Sustainability co‐creation in digitalized global value chains

Abstract

AbstractIncreased attention to sustainability issues and advancing digitalization motivate organizations to collaborate on sustainability issues in projects with various stakeholders in and around global value chains. In sustainability co‐creation, stakeholders' specific knowledge and competencies will be combined to achieve common sustainability goals more effectively while better targeting individual goals. However, sustainability co‐creation can pose various challenges that affect the possible input factors (e.g., insufficient or unequal digital resources, skills, motivation), the process of cooperation (e.g., conflicting goals, inappropriate timing and methods) and the output (e.g., lack of commitment about target achievement and communication). This paper proposes a conceptual input–process–output framework of sustainability co‐creation in the context of digitalized global value chains. It highlights major managerial challenges and implications drawing on relationship marketing research. Recommendations and practical examples for designing sustainability co‐creation's input, process, and output are provided, useful for managers. Besides, avenues for future research are derived.