Service Dominant Logic, Self Determination Theory and Wellbeing

Abstract

This paper combines two bodies of literature - Service Dominant Logic (S?D Logic) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It is argued that each has much to offer the other in respect to health care provision and management. Service Dominant Logic (S?D Logic) is described as the ‘logic of interactivity’ and involves participating agents co-creating value through an exchange of operant resources such as skills, knowledge and competencies. In effect, S-D Logic exemplifies the ecological process of symbiosis where two (or more) participating agents benefit from a mutual sharing of operant resources. In brief, S-D Logic builds on the idea that exchange is about agents doing things for and with each other. The coexistence that occurs in S?D Logic highlights the interactional role of agents in a process of mutual value co-creation (i.e., health care provision and wellbeing). Self-determination theory (SDT) proposes that behaviour and subsequent wellbeing are shaped among others by the satisfaction of three basic human psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. The need for autonomy reflects a social need for volitional decision-making, perhaps in respect to health-related behaviours such as those concerned with self-care maintenance programs. The need for competence reflects a desire for mastery in the physical and social worlds. The need for relatedness reflects among others a desire to care for others and to feel cared for. When these needs are supported, empirical evidence suggests that behaviour is more likely to be sustained longer than under controlled conditions; an important goal in respect to many healthcare programs. This paper argues that successful service-oriented health-care providers can support their patient/client partners by facilitating opportunities that advance the fulfillment of the other’s specific health care needs in respect to autonomy, competence and relatedness. Furthermore, this paper introduces several SDL principles, including that of co-creation, as important in this respect. In doing so, this conceptual paper lays a foundation for the development of research that builds on these arguably related bodies of literature.