Editorial: Why human experience matters for service research

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to review recent service research to make visible emerging orientations in how service scholarship engages people’s roles, capacities and social conditions through services and to clarify what this means for future research directions. 
Design/methodology/approach – The editorial adopts a reflective and selective approach, engaging with contemporary service research to identify patterns and orientations that signal shifts in how service phenomena are understood. Rather than aiming for comprehensive coverage, the approach emphasizes sense making and positioning, opening space for continued inquiry into how services shape human experience across roles, contexts and time. 
Findings – The reflection highlights a subtle reorientation toward service research that attends more closely to lived realities and processual perspectives on wellbecoming. It draws attention to strengths and agency alongside vulnerability, as well as to intergenerational and social dynamics. The editorial also positions dignity and care as guiding logics for understanding services. 
Originality/value – The contribution of this editorial lies in making visible and legitimizing forms of service research that engage with human and societal concerns. By framing these efforts as central rather than marginal, the editorial supports bolder, human-centric research choices and reinforces the relevance of service research for understanding how people live with services in a society where systemic pressures increasingly spill into everyday life.