Micro-Level Mechanisms to Support Value Co-Creation for Design of Digital Services

Abstract

This study identifies micro-level value co-creation mechanisms that support the design of digital services. As services are now becoming digital—or at least digitally enabled—how to design digital services that enable value co-creation between a service provider and customers has become an increasingly important question. Our qualitative research study provides one answer to this question. Based on 113 in-depth laddering interviews analyzed using interpretive structural modeling, our study shows that value co-creation mechanisms differ between business-to-business and customer-to-customer digital service types. We identify five mechanisms to support value co-creation in the design of digital services: (1) Social use, (2) Customer orientation and decision making, (3) Service experience, (4) Service use context, and (5) Customer values and goals. We claim that firms can readily utilize these mechanisms to improve their customers’ service experiences.

Conceptualizing digital service: coconstitutive essence and value cocreation dynamics

“…Williams et al (2008) "We define 'digital services' as services, which are obtained and/or arranged through a digital transaction (information, software modules or consumer goods) over Internet Protocol (IP)." Note(s): The format of the definition from Tuunanen et al (2023a) Our basic premises regarding the nature of digital service are grounded in ontological assumptions from service-dominant (SD) logic (Vargo et al, 2020) as well as insights from research that delves into the essence of digital (Baiyere et al, 2023;Piccoli et al, 2022). According to SD logic, service is the cornerstone of economic and social exchange and is broadly described as a process involving the application of one's resources to benefit another party.…”

“…Combined with the attributes of malleability and granularity of generative architectures, this means that different groups of actors can effectively make their own decisions as to how they will reuse and assemble technology. The third attribute of generative communities is discursivity , emphasizing the active role of individuals as value cocreators (Tuunanen et al ., 2023a) and integral participants in the evolution of digital technologies. These actors engage in dialogue or contribute directly to innovation, sometimes leading to the emergence of service ecosystems (Lusch and Nambisan, 2015).…”

A Framework to Improve the Digital Customer Experience in Complex Services

“…In general, transparency involves the clarity, completeness, and accessibility of information, enhancing customer trust (Dethier et al, In press;Dexe et al, 2021;Schnackenberg & Tomlinson, 2016), which is key when consumers need to decide. This creates opportunities for digital tools to support value co-creation by acting as a translation function (Tuunanen et al, 2023), making products more understandable without a human advisor and allowing leads to take action and convert them as clients. Our understanding aligns with the notion that perceived complexity in CSS stems from challenges in comprehending services or the need for expert guidance in purchasing because information is hard to access, compare and understand.…”

Well-being co-creation in service ecosystems: a systematic literature review

“…service provider, primary Source: Authors' own work and secondary actors). More research is also required to better understand the micro level mechanisms of cocreation that influence the design of services (Tuunanen et al, 2023), as well as their implications for service actors' well-being. Finally, additional scholarly effort is also needed to gain further insights into actor-specific resources and their influence on well-being co-creation in previously understudied service contexts, as well as to better understand the manifestations of resource integration and misintegration.…”

“…Similarly, more research is required to study upward interactions of meso- and macro-level actors to better understand the co-creation of system well-being, implying interactions within networks of aggregated service actors. Indeed, according to Tuunanen et al (2023), co-creation mechanisms differ in the case of business-to-business interactions. Moreover, to date, few studies have investigated the downward macro and meso influences.…”