Reframing human centricity for service innovation: bridging Service design and Customer-dominant logic

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to reframe and refine human centricity for service innovation by integrating Service design (SD) and Customer-dominant logic (CDL). While both approaches prioritize the individual, they frame the customer’s role, context and value formation in different ways. The paper highlights customers’ lived realities, situated value formation, and everyday contexts beyond the service interface. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper draws on prior literature in SD and CDL to contrast their underlying assumptions, focal areas and methodological applications. Through a comparative synthesis, it proposes a synergistic perspective that combines SD’s methods with CDL’s interpretive depth. A matrix and illustrative example in health care are used to demonstrate their complementarity and to guide future integration. Findings CDL and SD provide complementary perspectives for advancing human-centered service innovation. CDL offers a conceptual lens to understand customers’ broader life contexts, value formation and lifeworld relevance beyond the service interface, whereas SD contributes participatory methods and a mindset operationalizing human-centered principles. This integration supports a more holistic and context-sensitive approach to innovation. Research limitations/implications This research contributes to service theory by advancing situated human-centered innovation as an integrative framework of SD and CDL, two perspectives often treated separately. It bridges conceptual and methodological gaps, encouraging service innovation that is contextually grounded, pluralistically designed, and responsive to the complexities of everyday life. Further research is needed to explore its applicability across diverse service settings. Practical implications For practitioners, this research supports service innovation that aligns with customers’ broader life contexts – enhancing continuity, identity and personal relevance. It encourages moving beyond the design of isolated interactions toward services that meaningfully integrate into customers’ routines, roles and long-term aspirations. Social implications Social implications of this research lie in its advocacy for service innovation that respects human complexity, diversity and agency. By promoting services that are life-integrated and context-sensitive, it contributes to more inclusive, equitable and ethically responsible service ecosystems. Originality/value This paper is among the first to systematically link SD and CDL to enrich human-centered service innovation. It reframes human centricity as situated human relevance – a layered, life-integrated perspective that encompasses everyday use, personal meaning and long-term value creation. By uniting logic and method, the paper forwards a foundation for service innovation that is relevant, context-aware and reflective of the complexities of everyday life.

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