Purpose The term stakeholder engagement (SE) is widely used in digital health. Yet, empirical research remains fragmented regarding who contributes, how engagement is enacted, and how stakeholder input relates to implementation and governance. This study aims to synthesise this evidence and develop a framework for understanding SE within digitally mediated healthcare services. Design/methodology/approach The study combines a systematic scoping review of 54 empirical studies published up to 31 December 2025 with reflexive thematic analysis and a service research-informed conceptual synthesis. Two consultation workshops involving eight digital health stakeholders refined the framework's conceptual boundaries, internal relationships and contextual relevance. Findings The review identifies four themes: SE framings; recurring stakeholder role–contribution logics; practices ranging from informing to collaborating; and relational, technological, organisational, resource, and institutional conditions shaping engagement. The conceptual synthesis integrates these themes into a three-dimensional framework. The relational dimension connects stakeholder contributions, participatory practices, and decision influence. The system-level dimension configures stakeholder groups, roles, and contributions across interdependent micro, meso, and macro levels. The processual dimension represents SE as a non-linear journey in which practices and influence may intensify, weaken, or be reconfigured over time. Originality/value The study moves beyond treating SE as the inclusion of stakeholders or the application of participatory methods by explaining how stakeholder contributions acquire influence through participatory practices and relationships and how these dynamics are embedded in wider organisational and institutional arrangements. For service research, the framework specifies how these relationships are configured across interconnected levels of the service system and how they evolve as digital health initiatives are developed, implemented, and adapted.
Purpose-The prevalence of uncivil consumer behavior on social media presents challenges for brands managing publicly visible complaint interactions, where bystanders observe and evaluate responses. While prior research has examined accommodative brand responses and online incivility, few studies have examined how complaint tone shapes bystanders' perceptions of accommodative responses in publicly visible interactions. Design/methodology/approach-Two online scenario experiments were conducted with US consumers, using the airline (N = 679) and hotel (N = 553) industries as contexts. Both studies utilized a 2 3 2 design to test the proposed model. Findings-Accommodative responses significantly increased bystanders' purchase intentions, and this effect was fully mediated by brand attitude. Complaint tone moderated this indirect effect such that the positive impact of accommodative responses was stronger for civil complaints and weaker for uncivil complaints. Practical implications-The findings suggest that brand managers should adopt tone-sensitive response strategies when managing public complaints, while platforms and policymakers should support tools and guidelines that reduce online incivility and promote constructive communication environments. Originality/value-This study examined accommodative responses, complaint tone, and observing bystanders together in public social media complaint interactions and found that bystanders interpret brand responses in relation to the complaint tone that precedes them. The findings demonstrate that accommodative responses improve brand attitude and purchase intention more strongly for civil complaints than for uncivil complaints. The study also extends social learning theory by showing that bystanders learn from both brand behavior and consumer tone.
Purpose Despite the rise of collaborative, peer-based exchanges that have reshaped service provision, there remains a need for research that (1) accounts for the complexity of collaborative service systems, (2) explicates submarkets and exchange behaviors, (3) addresses theoretical underpinnings and (4) proposes future research directions. This article addresses these gaps by introducing an integrative typology of the Collaborative Economy (CE) grounded in Service-Dominant (S-D) logic. Design/methodology/approach We conducted an interdisciplinary review of CE conceptualizations and used creative synthesis to develop a typology based on three dimensions: compensated versus free, mediated versus direct and access versus ownership. The framework identifies four CE markets and eight collaborative exchange behaviors (CEBs). Findings Existing CE typologies provide valuable but partial perspectives, often emphasizing isolated dimensions or excluding noncommercial and nonmediated exchanges. The framework conceptualizes CE markets as institutionalized service arrangements that differ in how actors integrate resources, coordinate exchange and cocreate value. Collaborative exchanges may substitute for, coexist with or become institutionalized alongside traditional market forms. Research limitations/implications The typology supports cumulative CE research and offers a research agenda addressing platform innovation, institutionalization, sustainability, blockchain-based exchange and harmful consequences. Practical implications The framework helps managers and platform designers align governance structures, incentives and service design with underlying exchange logics. Social implications The framework highlights how collaborative practices can expand access, substitute for traditional transactions and generate beneficial or harmful societal outcomes. Originality/value This research integrates previously siloed concepts, clarifies underlying exchange mechanisms and provides a coherent foundation for theorizing CE market evolution and actor engagement.
Purpose Despite the recognized importance of actor engagement in collaborative settings, little is known about actors' engagement practices and their influence on collaboration. This paper seeks to conceptualize actor engagement roles, reflecting actors' investment of resources. Moreover, it aims to identify engagement roles in an empirical context and examine their mutual influence, shedding light on the induced engagement dynamics. Design/methodology/approach This research draws on actor engagement as the domain theory and role theory as the method theory. Grounded in the actor engagement literature, we conceptualize actor engagement roles, using this framework as a sensitizing device for the empirical investigation. The qualitative study comprises 32 semi-structured interviews with students participating in collaborative seminars, with data analysed using the Gioia method. Findings The first finding is a theoretically derived framework for actor engagement roles. The second finding is a typology and constellation empirically derived within the specific collaborative setting, comprising eight actor engagement roles grouped into three overarching categories. By conceptualizing connectedness as the influence of engagement practices between the focal actor and others, we identify key engagement dynamics within the collaboration. Originality/value This research addresses the gap in the unified understanding of actor engagement roles by presenting a generic framework for generating actor engagement role typologies across contexts. Applied in collaborations without pre-existing roles, hierarchies or monetary exchange, this paper is the first to empirically derive a typology and constellation within this specific context, providing a foundation for future measurement development in similar settings.
Purpose The declared benefits for people, communities and the planet of sharing economy (SE) have been praised for years, even though studies began to highlight that SE had failed to meet certain expectations. Although substantial research focuses on the SE impacts, literature examining its adverse social effects needs to be more extensive. This research aims to investigate the SE's social drawbacks from various angles, considering different standpoints, such as providers, consumers, companies and communities. Design/methodology/approach By conducting a systematic literature review of 103 academic papers, the study provides a comprehensive description and analysis of the SE's unintended social effects at both micro- and macro-levels; the negative social effects have been compared with the SE promises, creating a bridge between the main claims and SE actual impact. Findings While the expansion of the SE has contributed to market destabilization and social externalities, the literature suggests that these issues stem from specific implementation models and regulatory gaps rather than the sharing logic itself. Company narratives reinforce expectations that often go unmet, widening the gap between promises and reality. This research identifies future research directions, managerial implications and solutions to mitigate negative social consequences. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in the analysis of the negative social effects from multiple standpoints and their comparison with the SE promises, creating a bridge between the main claims, SE actual impact and the proposed solutions mentioned in the literature. These findings demonstrate how negative impacts have contradicted SE’ promises.
