Blended human-technology service realities in healthcare. Issue 1 (4th January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dodds, Sarah; Russell–Bennett, Rebekah; Chen, Tom; Oertzen, Anna-Sophie; Salvador-Carulla, Luis; Hung, Yu-Chen
• Is Part Of: Journal of service theory and practice. Volume 32:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 75
• Page End: 99
• Publication Date: 2022-01-04
• Subjects: Blended human-technology service realities -- People-centered healthcare -- Shared control -- DART -- Well-being -- Service robot -- Covid-19; Service industries -- Management -- Periodicals; Service industries -- Marketing -- Periodicals; Service industries -- Quality control -- Periodicals; 338.4700068
• DOI: 10.1108/JSTP-12-2020-0285
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2055-6225

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: The healthcare sector is experiencing a major paradigm shift toward a people-centered approach. The key issue with transitioning to a people-centered approach is a lack of understanding of the ever-increasing role of technology in blended human-technology healthcare interactions and the impacts on healthcare actors' well-being. The purpose of the paper is to identify the key mechanisms and influencing factors through which blended service realities affect engaged actors' well-being in a healthcare context. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper takes a human-centric perspective and a value co-creation lens and uses theory synthesis and adaptation to investigate blended human-technology service realities in healthcare services. Findings: The authors conceptualize three blended human-technology service realities – human-dominant, balanced and technology-dominant – and identify two key mechanisms – shared control and emotional-social and cognitive complexity – and three influencing factors – meaningful human-technology experiences, agency and DART (dialogue, access, risk, transparency) – that affect the well-being outcome of engaged actors in these blended human-technology service realities. Practical implications: Managerially, the framework provides a useful tool for the design and management of blended human-technology realities. The paper explains how healthcare services should pay attention to management and interventions of different services realities and their impact on engaged actors. Blended human-technology reality examples – telehealth, virtual reality (VR) and service robots in healthcare – are used to support and contextualize the study's conceptual work. A future research agenda is provided. Originality/value: This study contributes to service literature by developing a new conceptual framework that underpins the mechanisms and factors that influence the relationships between blended human-technology service realities and engaged actors' well-being.