Phygital research fit: toward a theory-building framework for transformative and sustainable service research

Phygital service research requires evidence of how physical and digital elements jointly produce service outcomes. We develop phygital research fit as alignment among the phenomenon, theory, evidence, research design, and validity and ethical criteria. Extending methodological fit with a phenomenon-specific diagnostic framework, we identify six theory-building problems and classify service arrangements along embodied co-presence and digital agency into linked handoff, embedded augmentation, remote orchestration, and hybrid immersion. A theory selector and research toolbox connect these types to candidate explanations, evidence requirements, and claim-specific checks. Transformative and sustainable service research provide cross-cutting evaluative lenses for examining access, agency, employee work, resource flows, governance, and continuity under disruption. These lenses require appropriate outcome evidence whenever transformation or sustainability is claimed, whereas ethical responsibilities apply throughout. The framework supports theory building by making explicit which physical-digital relations a design must capture and which claims its evidence can support.