Is co-created value the only legitimate value? An institutional-theory perspective on business interaction in B2B-marketing systems

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to deal with the concepts of “institutions” and “institutional logics” in the context of business-to-business (B2B) marketing systems and uses institutional theory as a framework to look at value co-creation. Design/methodology/approach By integrating the literature on value co-creation, institutional theory and institutional entrepreneurship, the paper argues that the boundaries of B2B marketing systems are continuously reshaped through legitimation processes occurring through actors’ institutional work, thus making co-created value the only legitimate value. Findings The paper proposes a conceptual framework and furthers the conceptual development of value co-creation and augments the literature on service-dominant logic and the notion of co-created value by assuming a legitimacy-based B2B market systems perspective. Practical implications This paper presents a number of propositions that serve to illustrate several managerial implications. These arise from organizations co-creating value by conforming to the various institutional logics that maximize their legitimacy. Originality/value The paper makes a contribution by developing a critical theoretical framework based on the application of institutional theoretical constructs/concepts (e.g. ceremonial conformity, decoupling, considerations of face, confidence and good faith).

Ecosystem network health and SMEs’ credit quality

“…Value co-creation, a critical concept in S-D logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2011), is defined as “a process of integrating and transforming resources, which requires interaction and implies networks” (Vargo and Lusch, 2006, p. 285). Recently, more and more business research has highlighted the importance of value co-creation in the context of B2B marketing (Vargo et al , 2008; Ngugi et al , 2010; Balaji and Roy, 2017; Möller et al , 2020; Massi et al , 2020) – especially in ecosystems in which complementarities and interdependence are pervasive (Jacobides et al , 2018; Aarikka-Stenroos and Ritala, 2017; Möller and Halinen, 2017; Adner and Kapoor, 2010). Generally, value co-creation as a marketing capability, helps firms to deepen the connection with customers by understanding customers’ needs and establishing a relationship built on trust (Wilden et al , 2019).…”

“…Accordingly, value co-creation capability helps SMEs to establish more information disclosure channels and credit accumulation nodes in the network. Besides, value co-creation helps to improve the legitimacy of in the network (Massi et al , 2020), which also enhances the credibility of SMEs. Thus, SMEs with high value co-creation capability may facilitate their information transparency (Song et al , 2019; Song et al , 2020), and then improve the probability of accessing to bank loans (Martínez-Sola et al , 2017; Biais and Gollier, 1997).…”

“…However, as market changes accelerate, the enterprises’ ability to interact with the market has become more important (Ali et al , 2021). Market capabilities not only help enterprises obtain resources from the network, but also play more important roles in improving performance (Hoque et al , 2020; Massi et al , 2020; Moore and Fairhurst, 2003). On the other hand, market capabilities are more easily perceivable by markets (Morgan et al , 2018; Morgan et al , 2009).…”

“…For SMEs financing, on the one hand, institutional arrangements can be useful signaling tools with a positive effect on the behavioral norms of actors (Debrun and Kumar, 2007b; Berkowitz et al , 2004) and promote institution-based trust (Zucker, 1986), which helps reduce SMEs’ information asymmetry (Debrun and Kumar, 2007a; Song et al , 2020). On the other hand, compliance with these normative guidelines may enable firms to establish their legitimacy within the ecosystem (Zsidisin et al , 2005; Massi et al , 2020). It not only helps enterprises to obtain network resources (Low and Johnston, 2010), but also helps to increase banks’ confidence of enterprises operation because they know that enterprises are faced with multiple supervision and peer pressures (Obschonka et al , 2012).…”

What do female and male entrepreneurs value in business accelerators?

“…A notable exception is a recent paper by Lange and Johnston (2020) who ask to what extent entrepreneurs value business accelerators and what contributes to this value. The role of customers has been emphasized in both the marketing and innovation literature (La Rocca et al , 2016; Zhang and Xiao, 2020) and is becoming one of the main priorities for marketers in business-to-business (B2B) settings (Berenguer-Contrí et al , 2020; Massi et al , 2020; Grafmüller, 2020; Lambert and Enz, 2012). The role of co-creation in the business accelerators market is also starting to be emphasized by practitioners.…”