The purpose of this article is to further develop the conceptualization of value cocreation by discussing its dimensions and antecedents. We propose that in service interactions, value cocreation should be understood as a joint collaborative activity between service employees and customers, consisting of six dimensions, which correspond to simpler joint actions (individuating, relating, empowering, ethical, developmental, and concerted joint actions). Furthermore, we derive propositions about nine antecedents of value cocreation labeled as communicating, relating, and knowing factors. This article is among the first to propose a conceptually richer understanding of value cocreation illustrated via an analytical framework, which can drive both future research and guide managers interested in implementing the service-dominant logic (S-D logic) principles within their service providing firms.

Purpose -Most transactions initiated online are completed by some form of offline fulfilment, i.e. the delivery of the goods to the customer's doorstep. In previous studies, web site performance or e-service quality was found to be an important antecedent of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In traditional settings, physical fulfilment is considered an important driver of customers' behavioral intentions. This study models and tests the combined effects of online and offline service components on customer responses. Design/methodology/approach -This is an empirical, cross-sectional study across four online industries. Findings -In the surveyed industries offline fulfilment appears to be at least as important as web site performance. Research limitations/implications -Further research is needed on how value and joy are created as part of the total e-experience. Furthermore, the importance of offline fulfilment in effecting customer satisfaction and loyalty levels for different online services needs further investigation. Practical implications -Online retailers must ensure offline quality to at least the same level as online quality. Originality/value -Important insights into the absolute and relative importance of online and offline fulfilment dimensions have been generated in a broader e-commerce context.

Understanding proenvironmental consumption behavior may enable companies to establish reputational and competitive advantages. This study generates new insights by analyzing consumer-related factors related to distinct but connected package-related behaviors regarding beverage consumption: purchase and postconsumption disposal. An online survey among 176 German respondents provides empirical support for all but one hypothesis. The results suggest that eco-friendly purchase and disposal decisions for beverages are related to the environmental awareness of consumers and their eco-friendly attitude. Furthermore, consumers are willing to trade off almost all product attributes in favor of environmentally friendly packaging of beverages, except for taste and price. The nonsupported hypothesis pertains to the expectation that believing in the positive effects of own eco-friendly disposal actions will guide ecological disposal behavior. Perceived behavioral control may thus not translate into actual disposal behavior. Underlying this may be the belief that individual actions are not enough to contribute to a greener world.

Customers often experience intense emotions during service encounters. Their perceptions of how well contact employees demonstrate emotional competence in emotionally charged service encounters can affect their service evaluations and loyalty intentions. Previous studies examining employees' potential to behave in emotionally competent ways (i.e., employee emotional intelligence [EEI]) have used self-or supervisor-reported scales to predict customer outcomes, presenting EEI as stable and independent of the context. However, service firms should be more concerned with the actual display of emotionally competent behaviors by employees (employee emotional competence [EEC]), because employee behaviors vary across encounters. Moreover, a customer perspective of EEC is useful, as customer perceptions of employee performance are crucial predictors of satisfaction and loyalty. Therefore, this study proposes a conceptualization and operationalization of EEC in a service encounter context. On the basis of a comprehensive literature review and in-depth interviews, the authors develop a scale to capture customer-perceived EEC, defined as an employee's competence in perceiving, understanding, and regulating customer emotions during a discrete service encounter. The scale achieves good reliability and validity. Researchers can use it to explore the role of EEC in service contexts, and managers can employ the scale to diagnose EEC and improve the customers' service encounter experiences.

PurposeAlthough research is emerging, the knowledge base on the evaluative determinants of the effectiveness of corporate employment web sites is still limited. This paper attempts to narrow this gap by investigating how potential job applicants' evaluations of web site content‐ and form‐related attributes contribute to corporate employment web site effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of an empirical study using PLS path modeling.FindingsApplicants' attitude toward a corporate employment web site is found to be differentially influenced by the web site's content‐ and form‐related evaluations. In turn, attitude toward the web site influences intentions to apply. This relationship is fully mediated by attraction toward the organization. The latter is also influenced by attitude toward corporate employment web sites in general, which consequently contributes indirectly to application intentions.Research limitations/implicationsUsing a non‐laboratory setting and a broader sample, future research should further apply a person‐organization fit perspective to corporate online recruitment and investigate effects of personality‐related factors such as risk/security‐seeking tendencies. Furthermore, it may be worthwhile to include technology‐oriented variables such as technological self‐efficacy as well.Practical implicationsCorporate employment web sites used to inform potential applicants about employment opportunities should be easy to use. In addition, firms should provide applicants with updated information and make sure that the information provided matches the applicants' needs during their information search process.. Persons who hold a more favorable overall predisposition toward corporate employment web sites are more attracted toward an organization using such sites. This suggests that corporate employment web sites may be particularly effective for certain groups of applicants, beyond the effects of web site content and form.Originality/valueDrawing on literature in areas such as job applicant decision making, information systems, and web site effectiveness, the paper develops the understanding of the role of web site features in determining intentions to apply for a job via corporate employment web sites.