Stepping out of the shadows: Supporting actors’ strategies for managing end-user experiences in service ecosystems

In service ecosystems not all actors have direct relationships with end users, yet they are often critical for delivering better service experiences. Specific events (e.g. service failures) may require these supporting actors, who are often hidden during regular customer experience journeys, to become visible when deviations or disruptions occur. Deciding whether and when to come out of the shadows presents a complex managerial challenge for ecosystem actors providing supporting services, with important implications for end user’s experiences. We examine strategies that service ecosystem actors can adopt for managing end-user experiences in complex ecosystems, and the implications for themselves and other ecosystem actors. Based upon two dimensions, visibility and synchronization, six experience management strategies are outlined and contrasted. Using case vignettes, we explore how and when such strategies might be adopted and potential impacts on service sellers and end-user experiences during regular and atypical service journeys, and present future research propositions.