Wai Sin Yoong, Wong Chee Hoo, Mei Sze Low, Jeffery Vui Shing Ho, Ying Tuan Lo, Christian Wiradendi Wolor
This paper explores service interaction in the culturally sensitive bereavement situations using a sociological lens, which focusing on the role of emotion in behavioural meaning-making. This study will adopt Nirvana Johor, Malaysia as a case study context to examine the relations among engagement, emotional experience, and behavioural intention in a taboo service environment. Although the research has been done before on the dynamics revolving around hedonic situations, little attention is paid on high-involvement bereavement services. This conceptual paper proposes a sociologically grounded framework to understand behavioural meaning-making in bereavement service interaction focusing on sociological, service-dominant logic, relationship marketing, and experience economy. In this case, the interpretivist qualitative methodology will be used to comprehend how emotional and cultural factors influence meaning construction. It further outlines potential qualitative directions for future empirical research in culturally sensitive service environments. This research will add to the sociological and social psychological literature, by taking the discourse of emotion, engagement and consumer culture to bereavement services in Malaysia. © 2026 Yoong et al.
Faculty of Business and Communication, INTI International University; Department of Hospitality and Information Technology, Sunway College Johor Bahru; Department of Business and Financial Programmes, Sunway College Johor Bahru; XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang), Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University; Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri Jakarta
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