Dignify: A Dignity-Based Conceptual Framework for Defining Consumer Vulnerability in Services

Service research on mechanisms facilitating vulnerable consumers’ well-being and service outcomes through respecting and affirming human dignity is sparse. This study advances consumer vulnerability research by integrating philosophy, marketing, consumer psychology, medicine, and Transformative Service Research (TSR) to examine the role of dignity in service encounters. This research employed netnography to gather data from two large disability communities on Reddit, while the critical incident technique was used to collect data from Reddit and Facebook, thereby enhancing the results. The findings led to the development of Dignify , a dignity-based definition of vulnerability and conceptual framework, which centers dignity in consumer vulnerability. Dignify reveals how Humanization (dignity affirmation) and Dehumanization (dignity violation) behaviors, along with Structural Factors and Social Factors (dignity affirmation or violation contexts), shape consumer (physical, mental, psychological, social, and financial well-being) and service outcomes (trust, loyalty, switching intentions, service failures, and word-of-mouth/electronic word-of-mouth [WOM/eWOM]). Services (particularly TSR) and marketing can benefit greatly by incorporating dignity in vulnerability research, providing a distinctive framework for both conceptual and practical advancements.