Guest editorial: age is a construct, not a characteristic

Purpose In aging societies all over the world, an increased understanding of age and age-related insights is critical to theory development, generalizations, model adaptations and managerial insights. Researchers and managers mostly rely on chronological age for adapting their approaches; they assume chronological age as a customers’ characteristic and neglect differing behaviors between individuals of the same age. When motivations enter the fray, chronological age as an individual’s attribute becomes indiscriminate. Consequently, findings adopting this age concept differ widely. Design/methodology/approach This special issue of the Journal of Services Marketing consists of ten articles that focus on different aspects of aging. Findings The articles change perspectives on age when describing ageing from an individual’s perspective. The articles also comment on social needs and discuss well-being in later life stages. Originality/value The authors offer a broad view on age and ageing to promote age-related research.