Unraveling Mechanisms of Value Cocreation in Festivals

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative case study is to explore the mechanisms underlying value cocreation in the context of networked festival productions. Applying the managerial perspective, this study particularly explores why cocreation represents a valuable factor in networked festival productions and how the activities are conducted in the value creative platform, namely conversational space. Considering festivals as services in their host destinations, this study applies the context of three festivals in one city in Finland and draws on the literature on festival management, service experience, and value cocreation. The study shows that the cocreation of conversational space fosters value cocreation as an interactive process; that is, as a mechanism of value cocreation. Conversational space is found to intertwine the festival with its host community and therefore influencing to the justification of a festival's existence by empowered legitimacy. Festival managers need to consider conversational space as strategically crucial because of the need to gain public support for festival and to enhance the justification and existence of festival in its destination.

Frequent music festival attendance: festival fandom and career development

“…This consideration implies that organisers could benefit from frequent festivalgoers' expertise and willingness to participate in the festival's development practices both in marketing and management. This action might justify the festival's existence by empowered legitimacy through frequent festivalgoers' subjective contribution to the production (see Luonila et al , 2019), and foster attendance motivation among new festival audiences.…”

Future of the arts festivals: do the views of managers and attendees match?

“…Although the idea of co-creation was introduced quite early (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004) and is studied in arts management literature (Chaney, 2012; White et al , 2009), the topic is still emerging in the context of arts festivals. Haanpää (2017) scrutinized the co-creation activities of festival volunteers, Rihova (2013) studied customer-to-customer value co-creation, Gyimóthy and Larson (2015) examined co-creation strategies from the social media viewpoint, and Van Limburg (2008) had a management-oriented view examining co-creation with the help of specific lead users, whereas Luonila et al (2019) explored the value co-creation mechanisms in the context of festivals. Against this background, our study gives indications of the need to involve members of the audience more profoundly in the festival production process.…”

“…Attendees influence the vitality of festivals by consuming and producing the festival experience (Lee et al, 2008) in order to gain personal benefits, like enjoyment or self-development, that act as push factors for festival attendance (Morgan, 2008). From the management point of view, according to recent literature, possible interactions must be identified to enhance the opportunities to find the contact points and value co-creative nodes in the production processes to sharpen the opportunities for codeveloping mutual benefits and values (Luonila et al 2019), because, as White with others (2009) argue, "high levels of engagement in co-production enhance individuals' contribution to the co-creation of positive value and make their participation in future co-production opportunities more likely" (p. 775). According to White et al (2009), this emerging loyalty creates a competitive advantage for the arts organization.…”

“…Gyimóthy and Larson (2015), for instance, place the attendee in a key role in organizational learning and festival organization development with manifold practices, procedures and perspectives. They highlight the audience’s strategic role in marketing activities (see also Luonila et al , 2016, 2019) and emphasize attendees’ contribution to the creation of the community on social media outside the peak season (see also Hudson and Hudson, 2013; Suomi et al , 2018).…”

Does co-production build on co-creation or does co-creation result in co-producing?

“…Yet, this approach is often considered as one of the origins for theorising value co-creation (Jaakkola et al, 2015). Indeed, analysis of the networked concept of value creation, with research focused on the value co-creation mechanisms behind the production processes and management in the field of arts, deserves more attention in current arts management discourse (Luonila et al, 2019; see also Saarij€ arvi et al, 2013).…”