Evolution of service-dominant logic: Towards a paradigm and metatheory of the market and value cocreation?

We explore S-D logic's development in the direction of a unifying paradigm that can provide the foundations for a general theory of the market and value cocreation. The evolution of S-D logic can be grouped into three periods: a formative period, spanning 2004 to 2007, that provided an alternative perspective of markets and marketing; a refinement period from 2008 to 2011, that clarified and broadened S-D logic's narrative; and an advancement period (2012 onwards), which has seen the emergence of S-D logic's paradigmatic status. Drawing on three categories of conditions (metaphysical, sociological and artefacts), we analyze the extent to which S-D logic meets the conditions of a paradigm. Our findings indicate that while S-D logic aligns with most of the metaphysical and sociological conditions for a paradigm, further development is needed for S-D logic to meet the conditions for an artefact. S-D logic references many different theories and methodologies, a situation that implicitly assumes different philosophical perspectives or orientations, notably objective, subjective and inter-subjective. To further develop S-D logic we offer a variety of ontological, epistemological and methodological questions. We also outline research directions that have the potential to move S-D logic towards a unifying paradigm.