigated with products and brands; four of five CSE
The five dimensions of customer service experiences dimensions occur adjacent to the theme experience. In
To answer RQ2, we compared and assessed the five dimensions particular, the concepts emotion and cognition appear under
of CSE across both periods. As outlined in the methodology the theme of experience. Surprisingly, cognition is linked to
section, the sensory dimension appeared in CSE definitions positive (a theme that relates to outcome measures) and
only as of 2009, whereas earlier CSE studies addressed the experiences, indicating importance in both areas. The social
other four dimensions (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). dimension forms a separate theme, constituting solely of the
Interestingly, when investigating Figure 2 (T1), only three concept physical. Both dimensions (i.e. social and physical)
(social, affective and physical) of the five dimensions appear as connect to experience. In contrast, emotions closely relate to
concepts. While under the interaction theme, social and processes and purchase, which are outcome measures (Figure 3,
affective factors seem to play a large role, whereby the physical T2). In a similar vein, the concept affective, which consists of
dimension was tied in with the theme of quality. Surprisingly, emotions, closely relates to the themes of brand and product;
the cognitive dimension (and as anticipated the sensory concepts such as positive, negative and quality occur in close
dimension) is absent. More importantly however, in T2 proximity.
(Figure 3), an indication for four of five dimensions can be Surprisingly, the sensory concept is the only one out of the
found. The physical dimension is closely connected to the five dimensions that does not directly link to experiences or
environment, whereas the social dimension remains a key service. In fact, the sensory concept links to consumers, which is
concept of interaction. In contrast, the affective dimension (i.e. a concept that is part of both themes: product and experience. In
emotion) has shifted toward consumer evaluations that are Figure 4, the concept of “customer” is mostly associated with
measurable as CSE outcomes. services, whereas “consumer” is more connected to products.
The concept sense is somewhat positioned between the The distance between the sensory concept and the themes
themes of online and interaction, and at the edge of the consumer service and experience hints that limited research has been
theme circle. As the concept does not directly state itself as conducted in the service literature. This finding supports the
“sensory,” it could infer multiple meanings. As a result, an observation across T1 and T2, where the sensory dimension is
additional investigation was conducted. Reading text examples absent.
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Figure 4 Sensory experience research
The analysis of the sensory literature shows that the sensory indication for the sensory dimension in T2. The social and
dimension relates strongly to information, indicating that physical dimensions constitute important concepts related to a
information is retrieved through sensory processing (i.e. fundamental change between T1 and T2, where a shift from
through human senses). Senses cluster as a concept under the product and firm perspectives in T1 toward interaction and
theme of consumption, indicating an important role for value creation in T2 can be observed. These observations lend
consumption processes. Furthermore, vision and touch (in support to the suggested shift from manufacturing-dominated
theme product) closely link to perception and association. economies, where experiences involve customers who
transform tangible products into value (Palmer, 2010;
Discussion and implications Schouten et al., 2007; Vargo and Lusch, 2004). Recently,
service ecosystems are seen as being more dynamic (Wilden
This study identifies pathways for developing CSE research via et al., 2017), where particularly the servicescape should
its central concepts and dimensions (Bustamante and Rubio, facilitate richer value creation.
2017). In particular, the sensory dimension in the CSE In a similar vein, the analysis reveals that most research
research remains a key challenge for researchers and attention lies on the processes (Figure 3 circle A) that support
practitioners alike (Scott and Uncles, 2018). The text mining the value propositions (circle B) and the interaction within the
analysis offers a novel approach in analyzing diverse servicescape (circle B). Andreassen et al. (2016) suggest that
contributions to CSE research over time and identifies three designing value creating services requires the provider to
distinct research areas: service system architecture, servicescape understand processes and contexts that influence CSE. This
and outcome measures. means that firms should develop value propositions and
The findings clearly reveal a lack of research attention on constellations from which the customers can derive value
CSE’s five fundamental definitional dimensions (i.e. physical, (Gupta and Vajic, 2000). The close connection between value
social, cognitive, affective and sensorial). In fact, only the and processes is further elevated in service design, an approach
physical, social and affective dimensions are found consistently that has received increasingly more attention in the services
across both periods (Figures 2 and 3), with only weak literature over the past years (Antons and Breidbach, 2018).
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Service design emerges as an approach that enables perceptions; senses play a key role for consumption. In fact,
organizations to communicate, plan and organize people and Agapito et al. (2014) notes that studies have stressed the
resources to develop better services (Mager, 2009). importance of the sensory dimension in CSE as opposed to the
While the link between processes and value are important, other four dimensions in that they are key to the interaction and
the findings suggest that the role of the customer seems co-creation of value (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004).
somewhat neglected, which is indicated by the distance Surprisingly, interaction is not considered a concept in sensory
between the themes (Figure 3). This may be seen as CSE research and likewise, only an indication of the
contradictory to the S-D logic’s foundational premises (FP) 6 importance of senses emerges from the findings in T2.
stating that “value is co-created by multiple actors, always Comparing insights from T2 and the sensory CSE research, it
including the beneficiary” and FP7: “actors cannot deliver is suggested that senses could play an important role linking the
value but can participate in creation and offering of value servicescape and the sense-making process of the customer
propositions” (Vargo and Lusch, 2016, p. 8). This discrepancy (Lipkin, 2016). This is classified in T2 as outcome measures.
resonates with Wilden et al.’s (2017) discussion on how to Indeed, a wide range of studies has revealed the importance of
structure value networks and resource configurations to enable senses with regards to forming knowledge and understanding
service innovation (Karpen et al., 2015). the environment (Agapito et al., 2014; Krishna, 2012), yet it
Another development in CSE research can be observed in seems that CSE research is relatively underrepresented on its
the physical dimension of T2, which is conceptualized under sensory dimension.
the emerging theme online in the servicescape (Figure 3, In sum, it is noticeable that academics have largely
circle B). In fact, scholars have recently called for broader broadened the perspective on what constitutes CSE and shifted
perspectives on the servicescape that capture customer from a dominant product and provider perspective toward an
activities at different physical places and moments in time interaction and value perspective (Vargo and Lusch, 2016;
(Heinonen et al., 2010), e.g. investigating CSE in an online Lusch et al., 2016). Although three (i.e. physical, social and
environment in comparison to retail store environments affective) of the five CSE dimensions received more attention in
(Moody et al., 2014; Trevinal and Stenger, 2014). Li et al. T2, especially the cognitive and sensory dimensions fall short in
(2018) suggest that taking an actors’ perspective enables a service literature. Our analysis reveals that senses play an
broader view on CSE at various points in time and places, such important role in generating knowledge about products and
as virtual or online environments (Moody et al., 2014). This brands (Figure 4). This suggests that the cognitive and sensory
technology-driven shift toward omni-channel usage (Grewal dimensions are closely connected and relevant for customers to
et al., 2017) necessitates more research to reach a better form their perceptions. The sensory focused analysis highlights
understanding of CSE and its dimensions in this rapidly several important insights that could benefit the services
emerging and complex context (Spence et al., 2014; Trevinal context. Combining these insights, the following sections
and Stenger, 2014). In T2, the analysis found that the social highlight research gaps and develop important research
dimension receives more attention and plays a key role in the questions, which should serve as direction for advancing CSE
interaction linking the servicescape with the individual and service research.
consumer. The emotional dimension is no longer considered in
the servicescape, but receives research attention with regards to Avenues for future research
outcome measures of CSE in T2. Most importantly, however, Although the five dimensions of CSE have been identified
the sensory and cognitive dimensions seem rather disregarded almost 10 years ago (Brakus et al., 2009), the results of this
in CSE research. The concept of sense emerges under the study clearly show that CSE research has paid limited attention
theme consumer in close proximity to interaction and online, to its underlying dimensions and their impact on the service
indicating that senses might play an important role for the system, in particular the sensory and cognitive dimensions lack
servicescape. This could ultimately provide outcome measures for research attention. Accordingly, this sections presents five
customers. We cannot find evidence for the cognitive future research avenues along with potential research questions
dimension in T1 and T2. This finding can either be interpreted (Table I) that should guide future services and in particular,
in that the dimension has been captured through other less CSE researchers.
prominent concepts in CSE, or that there is a lack of research
capturing cognition in CSE research. Develop a more comprehensive understanding of the
As the focus of this study is on the sensory dimension of CSE, five dimensions of customer service experiences
the analysis of sensory dominant studies reveals further insights The social, physical and sensory dimension show a close
(Figure 4). The articles in the sample show a strong product connection to the themes of interaction and the online
focus, where all five human senses are closer connected to the environment (Figure 3), which highlights its importance for
theme of product as opposed to experience or the limitedly the servicescape. The affective dimension appears across all
represented concept of service. Although scholars have stressed three analyses as being closely connected to CSE outcome
the importance of multisensory perception in CSE (Brakus measures. A recent study by Bustamante and Rubio (2017)
et al., 2009; Scott and Uncles, 2018), only two of five human defines the customer internal responses to the environmental
senses (e.g. taste and smell; hearing and vision; touch and stimuli as cognitive, affective and physical, while the social
smell) show a connection and suggest a conjoint investigation dimension appears as an external response toward other actors
in future research. Interestingly, the findings reveal that senses within the servicescape. While this study advances earlier
are mostly investigated with products and not services. The models that aimed to capture CSE (Klaus and Maklan, 2012),
analysis discloses that next to shaping product and brand two limitations emerge that – in line with findings in the present
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Table I Avenues for future research

Research direction Research questions Selected references
CSE Which of the five dimensions of CSE (i.e. physical, social, De Keyser et al. (2015), Lemon and Verhoef (2016), Roy
affective, cognitive and sensorial) is the most relevant in (2018), Scott and Uncles (2018)
the service setting?
What is the relationship between the CSE dimensions (e.g.
hierarchical or sequential)?
How can sensory stimuli and perception be integrated in
omni-channel marketing?
What innovative research methods can be used to
investigate multisensory CSE (e.g. sensory ethnography;
sensory anthropology)?
Service system architecture How can service providers leverage CSE’s dimensions Agapito et al. (2014), Bolton et al. (2018); Patrício et al.
when reconfiguring service processes? (2011)
Which dimensions of CSE are most relevant for innovating
service systems?
How can service providers design and manage
multisensory rich value propositions?
Servicescape What role do senses play in different servicescapes (e.g. Nenonen et al. (2018), Rosenbaum and Massiah (2011);
online vs offline, transformative services)? Karpen et al. (2015)
Which sequence or simultaneity of sensory perceptions
fosters engagement in the servicescape?
How are CES’s dimensions shaping the interaction
between actors in the servicescape?
To what extent are sensory stimuli controllable in the
servicescape?
Outcome measures How are sensory stimuli transformed into customer Agapito et al. (2013/2014); Bolton et al. (2018), Scott
perceptions? and Uncles (2018), Streicher and Estes (2016)
Is there a spillover between sensory stimuli?
What is the role of prior experiences and/or expectations
on sensory perceptions in the service encounter?
Under what conditions are multisensory richer or less rich
value propositions desired?
How can multisensory CSE be captured or measured?
Link disconnected research topics What are theories and insights about senses from other Anderson and Ostrom (2015), Beudaert et al. (2017);
fields that are relevant for CSE? Cheung and McColl-Kennedy (2015); Rosenbaum et al.
What role do different senses play in a MarTech context? (2011); Streicher and Estes (2016)
What is the role of senses for different target groups in
transformative services (e.g. disabled or children vs
elderly)?
Can a lack of senses (e.g. person with impairment or CSE
context with sense restriction) be compensated by other
senses?
study – call for future research. First, the authors measure the anthropology) to advance the understanding of CSE and its
responses to service stimuli (through cognitive, affective and underlying dimensions.
physical inner responses) and neglect the sensory dimension,
which by definition relates to sensory stimuli in the service Form insights into innovating customer service
environment. Second, the measurement of CSE emerges as a experiences in service systems
second-order construct where the individual dimensions The goal of the service system innovation is to create value
combined measure CSE. However, the findings of this paper through configurations of technologies, people and other
suggest that the cause and effect may be much more fertile in resources (Teixeira et al., 2017). Effectively leveraging all three
that the social, physical and sensorial dimension indicate a components enable value co-creation (Skålén et al., 2015).
potentially subconscious role in the servicescape, whereas the Recent studies investigate service innovation from a value-in-
affective and cognitive dimensions most prominently occur use perspective (Yu and Sangiorgi, 2017) because research
with measurable outcome concepts. Accordingly, service shows that successful service innovations requires identifying
research requires investigations that look beyond existing and understanding CSE (Andreassen et al., 2016). Service
methods by potentially drawing on other fields (such as blueprinting, first introduced by Shostack (1984), orchestrates
98
front-and-backstage processes form a customer perspective. servicescape exclusion (Beudaert et al., 2017). Furthermore,
This detailed view helps to explain service encounters (Bitner, the shift toward omni-channel and MarTech context (Moody
1992). Unlike customer product experiences, CSE take place et al., 2014) demands studies that explore the role of CSE
when actors sense and acquire knowledge by interacting with dimensions in technology-driven online environments.
contextual cues (Zomerdijk and Voss, 2010). Thus, the
research focus should shift toward a more customer-centric Managerial implications
perspective (Jaakkola et al., 2015) or even balanced-centricity
perspective (Verleye et al., 2017). The aim of future research This article analyses the scholarly body of CSE literature, yet, it
should be to provide guidance for successful service system also holds implications for service managers. First, the findings
innovations that reinforce multisensory rich value propositions. show the trending themes within CSE, i.e. service system
architecture, servicescape, outcome measures and their
Investigate the effects of sensory stimuli in underlying concepts. Service managers may acknowledge this
servicescapes as the state-of-art CSE to reflect and seize opportunities to
Despite the importance of CSE to service research (Ostrom improve their services and organizations. An example of such
et al., 2015; Yu and Sangiorgi, 2017), existing studies have not reflections might be the extent in which implemented customer
established how customers derive experiences within the experience measures include the shift from satisfaction and
servicescape (Åkesson et al., 2014). While Rosenbaum and brand perceptions toward emotions and senses. Second, senses
Massiah (2011) emphasize that the servicescape constitutes a are instrumental for customers to capture service perception to
variety of stimuli that determine customer perceptions and gain information and knowledge. Thus, zooming into the
reactions, we know little about how sensory processing of sensory dimension enables service managers to identify,
multiple stimuli might translate into desired CSE. Along these understand and design sensory stimuli to establish more value-
lines, Agapito et al. (2014) stress the importance of research on creating and meaningful experiences. The relative scarcity of
how customers can use sensory stimuli resulting from the CSE literature capturing the sensory dimensions suggest that
environment to derive knowledge and understanding. interested managers can seek guidance in recent CSE literature
or even outside the field of service marketing, for example in
Develop a more comprehensive customer service psychology, design, or cognitive science. Third, the societal
experiences measure transition from offline to online services is also reflected in our
A lack of understanding exists regarding the influence of findings, indicating a strong impact on the multi-dimensional
sensory perceptions on CSE (Yanagisawa and Takatsuji, role of senses. An online servicescape might not transport all
2015). This emerging field of research requires a stronger sensory stimuli and their perceptions (e.g. smell), which might
foundation for understanding how conscious and subconscious in turn be an opportunity for developing better experiences in
stimuli might influence CSE (Bolton et al., 2014). Studies offline retail settings. At the same time, digital technologies can
focused on specific performance indicators as proxies for CSE be advantageous for service providers as they offer enhanced
cannot capture the subtle drivers of value creation (Åkesson possibilities to test, control and manage sensory stimuli
et al., 2014) or detail the overall experience (Berry et al., 2002). (Trevinal and Stenger, 2014), e.g. eye-tracking. Fourth, the
In addition, a common assumption is that customers can findings of this study point managers toward a more active
articulate the underlying drivers of their experience. This customer role in the service system, thus helping the co-design
contradicts Helkkula and Kelleher (2010) as they show that of multisensory rich CSE. Service design as an emerging
each experience is temporal and momentary. The interplay of approach offers novel methods such as service blueprinting and
sensory information prompts customers to form perceptions sensory ethnography that can facilitate these processes.
continuously, throughout the service encounter (Ghanzanfar
and Schroeder, 2006), such that assessing a customer Conclusion
experience after the service encounter may result in appraisals In summary, the present study provides a comprehensive
that do not reflect the actual CSE at the time customers review of CSE literature across leading services and marketing
experienced it (Kristensson et al., 2015). journals over a course of 24 years. By means of a novel
systematic, text mining approach, the paper not only presents
Reaching out to research areas outside the traditional the status quo in CSE research in the service domain but also
focus of service research presents key avenues for future research that:
The emerging stream on transformative service research (TSR) create a more in-depth understanding of CSE’s
has encouraged scholars to take different perspectives underlying dimensions in complex service systems; and
(Rosenbaum et al., 2011). Among others, two foundational broadens the prospective toward emerging research topics
pieces on TSR (Anderson and Ostrom, 2015; Cheung and such as transformative services.
McColl-Kennedy, 2015) have managed to shift well-being
closer to the service researchers’ attention. Although customer-
centricity and designing for excellent CSE are central research Limitation
and management topics, this focus omits specific target groups This article also features some limitations. First, the analysis of
(e.g. people with sensory impairment) (Beudaert et al., 2017). this study is based on a systematic literature review of a
For example, future research could investigate how the absence deliberately selected set of journals from the services and
of one’s sense can be compensated through the remaining marketing discipline. The goal was not to provide an exhaustive
senses. These studies are particularly important to avoid list of publications, but rather provide a comprehensive
99
overview on CSE research in services and marketing research. differences: a radical approach to consumption experience as
While this paper takes a service research focus, we acknowledge a firm’s differentiating strategy”, Journal of Service
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work and other unpublished papers. pp. 1-36.
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Further reading Business Research and Journal of Product Innovation
Kranzbühler, A.M., Kleijnen, M.H.P., Morgan, R.E. and Management. Prior to his academic career, Dominik worked
Teerling, M. (2018), “The multilevel nature of customer for several years in different management and marketing
experience research: an integrative review and research consultancies. Dominik Mahr is the corresponding author and
agenda”, International Journal of Management Reviews, can be contacted at: [email protected]
Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 433-456. Susan Stead is a PhD Candidate at the Department of
Levy, S.J. (1996), “Stalking the amphisbaena”, Journal of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at Maastricht
Consumer Research, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 163-176. University, The Netherlands. Her research centers on
Teixeira, J., Patrício, L., Nunes, N.J., N
obrega, L., Fisk, R. customer service experiences, with a particular focus on
P. and Constantine, L. (2012), “Customer experience multisensory perception.
modelling: from customer experience to service design”, Gaby Odekerken-Schröder is a Professor in Customer-
Journal of Service Management, Vol. 21 No. 1, centric Service Science at Maastricht University, The
pp. 362-376. Netherlands. Her main research interests are service
innovation, relationship management, customer loyalty and
service failure and recovery. Professor Oderkerken-
About the authors
Schroder has published her work in the Journal of
Dominik Mahr is a Professor of Digital Innovation and Marketing, MISQ, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service
Marketing at Maastricht University and the Scientific Director Research, Journal of Service Management, Journal of Business
of the Service Science Factory (SSF). His research centers on Research and many more.
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Journal of Services Marketing

Figure 1 Overview of systematic literature review

Figure 2 Time 1 (T1: 1994-2008)

Figure 3 Time 2 (T2: 2009-2018)

processes. Surprisingly, the theme of value in T2 is now Servicescape

Figure 4 Sensory experience research

Table I Avenues for future research

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