The Six Faces of Value Co-Creation: A Field Guide for Executives

9 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2017

See all articles by Kumar Rakesh Ranjan

Kumar Rakesh Ranjan

Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta

Stuart Read

Willamette University - Atkinson Graduate School of Management

Date Written: April 1, 2017

Abstract

How can firms best engage customers to co-create value? A surge in academic and practical interest around this question of value co-creation (VCC) highlights the possibilities people see when Ford enables customers to design their own cars, Facebook enables customers to create content for other users, and Proctor and Gamble sources more than half its innovations from its own customers. At the same time, both academics and managers wrestle with exactly how to handle the enormous task of co-creation. Seeking insight, we searched the scholarly literature on VCC, and reviewing 149 unique papers, realized VCC is not one enormous task. Instead, it is composed of 6 different faces, 3 that describe the first VCC stage of co-production and 3 more that describe the second VCC stage of value-in-use. We understand why people have an incomplete understanding of VCC, as for example 79% of the studies in our data set considered only one stage or the other. In this paper, we describe each unique aspect of VCC so managers and researchers can see the whole, work with the parts, and generally better utilize the power that is derived when firms and customers collaborate.

Suggested Citation

Ranjan, Kumar Rakesh and Read, Stuart, The Six Faces of Value Co-Creation: A Field Guide for Executives (April 1, 2017). Rutgers Business Review, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3012235

Kumar Rakesh Ranjan (Contact Author)

Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta ( email )

E-110, NTB
Joka, Diamond Harbour Road
Calcutta, West Bengal 700104
India

Stuart Read

Willamette University - Atkinson Graduate School of Management ( email )

900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
United States

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