Service Value Co-creation Research Articles

Creating logistics service value in construction – a quest of coordinating modules in a loosely coupled system

Logistics plays a crucial role in the construction industry due to its numerous actors, frequent transportation needs, significant community impact, and high level of variability. However, there is a lack of awareness among actors regarding the importance of logistics and how it can create value. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the logistics service value co-creation process in construction. Methodologically, the study uses interviews involving third-party logistics (TPL) providers, main contractors, and subcontractors. Service blueprinting is employed to visualise logistics services within a construction logistics setup (CLS). It was found that in a loosely coupled system like construction, value co-creation is driven by trust and commitment, allowing the necessary time for learning. Service blueprinting helps visualise the connection between service design and the value of different service modules. However, risks include delayed actor involvement downstream the supply chain and potential lack of coordination between service modules, especially with multiple TPL providers. A contribution to the logistics service literature is that modularisation makes it easier to design the service content; however, the number of actors may increase. Hence, the modularisation simplifies the service content but not the service value creation or the value co-creation process.

The influence of service quality, Guanxi, value co-creation and corporate image in building developers apartments loyalty toward contractors in apartment construction industry

The influence of service quality, Guanxi, value co-creation and corporate image in building developers apartments loyalty toward contractors in apartment construction industry

The gloomy side of value co-creation for service employees

PurposeThere is a paucity of published research regarding service employees’ side of gloomy consequences emanating from value co-creation (VCC). The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the activities and interactions of VCC that can result in negative well-being for service employees.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a theory synthesis paper and, as such, seeks to accomplish conceptual integration of multiple theories and literature streams.FindingsThe origins of negative outcomes of VCC are infinite, and for the purpose of this study, the potential triggers of negative outcomes are limited to typical processes and behaviours initiated by VCC of services. For the purposes of this paper, dysfunctional customer behaviour, customer incivility, value co-destruction, boundary-spanning activities, organisational structure and policies and resource integration are investigated as sources of negative well-being for service employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe first limitation is the focus on offline transactions. Although the accepted definition of a service ecosystem provides for it to be a “self-adjusting system” a need could emerge for some formal management structure to cope with the increasing complexity of service transactions. A theoretical implication of this paper is that it includes a few lesser researched elements in the context of VCC. A starting point to deal with undesirable VCC interactions is to distinguish between undesirable interaction outcomes that originated inside the firm (own service employees) and those that originated from outside the firm (dysfunctional customers).Practical implicationsA first suggestion on how managers could deal with undesirable VCC interactions is to distinguish between undesirable interaction outcomes that originated inside the firm (e.g. own service employees, firm policies and structure) and those that originated from outside the firm (e.g. customer incivility and dysfunctional customers), as these two types of interaction outcomes require different interventions. Firms will need to bring together, study, analyse and assess all service employee experiences and challenges generated by VCC interactions. The frequency and significance of negative incidents should indicate the amount of effort and time to be spent on types of negative incidents.Social implicationsA challenge for service ecosystems is how they will adjust to comply with novel and traditional non-business objectives in the light of transformational, upliftment and other calls from society, whilst at the same time improving the well-being of the entire service ecosystem (i.e. providers, users and society). The improvement of well-being versus reducing suffering/losses/risks is not an option. The words of Hammedi et al. (2024, p. 159) “we move towards the conceptualization of service ecosystem health as a harmonious state in which private, public and planetary well-being merge” are exceptionally fitting here.Originality/valueThe negative consequences of VCC impact the well-being of service employees and are costly for a firm. Suggestions to prevent or limit the impact of undesirable or harmful consequences are made. This study is of value for service businesses, service academics and society. A greater awareness of the destructive nature of negative consequences of VCC will hopefully transpire from this study.

Rethinking service blueprint for digital coopetition: A new framework for networked collaboration

This study adapts traditional service blueprint methodologies for technology-driven coopetition networks, where companies simultaneously collaborate and compete. Integrating insights from service science, we developed an enhanced service blueprint framework with three key components: the cyber frontstage Lane for digital interactions, the physical backstage Lane for physical operations, and the support stage lane for supporting processes. Empirical validation in the Portuguese stone sector demonstrated the framework’s effectiveness in identifying network dysfunctions and its ease of use for industry professionals. Feedback highlights its relevance in capturing the complexities of modern digital coopetition and managing interactions and resources. This research underscores the necessity of updating service blueprint methods to optimize service delivery and value co-creation in digitally evolving sectors.

Value Co-creation and Co-destruction in Digital Health Services: Protocol for a Systematic Review (Preprint)

Value Co-creation and Co-destruction in Digital Health Services: Protocol for a Systematic Review (Preprint)

Human–AI resource relations in value cocreation in service ecosystems

PurposeApplications of artificial intelligence (AI), such as virtual and physical service robots, generative AI, large language models and decision support systems, alter the nature of services. Most service research centers on the division between human and AI resources. Less attention has been paid to analyzing the entangled resource relations and interactions between humans and AI entities. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to extend our metatheoretical understanding of resource integration and value cocreation by analyzing different human–AI resource relations in service ecosystems.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual paper adapts a novel framework from postphenomenology, specifically cyborg intentionality. This framework is used to analyze what kinds of human–AI resource relations enable resource integration and value cocreation in service ecosystems.FindingsWe conceptualize seven different human–AI resource relations, namely background, embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity, cyborg, immersion and composite relation. The sociotechnical entangled perspective on human–AI resource relations challenges and reframes our understanding of interactions between humans and nonhumans in resource integration and value cocreation and the distinction between operant and operand resources in service research.Originality/valueOur primary contribution to researchers and service providers is dissolving the distinction between operant and operand resources. We present two foundational propositions. 1. Humans and AI become entangled value cocreating resources in inherently sociotechnical service ecosystems; and 2. Human and AI entanglements in value cocreation manifest through seven resource relations in inherently sociotechnical service ecosystems. Understanding the combinatorial potential of different human–AI resource relations enables service providers to make informed choices in service ecosystems.

Driving Mechanism of Customer Participation in Service-Oriented Enterprises: A Perspective of Value Co-Creation

Based on service-dominant logic and service quality theory, this study explores the influence mechanism of customer participation on value co-creation of service-oriented enterprises. Employing a quantitative approach, the study utilized a questionnaire survey administered to 400 participants, examining the mediating and moderating effects of platform service quality and digital technology. The research results indicate that all three dimensions of customer participation have a significant positive impact on the value co-creation of service-oriented enterprises. Customer participation can also have a significant positive impact on the value co-creation of service-oriented enterprises through the mediating variable of platform service quality. Digital technology plays a significant positive moderating role between customer participation and platform service quality, as well as between platform service quality and value co-creation of service-oriented enterprises.

Psychosocial factors contributing to value creation in value-based healthcare: a scoping review.

Healthcare systems constantly evolve to improve care quality and resource utilization. One way is implementing Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) an economic approach. This scoping review aims to identify and describe the literature on VBHC, particularly its psychosocial aspects, to uncover research gaps. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines for Scoping Reviews. We took the following 14 steps: (a) defining the research question; (b) identifying relevant studies; (c) selecting studies; (d) 15 mapping data; (e) collecting, synthesizing and reporting results. A detailed Boolean search was conducted from January 2021 to August 31, 2021, across APA PsycINFO and PubMed databases using keywords such as "Value-Based Healthcare" and "psychosocial perspective." Initially, three reviewers screened 70 e-records independently, assessing titles, abstracts, and full-text against the inclusion criteria. Discrepancies regarding the evaluation of the articles were resolved through consensus sessions between the reviewers. The final review included 14 relevant e-records in English from peer-reviewed sources, focusing on quantitative and qualitative research. From the analysis, four areas emerged: (1) Value chains in Healthcare; (2) Styles, activities, and practices of value co-creation in Healthcare; (3) Value co-creation in the encounter process; (4) Value co-creation in preventive health services. The scoping review findings suggest several potential key aspects, including the interdependence between patients and healthcare organizations, organizational culture in healthcare, and the role of patient-centered approaches that focus on relationships, communication, and social support in healthcare. This can be achieved through patient engagement, patient-centered care and communication, health literacy, psychosocial support services, comprehensive psychosocial assessments, care coordination, and continuity of care. Integrating psychosocial elements in VHBC enhances quality and optimizes resource use. Findings highlight the need to develop practical guidance on how to implement a culture of value in care that takes into account the psychosocial aspects that have emerged, but not fully addressed. The pandemic teaches that the workforce poorly receives sudden and unsystematic changes. This review could provide an initial basis for the redesign of value in healthcare and a paradigm shift that has already begun with patient-centered medicine and patient engagement.

The role of organizational resilience in SME service innovation and value cocreation

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), increasing the importance of understanding how these businesses can become more resilient and how service innovation can be an effective strategy to increase their adaptive capacity and survival. This study aims to examine the role of dynamic capabilities in service innovation as a factor explaining the resilience of SMEs in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic during the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on service innovation. Additionally, the authors assess whether service innovation has a significant impact on value cocreation in these businesses.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a quantitative method by surveying 118 SME owners in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The data were analyzed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results reflect important theoretical contributions by analyzing resilience from an innovation perspective instead of a retrospective approach, which is an area that has not been analyzed in the literature. Additionally, theoretical contributions to marketing services in SMEs are discussed, which is an underresearched topic. The results advance by discussing the role of service innovation through the reconfiguration of resources and how this can be an effective strategy to increase value cocreation with customers during crises.Originality/valueThis study is original in that it analyzes resilience from the perspective of innovation, and not from a retrospective approach. It offers a vision in response to the need for studies that provide a clearer conceptualization of resilience in small businesses. This highlights the importance of considering regional differences and service innovation as effective strategies to enhance resilience and value cocreation with customers.

Deepening Insights Into Social Entrepreneurship by Leveraging Service-Dominant Logic

Social entrepreneurs operate in highly complex social and institutional environments where dual economic and social missions create paradoxes, conflicts, and challenges. To achieve their goals, social entrepreneurs are frequently dependent on the resources and engagement of numerous other actors as diverse as funders, policymakers, accelerators, investors, volunteers, universities, supply chain partners, NGOs, and of course, customers and beneficiaries. To understand these complexities, a holistic and systemic perspective is required. In response, this study leverages the service-dominant (S-D) logic of marketing to offer a path to deepening insights in social entrepreneurship research. Specifically, the paper draws on four key concepts related to S-D logic that offer interesting avenues for future research: (1) service ecosystems, (2) value co-creation, (3) institutions and institutional arrangements, and (4) actor engagement. To enrich the conceptual arguments, illustrations are provided using the Melbourne-based social entrepreneurial collective, Moving Feast. The collective emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and involved numerous social enterprise organisations, support organisations, funders, and community organisations. The paper concludes with a set of future research avenues.

Agencement of onlife and phygital: smart tech–enabled value co-creation practices

PurposeIn this article, we reflect on how smart technology is transforming service research discourses about service innovation and value co-creation. We adopt the concept of technology smartness’ to refer to the ability of technology to sense, adapt and learn from interactions. Accordingly, we seek to address how smart technologies (i.e. cognitive and distributed technology) can be powerful resources, capable of innovating in relation to actors’ agency, the structure of the service ecosystem and value co-creation practices.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual article integrates evidence from the existing theories with illustrative examples to advance research on service innovation and value co-creation.FindingsThrough the performative utterances of new tech words, such as onlife and materiality, this article identifies the emergence of innovative forms of agency and structure. Onlife agency entails automated, relational and performative forms, which provide for new decision-making capabilities and expanded opportunities to co-create value. Phygital materiality pertains to new structural features, comprised of new resources and contexts that have distinctive intelligence, autonomy and performativity. The dialectic between onlife agency and phygital materiality (structure) lies in the agencement of smart tech–enabled value co-creation practices based on the notion of becoming that involves not only resources but also actors and contexts.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a novel conceptual framework that advances a tech-based ecology for service ecosystems, in which value co-creation is enacted by the smartness of technology, which emerges through systemic and performative intra-actions between actors (onlife agency), resources and contexts (phygital materiality and structure).

Datification of the wisdom of the crowd: a comparative analysis of innovation strategies in four European crowdfunding platforms

Crowdfunding is a business model where diverse stakeholders operate in a context considered an example of innovation in value co-creation. Based on literature about service ecosystems and value co-creation this study adopts the platformization of society as critical theoretical approach and analytical framework to study the relations between human and technological agents within four crowdfunding ecosystems in Europe. Conceiving Crowdfunding Service Providers (CSPs) as specialized organizations, regulated to operate multi-sided markets and to serve roles as ecosystems’ coordinators, we aim to identify the innovation strategies adopted by CSPs platforms from Italy, France, Spain and Portugal to support their core functions related to governance mechanisms, business models and infrastructural components. To understand the motives for innovation implementation and to compare the competitive adaptation from an ecosystemic perspective, we triangulate qualitative data from multiple sources to explain how and why these strategic choices affect the dynamics of value co-creation. The multiple cases-study systematizes and discusses similarities and differences, particularly as concerns the capacity of CFPs to orchestrate their governance and ICT components to innovate and take advantage of algorithms and AI implementation, collecting more data and money from user interactions. Conclusions highlight the non-neutrality of CSPs, which act as data analysts and translators, adopting more preventive, proactive or reactive strategies of usage and redistribution of the value, created, acquired and aggregated through data. Each CSP can be characterized by its infrastructure and data management approach, metaphorically being more eco-centred or ego-centred.

Service Logic and Value Co-Creation Reconsidered: the Service Method and its Theoretical Implications for Service Science, Management and Praxis

Service Logic and Value Co-Creation Reconsidered: the Service Method and its Theoretical Implications for Service Science, Management and Praxis

Lean thinking in value co-creation:

Objective: The goal of this paper is to identify both the opportunities and barriers to adopting Lean Thinking for value co-creation in agro-industrial services. Design/methodology/approach: This research paper comprises a methodical review of the literature on value co-creation in agro-industrial services, with a specific focus on Lean Thinking. The authors utilized Bardin's (2011) content analysis approach to examine the resulting portfolio and derive insights into the prospects and challenges of implementing Lean Thinking in value co-creation within the agro-industrial services sector. Findings: The opportunities and barriers for the adoption of Lean Thinking in value co-creation in agro-industrial services were identified by the authors, who also proposed ways to overcome the obstacles. In total, five opportunities and five barriers were recognized. Originality: This study represents a novel effort in identifying the opportunities and barriers of implementing Lean Thinking in value co-creation for agro-industrial services. The findings may guide decision-making processes and strategic actions aimed at enhancing the agro-industrial market. Practical implications: The identified opportunities and barriers can provide a foundation for guiding strategies that direct agribusiness players in making informed decisions, while also mitigating waste through collaborative efforts among multiple companies. It can also guide players towards value aggregation in their products and/or processes by promoting co-created services among players, in line with the principles of Lean Thinking. Social implications: Efficient value co-creation in agro-industrial services can result in improved well-being, convenience, and service offerings for society. It can also add value to products through services and create more employment opportunities in the agro-industrial sector.

Co-creation Practices and Service Outcomes: A Transformative Health Service Framework

This study investigates how the dimensions of service quality and providers’ supportive co-creation practices impact service satisfaction, which affects behavioral intentions and quality-of-life in a developing country. Customers in developing countries evaluate their co-creation efforts differently than those in developed countries. Hence, this study also explores the moderating effects of customer efforts in value co-creation activities on wellbeing enhancement. A transformative framework for healthcare services was developed using transformative service research (TSR) and value co-creation perspectives. Data collected from 421 healthcare customers were used to test the proposed model using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that timeliness, tangibles, technical quality, engagement facilitation, risk assessment, and relationship quality positively influence service satisfaction. The results also reveal that customer efforts in value co-creation activities bolster the effects of service satisfaction on behavioral intention and quality-of-life. The results offer important insights into how healthcare organizations can utilize supportive co-creation practices to enhance business and societal impacts. This study offers a transformative service framework depicting the enhancement of service outcomes through practical unification of the roles of service providers and customers in the healthcare context. Hence, this study contributes to the research agenda in TSR and, more importantly, healthcare management in developing countries.

A new three way decision making technique for supplier selection in logistics service value Cocreation under intuitionistic double hierarchy linguistic term set

In today's business world, choosing a logistics supplier is a critical factor for companies to improve operational efficiency and reduce business costs. With the development of market economy, it is very difficult for companies to choose a suitable logistics provider according to specific rules. Therefore, this study proposes a new three-way decision making (TWD) technique for supplier selection in logistics service value creation. For this, we first develop a new concept called intuitionistic double hierarchy linguistic term set (IDHLTSs) that can describe uncertainty and ambiguity in a more flexible way. Some Hamacher aggregation operators for collecting IDHLTSs information and its basic aspect are proposed. The unknown weight vector for decision experts and criteria is determined by using entropy measures. In addition, the conditional probability is determined using TOPSIS which makes the decision making process more rational. And the decision result is conducted according to minimum loss principle. Finally, an example of 3 PL supplier selection in the logistics service value co-creation environment and comparison is given to validate and demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Dynamics of wetland tourism in China: studying wetland tourism park service quality with post-trip tourist intention and tourism value co-creation.

The research intends to assess the dynamics of wetland tourism in China using nexus between tourism service quality, post-trip tourist intention and tourism value co-creation. The study taken the visitors of wetland parks of China as study sample and applied the fuzzy AHP analysis technique and Delphi analysis method. The results of study confirmed reliability and validity of the constructs. It is found that there is significant connection between tourism service quality and value co-creation of Chinese wetland park tourists with the mediating role of tourists' re-visit intention. The findings also lend credence to the "wetland tourism dynamics" which postulates that an increase in capital investment in wetland tourism parks increases tourism service quality and value co-creation and decrease environmental pollution in larger extent. Moreover, findings state that sustainable tourism policy and practice for wetland tourism parks of China has also a significant role in enhancing the stability in wetland tourisms dynamics. The research recommends that administrations obligation urgencies in enhancing scope of wetland tourism in a manner to enhance tourism service quality, which is essential for tourists' re-visit intention after a trip and tourism value co-creation.

Is ChatGPT the right technology for service individualization and value co-creation? evidence from the travel industry

ABSTRACT This paper aims to outline the influences of ChatGPT on service individualization and service value co-creation in the travel industry. Data were collected from managers and experts of travel agencies in Turkey. Hypotheses were tested via the independent sample t-tests, enter regression analysis, and the bootstrapping approach. It is found that ChatGPT empowered service individualization and internalizing information, which in turn positively impacts service value co-creation. The study also finds that ChatGPT has a significant moderating impact on the relationship between internalizing information and service individualization as well as on the relationship between service individualization and service value co-creation.

Consumer engagement behavior in the value co-creation process of healthcare services: a scoping review

PurposeThe purpose of this review is to provide a conceptual framework of consumer engagement behavior in the value co-creation process of healthcare services, and further understand the current knowledge maps and advances.Design/methodology/approachSpecifically, the scoping review methodology is used to synthesize the extant findings. The authors first develop the inclusion/exclusion criteria to evaluate the source material for the review; then, the authors further conduct the literature refinement to select the final data sample. As such, the authors extract and analyze the information derived from these articles.FindingsThe authors found most related studies focus on exploring patients' engagement behavior in the value co-creation process, especially those with chronic disease; the findings also reveal that consumers are most likely to engage in the value co-creation process of healthcare services by seeking or sharing health information; also, consumers engagement behavior is mainly driven by individual, interactive, and technological factors; moreover, consumer engagement in the value co-creation of healthcare services are more likely to achieve positive health and behavioral outcomes.Originality/valueThe role of consumers has gradually shifted from that of passive recipients to that of active participants in the healthcare value co-creation process. Consumer engagement behavior is the key premise for the realization of healthcare value co-creation, and it has received increasing attention both academically and practically. By unearthing the conceptual framework of consumer engagement behavior in the value co-creation process of healthcare services, this study provides a systematic understanding and serves as a useful resource for future research and practice.

Service encounter and value co-creation in fundraising activities at the NPO sector

PurposeFundraising plays a critical role in the success of non-profit organizations (hereafter NPOs). This study aims to propose to analyze fundraising from a service-dominant logic, specifically from a service ecosystem approach, to understand the different entities and interactions involved in this activity, as well as the types of value that emerge from them.Design/methodology/approachA cross-case study was developed using three health-care Brazilian NPOs. Data collection methods were performed to build each case, including observation of NPOs’ telemarketing staff interaction with donors and long interviews with their marketing managers. Data analysis involved applying the service ecosystem framework to each NPO and contrasting them.FindingsFirst, the findings revealed the way in which religious, political and child-rearing institutions integrate into citizenship ideals that permeate both NPOs’ and donors’ attitudes and behaviors. Second, five different fundraising interactions (emotional, religious, political, influencer and empathetic) in which NPOs and donors pool their resources to co-create value are presented. Third, how the outcomes of fundraising interactions manifest for NPOs in the form of financial (money and time) and social value (social legitimation) and for teleworkers and donors in the form of emotional value (joy and relatedness) are identified.Originality/valueThis paper used a service ecosystem approach to analyze a new service context “fundraising,” which has been scarcely discussed in the literature. The findings show how macro-level institutions work together for fundraising. Five different fundraising interactions were identified, linking the communication with the service experience literature. Finally, the findings identify fundraising’s different value outcomes extending traditional approaches for evaluating this activity.