The impact of choice on co-produced customer value creation and satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose – This study’s aim is to investigate whether offering a co-production opportunity as a choice or as the only means of service rendering influences customer value creation and satisfaction. This research incorporates two empirically supported sources of co-created value, relational and economic, and it investigates a new dimension of co-created value, individual value. The study focus supports the need for more empirically based guidance for the management and design of co-creation processes. Design/methodology/approach – A 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design was utilized to test the choice/no-choice condition. Data were collected through a survey of 214 respondents who were selected on the basis of their familiarity with the context of the experimental scenarios. Findings – The results show that co-production as an option for service rendering has a stronger positive impact on value creation than does the context when co-production is necessary. Choice was found to positively influence relational and economic value. Value creation was found to mediate the choice and satisfaction relationship. Individual value had the strongest relative impact on satisfaction but was not significantly related to choice. Practical implications – Designers and managers of co-production-enabling processes can enhance customer and organizational outcomes simply by offering customers a choice when considering whether or not to engage in co-production. Originality/value – This originality of this study lies in the supporting evidence found for the influence of choice on value creation and the empirical corroboration for individual value creation as a source of co-created value. The on-line context of this study in this context is also novel.

Influences of customer participation and customer brand engagement on brand loyalty

“…In contradiction of cross-sectional findings (Auh et al, 2007;Hosseini, 2013;Flores and Vasquez-Parraga, 2015), the effects of customer participation were not significant in study 2. These results provide a useful contribution to the marketing literature; although customer participation produces positive short-term outcomes, it does not appear to result in long-term brand satisfaction or loyalty.…”

“…To encourage customer participation, a firm creates platforms for value creation that suit customers' unique interests, thereby enhancing brand satisfaction personally and subjectively and affecting brand loyalty positively. Co-production has been found to be a positive predictor of attitudinal loyalty (Auh et al, 2007;Hosseini, 2013) and satisfaction (Ranjan and Read, 2014;Flores and Vasquez-Parraga, 2015). When customers participate in co-production activities, they tend to share their new ideas, suggestions, and problems with a service firm (Chen et al, 2011), and thus are expected to become more satisfied due to their personal investment (Cermak et al 1994).…”

“…However, customers' engagement with an object (e.g., a brand) is assumed to fluctuate frequently (Brodie et al, 2011a), thus evoking shortterm positive effects. In the short term, customers who engage and participate in brand activities will be satisfied (Chan et al, 2010;Flores and Vasquez-Parraga, 2015) and loyal (Hollebeek, 2011b). In interactive social media, customers who enter positively valenced engagement states are assumed to participate willingly in joint activities, leading to brand satisfaction and loyalty.…”

The Mediating Role of the Tourists’ Citizenship Behavior Between the Value Co-Creation and Satisfaction

“…While the customers' participation in the production ensures their active role in the production process, it puts the role of value co-creation on the customers (Vargo & Lusch, 2004;Prebensen & Xie, 2017). In today's fastgrowing market where the customers are regarded as the dominant dynamic; the value creation goes beyond the businesses (Ulaga & Chacour, 2001;Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004), which makes it difficult for the businesses to create value independently from the customer (Arnould, 2008;Flores & Vasquez-Parraga, 2015). This makes the customers one of the key components of the value co-creation.…”

“…The first is to improve business outcomes, the second is to improve customers' perceptions. The basic assumption in these studies is that the co-creation with customers produces a value and this value has an effect on the service outputs such as quality (Grissemann & Stokburger-Sauer, 2012;Prebensen et al, 2013;Bell & Babyak, 2018), satisfaction (Namasivayam & Guchait, 2013;Flores & Vasquez-Parraga, 2015;Prebensen & Xie, 2017;Assiouras et al, 2019), re-purchase (Fitzpatrick et al, 2013;Park & Ha, 2016;Arıca & Kozak, 2018), and customer citizenship behavior (Yi & Gong, 2013;Assiouras et al, 2019;Gong & Yi, 2019). Likewise, some researchers argue that in the tourism sector, the information shared between the business and customers nourish each other by means of the value co-creation with customers, thereby developing the service outputs through improving and personalizing services (Ford & Heaton, 2000;Chan & Guillet, 2011;Sugathan et al, 2017;Arıca & Kozak, 2019).…”