Bringing the individual into the co-creation of value

Abstract

Purpose Despite the increasing prominence of value co-creation (VCC) in extant research, the area of customer co-creation is in its infancy and many aspects are not well-understood. This paper aims to important work from the individual psychology literature with the concept of VCC and offers empirical evidence to untested theoretical claims regarding the role of the individual in VCC. Design/methodology/approach The investigation begins with reviews of the literature of individual psychology and VCC to compare the concepts they use to explain the role of the individual in co-creation. The results of the theoretical development are empirically derived using a multiple vignette-based study to examine relationships between individual characteristics and the activity of VCC. Findings The authors find a positive effect of a customer’s prosocial orientation, perspective taking and involvement on VCC. However, a customer’s extraversion does not affect the degree of VCC. The desire-to-participate mediates these relationships. Research limitations/implications This study offers a foundation for some of the central claims about VCC and encourages a precise understanding of the impact of individual customer psychology in value co-creation with firms. Implications for the service-dominant logic of marketing and core work in psychology are discussed. Practical implications Managers seeking to design co-creative ecosystems need to know about the individuals they are co-creating with. In this research, the authors clearly exemplify how managers can use in practice a theoretical understanding of individuals to better direct the activity of VCC. Originality/value This paper provides both new theoretical knowledge from the parallel literature review and exciting empirical results from the authors’ investigation into phenomenological claims regarding VCC.

Mapping of Journal of Services Marketing themes: a retrospective overview using bibliometric analysis

“…Representative works of the cluster include Blinda (et al 2019), Jouny-Rivier et al (2017, and Ranjan and Read (2019). Blinda (et al 2019) investigate whether services should be differentiated based on its types.…”

#artoninstagram: Engaging with art in the era of the selfie

“…First, by enacting inter-subjectivity, selfies bring together different perspectives, also allowing marginalized voices to emerge (Zhao & Zappavigna, 2018). In this sense, selfies make it possible a perspective-taking-based value co-creation that is able to bring the individual into the co-creation of value and to reduce the gap between the organization and the customer (Ranjan & Read, 2019). Indeed, selfies allow a re-contextualization to occur, where the distance between the producer (artist) and consumer (visitor) is reduced and the consumer becomes a co-creator of the artwork.…”

“…In addition, being driven by individuals’ emotions, selfies emerge as initiatives initiated autonomously by consumers. In this way, they allow for bringing the individual at the center of the co-creation process by adopting their perspectives (Ranjan and Read, 2019) and reducing the perception of value co-creation as consumer labor or exploitation (Cova & Dalli, 2011; Zwick et al, 2008).…”

“…Value co-creation can occur through interactive and multisensory experiences between actors and the surrounding environment (Mingione et al, 2019). Recently, Ranjan and Read (2019) have stressed the relevance of bringing the individual into the co-creation of value also favoring perspective-taking "by adopting customers' perspectives and helping them to understand the perspectives of the firm" (p. 914).…”

O papel de motivações utilitárias e hedônicas na cocriação de valor e sua relação com a experiência no AIRBNB

“…Segundo Ranjan et al (2019), no que se refere à cocriação de valor, o engajamento do cliente na produção e suas experiências tornou-se uma prática imprescindível no âmbito dos serviços. Consequentemente, empresas tradicionais estão descobrindo o papel do envolvimento do cliente e do colaborador na cocriação de valor para a obtenção vantagem competitiva.…”