Adopting a Service-Dominant Logic lens, recent research within industrial marketing contexts increasingly recognizes the role of operant resources in value co-creation. Incumbent within operant resources is actor competence. Despite this, an investigation into the role of actor competence in value co-creating processes is scant and the competence literature, in general, has tended to concentrate on specialized knowledge and skills based interpretations that potentially restrict our understanding of the construct. To address this gap, this research adopts a phenomenological approach to explore perceived behavioral attributes of competent actors.Findings confirm two broad behaviorally based conceptualizations of competence: 1) extra-role behavior demonstrated through organizational citizenship behavior, and 2) in-role behavior demonstrated through understanding of work, and engagement behavior. To this end, the contribution of this research is twofold. First and from a theoretical perspective, it offers empirical insights into a relational based framework of competency within industrial marketing contexts. Second, and from a pragmatic perspective, this framework may aid managers in developing a broader understanding of actor competence and how such competencies may be enhanced within the workplace to optimize value co-creation.
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the drivers of employee motivation to facilitate value co-creation. Specifically, it enhances the understanding of social and contextual elements that contribute towards the co-creation of value.
Design/methodology/approach
Embracing an interpretive paradigm, the study draws on 57 in-depth interviews together with participant observation field notes. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The findings identify six key drivers that motivate employees to facilitate value co-creation: rewards and recognition, opportunities for life-long learning, interpersonal engagement, role responsibility and accountability, organisational vision and social purpose.
Research limitations/implications
This study is undertaken within a traditional organisation setting. Other organisational contexts such as working from home should also be considered. Second, this study focused on the individual relational orientations of employees. Also, there is an opportunity to explore the collective orientation of employees.
Originality/value
Drawing on service-dominant logic (S-D logic) as a theoretical lens, this study adopts and adapts Lindenberg and Steg’s (2013) goal-framing theory to conceptualise six drivers of employee motivation to facilitate value co-creation within three-goal frames that leads to in-role and extra-role job performance.
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