The meanings of co‐creation

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the diverse strands that underpin the still emerging concept of co‐creation. The paper aims to suggest that there are alternative views rooted in psychotherapy, critical theory, software development and design that can help provide a richer understanding of the meaning of co‐creation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a general review of the field based on the literature and the different strands that comprise it.FindingsCo‐creation is often seen from a managerial perspective. In this general review of the concept, the authors demonstrate that co‐creation can also be seen from the perspective of consumers and other stakeholders. This also shifts the idea of co‐creation away from a strongly rational approach to one that is more spontaneous and playful.Practical implicationsThe review focuses primarily on consumers and how they can be encouraged to collaborate with one another to meet their needs for socialisation and meaning making and how organizations can influence and use the insights of co‐creation.Originality/valueOver the past decade there has been a rapidly growing interest in co‐creation, but much of the research focuses on the creation and management of online communities. By recognising the antecedents of managerial co‐creation and its diverse heritage, it is possible to see the concept as a development of other practices. By drawing on these practices, it is possible to look at co‐creation in a new light.

How is value created? – Extending the value concept in the Swedish context

“…Contributions include those of Lusch (2004, 2008) and Grönroos (2008Grönroos ( , 2011 within the service dominant logic and more recently by Heinonen et al, (2010Heinonen et al, ( , 2013 and Boysen Anker et al (2015) within a customer dominant logic, and by Andreu et al (2010) from a management perspective. One commonality throughout these contributions is the lack of a clear depiction of the process involved in and empirical evidence of value creation (Grönroos and Voima, 2013), thus confirming Ind and Coates' (2013) claim that value creation is still an emerging concept. Intertwined with this lacuna are firms' efforts to ensure support for consumers' value creation, either individually or collectively, in practice (Payne et al, 2008) and in theory (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004).…”

Comportamiento del consumidor en la co-creación de valor y su relación con la satisfacción en el entorno universitario: una aplicación a la Universidad de Ibagué, Colombia

“…La co-creación de valor es un constructo relativamente nuevo y ha sido enunciado de diversas maneras en la teoría del marketing, aunque la actividad en sí misma haya sido practicada desde hace largo tiempo (Ind & Coates, 2013;Grönroos, Strandvik & Heinonen., 2015). Las nuevas formas de interacción entre consumidores y empresas exigen de los directivos entender los ambientes y ecosistemas del consumidor para generar actividades de co-creación de valor en que los consumidores tengan espacio para participar activamente (Saarijärvi, Kannan & Kuusela, 2013); en consecuencia, las empresas están comprometidas a desarrollar competencias que permitan la integración de recursos, con sus consumidores, otros actores y con la sociedad en general, para promover acciones de co-creación de valor que faciliten el cumplimiento de las promesas de valor (Bettencourt et al, 2014).…”

A Critique of the Impact of Consumer Dissatisfaction

“…In a broader sense, co-creation can be explained as a phenomenon where consumers create value. Initially, it was the company who determined what value is, however, the emergence of cocreation came to redefine value in that, consumers and the company act together (Ind and Coates, 2013). Consumer dissatisfaction can influence a person's willingness to co-create.…”