Can there only be one? Towards a post-paradigmatic service marketing approach

In English Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to unlock positions regarding the goods/services dichotomy in service marketing and to offer an argument that treats goods and services on an ontologically equal basis.

Design/methodology/approach – A close reading of influential texts that argue in favor of a service-dominant logic (SDL) and new paradigms in service marketing.

Findings – Both the SDL proposal and calls for new service paradigms can be understood as ad hoc solutions that serve to reproduce and even strengthen the asymmetry between goods and services. A post-paradigmatic analysis opens up new possibilities for service marketing research and practice.

Research limitations/implications – By showing how goods and services can be positioned equally, hitherto invisible sites of value creation become potential subjects for analyses in service marketing.

Practical implications – Service marketing practices are situated so as to explain the value creating interactions between service providers and customers in a more transparent way than is usual.

Originality/value – An ontologically grounded critique of the ad hoc nature of contemporary service marketing theory