Purpose Sustainability is important in-service experiences, yet research on how customers perceive these initiatives remains fragmented across sectors and disciplines. This study aims to review existing literature to provide a structured understanding of the field. It aims to map the intellectual structures, thematic clusters and trends in research on sustainability and customer perceptions from 2015 to 2025. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted using the PRISMA framework. Seventy-six articles were identified from Scopus and manual searches. Bibliometric analysis with R/Biblioshiny and VOS viewer examined publication trends. Intellectual mapping used keyword co-occurrence, trend topics, and sector-specific evidence to identify concepts and theoretical underpinnings. Thematic mapping was then applied to classify the dominant research themes within the field. Findings The study shows a steady rise in research on sustainability and customer perceptions in service settings, with contributions from more than 250 authors across 48 journals. While the research is globally distributed, collaboration is more common within regions than across them. Most studies focus on customers and emphasize themes such as perceived sustainability, service quality, satisfaction, loyalty and engagement. The findings also show that sustainability in services is shaped through customer experiences rather than just operational practices. Trust, credibility and digital interaction play an important role in how customers evaluate and respond to sustainable service offerings. Research limitations/implications Findings inform theory development and practice. Future research should explore underrepresented sectors, technology-enabled services, cross-cultural contexts, multistakeholder perspectives and longitudinal dynamics. Originality/value This study consolidates existing literature and integrates bibliometric, intellectual and thematic perspectives. It provides an overview of how sustainability and customer perceptions have been examined in service experiences.
Jaiswal et al. (Mon,) studied this question.