Breakdown of the co-creation process on social media: developing the value co-washing framework and stakeholders dynamics

Abstract

Purpose Social media platforms facilitate brand-consumer interactions by leveraging principles from nudging, value co-creation and social identity theories. This study aims to investigate how these interactions mask harmful practices and accelerate market access, perpetuating extreme consumerism. Specifically, the authors explore how value flow on social media, across distinct stakeholders, leads to value co-washing, revealing their collective unsustainable behaviours and related effects. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a mixed-methods approach, conducting content and sentiment analysis on nine TikTok videos featuring products from a leading Chinese company and analysing 19,816 user comments. Findings The value co-washing framework is developed across three building blocks: brands, creators and users. Findings uncover a paradigm shift in stakeholders’ dynamics, highlighting how social media collaborative engagements foster value co-washing. User involvement is categorized into three distinct clusters – brand lovers, saga creators and boycotters. The analysis identifies nine thematic patterns, including value co-creation, brand promotion, audience retention and calls for responsibility. Sentiment analysis reveals a dominance of neutral sentiments, reflecting a widespread unawareness and social adherence to value co-washing. Originality/value The proposed framework innovatively maps how distinct stakeholders contribute to extreme consumerism through value co-washing, providing foundational insights into the underlying mechanisms of consumer behaviour.