Sustainable and Digitally Enabled Services Marketing and Management: Theory and Research
The course is under the Blended Intensive Program (BIP) of Erasmus+, organized in collaboration between Karlstad Business School/Service Research Center (CTF), Karlstad University, Department of Business Studies, Roma Tre University, and Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, on sustainable and digitally enabled services marketing & management with a focus on theory and research. The in-person sessions will take place at CTF, Service Research Center/Karlstad Business School, Karlstad University. The course will adopt a hybrid format, allowing participants to attend in person and via Zoom.
The course aims to give doctoral students an overview of the evolution within service research and the most recent developments. The doctoral students will gain an understanding of theoretical and methodological foundations, including emerging concepts within service research and marketing in particular, with a systemic perspective on sustainable and digital transformation.
The following topics will be covered in-depth during the course:
1. Foundations of Service Research
2. Theoretical Foundations of Sustainable Services Marketing: Covering sustainability principles, service ecosystems, service innovation, and sustainable consumption within marketing frameworks.
3. Digital Transformation in Services Marketing: Exploring digital ecosystems, digital marketing technologies, omnichannel strategies, and the impact of digitalization on service management and consumer behavior.
4. Sustainable Service Business Models and Circular Economy: Analyzing sustainable service-based business models, circular economy practices, and strategies for sustainable development in service organizations.
The course provides a current overview of the development in service research and related areas with a particular focus on digital and sustainable system transformation. The course highlights a systems perspective and methodological basis in service research.
The pedagogical philosophy of the course supports doctoral students in conducting their own research. The approach is inspired by problem-based learning. Students are responsible for reading and analysing the assigned course materials before each seminar. This allows them to have an in-depth understanding to discuss and problematize the literature during the course. The course also includes different learning research approaches for students to do group work and assignments.
The course will start on October 1st and end on December 27th, 2026.
- The in-person session will take place between 20th – 23rd October 2026 at CTF-Service Research Center/Karlstad Business School, Karlstad University, Sweden.
- There will be two digital seminars before and two digital seminars after the in-person seminars, including an introduction and conclusion.
- The online session will be on Zoom.
Instructions on how to apply for the course are in the document “Course instructions”.