CCSC Seminar with Professor Nancy Wünderlich (Technical University Berlin)

Essays on Investigating and Empowering Marginalized Groups in Service Contexts

Abstract

This presentation delves into three research projects that center on marginalized groups within service contexts, tackling both social and ecological sustainability challenges. The first research project assesses the degree to which consumers aim to influence society and the environment through their donation behaviour. We contend that those consumers intent on generating such transformative effects deliberately allocate their donations among numerous charities, guided by moral values pertaining to both species and the environment. The insights drawn from a qualitative study paired with an online survey of donors, suggest sophisticated donation strategies and the profound moral considerations that drive donation behaviour. The second research project explores the experiences of elderly care consumers as they transition into an elderly care facility, focusing on how the facility's restrictive environment impacts their identity, the types of identity adaptation processes that ensue, and the role family members play in these transformations. Our findings are derived from an in-depth qualitative study of care networks, encompassing elderly care recipients, their family members, professional caregivers, and care home managers. This study offers a layered analysis of the changes in identity and adaptation mechanisms within these settings. The third project provides a forward-looking exploration of research undertaken in partnership with cultural institutions, such as theatres, cinemas, museums, clubs, and festivals. It explores to what extent the service design of cultural institutions might inadvertently lead to the stigmatization of financially vulnerable consumers and proposes strategies to mitigate such outcomes.

About Professor Nancy Wünderlich

Nancy V. Wünderlich is Professor and Chair of Digital Markets at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research encompasses consumer behaviour in digital spaces, technology adoption and digital transformation challenges, and transformative service research. Her work is prominently featured in leading marketing and management journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, and MIS Quarterly. Recognized for her outstanding contributions, she has received numerous prestigious awards in her field. Nancy is an Associate Editor at the Journal of Service Research and an International Faculty Member of the Center for Service Leadership at Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.