The phygital well-being paradox in the service ecosystem

Purpose Phygital experiences, where digital and physical realities converge, are often positioned as offering the “best of both worlds” for consumers and brands. Yet, emerging practice suggests that hybridity introduces new complexities, trade-offs and risks for well-being. In response, this conceptual paper introduces phygital well-being research (PWR) as a research pathway for examining how hybrid experiences uniquely shape systemic well-being. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper builds on phygital service research. It recognizes phygital experiences as an ontological condition of contemporary service ecosystems rather than merely a delivery channel. Findings The authors develop the phygital well-being tensions model, which identifies eight well-being dimensions (e.g. physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, financial and occupational) as sites where hybrid tensions emerge. These tensions can generate phygital flourishing (positive well-being), phygital withering (well-being depletion) or paradoxical effects across stakeholders and service systems. Research limitations/implications By conceptualizing phygital well-being as a systemic, multidimensional outcome, the authors provide a foundation and outline future research to critically evaluate and design phygital experiences that balance benefits and burdens across stakeholders. Practical implications The framework guides service designers and practitioners to critically evaluate and design phygital systems that balance benefits and burdens across all stakeholders. It supports the ethical and responsible design of hybrid services. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to formalize PWR, positioning well-being as a systemic, multidimensional outcome of phygital hybridity. It extends service research by treating paradox as a constitutive, generative condition of hybrid systems.