Co-creation Initiatives Research Articles

Harnessing technology for co-creation: maximizing the collaborative potential

Abstract Quentin will introduce the role of enabling technologies in maximizing hybrid intelligence for effective co-creation. This presentation sheds light on how technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence, shape the co-creation landscape, emphasizing their pivotal contribution to enhancing collaboration. Through Quentin’s insights, delegates will understand how technology can optimize the co-creation process, facilitating communication, data integration, and collective problem-solving. Explore the transformative power of technology in driving innovative co-creation initiatives and unlocking new possibilities for collaboration in addressing complex challenges.

“Can we not do group stuff?”: Student insights on implementing co-creation in online intensive programs

The demand for intensive educational experiences is increasing, necessitating a focus on ensuring quality and providing adequate student support. Increasing opportunities for student collaboration, including teacher/student co-creation of learning materials, has strong potential to increase engagement and support. Given increased interest in co-creation within education and research more broadly, we explored student perspectives on this novel approach within online intensive modes of teaching with a focus on feasibility and implementation. Two focus groups were conducted with students (N = 16), including discussion of their preferences and barriers for implementing co-creation initiatives in an intensive program. Thematic analysis was then conducted, generating five themes. Students see co-creation as beneficial for self-development and connections (Theme 1), but also identify barriers such as its perception as another group assignment (Theme 2). Students believe successful co-creation requires a “type” of student who is intrinsically motivated and career-driven (Theme 3). Concerns exist about co-creation being an additional workload, emphasising the need for clear roles (Theme 4). Students’ views on co-creation vary, with differing opinions on its practicality (Theme 5). The findings suggest that successful implementation of co-creation initiatives requires careful consideration of barriers while addressing student concerns and leveraging their intrinsic motivation. For educators in intensive programs, it is crucial to provide incentives, collaborate on feasible time slots, establish clear objectives and timelines, offer guidance and support, and celebrate student achievements to effectively incorporate co-creation activities. By understanding students’ perceptions and preferences, educators can better support student collaboration, which is crucial for students’ development in intensive programs.

Managing portfolios of Co-creation projects in the public sector organization

ABSTRACT While co-creation is becoming increasingly popular among public sector institutions to solve problems and create public value, the question is, how the public sector institution can be successful when engaged in multiple (and often overlapping/competing) co-creation initiatives. In this article, we examine the theoretical terms of co-creation, meta-governance and portfolio management to analyse how portfolios of co-creation projects are best managed. We develop two propositions suggesting the link between different forms of portfolio management and co-creation and use the City of Espoo as an illustrative example of the value that can be derived from more adaptive approaches to portfolio management.

Boosting Sustainable Consumption Behaviour Through Consumer Education in the Fashion Retail and Service Environment

Due to the growing environmental impact of the fashion industry, the demand for sustainable consumption is currently an urgent issue. The exponential increase of textile waste and the progressive reduction of product lifespan call for a shift to circular models, and in this context, consumer awareness has also become crucial. The retail environment, driven by an increasing shift towards a servitisation of the consumer experience, with its associated Product-Service Systems (PSSs), can provide a compelling opportunity to nurture consumer awareness, thus acting as a proactive mechanism to induce more responsible and sustainable behaviour. Within this framework, retail design is emerging as a key driver for sustainable behavioural changes in fashion consumption. This article, therefore, reflects on how fashion brands are actively orchestrating strategies within retail, defining dedicated PPSs to promote responsible consumption practices involving informative content, empowerment tools and co-creation initiatives that, going beyond awareness, can evolve into advocacy.

An analysis of the effects of value cocreation and tech enjoyment on customer satisfaction in tourism virtual reality

PurposeThe main objective of our study is to shed light on how perceived enjoyment influences the intricate relationship between value cocreation and consumer satisfaction, with a specific focus on the realms of tourist services.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the objective outlined in this research, an information survey was carried out on 400 consumers of tourist services who have participated in virtual cocreation processes through digital platforms. As a data analysis technique, the dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM) analyzes the causal relationships between the elements under study.FindingsOur extensive analysis draws upon the data collected through a survey spanning from 2018 to 2023, encompassing 400 participants who actively engaged in value cocreation processes in both physical and virtual settings. Our investigation considers two competing models to elucidate the role of perceived enjoyment. Our findings, established through DSEM illuminates that perceived enjoyment predominantly functions as a mediator, exerting a more pronounced influence on the connection between value cocreation and consumer satisfaction. Contrary to a moderating role, perceived enjoyment emerges as a significant mediator in our study.Originality/valueThe most significant addition is recognizing virtual value cocreation behaviors in tourist sector activities over time, primarily because it indicates the likelihood of negative repercussions of its usage. Furthermore, it must be capable of designing surroundings according to the characteristics of customers in terms of immersion and technology usage, preventing a rise in stress situations that might result in more negative consequences than planned. Another important insight is that virtual value cocreation initiatives have detrimental long-term implications, particularly in tourism.

The impact of marketing appeals on consumer willingness to participate in virtual CSR co-creation

PurposeThis study explores how businesses can effectively market functional and emotional benefits through virtual corporate social responsibility co-creation (VCSRC) initiatives. The aim is to enhance customer engagement through these initiatives.Design/methodology/approachThe initial phase of this study involved recruiting 185 Chinese university students as participants. These individuals were randomly distributed into four distinct experimental groups, each designed to investigate the influence of varied marketing appeals and common in-group identity (CIGI) on consumer engagement willingness. This phase also sought to elucidate the mediating role of CSR associations in these dynamics. Following this, the second study engaged 570 individuals, recruited through “Credamo,” for a group-based experiment. This subsequent phase was intended to validate the findings of the preliminary study and explore the varying intensities of interaction between different marketing appeals and CIGI, with a particular focus on the dichotomy of independent and interdependent self-construals.FindingsThe study delineates a detailed relationship between consumers' willingness to participate in VCSRC, marketing appeals, and common in-group identity, revealing that strong common in-group identity correlates with a preference for functional appeals, while a weaker in-group identity inclines towards emotional appeals. Notably, interdependent self-construal significantly influences consumer responses, intensifying the interaction between in-group identity and marketing appeal and thereby influencing participation willingness. Moreover, CSR associations emerge as key mediators in this interaction, underscoring their role in enhancing the effectiveness of VCSRC strategies. These insights provide a new understanding of the crucial impact of consumer identity traits on marketing strategy efficacy.Originality/valueThis research stands as a trailblazing endeavor in evaluating the effects of varied advertising appeals under the VCSR paradigm. It probes into the foundational mechanisms, leveraging insights from interaction alignment theory and persuasion theory to elucidate the processes involved.

“Can we not do group stuff?”: Student insights on implementing co-creation in online intensive programs

The demand for intensive educational experiences is increasing, necessitating a focus on ensuring quality and providing adequate student support. Increasing opportunities for student collaboration, including teacher/student co-creation of learning materials, has strong potential to increase engagement and support. Given increased interest in co-creation within education and research more broadly, we explored student perspectives on this novel approach within online intensive modes of teaching with a focus on feasibility and implementation. Two focus groups were conducted with students (N = 16), including discussion of their preferences and barriers for implementing co-creation initiatives in an intensive program. Thematic analysis was then conducted, generating five themes. Students see co-creation as beneficial for self-development and connections (Theme 1), but also identify barriers such as its perception as another group assignment (Theme 2). Students believe successful co-creation requires a “type” of student who is intrinsically motivated and career-driven (Theme 3). Concerns exist about co-creation being an additional workload, emphasising the need for clear roles (Theme 4). Students’ views on co-creation vary, with differing opinions on its practicality (Theme 5). The findings suggest that successful implementation of co-creation initiatives requires careful consideration of barriers while addressing student concerns and leveraging their intrinsic motivation. For educators in intensive programs, it is crucial to provide incentives, collaborate on feasible time slots, establish clear objectives and timelines, offer guidance and support, and celebrate student achievements to effectively incorporate co-creation activities. By understanding students’ perceptions and preferences, educators can better support student collaboration, which is crucial for students’ development in intensive programs.

Co-creation in healthcare and research to improve service delivery for young people with chronic pain.

The process of co-creation can enable more effective, agile and integrated healthcare solutions achieving outcomes that effectively translate to healthcare delivery. Collaborative knowledge generation is particularly important in fields such as pediatric chronic pain where there is a complex interplay between biological, social, environmental, emotional, familial and school factors. The co-creation initiative described here was designed to amplify the voices of youth with chronic pain and their families and a variety of key stakeholders and generate novel approaches to the management of chronic pediatric pain in the setting of the South Australian Pediatric Chronic Pain Service. Stakeholders who were identified as influential in this ecosystem were allocated to 6 groups. A skilled facilitator co-prepared and delivered the workshop, engaging participants in three structured activities. Firstly, the challenges to service delivery were outlined, followed by the groups discussing what is currently working. The second activity involved lateral thinking without restrictions on time, resources or system to generate solutions to the key challenges presented. Finally, stakeholders were asked to agree on a generated solution from Activity 2 and build a case for actionable implementation of this solution. Data were summarised by the workshop facilitator and reflexive thematic analysis was used for coding and generating themes. From Activity 1, six themes collectively demonstrated that stakeholders valued many of the existing strengths of the service delivery, but some areas such as pain education was undervalued. Activity 2 generated solutions from high-level ideas to more day-to- day management strategies. Each of six groups generated unique solutions to an identified challenge for Activity 3. Engaging a wide variety of stakeholders in collaborative knowledge generation successfully provided the South Australian Pediatric Chronic Pain Service with a variety of novel, scalable solution across the healthcare continuum. Equally important is that this initiative helped to raise awareness about the complex issues faced in pediatric chronic pain care and helped to establish new partnerships that have led to enhanced service delivery.

Helping start-ups and public organisations to align: Co-producing the co-creation context in a public hospital

ABSTRACT Incubation facilitates innovation performance and knowledge production for large organisations, while allowing start-ups to connect with potential users who hold valuable information. However, aligning the goals of parent organisations and hosted start-ups in co-creation partnerships remains a challenge, particularly in the complex and institutional context of public organisations. To fill the research gap, this paper draws on the co-production theory of support to explore how a large public organisation co-produces an adaptive context for co-creation with start-ups. Based on a 12-month ethnography in a public university hospital centre, the unique characteristics and complexities of co-creation initiatives in public organisations are explored by focusing on the multi-stakeholder nature of the innovation process. Following a processual approach, we unpack the evolving dynamics of managing tensions through the co-creation process. The article contributes to the understanding of public incubators, compensatory practices in asymmetrical co-creation relationships, and the co-production of incubation support in public organisations.

Exploring stakeholders’ experiences in co-creation initiatives for clinical nursing education: a qualitative study

BackgroundCo-creation is an emerging approach in nursing education, wherein academics engage in multi-stakeholder collaborations to generate knowledge, ideate solutions, promote sustainability, and enhance educational quality. However, knowledge on stakeholders’ experiences in participation in co-creation initiatives for nursing education is scarce. This study aimed to explore the experiences of student nurses, nurse educators, and e-learning designers in co-creation initiatives to design and develop a digital educational resource for clinical nursing education.MethodsThe study adopted an exploratory qualitative design. Data were collected via three separate semi-structured focus group interviews with student nurses (n = 7), nurse educators (n = 8), and e-learning designers (n = 3) who participated in co-creation workshops. Collected data were then thematically analyzed.ResultsThree themes related to the participants’ experiences emerged: (1) The co-creation workshops were enjoyable, useful, and instructive; (2) power imbalances influenced the students’ engagement; and (3) contextual factors influenced the participants’ overall engagement.ConclusionsThis study shows that co-creation through workshops is a novel, enjoyable, and instructive approach that facilitates knowledge exchange. It also highlights the needs and experiences of stakeholders, especially student nurses. However, the use of co-creation in nursing education presents some challenges. Recognizing and managing power differentials are essential for successful co-creation in clinical nursing education, alongside a mindset of collaboration and mutuality. Future research is required to systematize knowledge about the benefits and impacts of the processes and outcomes of co-creation initiatives, including stakeholders’ motivation, barriers, and facilitators to participation in co-creation, to improve the quality of clinical nursing education.

Involving Older People in Co-creation of Social Health Promoting Activities in a Senior Village

Abstract Background Since 2018 the municipality of Esbjerg has been engaged in the WHO global network for age-friendly cities in which they are obligated to have age-friendly visons and strategies. With an establishment of a senior village with shared facilities, the municipality offers its older citizens an environment with opportunities to co-create social activities. Experiences of co-creation initiatives with older people are sparse and it is thus important to explore the benefits and drawbacks of this initiative. Objectives To co-create social activities with older people in senior village with shared facilities to develop a sustainable solution to the welfare challenge of a rising number of older people and a lack of staff to keep up the level of service for securing health and well-being in old age. Methods The co-creation initiative consisted of an initial information meeting inviting older people interested to participate in social activities followed by a series of workshops framing activity groups with concrete ideas for activities. Employees from the municipality facilitated the workshops and attended all activity groups during implementation. Results 150 older people attended the information meeting and the following workshops generating 12 activity groups, each managed by one or two older people. However, interviews with older people involved in the co-creation process suggested barriers for co-creation at both individual and organizational level: Personal resources for organizing and managing social activities among older people were less than expected due to high average age of participants, while the level of information from the municipality on the intention, aim and anticipations on active involvement of citizens was scanty. Conclusions Informing older people about the intentions and aim of a co-creation process and aligning expectations between stakeholder is essential early in the process to guide the optimal utilization of personal and organizational resources.

Re-designing public–private partnerships: Case study – Green Hydrogen Hub, Denmark

Public and private actors are increasingly realizing that the hypercomplex challenges that societies are facing require them to collaborate in different manners than current structures and best practices cater for. Private–public partnerships (PPP) and public–private innovation (PPI) are familiar constructs. However, politicians, public and private actors, and academics increasingly point out that society’s complex, wicked problems require new forms of collaboration structures that allow for solutions to be co-created in order to create real impact. Novel collaboration structures are emerging worldwide, and early studies indicate that they demand a radical change of governmental behaviours in order to sustain these, often long-term, relationships. This case study examines the cross-sectoral co-creation initiative, Green Hydrogen Hub (GHH). GHH is designing and developing a society-scale green energy storage capacity that will play a key role in the green electrification of Denmark. Specifically, it investigates the change of role, self-perception and orchestrating capabilities of the governmental actor, Gas Storage Denmark, in its role in the public–private co-creation (PPC) consortium. Through a series of qualitative interviews with both public and private actors within and surrounding the co-creation consortium, this study has identified one overarching necessity for driving successful PPC: the ability to juxtapose public actors’ for-purpose obligations and private actors’ for-profit obligations in a non-oppositional setup. The case shows how this is obtained through three key indicators: 1) an ability to establish a resilient team, 2) a strong focus on storytelling about the overall purpose, 3) a plasticity from the actors to deliver on the purpose. As such, this article brings a deeper understanding for both public and private organizations as to how they can effectively engage in co-operative complex innovation activities.

Digital Ageism: Emerging Challenges and Best Practices of Age-Friendly Digital Urban Governance

The ageing of urban populations poses serious challenges for policymakers and urban planners alike. While the number of people over 65 is increasing in urban areas, the digital transition in cities raises concerns about the persisting digital divide facing older citizens, as well as the digital inequality and ageism inherent to most digital domains. As ageing in place and place attachment play a significant role in the social engagement and well-being of older people, the purpose of this research is to shed light on the novel approaches taken by local governments to foster active participation among senior residents in the digital public sphere. Using semi-structured interviews with public officials from three age-friendly cities in Spain, we have explored innovative urban projects for digital inclusion, active ageing, and autonomy for older people. The findings of the study reveal the importance of coordinated multi-stakeholder initiatives in promoting digital literacy and overcoming barriers rooted in ageism in the digital world. True representation of older people in local governments, the promotion of co-creation initiatives led by seniors, and the standardisation of universal design and accessibility are some of the key contributions made by Spanish cities in their transition toward places that are digitally inclusive and age-friendly.

The opportunities and challenges of politically designed co-creation platforms

Contemporary governments face dwindling resources and populations who feel disconnected from political systems. In response, both governments and scholars increasingly explore more participative governance approaches. Such efforts have coalesced around ‘co-creation’, a way of governing through collaboration between public and private actors, often including citizens. Increasingly, scholars emphasise ‘co-creation platforms’: devices that use reconfigurable structures and resources to facilitate multiple instances of co-creation. By creating platforms, advocates claim, governments can facilitate widespread co-creation without unfeasible costs. Some even encourage governments to adopt platform-creation as their way of governing – so-called ‘generative governance’. Yet, with governments being time- and cash-poor, they cannot participate in every such co-creation initiative themselves. To realise the promise of generative governance, platforms must enable governments to facilitate co-creation initiatives at arm’s length. While, however, research suggests that governments can be successful platform-users, we know little about how successfully they can forge platforms to encourage co-creation among others. Consequently, we conducted a nested case study of the creation and use of one novel platform: London Borough of Culture. Theorised through literatures on platforms, and co-creation’s drivers and inhibitors, our findings affirm that platforms can facilitate co-creation. However, they also uncover how platforms fashioned by politically-led organisations become entangled in political dynamics that inhibit co-creation. Two contributions follow: first, platforms made by politically-led bodies enable, but simultaneously constrain, others’ co-creation; second, drivers and inhibitors of co-creation can be strategically shaped by interventions (for example, platforms) to maximise the chances of that co-creation succeeding.

Co-creation of health-enabling initiatives in food retail: academic perspectives

IntroductionCo-creation of healthy food retail comprises the systematic collaboration between retailers, academics and other stakeholders to improve the healthiness of food retail environments. Research into the co-creation of healthy food retail is in its early stages. Knowledge of the roles and motivations of stakeholders in intervention design, implementation and evaluation can inform successful co-creation initiatives. This study presents academic experiences of stakeholder roles and motivations in the co-creation of healthy food retail environments.MethodsPurposive sampling of academics with research experience in the co-creation of healthy food retail initiatives. Semi-structured interviews conducted between October and December 2021 gathered participants’ experiences of multi-stakeholder collaborative research. Thematic analysis identified enablers, barriers, motivations, lessons and considerations for future co-creation of healthy food retail.ResultsNine interviewees provided diverse views and applications of co-creation research in food retail environments. Ten themes were grouped into three overarching areas: (i) identification of stakeholders required for changes to healthier food retail; (ii) motivations and interactions, which included the intrinsic desire to build healthier communities along with recognition of their work; and (iii) barriers and enablers included adequate resourcing, effective and trusting working relationships and open communications.ConclusionThis study provides insights that could help future co-creation in healthy food retail environments. Trusting and respectful relationships and reciprocal acknowledgement between stakeholders are key practices in the co-creation process. These constructs should be considered in developing and testing a model that helps to systematically co-create healthy food retail initiatives that ensure all parties meet their needs while also delivering research outcomes.

Value Co-Creation An Exploratory Study of Sagala Multi-Brand Virtual Kitchen

Culinary businesses accounted for 40% of Indonesian MSMEs at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, making them one of the most affected industries. The transformation of the business model into a cloud kitchen or virtual kitchen is one of the innovation methods that can benefit the post-pandemic situation. This business model is thought to offer a value co-creation strategy. The authors note that Sagala, one of the virtual kitchens, has both a strong future and a low entry barrier. In order to analyze and assess Sagala's value co-creation, this study will employ The DART approach. Interviews with individuals from the staff, delivery, and customer categories were done as part of this exploratory study. Furthermore, the results show that Sagala's value co-creation initiative is a success, but conversation, particularly with delivery personnel, still has to be enhanced. Therefore, it is advised to create a framework to accept complaints and suggestions from both customers and delivery personnel. It is advised to create the value co-creation mechanism for the cloud kitchen company as further research.

The Impact of Sustainability on Co-Creation of Digital Public Services

Co-creation focuses on engagement with citizens and other stakeholders with public administrations to develop innovative processes or public services. The integration of resources and knowledge mediated by technology can lead to the emergence of novel outcomes (such as products, services, processes, and social practices), but it is necessary to understand the mechanisms that lead to sustainable co-created innovation and outcomes. The aim of this research article is to contribute a more nuanced understanding of the impact of sustainability on co-creation of digital public services. To study co-creation and sustainability in the context of the public administrations in depth, a qualitative research approach was used. The data were collected through moderated discussions conducted during a workshop held with 20 experts and practitioners in the field of public sector digital transformation, during which participants shared their views and experiences in a free-flowing conversation. A systematic two-cycle analysis approach based on Grounded Theory was used to code and analyse the data collected. Results from this study focus on developing a common understanding of sustainability within the context of co-created digital public services, an exploration of how sustainability in public administrations may be supported by co-creation and a critical examination of the elements that contribute to the sustainability of digital public services—all drawing on existing examples of co-creation initiatives from within the public sector.

Success factors and barriers to digital co-creation between HEIs and NGOs

The main objective of this paper is to explore the success factors and barriers to digital co-creation between Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO). The analysis is based on a qualitative approach, and particularly 80 semi-structured interviews with experts in digital co-creation from HEIs and NGOs from Poland, Germany, Turkey and Italy. The article identifies key success factors, including country's level of digitalization, individual's motivation to engage with digital platforms and methods, common goals, attitudes, and expectations. The study also highlights several barriers to successful digital co-creation, including variety of digital platforms, interpersonal connection, disengagement, and decreased attention spans. Among the success factors and barriers both external and internal factors were identified, all comprising a network of driving fosters and limitations to digital co-creation. Main of them include country's level of digitalization, motivation to engage with digital technology, digital literacy, incentives for engagement, shared goals and mutual understanding, variety of digital platforms, fear from losing interpersonal interactions, disengagement, and decreased attention span. The findings of this study will be of interest to HEIs, NGOs, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved in digital co-creation initiatives, providing insights on how to overcome barriers and optimize success factors to achieve effective and sustainable partnerships.

Conceptualisations of curriculum co-creation: ‘it’s not them and us, it’s just us’

Building on the growing field of curriculum co-creation in higher education, this research analyses current conceptualisations of this concept based on the perceptions of student and staff co-creation practitioners. It draws on a rigorous review of international curriculum co-creation literature and describes in-depth research on experiences and conceptualisations of fifteen curriculum co-creation initiatives across eight subject areas at five universities in Scotland. Following an inductive analysis, the findings highlight conceptualisations of curriculum co-creation that focus on (A) developing shared values, (B) enhancing creativity through collaboration and (C) negotiating power for mutual benefit. These findings are discussed with respect to how they contribute to a new definition: curriculum co-creation is a relational way of working underpinned by shared responsibility, reciprocity in learning from each other, mutual respect, care, trust and empathy. This values-based, creative process helps staff and students work together to share and negotiate decision-making about aspects of curricula, which often leads to mutual benefits for learners and teachers. This new definition encompasses current conceptualisations of curriculum co-creation in the rapidly-changing higher education sector, with implications for fostering resilient, authentic and meaningful pedagogies that are relevant to today’s challenges in higher education and beyond.

How to build a conscientious corporate brand together with business partners: A case study of Unilever

Although a few scholars have suggested that the strategic alignment of the corporate brand's business partner network is essential to bring the corporate brand conscience to life, there remains limited research about the process of creating a conscientious corporate brand together with such a business partner network. Thus, this paper aims to investigate how a conscientious corporate brand is built together with its business partners. To address this research objective, we conduct a single case study of Unilever, comprising interviews with its managers and business partners. Findings show how Unilever: drives business and business relationships around a corporate brand purpose; embraces balanced stakeholder and temporal perspectives; promotes strategic co-creation initiatives; and reinforces the strategic alignment of its ecosystem of business partners. The findings contribute to the literature by identifying the elements and describing the process of conscientious corporate brand building with business partners.