Quality in group service encounters

Purpose\ud\ud - The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of service quality for settings where several customers are involved in the joint creation and consumption of a service. The approach is to provide first insights into the implications of a simultaneous multi‐customer integration on service quality.\ud\udDesign/methodology/approach\ud\ud - This conceptual paper undertakes a thorough review of the relevant literature before developing a conceptual model regarding service co‐creation and service quality in customer groups.\ud\udFindings\ud\ud - Group service encounters must be set up carefully to account for the dynamics (social activity) in a customer group and skill set and capabilities (task activity) of each of the individual participants involved in a group service experience.\ud\udResearch limitations/implications\ud\ud - Future research should undertake empirical studies to validate and/or modify the suggested model presented in this contribution.\ud\udPractical implications\ud\ud - Managers of service firms should be made aware of the implications and the underlying factors of group services in order to create and manage a group experience successfully. Particular attention should be given to those factors that can be influenced by service providers in managing encounters with multiple customers.\ud\udOriginality/value\ud\ud - This article introduces a new conceptual approach for service encounters with groups of customers in a proposed service quality model. In particular, the paper focuses on integrating the impact of customers' co‐creation activities on service quality in a multiple‐actor model