Directions for future research
| Research topics | Grand challenges | Sample research questions |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding the changing demands of healthy aging consumers | ||
| Understand the changing needs and demands of healthy aging consumers |
|
| Measuring the success of services provided to aging healthy customers |
|
| Managing and designing services | ||
| Design principles for services targeted at healthy aging customers |
|
| Transformation of tasks, processes and roles in firms’ workforces |
|
| Communication and adoption of services | ||
| Debunk age-related stereotypes |
|
| Technology adoption drivers and barriers |
|
| Inclusion, equality and ethics | ||
| Reduce inequalities and address the heterogeneity of aging consumers |
|
| Private, fair and ethical promotion of aging consumers’ health and well-being |
|
| Research topics | Grand challenges | Sample research questions |
|---|---|---|
Market research | Understand the changing needs and demands of healthy aging consumers | How can we understand and research functional age and its diversity? What are the implications of changing consumer demands for service firms? |
Metrics and marketing analytics | Measuring the success of services provided to aging healthy customers | What existing metrics are valid and reliable in capturing aspects of service performance for healthy aging customers? How do metrics need to be adapted to capture the unique differences of this emerging segment? |
Service design | Design principles for services targeted at healthy aging customers | What are human-aging-centric design principles for smart technologies for the healthy aging? How does the ideal servicescape design for the healthy aging look like? |
Transition and empowerment | Transformation of tasks, processes and roles in firms’ workforces | How do we motivate and enable frontline service employees to become effective teachers of technologies to healthy older adults? |
Communication and technology adoption | Debunk age-related stereotypes | How should companies communicate choices related to age-inclusive technologies given that neither younger nor healthy older consumers want to be targeted as “old” or “elderly”? How can technologies for aging consumers be communicated without triggering negative stereotypes? How visible should age-inclusiveness be made when marketing new age-optimized technologies? |
Technology implementation and adoption | Technology adoption drivers and barriers | How are smart technologies for the healthy aging perceived by aging consumers? What are the drivers and barriers to technology adoption for aging consumers? How do these factors differ for consumers of varying ages? |
Diversity and inclusion | Reduce inequalities and address the heterogeneity of aging consumers | How can smart technologies help address the problem of heterogeneity in aging? How do we harness the knowledge and wisdom of older adults (e.g. through peer-to-peer services and volunteering)? |
Corporate social and digital responsibility | Private, fair and ethical promotion of aging consumers’ health and well-being | How can services and technologies facilitate the healthy aging’s health and well-being? What guidelines and policies are needed to ensure the fair and responsible marketing to and serving of the healthy aging? |
Source(s): Table created by the authors