Interactions in virtual customer environments: Implications for product support and customer relationship management

Abstract

Virtual customer environments (VCE), which provide services ranging from online discussion forums to virtual design toolkits, enable firms to involve their customers in innovation and value creation. Evidently, companies can benefit from operating such VCEs; however, most firms do not seem to attach sufficient importance to the nature of customers’ interactions in the VCE. In this study, we examine two critical implications of customers’ interactions in a product-support focused VCE. First, we suggest that customers’ perceptions of interaction-based benefits will shape their future participation in product support in the VCE. Second, customers’ interactions will also generate changes in their affective states, and these, in turn, influence their attitude towards the firm. Our empirical work provides broad support for the study hypotheses and implies the need for firms to carefully design and implement VCEs that facilitate positive interaction experiences for customers. Implications with respect to customer value co-creation and customer relationship management are discussed.