Mobile applications (apps) as service provider actors

Abstract

Contextualized in health care service, the authors contribute to service experience theory and practice in three important ways. First, by means of qualitative interviews with patients and health care providers (clinicians and professionals), the authors empirically show that digital technology (mobile application—“app” with its companion portal) can perform the roles of a service provider in health care experiences, identifying six key roles. Second, the authors illustrate how apps, as service providers, can potentially transform the health care experience, influencing the roles and forms of interactions with other actors in the service ecosystem. Third, a typology of roles and key functions highlighting interactions and impact of the app and portal on the health care experience is developed. Drawing on institutional logics and role theory, this article aims to provide new insights into service provider roles that are not confined solely to humans. Our goal is to show that apps can undertake a range of roles to enrich interactions and potentially enhance the health care experience. First, the authors provide evidence that an app can perform the roles of connector, coordinator, counselor, enabler, instructor, and watchperson, impacting on the roles of others in the service ecosystem and the health care experience. Then, guidelines to assist organizations in designing a service using an app as a service provider are offered, together with an agenda to guide future research.