Customer Co-creation Research Articles

Value reciprocity mechanism in hotels: testing customer participation behaviour and value co-creation as mediators and previous experience as a moderator

PurposeThis study investigates the reciprocity mechanism in value co-creation and clarifies how service providers may effectively trigger customer participation behaviour and boost value co-creation to enhance customer citizenship behaviour, which brings extra benefits for service providers.Design/methodology/approachBy combining equity theory, social exchange theory and co-creation theory, this research proposes a model for the reciprocity mechanism in value co-creation incorporating customer co-creation perception (CCCP) conducting hotel dialogue, access, risk assessment and transparency (DART) activities; customer participation behaviour (CPB – information seeking, information sharing, responsible behaviour and personal interaction); customer citizenship behaviour (CCB – feedback, advocacy, helping and tolerance) and value co-creation in hotels. It also applies script theory to explore how customers’ previous experiences with the hotel may impact the value reciprocity mechanism. The collected data from tourists are analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results confirm that CCCP drives CPB, value co-creation and CCB. CPB also enhances value co-creation, consequently boosting CCB. Moreover, CPB and value co-creation are the reciprocity mechanisms that mediate CCCP to CCB. Findings also reveal that CPB has a greater impact on value co-creation for first-time customers. In contrast, CCCP has a higher effect on value co-creation for repeat customers.Practical implicationsThe proposed model is a managerial tool that assists practitioners in effectively driving customer participation behaviour and improving value co-creation for first-time customers and repeat customers.Originality/valueThis study uncovers the significance of the hospitality service provider’s DART actions in forming customer perceptions and leading customer behaviour towards value co-creation.

Robots in service: how robot capabilities and personalities drive customer value co-creation and satisfaction

PurposeCustomer value co-creation in robots-mediated hospitality encounters involves active collaboration between customers and robots. In such encounters, robot capabilities, which are their functionalities or operational competences, and robot personalities, which are their interactive behaviors and communication styles, play a key role in enhancing customer value co-creation. The purpose of this study is to draw on service dominant logic to examine the role of robot capabilities and personalities in determining customer value co-creation and service satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted a mixed-methods research approach. A netnographic analysis was conducted on online customer reviews for robotic hotels and restaurants to identify key robot capabilities that shaped the customer experiences. Following this, a quantitative study (survey) was conducted to investigate the effects of robot capabilities and personalities on customer value co-creation and service satisfaction.FindingsFrom the netnographic analysis, the authors identified cognitive, technical, interactional, emotional, personalization and autonomous capabilities as key robot capabilities influencing customer experiences. The findings of the follow-up empirical study showed that the higher-order robot capabilities construct positively influences customer value co-creation, which, in turn, affects service satisfaction. Furthermore, extroversion robot personality positively moderates this relationship, such that robots with high levels of capabilities result in greater value co-creation when robots possess extroversion personalities compared to introversion personalities.Practical implicationsThis study advances the understanding of robot-mediated encounters by emphasizing the role of robot capabilities and personalities as crucial factors for effective customer value co-creation in the hospitality sector. Furthermore, it offers actionable insights for hospitality providers in selection of robots with key capabilities and personalities for enhancing customer satisfaction and successful value co-creation.Originality/valueWhile previous research has predominantly focused on customer acceptance of and interaction with robots in the hospitality settings, the present study examined how and when service robots facilitate value co-creation with customers. Specifically, this study explores robot capabilities and personalities in shaping customer value co-creation perceptions. A few recent studies that examined customer-robot interactions have considered specific robot capabilities. However, given that hospitality services are experiential in nature and involve various tasks, a broad range of robot capabilities should be considered for a comprehensive understanding of the customer value co-creation process. By addressing this gap, the present study offers novel insights into what (capabilities) and how (extraversion personality) service robots facilitate customers in value co-creation and satisfaction.

Customer participation behavior and customer citizenship behavior in hotels: Testing co-production and value-in-use as mediators

This study investigates customers’ contribution to value co-creation by exploring the associations between customer co-creation behavior, including customer participation and customer citizenship behavior, and co-creation processes, namely, co-production and value-in-use. It combines co-creation theory with equity and social exchange theories to propose a model for customer behavior towards value co-creation. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), data were collected from tourists staying at hotels in Portugal. Results indicate that customer participation behavior envisages co-production and value-in-use, while the two forms of value co-creation subsequently improve customer citizenship behavior. Moreover, co-production enhances value-in-us. Additionally, customer participation behavior is associated with customer citizenship behavior through co-production and value-in-use. This research contributes to the co-creation theory by proving co-production and value-in-use as transforming mechanisms that turn customer participation behavior into customer citizenship behavior. Applying the proposed model as a managerial tool in hotels improves co-creation processes and boosts customer citizenship behavior.

Enhancing Green Customer Loyalty through Green Banking Initiatives: The Mediating Effect of Green Customer Satisfaction and Customer Co-Creation

Enhancing Green Customer Loyalty through Green Banking Initiatives: The Mediating Effect of Green Customer Satisfaction and Customer Co-Creation

Measuring service-dominant orientation (SDO): a firm-based approach

PurposeFor developing and testing service-dominant logic (SDL)-based midrange theories of marketing, the operationalization of SDL into the managerial concept of service-dominant orientation (SDO) and its measures is imperative. However, existing scales found in the literature are insufficient and incomplete. This study aims to develop and validate an alternative firm-based scale for measuring SDO.Design/methodology/approachThe established procedure for scale development was adopted which comprised three phases. First, a mix of qualitative study and literature deduction was applied to conceptualize and define SDO. Second, based on quantitative data (Study 1, N = 228 cases), scale development and refinement were undertaken. Finally, another data set (Study 2, N = 379 cases) was used to validate the scale.FindingsSDO is defined as a set of managerial principles that govern all marketing processes and activities of a firm at strategic and operational levels so that they conform to SDL tenets. It is a second-order construct comprising four dimensions: customer solution, customer interaction, customer co-creation and system-based orientation. The suggested scale consists of 15 reflective items in total.Originality/valueThis SDO scale is viewed from and assessed by a firm’s strategic managers which covers all internal and external marketing aspects of the firm’s operation. It is different from a customer perspective or cultural perspective as used in the scales existing in the literature.

The Impact of Perceived Platform Interactivity on Customer Value Co-Creation ----Exploring the Mediating effects of Customer Inspiration and the Moderating effects of ethical perceptions

As the digital economy progresses, community group buying has emerged as a novel social retail model, reshaping traditional business structures. Customers play an increasingly pivotal role in the process of value creation, with their perceived value dictating market orientation and serving as the focal point for corporate value creation. However, effectively fostering customer co-creation of value remains an unresolved critical issue in this field. Diverging from previous studies, this research adopts an individual perception-based approach, employing social cognitive theory to construct an integrated theoretical model that explores how perceived platform interactivity influences customer co-creation behaviors. Data were collected through surveys conducted in Nanchang and Changsha, yielding 557 valid responses. Structural equation modeling was used for empirical analysis. The results indicate that perceived platform interactivity significantly positively affects customer participation behavior (β=0.503, p<0.001) and customer citizenship behavior (β=0.457, p<0.001). Customer inspiration plays a partial mediating role between perceived platform interactivity and value co-creation behaviors. Moreover, moral perception positively moderates the impact of perceived platform interactivity on value co-creation. This study not only enriches the theoretical exploration of customer value co-creation in the platform economy but also confirms that customer inspiration can supplement social cognitive theory's motivational constructs, expanding the theory’s applicability in digital marketing. The findings offer practical guidance for optimizing interaction design on community group buying platforms and stimulating creative customer engagement.

Empirical Insights into Co-Creation, Satisfaction, and Willingness to Pay in Sustainable Tourism

The significance of this study lies in its examination of how co-creation impacts tourists' willingness to pay for tourism offerings, providing crucial insights for enhancing the tourist experience and promoting sustainable tourism practices essential for the industry's long-term viability. This research investigates the effect of co-creation engagement on tourists' financial commitments to tourism products or services, aiming to understand better how co-creation enhances the tourist experience. An online survey was conducted in October 2023, targeting tourists who visited São Miguel’s Island in the Azores in recent years (n=220). The survey explored seven key constructs: involvement, customer co-creation, satisfaction, environmental concerns, support for sustainable tourism development, and willingness to pay. The results underscore the positive impact of consumer co-creation on satisfaction, suggesting that investment in co-creative activities can substantially enhance tourists' experiences. The study provides valuable insights for tourism stakeholders, indicating that fostering co-creative activities can significantly boost tourist satisfaction and willingness to pay. Additionally, integrating sustainability principles into tourism services offers a competitive advantage, while targeted marketing strategies based on visitor demographics can maximize financial returns. This research contributes to existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the connections between co-creation, satisfaction, environmental concerns, and willingness to pay in tourism. The findings have practical implications for improving service quality, promoting sustainability, and optimizing marketing strategies in the tourism industry, benefiting both academia and practitioners.

Value co-creation in tourism live shopping

Live streaming has been increasingly integrated into e-commerce platforms to sell tourism offerings, yet its value-adding mechanism for enhancing customer shopping experiences remains underexplored. From a value co-creation perspective, this study investigates how customers can co-create value by leveraging the interactive potential in tourism live shopping, and how such customer co-creation behavior can be fostered through the attributes and actions of tourism live streamers, drawing on source credibility and social presence theories. The empirical findings indicate that the credibility traits of tourism live streamers, characterized by trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness, are instrumental in fostering customer co-creation behaviors, which can in turn elevate customer perceived value of their tourism live shopping experiences. Additionally, the study reveals that the level of social presence during tourism live shopping sessions may positively moderate the influence of streamer credibility traits on customer co-creation behaviors.

Factors influencing value co-creation in cultural and creative enterprises: An empirical study

The empirical validation of the relationship among the capabilities of cultural and creative enterprises (CCE), customer co-creation value, and enterprise value remains insufficient. Therefore, clarifying the essential capabilities for increasing enterprise and customer value is essential. This study explores the factors that influence value co-creation in cultural and creative enterprises and examines how this influences enterprise and customer value. To measure this, a structured questionnaire was distributed to cultural and creative practitioners in Shanghai, China, and AMOS 24.0 was used for structural equation modelling of the obtained survey data. The results confirm the positive impacts of cooperative innovation capability, customer-linking, and service capability on creating enterprise and customer value. Additionally, the results indicate an interactive relationship between enterprise value creation and customer co-creation value in this context. This study provides management insights for product innovation and to enhance customer service and competitive advantage.

Ethical implementation of artificial intelligence in the service industries

ABSTRACT This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) combined with bibliometric analysis to investigate the ethical implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the service industries. This research uncovers key challenges such as privacy, bias, transparency, and accountability, emphasizing the critical need for ethical AI practices in service sectors handling sensitive customer data. Findings reveal that AI's ethical implementation is crucial in areas like decision support, customer engagement, automation, and new service development. The analysis provides actionable insights into enablers, including ethical guidelines, human oversight, comprehensive training, and adaptive organizational culture, which are essential for unlocking AI's potential and mitigating risks. The study offers a roadmap for future research, advocating interdisciplinary collaboration, customer co-creation in ethical frameworks, and sector-specific policy adaptation, ultimately aiming to build responsible and trustworthy AI in the service industries.

Examining Different Uses of it for Enhancing Service Innovation Performance

ABSTRACT Information technology (IT) is integral to service innovations, yet few efforts investigate how its different use might lead to different innovation outcomes, from a finer-grained perspective. Using the dynamic capabilities of the firm as a framework, we consider IT as an essential enabler of distinct service innovation activities and then use service-dominant logic to augment this high-level framework. The proposed model specifies how IT enables distinct innovation activities, through essential relationships that are associated with different innovation outcomes (radicalness and volume) and firm competitiveness. Our empirical test uses both survey data and accounting-based performance data from major Taiwanese service firms. According to the results, the strategic use of IT in planning activities is more relevant to innovation radicalness. To achieve innovation volume, strategically using IT for both planning and implementation is essential. Overall, customer cocreation strengthens these relationships and, more importantly, IT-enabled knowledge renewal in post-launch refinement activities has a significant, direct effect on firm competitiveness and positively moderates the relationship of innovation radicalness and firm competitiveness.

The impact of value co-creation behavior on customer loyalty in the service domain

As per the tenets of Service-Dominant Logic theory, consumers play an incessant role as proactive participants and collaborative stakeholders within commercial transactions. This orchestrated involvement of consumers in the process of service production enables service providers to discern and address consumer's needs, thus fortifying their competitiveness. As a result, consumers benefit from heightening service performances and competitiveness of the company. The principal aim of this study is to ascertain the foundational underpinnings of value co-creation behavior, particularly as exhibited within the context of utilizing gym services at the California Fitness Center located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A comprehensive investigation encompassing a sample size of 315 respondents was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software. The findings of this investigation establish a robust linkage between customer participatory behavior, customer citizenship behavior, and the premise of customer co-creation conduct. However, it is noteworthy that the factor of information-seeking within customer participation did not garner empirical support. Notably, there is a relationship between active co-creator behavior and customer loyalty.

Agile methodologies in digital banking: Theoretical underpinnings and implications for customer satisfaction

This paper delves into the theoretical underpinnings of agile methodologies and investigates their potential to enhance customer satisfaction in digital banking. Theoretical foundations of agile methodologies draw on several key theoretical frameworks complexity theory, complex systems, like digital banking ecosystems, exhibit emergent properties. Traditional linear approaches struggle to predict these. Agile embraces iterative development cycles and adaptability to changing requirements, acknowledging this complexity lean thinking, derived from manufacturing, lean thinking prioritizes eliminating waste and maximizing customer value. Agile translates this by focusing on short development sprints, prioritizing features with the highest customer impact, and minimizing unnecessary functionalities customer co-creation, traditional models often distance customers from the development process. Agile emphasizes customer co-creation, actively involving them in design and testing. This fosters a deeper understanding of customer needs and leads to more relevant and satisfying digital banking experiences. Agile practices in digital banking. Agile methodologies encompass diverse practices. This visual management system focuses on workflow optimization. Promoting a continuous flow of work from development to deployment user stories and acceptance criteria, User Acceptance criteria define the specific conditions a feature must meet for user approval. These practices ensure features align with customer needs and expectations. Agile methodologies hold significant promise for enhancing customer satisfaction in digit banking. Agile development allows banks to deliver new features and functionalities faster, keeping pace with evolving customer demands. Customers benefit from quicker access to innovative solutions that address their financial needs. This results in digital banking experiences that are intuitive, efficient, and cater to specific user needs. Increased Innovation, The iterative nature of agile fosters continuous learning and experimentation. Banks can test new features, gather customer feedback, and rapidly iterate upon them, leading to a more innovative and dynamic digital banking experience. Improved transparency and trust, agile practices promote open communication and collaboration between development teams and customers. Customers are kept informed of updates and have a voice in shaping the development process, fostering trust and a sense of ownership.

Stimulating customer participation behaviour and boosting value co-creation in hotels

Considering the competitive environment of the hospitality industry in delivering superior value to customers, customer participation in value co-creation with the service provider through interaction becomes pivotal. By bonding the co-creation theory with the equity theory, this study proposes a model for stimulating customer participation behaviour (CPB), which includes customer co-creation perception (CCCP) composing DART activities (dialogue, access, risk assessment, and transparency), CPB, co-production, and value-in-use. The collected data from tourists staying in hotels in Portugal was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results confirm that CCCP predicts CPB, co-production, and value-in-use. Moreover, CPB improves co-production and value-in-use and mediates the associations between CCCP and co-production/value-in-use. This research contributes to co-creation theory by confirming CCCP as a driver of CPB and provides practical implications to enhance co-production and value-in-use in hotels.

B2B Customer Value Co-Creation for Sustainable Machinery in the Food Processing Industry - A Case Study from The Netherlands

This study examines customer-centric vision and sustainable value co-creation in the B2B machine manufacturing industry. It uses a generative approach to explore B2B customer expectations, focusing on co-conception and co-design. Our research aims to integrate customer-centric benefits with sustainability goals through sustainable business models and boundary work theory. In our paper, we examine a growing circular firm in the food processing machinery sector in The Netherlands. Our study is guided by the main research question, "What actions do B2B customers expect for enhanced machinery sustainability?”. We implemented a single case study and a collaborative research framework, integrating business viewpoints to enhance theoret-ical contributions within a qualitative mixed-method approach. Our findings indicate that, reduction and repurposing of water and used water, and machines generating less food waste and processing waste are among the top expectations of the B2B customers. B2B contexts are underrepresented in customer co-creation literature, therefore our paper contributes with empirical findings to this field.

Designing Prototypes to Encourage Customer Cocreation in the Iterative Process: The Moderating Effects of Demand and Technological Uncertainties

Designing Prototypes to Encourage Customer Cocreation in the Iterative Process: The Moderating Effects of Demand and Technological Uncertainties

Examining antecedents’ factors influencing the customer co-creation value using open-sooq app in Jordan

Examining antecedents’ factors influencing the customer co-creation value using open-sooq app in Jordan

Do Social Media Marketing Activities Enhance Customer Satisfaction and Co-Creation

Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: The main objective of this research is to examine the role of Social Media Marketing Activities (SMMA) in enhancing customer satisfaction and co-creation of local brands from the Schematic Perspective Theory. Specifically, this research aims to analyse the effect of SMMA on brand awareness and brand image, and the impact of brand image on customer satisfaction and customer co-creation. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research was designed with a survey method which involved 316 respondents, and the data was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, with the WarpPLS 7.0 software. Research findings: The findings indicated that the effect of SMMA is positively significant on customer brand awareness and brand image. And brand image, in turn, has a positively significant effect on satisfaction, and satisfaction has an impact on customer co-creation. This research also found that satisfaction has an important role in mediation, that also stimulates customer co-creation. Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study theoretically contributes to the relationship between customer satisfaction and co-creation in the context of SMMA, based on Schematic Perspective Theory and Social Exchange Theory (SET). However, the research focus on SET on the effect of customer satisfaction on customer co-creation is secondary. Practitioner/Policy implications: The implication of this research is very important for companies to design their own SMMA based on interactivity and customisation attributes. Customer satisfaction is a necessary condition for enhancing customer co-creation. Research limitation/Implications: To enhance the understanding of the complex relationship among the variables, we suggest examining the effects of SMMA directly on customer satisfaction, and the possibility of reciprocal relationship between cus

Social media use and performance of small businesses: a customer-centric perspective

PurposeSocial media is widely regarded as a strategic resource to improve firm performance. However, there are mixed findings on how businesses can use social media for better performance. This study aims to propose and test a mechanism through which social media can influence firm performance.Design/methodology/approachA survey approach was used to collect data from 262 small businesses in South Africa. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to assess the hypothesised relationships.FindingsThe findings support the significant role of social media in fostering firm performance. It is observed that the use of social media influences firm performance through three key customer-centric constructs: the strength of customer–firm relationships, customer orientation and customer co-creation. Additionally, the relationship between the strength of customer–firm relationships and firm performance is moderated by customer co-creation.Originality/valueThe study provides new insights into the mechanism through which social media fosters firm performance. Due to a lack of universality in establishing the direct effect of social media use on firm performance, providing evidence of an indirect path becomes vital for advancing knowledge on social media use in business. As such, this study contributes to the literature on social media and entrepreneurship by demonstrating a novel mechanism through which social media influences firm performance.

Customer Co-Creation on Revisiting Intentions: A Focus on the Tourism Sector

The offer of a wide range of services has given consumers several options to meet their needs. Therefore, in coherence with the competition between companies, they need to adopt processes and measures that they can perceive as consumers’ needs to offer a service that is adequate for their requirements. This study aims to understand the impact of co-creation on services and what factors impact the intention to revisit tourism services, specifically hotel stays. In this sense, the search seeks to understand the influence of co-creation on the variables under study and, in turn, which variables impact the intention to revisit a tourist service. To this end, a quantitative investigation was conducted through an online questionnaire survey to 314 respondents, in August 2020, that stayed at hotels in Portugal. The study demonstrates the importance of co-creation as a mediator of factors such as customer experience and the company’s orientation towards the customer and, in turn, building a long-term relationship with the customer (loyalty). However, there is no evidence to support the relationship between co-creation and revisit intention as this last one is influenced only by allegiance. This investigation contributes to the theme of co-creation and revisiting in the tourism sector of mainland Portugal and the islands, which is a recent topic analyzed in the literature, and significantly contributes to the application of business goals.