The caring turn in service research

Purpose This study aims to advance a conceptualization of care as a means to rethink service research by reinterpreting three foundational constructs—engagement, experience and value creation—and applying care as an onto–epistemological-practice lens. Design/methodology/approach To establish contributions through envisioning and identifying, the current study brings to light care as a neglected dimension and highlights its theoretical relevance, thereby opening new avenues for inquiry. Its contributions reflect an innovative structuring approach that is particularly well suited for addressing underexplored research areas, in support of a reframing of how care is understood and theorized in service scholarship. Findings The care lens in service encompasses three dimensions: being (ontology), knowing (epistemology) and doing (practice). It highlights caring in practice as situated, embodied and affective. Three propositions within the proposed framework reinterpret the core service constructs of engagement, experience and value creation. In this view, caring sustains well-being while nurturing well-becoming, as both a telos and ongoing journey, thereby enabling the flourishing of human and more-than-human life. Originality/value As a distinctive contribution to service research, the current study proposes the caring turn not as a mere enrichment of existing frameworks but rather as a pathway toward their renewal. By positioning care as a core analytical and practical concern, it expands the boundaries of the field, introducing new vocabularies, sensibilities and methodological orientations that reframe not only what services do but also how they matter.