Advancing phygital service research (PSR): key streams and future research directions
Wided BatatPurpose
This editorial article aims to establish phygital service research (PSR) as a distinct and integrative academic discipline. It synthesizes the contributions of the special issue to consolidate scattered knowledge, organize emerging themes and set a comprehensive agenda to guide future scholarship across blended physical-digital service ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the 18 contributions published in the special issue “Phygital Service Research (PSR) for Positive Marketplace Experiences: Integrating Physical and Digital Realms with Human-Centric Approaches,” this article develops an integrative synthesis of the emerging PSR literature. The papers are classified into core thematic areas and used to identify future research trajectories for deepening theoretical foundations, broadening ecosystem-level analysis and strengthening understanding of societal and cross-contextual implications.
Findings
The editorial identifies five primary research streams shaping current PSR: the intellectual architecture of phygital service ecosystems; human-first experience design; frontline employee experience and phygital organizational governance; transformative phygital service research; and phygital well-being paradoxes alongside dark-side tensions. It shows a paradigm shift in PSR toward long-term human flourishing, actor agency and systemic equilibrium.
Research limitations/implications
The paper aims to structure existing literature and outlines key future research trajectories, including the call for deepening indigenous theoretical foundations, expanding analytical scope to multiactor and ecosystem governance, and evaluating cross-contextual societal consequences. A limitation is its conceptual synthesis approach based on the specific collection of articles within this special issue.
Originality/value
This article advances PSR by introducing foundational concepts like phygital well-being paradoxes and phygital continuity to provide a clear roadmap for advancing service research in blended environments.