Learning from Pandemics Past and Present for Service Theory and Practice

Like the years 1918–20, the years 2020–21 will be remembered as the time of a global health crisis. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Journal of Service Theory and Practice (JSTP) issued a call for papers to understand such crises and their implications for service organisations, especially for their marketing activities. Although still ongoing, the COVID-19 pandemic has already substantially affected humans across all sectors and occupations throughout the world. It poses unprecedented challenges for businesses, requiring continuous adjustment of their goals and practices. Both businesses and consumers have been forced to alter many long-standing habits and choices because of the fundamental safety measures adopted around the world, such as physical distancing, self-isolation, contact tracing and compulsory use of face masks to reduce the risk of infection. This special issue (SI) identifies policies that were and/or should be put into place starting from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and also focuses on the responsibilities taken on by service providers and individual consumers. Why should services research study the effects of a pandemic? Living through a pandemic represents a transitional experience, as both consumers and companies need to adapt to rapid and profound changes. A transitional experience can be both positive and negative, and previous research suggests that some transitional experiences represent a source of positive change in individuals because they are encouraged to be more productive, creative and reflective (Bamber et al., 2017). However, pandemics also represent a difficult transition for many people, particularly vulnerable consumer groups such as the homeless, indigenous and addicts who find their basic care needs adversely affected. Faced with this complex situation, we believe that service research stands to gain from understanding the many divergent transitional experiences arising during a global pandemic. Full paper available at https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-03-2021-317