Co-creation Strategies Research Articles

Managing Smart Service Ecosystems Through Technology: How ICTs Enable Value Cocreation

Due to the recognized influence of technology on value cocreation (S-D logic), the work aims at applying service ecosystems view to the analysis of the tourism sector (redefined as smart tourism). The main goals of the study are: 1) to detect ICTs' active role in combining with the other ecosystems' elements (actors, resource integration, and institutions); 2) to investigate ICTs' integration in overall corporate and value cocreation strategies. The empirical research adopts a case study methodology and is based on interviews administered to 10 managers from the bed and breakfast (B&B) sector in Salerno. The results show that ICTs (in our sample) act as: 1) key levers to foster the dynamic integration of resources among actors based on the active reshaping of institutions, and 2) strategic tools to enhance value cocreation from predelivery to postdelivery. The findings reveal ICTs' influence on the main ecosystems' elements and on the dynamic integration among actors, knowledge exchange, and institutions. Therefore, the impact of technology on value cocreation practices, until now relatively unexplored from a practical point of view, is shown. Moreover, observing how managers in the sample employ ICTs in the different phases of delivery the work can provide significant insights on how the emergence of value cocreation can be fostered and monitored constantly. The work entails both theoretical and managerial implications. In the first place, it offers insights on the different kind of value cocreation practices fostered and generated using ICTs in business processes. In the second place, it sheds light on how managers can: optimize knowledge exchange to enable cocreation; monitor the emersion of cocreation in real time; and foster service improvement and innovation.

Value co-creation in sport entertainment between internal and external stakeholders

PurposeCo-creation as a collaborative process between organizations and customers generates unique value for both internal and external stakeholders for the company. Research generally examines and portrays customer-company co-creation as a balanced and harmonious relationship. However, a successful co-creation strategy involves understanding the shared interests of the parties and resolving tensions between internal and external stakeholders to avoid co-destruction. This study aims to draw on the intersection of organizational behavior and marketing literature and to examine shared interests and conflicting tensions involved in the co-creation in the context of sports entertainment. This context allows the researchers to unpack and present a more complex process of co-creation that fosters co-creativity and innovation.Design/methodology/approachBased on a qualitative case-based approach of a major university in the USA, the authors draw on interviews and observations from their athletic administration and fans engaged in a men’s Division I team through an entire season.FindingsThis qualitative study illustrates an alternative, more complex dilemma of co-creating emotional and symbolic value based on shared interests while reconciling conflicting internal and external stakeholder interests. The findings suggest a tug of war based on tensions, where management adopted contrasting managerial strategies ranging from attempting to reconcile tension through organic co-creation to controlled manufactured creation.Research limitations/implicationsEmotional and symbolic game experience value is an interdependent process which cannot be created without consumer engagement. Both emotional and symbolic values are enhanced during games to the extent consumers perceive participation in the creative pre-game stages.Originality/valueThis study draws on sports entertainment to identify sources of tension in co-creation and discuss type of solutions among internal and external stakeholders.

Testing the effects of reciprocal norm and network traits on ethical consumption behavior

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to pursue the following two objectives. First, this study examines how social capital indicators (reciprocal norm and social network) cause ethical consumption behavior by conceptualizing it as value co-creation specific to socially responsible firms. Second, it aims to verify whether corporate trust, which is another core indicator of social capital, mediates between social capital indicators and ethical consumption behavior.Design/methodology/approachFor study subjects, the author selected general public located in the city of Seoul. A total of 307 respondents were used for statistical analysis after discarding unusable questionnaires. For the purpose of judgment sampling, the author selected those respondents who had prior purchase experience of the products or services provided by socially responsible firms.FindingsThis study tested core elements of social capital (reciprocal norm, social network and corporate trust) as predictors of ethical consumption behavior. In particular, the study newly conceptualized and validated ethical consumption behavior as one encompassing the civic engagement behavior whose premise is well encapsulated by value co-creation principle. The results demonstrate that the social network and reciprocal norm significantly influence ethical consumption behavior directly as well as indirectly through corporate trust.Research limitations/implicationsThe significance of this study may be that it adds to current literature on ethical consumption behavior by validating an empirical model of ethical consumption behavior from the perspective of consumer engagement paradigm. No previous studies of ethical consumption behavior empirically tested this model previously, only offering conceptual similarity between ethical consumption and consumer engagement. The study’s result may provide some insights as to the utility of value co-creation strategy for socially responsible firms as a useful way to promote ethical consumption behavior.Practical implicationsThis study’s result may provide some useful insights as to how socially responsible firms can improve their performance by understanding what makes their customers voluntarily engage in favor of the firms to create shared values. In particular, the finding on the corporate trust mediating between bonding network and ethical consumption behavior sheds useful insights for the firms on how they should garner customer trust to trigger ethical consumption behavior. In this sense, socially responsible firms need to focus their resources on publicity or endorsements by highly respected celebrities designed to stress the firms’ trustworthiness and create favorable corporate image.Social implicationsThe finding that reciprocal norm has a significant impact on ethical consumption behavior also provides strategic implications on how to enhance the effectiveness of corporate messages. That is, the socially responsible firms should implement some corporate strategies designed to raise authentic corporate image of the firms by hiring the socially disadvantaged and returning some portion of profit back to society. By doing this, the socially responsible firms can expect to instill some sense of reciprocity into their current as well as potential customers.Originality/valueDespite this conceived linkage, no previous research has empirically approached ethical consumption from the perspective of civic engagement to examine whether ethical consumers voluntarily engage in firm-specific engagement behavior that fulfills their civic responsibility. Therefore, the present research embarks on a new approach to conceptualize ethical consumption as a construct that embodies civic engagement that is conceptually encapsulated by the principle of value co-creation.

Digital transformation: a transformational performance-based conceptual model through co-creation strategy and business model innovation in the Industry 4.0 in Indonesia

This paper seeks to portray the conceptual model of ICT companies in transforming their business and organisation capabilities to face Industry 4.0 through co-creation strategies and business model innovations in Indonesia markets. The Indonesian market is unique in terms of its ICT infrastructure, but still left behind compared to other countries. However, the market has tremendous opportunities in terms of digital capability innovations. The strategic management outline used as a framework for this paper. Mediating variables were co-creation strategies and business innovations with distinctive organisational capability as an internal factor and consumer orientation as the external independent factor. The construct of co-creation strategy and transformational performance were discussed. This model of digital transformation was a suitable model for senior leaders to transform digital business capability and academics. Moreover, the model and construct of variable can be used to further develop the theory of digital transformation.

Digital transformation: a transformational performance-based conceptual model through co-creation strategy and business model innovation in the Industry 4.0 in Indonesia

Digital transformation: a transformational performance-based conceptual model through co-creation strategy and business model innovation in the Industry 4.0 in Indonesia

A Intervening Role of Co-creation Strategy on Relationship between on Business Model Innovation and Customer Experience

The Study proposed three hypothesis to assess the direct impact on relation between customer and business model innovation and between customer experience and co-creation strategy, and to assess the indirect impact through intervening role of co-creation strategy on relationship between business model innovation and customer experience. The study has unit analysis of Indonesia telecommunication incumbent firms. The result shows that co-creation strategy plays significant role on relationship between business model innovation and customer experience, while customer experience could not have direct significant impact on developing business model innovation. This finding has implication for incumbent firm in managing digital transformation has to develop collaboration with stakeholder including customer based on the development customer experience to strengthen business model innovation.

The Role of Distinctive Organization Capability and Corporate Reputation in Formulating Co-Creation Strategy in the Age of Industry 4.0: Study on Indonesian Telecommunication Firms

This paper aims to provide the effects of corporate reputation and distinctive organizational capability in formulating co-creation strategy for incumbent firm in facing industry resolution 4.0. A co-creation strategy is critical to sustain the business in anticipating new entries that convey the new business model. The study focuses on incumbent telecommunication companies since the telecommunication industry, while the incumbent has strong corporate reputation and organization capability. Those both capabilities is required to become a distinctive capability to provide strong core competence among others. This study is a quantitative study that was conducted with 35 firms were used as a sample in the study as exploring the model. The analytical approach and the solution technique used is the Smart Partial Least Square (SmartPLS). The results of the study demonstrated that corporate reputation and distinctive operational capability influence co-creation strategy, while corporate reputation has a bigger role than distinctive capability in building co-creation strategy. These findings have practical implications for the management of the telecommunications industry in Indonesia, as the development of a co-creation strategy requires to be based on the development of corporate reputation with the support of the development of distinctive operational capability. Further research can be explored by expanding the sample, industry and in other countries. The study can also expand into a longitudinal study as part of the digital transformational model.

Foreword: Smart manufacturing, innovative product and service design to empower Industry 4.0

With the emerging trend of digital servitization, manufacturers have transformed toward developing and providing smart product-service system (smart PSS) which is considered with great potential. As a value co-creation strategy, the innovative design of smart PSS involves multiple stakeholders, and the decisions in the concept design stage are especially crucial for its success throughout the whole lifespan. However, recent studies have focused on developing the design methodology or decision approaches for it, with an absence of the systematic decision framework for smart PSS innovation design. Most of them held the customer-centric viewpoint without considering the aspect of multi-stakeholder collaborative innovation. To fill the gaps, this study proposes the UNISON framework of model-based innovation for smart PSS design from the perspective of collaborative innovation, to assist its innovative design and decision-making in the concept design stage. To illustrate the structured procedures and demonstrate the validity of this framework, it was applied in an empirical study for the innovative design of smart drainage equipment-service system. Moreover, the performance of the proposed framework has been discussed from both theoretical and practical aspects. This study can provide systematic guidance for developing smart PSS innovative design strategies to facilitate multi-stakeholder collaborative innovation.

Making inconsistent worlds: a conceptual framework for co-competition

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of co-competition, within service-dominant logic, whereby multiple parties with mutually exclusive goals compete for the rights to co-create with a firm.Design/methodology/approachWithin the context of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, the paper uses a naturalistic inquiry approach guided by the core objectives of qualitative research provided by Belk et al. (2012). These objectives include understanding the construct of study, the antecedents and consequences of what is being studied and, finally, the process used by the consumer during the phenomena. Additionally, the results are presented within an idiographic framework.FindingsThis study finds that co-competition arises when heterogeneous segments of consumers attempt different co-creation strategies with the firm, an overlooked dark side of co-creation and co-production of value. Additionally, the study finds evidence that co-competition may have led to co-destruction of value for both consumer parties and the firm.Originality/valueThe outcomes of this process could have significant financial and reputational impacts for the firm resultant from alienating both types of consumers competing for the rights to co-create. The conceptual framework established here provides a guide through which further investigation of co-creative forces can occur.

Evaluating value co-creation activities in exhibitions: An impact-asymmetry analysis

The goal of this study is to assess the symmetric and asymmetric effects of value co-creation activities performed by exhibitors that affect their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with exhibitions. This study encompasses two types of value co-creation activities: participation and partnership activities. An enhanced impact-asymmetry analysis method is introduced to identify the three-factor structure of satisfaction for participation and partnership value co-creation activities in exhibitions. The results of analyzing 437 exhibitors surveyed at four exhibitions in Macao indicate that ‘engagement’ is a delighter; ‘information sharing’ is a satisfier; ‘information seeking’ and ‘resolving conflict’ are dissatisfiers; and ‘responsibility’, ‘situational awareness’, ‘knowledge transfer’, and ‘commitment’ are hybrids. These findings assist exhibition organizers in formulating co-creation strategies to increase the value of their exhibitions. This study also enriches our knowledge of the theory of value co-creation using the three-factor theory.

The Value Co-Creation Strategy for Telecommunication Carriers: Focusing on the Assessment of Potential Strategic Alliance Partners

The telecommunications market is experiencing a new paradigm of convergence as voice, data, broadcasting, and communication is being used into a new form of service. With this paradigm shift, telecommunications companies will compete under a unified set of broadband wireless multimedia services in the next generation network(NGN) environment(e.g., 5G or beyond 5G), while existing networks provided individual services tailor specifically to their networks. In this situation, one business player cannot provide all kinds of telecommunications services by oneself, instead it might be trying to integrate or collaborate with other companies in the integrated value chain as value co-creation strategies. Unfortunately, however, there are few specific guide lines in deciding their strategic directions; which partner can give us a competitive advantage to support next generation services and what should be preemptive? Therefore, this paper suggests the new strategic framework, called Value Co-Creation Framework (VCF), as the guideline for evaluating and selecting strategic alliance partners to the telecommunications companies in the NGN era. Finally, we provide an example of partner assessment for the major wireless carrier in Korean Telecommunications market and provide the insightful implications.

Value Co-Creation in Ecotourism: Finding Solutions in a Digital Era

This study aims to identify the main actors in the ecotourism online value co-creation ecosystem. With the ever-increasing demand to which the ecotourism sector has been subject in recent years, there is a need for business models featuring interactive tools that allow ecotourists to participate and co-create their own experiences. Not only will ecotourism businesses and ecotourists participate in this process, but so too will several other stakeholders, becoming key actors in the co-creation of value. Ecotourism, being of a hedonic and experiential nature, requires strategies that are geared towards enjoyment of the joint value co-creation experience. With this finality, we present some factors, such as motivation, that are necessary for the ecotourist's value co-creation, as well as various other aspects that influence their behavior. Our expectation is that value co-creation will have a positive effect on the behavior and experiences of tourists when it comes to developing ecotourism products and services. Specifically, we expect that the implementation of a co-creation strategy will lead to greater satisfaction and loyalty. Accordingly, drawing on the existing literature, we present a theoretical proposal of the antecedents and consequents that affect and enable online value co-creation by ecotourists.

Co-Creation Experience of Customers and Brand Loyalty

The intent of this study is to investigate the relationship between co-creation experience and two-dimensional (attitudinal and behavioral) brand loyalty and to validate the six dimensional co-creation experience scale in the hotel and restaurant services business settings. The analysis is done on 200 regular customers’ usable responses of some renowned hotels and restaurants of Pakistan collected using survey-based approach. All dimensions of co-creation experience are found to be valid and reliable measures of co-creation experience. In path model, the significant relationship of co-creation experience to behavioral and attitudinal loyalty is found. This study is contributing contextually and theoretically, by validating the dimensions of co-creation experience in a new contextual settings and investigating an unexplored path model of co-creation experience with two dimensional brand loyalties. This study has significant managerial implications since it is suggesting managers to employ co-creation strategies with greater confidence during customer engagement to gain brand loyalty.

Impact of value co-creation on logistics customers’ loyalty

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the influence of value co-creation by external and internal stakeholders of logistics service organizations on both customer loyalty as well as superior service solutions. The mediating role of superior service solutions between the value co-creation strategies of organizations and customer loyalty is also investigated in a marketing channel environment.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data of small and medium enterprises’ executives (n = 330) are analysed using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to investigate the impact of six hypothesized relationships through value co-creation.FindingsThis study indicates that coordinated efforts to create value by external and internal stakeholders to achieve superior service solutions have a strong impact on creating loyalty among customers.Research limitations/implicationsThe effectiveness of this research has been validated in a number of ways including interviewing four of the stakeholders of a case organization that implemented the model. This study offers understanding of the roles of value co-creation, to a key to organizational success in marketing channels.Originality/valueThis paper elucidates the impact of value co-creation on the business performance of logistics service organizations. With empirical evidence, the paper contributes to fill the knowledge gaps on how the process of value co-creation by different stakeholders influences customer loyalty in a service context. The mediating role of superior service solution between value co-creation by different stakeholders and business customer loyalty is also examined, adding to its significance.

Acccommodating co-creation in a hotel experience

Acccommodating co-creation in a hotel experience

Health and equity in all policies in local government: processes and outcomes in two Norwegian municipalities.

To identify key factors in implementing Health and Equity in All Policies (HEiAP) at the local level in two Norwegian municipalities in order to accelerate the progress of promoting health, well-being and equity in other local governments. This case study is presented as a narrative from policy-making processes in two Norwegian municipalities. The story is told from an insider perspective, with a focus on HEiAP policy makers in these two municipalities. The narrative identified key learning from implementing HEiAP at the local level, i.e. the importance of strengthening system and human capacities. System capacity is strengthened by governing HEiAP according to national legislation and a holistic governance system at the local level. Municipal plans are based on theory, evidence and local data. A 'main story' is developed to support the vision, defining joint societal goals and co-creation strategies. Policies are anchored by measuring and monitoring outcomes, sharing accountability and continuous dialogue to ensure political commitment. Human capacity is strengthened through participatory leadership, soft skills and health promotion competences across sectors. Health promotion competence at a strategic level in the organization, participation in professional networks, crowd sourcing toward common goals, and commitment through winning hearts and minds of politicians and other stakeholders are vital aspects. Our experience pinpoints the importance of strengthening system and human capacity in local governments. Further, we found it important to focus on the two strategic objectives in the European strategy 'Health 2020': (1) Improving health for all and reducing health inequalities; (2) improving leadership and participatory governance for health.

Contextualised co-creation: innovating with individual external contributors throughout the product life cycle

A co-creation strategy for product innovation ought to be customised for the specific context in which it is to be implemented. Despite the obvious common-sense appeal of this idea, the context-dependent character of co-creation has not yet been clearly recognised and analysed in the pertinent literature. We address this intellectual gap by positing the concept of 'contextualised co-creation'. By focusing on the evolving opportunities for product innovation, and related extant conditions and potential risks, we see the early and the latter stages of the product life cycle as distinct contexts for co-creation. For each respective context our concept suggests what type of actors may be involved as co-creators in product innovation projects, which type of co-creation may be appropriate, and how a suitable co-creative setting may be developed. Our contextualised co-creation concept may be applied by companies as a rubric for strategic decision-making related to collaborative innovation with individual external contributors in product development projects.

Contextualised co-creation: innovating with individual external contributors throughout the product life cycle

A co-creation strategy for product innovation ought to be customised for the specific context in which it is to be implemented. Despite the obvious common-sense appeal of this idea, the context-dependent character of co-creation has not yet been clearly recognised and analysed in the pertinent literature. We address this intellectual gap by positing the concept of 'contextualised co-creation'. By focusing on the evolving opportunities for product innovation, and related extant conditions and potential risks, we see the early and the latter stages of the product life cycle as distinct contexts for co-creation. For each respective context our concept suggests what type of actors may be involved as co-creators in product innovation projects, which type of co-creation may be appropriate, and how a suitable co-creative setting may be developed. Our contextualised co-creation concept may be applied by companies as a rubric for strategic decision-making related to collaborative innovation with individual external contributors in product development projects.

Branding co-creation with members of online brand communities

This article looks at the co-creation of value in the branding process with members of online communities. Three online communities in Iran are analyzed through 45 interviews with members along with three interviews with top managers of the three brands of these communities. A content analysis shows a clear process in that the social interactions of customers in online brand communities with their favorite brands help develop relationship quality and increase customer brand loyalty. The findings suggest that firms may develop their branding strategies using social media and online brand communities through relationship marketing by using an online co-creation strategy. The findings also serve to inform practitioners of the impact of social media on branding and how they can best facilitate these brand relationships.

Interactive brand experience pathways to customer-brand engagement and value co-creation

Purpose The paper aims to address a question posed by Ruth Bolton (2011):“What kinds of interactive experiences lead to favourable customer engagement rates”? Design/methodology/approach Building on the literature, the paper develops different interactive experience pathways for both functional and hedonic brands. Findings The different pathways are developed formally for both brand types. Different facets of brand experience and different facets of interactivity are entailed for each brand type. The models are illustrated with actual brands. Research limitations/implications The study is primarily conceptual and requires empirical testing. The purpose of the paper is to motivate academics to explore the nature of interactive experiences in whatever way they choose. Practical implications The different interactive experience pathways between functional and hedonic brands imply different engagement and co-creation strategies by firms. Generally, a richer set of engagement options are relevant to the hedonic brand. However, using the Domino’s Pizza example, the paper suggests that functional brands can extend their repertoire of engagement tools by borrowing inspiration from the hedonic brands. Social implications There is a major social or community aspect to interactive experiences. Moreover, some of the brands used as examples in the paper, such as Patagonia, have major social or environmental impacts. Originality/value This original research pioneers the discovery and coding of the nature of interactive brand experiences. Hitherto, the domain can be construed as the idiomatic, “elephant in the room”, an important topic but not discussed. The conversation has now begun.