Creating value-in-use through marketing interaction: the exchange logic of relating, communicating and knowing

Abstract

This article elaborates and extends the Vargo and Lusch (2004a) service-dominant (S-D) logic thesis. Three linked exchange-enablers and their potential for improving value-in-use are discussed: first, relationships to give structural support for the creation and application of knowledge resources (relating); second, communicative interaction to develop these relationships (communicating); and third, the knowledge needed to improve the customer's service experience (knowing). These activities are integrated within an augmented S-D exchange model, and the implications for co-creating value are discussed. Finally, the argument is put that a customer's value-in-use begins with the enactment of value propositions, and the development of reciprocal value propositions is discussed in the context of the notion of sustainable betterment.

The Application of Value Co-Creation in Advancing Solutions to Sustainable Consumption

“…Arguably, the concept of value co-creation fits this logic well, with Ballantyne and Varey (2006) having emphasised that co-creation requires that marketers view service interactions relationally. They claim that relationships are emergent by nature, a consequence of producers, suppliers and consumers learning together over time.…”

“…In this way, marketing has the power to facilitate the efficient alignment of production and consumption through its resource integration role between business and the consumer, from which consumers derive value because they are the arbiters of that value (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). According to Ballantyne and Varey (2006), this explanation of economic activity puts much less emphasis on the consumption (destruction) of material goods since value is obtained through efficient service 'co-creation'.…”

“…In this way, marketing has the power to facilitate the efficient alignment of production and consumption through its resource integration role between business and the consumer, from which consumers derive value because they are the arbiters of that value (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). According to Ballantyne and Varey (2006), this explanation of economic activity puts much less emphasis on the consumption (destruction) of material goods since value is obtained through efficient service 'co-creation'.This study therefore proposes that the service-dominant logic aligns well with the notion of sustainable consumption, with the consumption experience transcending the mere product offering (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2009). The argument is that value is derived not from the product itself, but rather it is co-created between business and the consumer in the form of a service experience around a product during its life cycle.…”

“…The service-dominant logic, according to Ballantyne and Varey (2006), takes the view that consumer value judgments are linked to the time and place of the service experience, furthermore, they understand service to mean the kind of social interaction which aims to improve the situation of a person, and as such is a valued route to improving the quality of life. In this sense, they claim that value is ultimately a social judgment of what is in the interests of the community, which includes protecting the natural environment.Evolving to a form of marketing logic that is capable of facilitating solutions to sustainable consumption would therefore require a set of societal values that see beyond ownership of material possessions to the underlying net value of service experiences that are derived from them and to the interactions played out in making reciprocal value propositions and choices (Ballantyne & Varey, 2006). Against a backdrop of service-dominant logic, it is thus proposed that in developing solutions to more sustainable consumption, co-creation of service experiences around retail purchases becomes important in enabling consumers to be more involved in meeting societal objectives of environmental sustainability.…”

The ‘transaction X-ray’: understanding construction procurement

“…Through reflection and discussion, an agreed coding framework was developed. A similar process was adopted in respect of buyer value perceptions using the literature of Ballantyne and Varey (2006), Cretu and Brodie (2007), Groth (1994), Lapierre (2000), Lindberg and Nordin (2008) and Ravald and Grönroos (1996) as a basis for identifying expressions of buyer value which were assessed according to their alignment with the framework identified by Khalifa (2004).…”