Oita University in Japan has created a meeting space called the Global Village that was inspired by Marshall McLuhan's (1962) theory that globalization contributes to an increased community between people from different parts of the world. It was created to increase interaction among students on campus and is intended for both international and local students. The vision for the place is for individuals to exchange information, knowledge, ideas, and cultures which promotes knowledge exchange and shared learning. However, the University of Oita faces a challenge regarding the Global Village as there is a lack of participation and interaction in the place. Which leads to the vision of Global Village not being fulfilled. The purpose of this thesis is to study how the students experience the Global Village. This was done to gain an understanding of how the place works and to develop ideas to improve the Global Village with the support of the co-creation perspective. Co-creation is about collaboration between individuals who could create some kind of value in the form of new ideas and solutions. Based on the problems identified in the study, the improvement ideas have been inspired by the co-creation theory to include in the Global Village at the university. The study was based on a qualitative approach to answer the research questions and there were several semi-structured interviews conducted with students from Oita University. The study found that open innovation has some factors that are important for developing the concept of the Global Village. And to make it a well-functioning co-creation space that provides value for the students. Those factors that were used within open innovation are networking and value creation, which were an inspiration to create a model. The different solution in the model is based on the problems that were identified in the Global Village. The model contains several different solution proposals to improve the Global Village at Oita University. / Med inspiration av Marshall McLuhans (1962) teori om att globaliseringen bidrar till ökad gemenskap mellan människor från olika delar av världen har Oita Universitet i Japan skapat en mötesplats vid namnet Global Village. Det skapades för att öka interaktionen bland studenterna i campus och är avsedd för både internationella och lokala studenter. Visionen för platsen är att individerna ska utbyta information, kunskaper, idéer och kulturer vilket främjar kunskapsutbyte och delat lärande. Dock står uppdragsgivaren inför en utmaning gällande Global Village då det finns brist på deltagande och interaktion på platsen vilket leder till att visionen inte uppfylls. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur studenterna upplever Global Village i nuläget för att få en förståelse av hur platsen fungerar och därefter utveckla förbättringsförslag med stöd av co-creation. Co-creation handlar om samskapande och samarbete mellan individer som i sin tur kan skapa ett slags värde i form av nya idéer och lösningar. Utifrån de brister som identifierats i undersökningen har förbättringsförslagen utgått från att inkludera co-creation miljö i Global Village som befinner sig i universitetet. Studien utgick från ett kvalitativt angreppssätt för att besvara forskningsfrågorna och det genomfördes flertal semistrukturerade intervjuer med studenter från Oita universitet. Det framkom i studien att faktorer inom open innovation är viktiga byggstenar för att utveckla konceptet av mötesplatsen och skapa en välfungerande co-creation miljö som ger värde till studenterna. Dessa faktorer inom open innovation är nätverkande och värdeskapande vilket användes som inspiration för att skapa en modellutveckling utifrån de brister som identifierades i Global Village. Modellutvecklingen innehåller flera olika lösningsförslag för att förbättra Global Village vid Oita universitet.

In Sweden two reforms were implemented in 2011 in order to delegate control to universities and improve the quality of tertiary education. Despite the efforts, Swedish universities are experiencing a quality crisis and the majority of students are receiving less than the recommended nine hours per week of tutor led education. The quality crisis, the low levels of student-teacher interaction and the reluctance towards marketization and customer focus within higher education, all provides cause for concern on how universities create value for their students. This study aims to examine the interaction students have with teachers, and how the interaction creates value for students. Interviews were conducted with students studying their third year of the business programme at Uppsala University. The result showed that the students thought interaction was important for their learning. Uppsala University was considered to offer sufficient amount of lectures and seminars, although with fluctuations in quality. Most notable in the study was the lack of feedback from teachers. The students showed strong discontent, as feedback would help them improve and learn, fulfilling their value creation.

I en konkurrenskraftig marknad som konsultbranschen är det viktigt att konsultföretagen lever i ständig utveckling och ligger i framkant gällande ny kunskap. Detta eftersom företaget som erbjuder mest kompetens och kvalité till minst kostnad är det företag som anlitas till uppdragen som erbjuds (Kaario, et al. 2003). Ett kunskapsområde som intresserar företagen är värdebaserad försäljning, vilket som forskningsområde är ett relativt outforskat ämne att sälja en lösning istället för att sälja en produkt blir en mer komplex process för företaget (Terho, H. et al. 2012). Kunden behöver nämligen förstå hur företagets lösning kommer vara användbart och värdeskapande för deras organisation (Kaario, et al. 2003). I det här uppdraget för Semcon undersöks möjligheter och utmaningar med att utveckla deras verksamhet genom att öka försäljningen av arbetspaket i sin organisation. För att kunna skapa ett sådant erbjudande till kund krävs en grundlig förförståelse för kundens nyckelverksamhet, när lösningen behöver vara helt anpassad efter kundens företag för att vara av värde (Töytäri, P. et al. 2011). Denna rapport behandlar och redogör kring Semcons arbetspaket, en kartläggning av behoven och hindren hos kund. Innovationsbidraget ligger i att koppla ihop den tekniska världen med den akademiska med ett ganska outforskat område. Rapporten ämnar bidra till Semcons innovationsprocess mot lösnings-baserad försäljning, genom att komma med kunskap utifrån kundens perspektiv. Forskningsfrågorna denna rapport kommer att besvara är: vilka utmaningar ser Semcons befintliga koncept arbetspaket? Vad är värdeskapande hos företagen som Semcon står i kontakt med? Hur kan Semcons arbetspaket utvecklas på bästa sett utifrån denna information?

The view of how value is created for customers have increasingly been changing. Especially, it is about how more and more companies have come to realize that they can generate greater value by co-create services together with the customer. The housing company Mimer in Västerås are in some cases experiencing that they do not create enough value for their tenants and the public. This has laid the foundation for this qualitative study, where the purpose is to have conversations with employees and managers to find out whether Mimer has the potential to work with co-creating actions and, if so, explain what it is that suggests that with the help from theories. The empirical data consists of interviews with leaders within Mimer, and also relevant documents that may affect the company's ability to work with co-creation processes. The results of the study show that Mimer in several ways with processes that could be a breeding ground for co-creating actions. / Synen på hur värde skapas för kunder har allt mer kommit att förändras. Framförallt handlar det om hur allt fler företag kommit till insikt med att de kan generera högre värde genom att samskapa tjänster tillsammans med kunden. Bostadsbolaget Mimer i Västerås upplever i vissa fall att de inte skapar tillräckligt värde för deras hyresgäster och allmänheten. Detta har lagt grunden till denna kvalitativa studie, där syftet är att i samtal med medarbetare och ledare ta reda på om Mimer har förutsättningar för att arbeta med samskapande aktioner samt i så fall redogöra med hjälp av teorier vad det är som tyder på detta. Empirin består dels av intervjuer med ledare inom Mimer, och dels av relevanta dokument som kan tänkas påverka eller främja bolagets möjligheter att arbeta med samskapande processer. Resultatet av studien visar att Mimer på flera sätt arbetar med processer som skulle kunna vara en grogrund för samskapande aktioner.

Denna studie är upprättat utefter en kvalitativ branschsektorstudie för att erhålla en djupare förståelse för flygplatsens servicelandskap och kartlägga sinnesmarknadsföringens möjligheter inom sektorn. Syftet är att klarlägga och diskutera värdehöjande faktorer som kan vara betydelsefulla för intressenter på en flygplats. Vidare ämnar studien klargöra vad resenärer uppfattar som specifikt viktigt på en flygplats för att slutligen tydliggöra betydelsen av olika sinnesintryck. I vår studie framkom servicelandskapet, sinnesmarknadsföring och värdeskapande som tre komponenter vars samspel har en inverkan på resenärens helhetsupplevelse i en flygplatsmiljö. Fem tendenser lyfts fram; basfaktorer, sinnesbevis, den regionala prägeln, hinder samt självstyrande passagerarflöden som väsentliga faktorer att beakta på en flygplats. Vi finner klara bevis för att flygplatsen med relativt små medel kan göra stora intryck med avseende att skapa en utökad sinnesupplevelse för resenären och en mer tilltalande servicemiljö. / This study is established on a qualitative industry sector research in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the airport's servicescape, and identify sensory marketing opportunities in the sector. The purpose of this study is to identify and discuss the value-enhancing factors that may be of importance for stakeholders in an airport. Further the study intends to clarify what travellers perceive as particularly important in the airport to finally clear the importance of sensory stimulations. In our study it was revealed that servicescape, sensory marketing and value co-creation as three components whose interaction has an impact on the traveler's overall experience in an airport environment. Five trends are highlighted; basic factors, sensory evidence, the regional character, barriers and self-governing passenger flows as key factors to consider in an airport. We find clear evidence that the airport with limited resources can make big impression with regard to creating an enhanced sensory experience for the traveler and a more attractive service environment.

In order to develop successful collaborative music systems a variety of subtle interactions need to be identified and integrated. Gesture capture, motion tracking, real-time synthesis, environmental parameters and ubiquitous technologies can each be effectively used for developing innovative approaches to instrument design, sound installations, interactive music and generative systems. Current solutions tend to prioritise one or more of these approaches, refining a particular interface technology, software design or compositional approach developed for a specific composition, performer or installation environment. Within this diverse field a group of novel controllers, described as ‘Tangible Interfaces’ have been developed. These are intended for use by novices and in many cases follow a simple model of interaction controlling synthesis parameters through simple user actions. Other approaches offer sophisticated compositional frameworks, but many of these are idiosyncratic and highly personalised. As such they are difficult to engage with and ineffective for groups of novices. The objective of this research is to develop effective design strategies for implementing collaborative sound environments using key terms and vocabulary drawn from the available literature. This is articulated by combining an empathic design process with controlled sound perception and interaction experiments. The identified design strategies have been applied to the development of a new collaborative digital instrument. A range of technical and compositional approaches was considered to define this process, which can be described as Adaptive Social Composition. Dan Livingstone

Marketing literature has propagated “customer-participation” and “co-production” in the seller-buyer framework since the 1970s (Lovelock and Young 1979), yet marketing knowledge gaps exist in this area. Recent management research emphasise the need to re-evaluate how value is created for consumers and to consider the close nature of the interactions between buyers and sellers (Payne et al 2008). Vargo and Lusch’s (2004) proposed service-dominant logic reiterates this need, arguing that the “customer is always the co-creator of value”, as they are part of the system that delivers value. Understanding value co-creation is then important to management research, as it uncovers new opportunities to create “value” for customers. This also enables firms to formulate better pricing strategies. This thesis examines value co-creation attributes and how they may impact on the customer’s willingness to pay. Three studies utilising qualitative and quantitative methods have been conducted to address the research question. The first two studies employed qualitative methods to derive insights into value co-creation attributes from a comparative case study perspective under two different service contexts; the defence and healthcare industries. The third study, conducted under the higher education context, employed quantitative methods to gauge the impact of value co-creation attributes on the customers’ willingness to pay. The qualitative studies found six generic value co-creation attributes, while the quantitative study empirically verified the importance of value co-creation attributes and the fact that they may impact on the customer’s willingness to pay for a service. This thesis validates that value co-creation is important in service provision. As customers become increasingly informed and empowered, a deeper understanding of how customers co-create value with the firm is then central to marketing activities, specifically in how firms design and price their services. Therefore, this thesis contributes to marketing knowledge by proposing value co-creation attributes that have both theoretical and managerial implications.

Introduktion: Konceptet samskapande av värde utvecklades inom marknadsföringslitteraturen i början av 2000-talet från Prahalad och Ramaswamy (2000). Redan då betonade författarna att ett företag som strävar efter att samskapa måste anpassa sitt ekonomiska styrsystem efter det. Trots det är forskningen om vilken ekonomisk styrning som kan användas för samskapande bristfällig än idag. Det finns tydliga skillnader mellan fälten där litteraturen om ekonomisk styrning främst utgår från tillverkningsföretag som producerar materiella varor, medan samskapandelitteraturen utgår från att producera tjänster. Samtidigt har de två fälten olika syn på värde, vilket är vad som analyseras i den här uppsatsen för att kunna diskutera vilken ekonomisk styrning som kan användas för samskapande. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att genom en litteraturstudie beskriva vilka likheter och skillnader som finns i synen på värde mellan ekonomisk styrning och samskapande. Utifrån litteraturstudien och intervjuer analyseras sedan vilken typ av styrning som är främjande för samskapande. Metod: Uppsatsen har en deduktiv ansats där en litteraturstudie utformas. Inledningsvis förs en värdediskussion som analyserar värde inom fälten ekonomisk styrning och samskapande. Utifrån värdediskussionen analyseras sedan tre ekonomiska styrinstrument som kan användas för samskapande. Därefter testas litteraturstudien mot empiri i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre anställda på försäkringsbolaget Folksam. Slutsats: Värdebegreppet inom ekonomisk styrning är aktieägarvärde, vilket skapas genom ett företags interna aktiviteter. Inom samskapandelitteraturen syftar värdebegreppet till kundens upplevda nytta, bruksvärde. Bruksvärde skapas genom kundens användande. Det styrinstrument som slutligen framhävs för samskapande är personlighetsstyrning. / Introduction: The concept of value co-creation was developed in marketing literature in the early 2000s by Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2000). Even then, the authors stressed that a company that strives to co-create must adapt its governance systems to it. Despite this, the research on which management control systems that can be used for co-creating is deficient still today. The literature on management control are primarily based on manufacturing companies producing tangible goods, while literature on value co-creation are focusing mainly on services. Furthermore, the perception of value differs among the two research fields, which is what will be analyzed in this paper to discuss which management control systems can be used for co-creation. Aim: The aim of this paper is to create a literature review which describes the similarities and differences in the perception of value among the literature on management control and value co-creation. Based on the literature review and interviews analyze which type of control that promotes co-creation. Methodology: The paper has a deductive approach in which a literature review is designed. Initially, a value discussion is conducted that analyzes the perceptions on value in the fields of management control systems and value co-creation. Based on the value discussion, three types of management controls which could be used for value co-creation will be analyzed. Afterwards, the literature review will be tested against the reality in the form of semi-structured interviews with three employees at the Swedish insurance company Folksam. Conclusion: The value concept within the literature on management control systems refers to shareholder value, which is created through a company’s internal activities. Within the value co-creation literature, the value concept refers to the customer’s perceived benefits, which is called use value. The use value is created when the customer is using the product. The management control that this paper finally highlights is the personnel control.

The increasing usage of social networking sites, such as Facebook has changed the way that corporations and customer interact with each other. New ways of customer-corporation interactions evolve constantly, enabling customers to participate and co-create value with the corporations. An organisation that has taken this a step further is Skånetrafiken, which uses Facebook as a channel for its customer service. This thesis focuses in the interactions that occur between Skånetrafiken and its customers, which in this case takes place on Facebook.   The purpose of this thesis is to explore the what, how and why customer and corporation interaction occur on Skånetrafiken's Facebook page. In order to approach the phenomenon of co-creation, we conducted a case study as a research design and strategy. Data collection methods we used were observations on Skånetrafiken’s Facebook page, an interview and a focus group discussion.     The findings indicate that there must be an engagement for the co-creation process to begin and that the co-creation process is continuous rather than a fixed model. It further turned out that different types of interactions occur, not only customer-to-corporation, but also customer-to-customer and customer-to-employee interactions. The limitations of the study imply that the findings cannot be generalised on all organisations since only one organisation have been examined. This thesis further gives a practical implication by presenting an applicable framework for co-creation on Facebook. Additionally, few if any have previously studied phenomenon of co-creation on Facebook, which contributes to the original value of the thesis.

Electronic Commerce (EC) companies are faced with a highly competitive environment today. Strengthening user engagement in digital ecosystems is a promising approach to increasing value co-creation. However, enterprise-oriented user engagement strategies examined in previous studies are relatively inadequate to meet today’s expectations. This paper looks to answer the question, “how to effectively strengthen user engagement to acquire a sustainable value co-creation system in EC.” A plausible user engagement strategy was revealed by analyzing a single case study in the music sector based on details of a digital ecosystem. Semi-structured interviews performed with company Xiami along with their users, show that the recognition of user-oriented needs and the expansion of user-driven demands are two key aspects for EC companies to maintain a sustainable growth of value co-creation.