Emerging Technologies in Service Research

The Blockchain technology has been one of the most transformative technologies in our lives from improving efficiency in doing simple financial transactions (offering faster and less costly ways through cryptocurrencies) and how individuals and organisations invest. But, the use of Blockchain for decentralized data management has shown huge potential for applications beyond financial services (Tapscott & Tapscott, 2016). That is why several companies, including IBM and Microsoft have started developing blockchain-based technology that can be adopted by industry partners. Accordingly, the first stream of research will focus on the role of blockchain on consumer wellbeing. Healthcare is one of the sectors that has received major attention in recent years. According to Global Market Insights, Blockchain Technology in Healthcare Market is expected to cross $1.6 billion by 2025. Interoperability in healthcare has traditionally been focused around data exchange between business entities (e.g. different hospital systems). But, there has been a recent push towards patient-driven interoperability, in which health data exchange is patient-mediated and patient-driven (Gordon and Catalini, 2018). However, there has been limited research on the opportunities and challenges of adopting Blockchain in healthcare from a services marketing perspective, and particularly, how this may affect consumer well-being. The second stream of research will focus on the role of blockchain in the field of service recovery. There is little doubt about the potential for cryptocurrency to revolutionize payment. Specifically, cryptocurrencies have found their way as an alternative form of payment in retail and hospitality sectors (e.g. there are various companies accepting Bitcoin as payment for airline ticket, booking hotels and holidays, or even buying food), yet there is a lack of research on its effectiveness as an innovative service recovery strategy. Hence, this research will provide the first examination of crypto-compensation (i.e. compensation 2.0), to shed initial light on whether firms should offer crypto-compensation instead of traditional vouchers or cash) to increase customer satisfaction and repurchase intention and also reduce their negative word of mouth intentions.