Co-creating stakeholder and brand identities: A cross-cultural consumer perspective

Abstract

Co-creation of value and identity is an important topic in consumer research, lying at the heart of several important marketing concepts and offering a better understanding of a wide range of phenomena, such as consumer identity, satisfaction, or brand loyalty. The literature on co-creation of brand and stakeholder identities, however, draws from (and reflects) a focus on cultures with dominant independent selves. Managers are increasingly confronting globalized marketing environments and therefore must understand how cultural differences shape identity development and co-construction, from a brand, consumer, and multiple stakeholder standpoint. Drawing from a critical review of the literature, this study offers a novel conceptual framework, together with a set of propositions, which discusses how cultural differences might affect such reciprocal co-creation processes. The processes and outcomes involved in reciprocal identity co-creation are likely to differ as a function of cultural environments promoting different types of individual-level differences in selfperception. The study concludes by offering a research agenda to deepen understanding of cross-cultural reciprocal identity co-creation.

How Co-creation Increases Employee Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Engagement: The Moderating Role of Self-Construal

“…The field of marketing has recently seen a shift in terms of increasing the involvement of consumers in the creation of brand identities, experiences, communications, and even products (Hoyer et al, 2010). This trend, wherein both consumers and producers collaborate to create value (Voyer, Kastanakis & Rhode, 2017), has been conceptualized as "co-creation" in the literature (Pongsakornrungsilp & Schroeder, 2011), referring to the active involvement of endusers in various stages of the production process (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2000;Vargo & Lusch 2004), and is grounded in the concept of interaction (Ramaswamy & Ozcan 2018). For instance, firms might involve consumers in the ideation stage, in the evaluation of new ideas or product designs, and/or in the launch of products (Chang & Taylor, 2016).…”

“…While the explicit use of co-creation is not as prevalent in organizational behavior (OB) literature as it is in marketing, there is some emerging support for its application to organizational settings, and in micro-CSR contexts in particular. First, Voyer et al (2017) argue that brand stakeholders who help co-create brand identities can encompass various stakeholder groups in addition to customers, including employees. Therefore, there is a clear path for employees to become involved in co-creation.…”

“…Recent research has begun to discuss how cultural differences might affect co-creation (Voyer et al, 2017), including propositions and findings that processes and outcomes of cocreation are likely to differ as a function of cultural elements. For example, dyadic (customeremployee) research identifies that co-creation can strengthen relational bonds between customers and employees, increase employee job stress, and reduce job satisfaction, particularly for those who have higher individualist value orientations (Chan et al, 2010).…”

Tools for Creating Positive Reputation With Customers for Chemical Industrial Enterprises

“…Obviously, if a company wants to build and maintain its positive reputation, it must devote itself to all these tools of corporate identity. In addition, brand identity should be considered evolving and able to change over time (Voyer, Kastanakis, & Rhode, 2017). Identity can remain relatively stable and consistent over time, yet it can and does change -in particular within congruence of corporate identity meanings and signals over time.…”

The Effect of Customer Equity Drivers on Word-of-Mouth Behavior with Mediating Role of Customer Loyalty and Purchase Intention

“…Brand equity is the value associated with the name of the brand (Farquhar, 1989) and the effect of the brand knowledge on how the consumer's response to the marketing of the brand (Keller, 1993). Relationship equity is defined as how willing the consumers are to buy one particular brand because they have benefitted from the brand (Lemon, Rust & Zeithaml, 2001;Rust et al, 2000;Roy, Khandeparkar, and Motiani 2016;Arikan, Yilmaz & Bodur 2016;Moreira, Fortes & Santiago 2017;Hajli et al, 2017;Voyer, Kastanakis & Rhode 2017).…”