End consumer’s value creation in a nature-based tourism service

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of end consumer’s value creation in the context of Finnish nature-based tourism from the viewpoint of the customer-dominant logic (CD logic) of service. Design/methodology/approach Existing research on the CD logic of service and value creation, consumer value and value creation as a hierarchical process is reviewed. The exploratory research design was applied. The data were constituted of 40 end consumers’ interviews. Based on the means-end chain model, a laddering interview was applied. Findings The findings indicated that end consumer’s value created in a nature-based tourism service included five final value categories. Those categories were related to emotions and feelings, enjoyment, fun and even lifetime memories. They indicated long-term characteristics of value, individually created value, collective experience and shared value. Practical implications The findings increased understanding of end consumer’s value creation as a process. The paper provided ideas for developing better nature-based tourism service offerings, value propositions and insights into end consumer’s value creation in terms of individual and shared value. The findings are valuable for nature-based tourism researchers and stakeholders. Originality/value New knowledge on end consumer’s value creation process was created by presenting the hierarchical value maps. The five final value categories indicated the value-in-use. The final value categories emphasised either individual or shared value, which included the end consumer’s life and previous experiences. The preliminary findings will help to develop hypotheses and research problems for future research.

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