Yes / Purpose This paper aims to explore the drivers of employee motivation to facilitate value co-creation. Specifically, it enhances the understanding of social and contextual elements that contribute towards the co-creation of value. Design/methodology/approach Embracing an interpretive paradigm, the study draws on 57 in-depth interviews together with participant observation field notes. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The findings identify six key drivers that motivate employees to facilitate value co-creation: rewards and recognition, opportunities for life-long learning, interpersonal engagement, role responsibility and accountability, organisational vision and social purpose. Research limitations/implications This study is undertaken within a traditional organisation setting. Other organisational contexts such as working from home should also be considered. Second, this study focused on the individual relational orientations of employees. Also, there is an opportunity to explore the collective orientation of employees. Originality/value Drawing on service-dominant logic (S-D logic) as a theoretical lens, this study adopts and adapts Lindenberg and Steg’s (2013) goal-framing theory to conceptualise six drivers of employee motivation to facilitate value co-creation within three-goal frames that leads to in-role and extra-role job performance.

<p>Purpose – During the past decades, implementing reforms becomes a popular topic for most manufacturers. With the aim to cope with the environment changes, there are urgent needs for these manufacturing companies to carry on reforms on the existing businesses. At the same time, value creation under a new service dominant logic for manufacturers are cited by many scholars. The aim of this paper is to analyze the new dominant logic, with the comparison of traditional goods dominant logic, recognize the advanced value creation model. To go a step further, this paper also discusses about the way of implementing reforms and new business logic for manufacturers.</p><p>Methodology – This paper mainly takes the methodology of literature review. The literatures reviewed here include academic papers, books, and website information. The main field of literatures include: service definition and service characteristics; goods-dominant logic versus service dominant logic; and value creation (co-creation). On the other hand, some small case studies can also be found in this paper.</p><p>Findings – After the comparing between goods dominant logic and service dominant logic, this paper suggests the service-dominant logic as a preferred business logic. Because it provides a more interactive way of consumption, presents a value-in-use view rather than value-in-exchange, and requires manufacturers playing a role of assisting customers in value creating process. For those manufacturers wish to implement the service dominant logic, this paper suggests them to take innovations on their business, which including the innovations on products/services, business processes, and business models.</p><p>Research limitations/implications – As a relative new field of study, the research is mostly taken by literature review. However, the research on the implementing of new business logic and reforms requires more voice from the real industry.  </p><p>Practical implications – Manufacturers may position themselves to new roles by involving in the customers’ value creating process. Taking innovations from a integrated view may help manufacturers to achieve the higher value under service dominant logic.</p><p>Originality/value – This paper concluded the ongoing service dominant logic development, after which, offers a discussion on the implementing of which for the manufacturing companies.</p>

Purpose – During the past decades, implementing reforms becomes a popular topic for most manufacturers. With the aim to cope with the environment changes, there are urgent needs for these manufacturing companies to carry on reforms on the existing businesses. At the same time, value creation under a new service dominant logic for manufacturers are cited by many scholars. The aim of this paper is to analyze the new dominant logic, with the comparison of traditional goods dominant logic, recognize the advanced value creation model. To go a step further, this paper also discusses about the way of implementing reforms and new business logic for manufacturers. Methodology – This paper mainly takes the methodology of literature review. The literatures reviewed here include academic papers, books, and website information. The main field of literatures include: service definition and service characteristics; goods-dominant logic versus service dominant logic; and value creation (co-creation). On the other hand, some small case studies can also be found in this paper. Findings – After the comparing between goods dominant logic and service dominant logic, this paper suggests the service-dominant logic as a preferred business logic. Because it provides a more interactive way of consumption, presents a value-in-use view rather than value-in-exchange, and requires manufacturers playing a role of assisting customers in value creating process. For those manufacturers wish to implement the service dominant logic, this paper suggests them to take innovations on their business, which including the innovations on products/services, business processes, and business models. Research limitations/implications – As a relative new field of study, the research is mostly taken by literature review. However, the research on the implementing of new business logic and reforms requires more voice from the real industry.   Practical implications – Manufacturers may position themselves to new roles by involving in the customers’ value creating process. Taking innovations from a integrated view may help manufacturers to achieve the higher value under service dominant logic. Originality/value – This paper concluded the ongoing service dominant logic development, after which, offers a discussion on the implementing of which for the manufacturing companies.

In this dissertation, I study coordination or collaboration settings that are either within company or at inter-organizational levels in the form of three essays. In the first essay, I study the relationship between a client and a vendor in value co-creation environments such as knowledge intensive services. I consider that the client gets utility from the project throughout the development period. The output is contingent on the effort levels of each party and I allow these effort levels to be dynamic. Hence, the client needs to optimally decide the terms of the payment so as to maximize the project output and minimize its cost. In my second essay, I study another value co-creation environment. In this case, unlike the first essay, I assume that the effort levels are not observable but might be monitored. In both essays, I analyze the performance of different contracts and find the best one for the client in diverse settings. Among several other results, I derive the conditions under which the client chooses not to observe vendor’s effort level and operates in a double moral hazard environment. In addition, I show that the remaining time of the project and the client’s valuation of the project regulate the behavior of the effort levels and some other characteristics in the collaboration. In the third essay, I consider a subscription based rental organization, such as Netflix and Blockbuster. In these environments, the satisfaction of customers de- pends on the availability of requested products. Hence, it is important for these firms to satisfy as much demand as possible. Recommender systems, in a DVD- rental context, are typically used to help customers in finding the right movies for them. However, recommendations can be utilized to shift demand among movies considering the inventory level and future demand to increase the number of satisfied customers or profitability. I address this issue by considering inventory in the optimization of recommender systems. I present several results that could be utilized by managers in order to make important tactical and operational decisions. Results suggest that the proposed approach may improve profitability of the firms substantially.

The thesis argues that the distribution formats can be significant strategic communication and differentiation tools for luxury brand and that the intangible determinants within the space can provide balancing link between company trying to manage its brand expression and consumers search for the meaningful experiences. The dissertation uses a luxury retail setting, as the highest in distribution hierarchy to analyze these relations. This ensures a level of diversification from mass retail approach. In addition, this brings back to the store as source of value creation and experiences that one should expect from a luxury brand. The aim: To explore conceptually the nature of value creation and how the relationship gets between a retailer and customer translated and communicated by a means of store, also to identify the key determinants for the value creation within the formats while looking at which levels it brings to ability to co - create the experiential value with consumer. Method: The two primary methods used are: in-depth, semi-structured interview with professionals or key informants and field notes in ethnographic context with a sample of 52 international marketing students. The secondary data collection draws upon extensive, relevant and significant academic literature review including books, professional journals, online resources, etc. Findings: The work identified two value drivers: Symbolic Desire and Exclusive Excitement. Excitement and Desire were found to be the main emotions to trigger the consumer within the luxury setting and to translate a product into service or experience of a kind. Second, research identified the two experiential prospects of: Become and Belong. These show all the way the interaction builds and develops to immerse the customers in a branded world and experiences. As a result the thesis suggests two new approaches; Experiential Value Co-Creation and In - Store Typology. Such orientation offers an outline for adjusting the service and mapping the generic groups of luxury consumers. Moreover, in-store experiential typology offers four types of spaces and/or segments within the setting: Expertise, Exclusivize, Aspirational and Popularize.

Yes / Adopting a Service-Dominant Logic lens, recent research within industrial marketing contexts increasingly recognizes the role of operant resources in value co-creation. Incumbent within operant resources is actor competence. Despite this, an investigation into the role of actor competence in value co-creating processes is scant and the competence literature, in general, has tended to concentrate on specialized knowledge and skills based interpretations that potentially restrict our understanding of the construct. To address this gap, this research adopts a phenomenological approach to explore perceived behavioral attributes of competent actors. Findings confirm two broad behaviorally based conceptualizations of competence: 1) extra-role behavior demonstrated through organizational citizenship behavior, and 2) in-role behavior demonstrated through understanding of work, and engagement behavior. To this end, the contribution of this research is twofold. First and from a theoretical perspective, it offers empirical insights into a relational based framework of competency within industrial marketing contexts. Second, and from a pragmatic perspective, this framework may aid managers in developing a broader understanding of actor competence and how such competencies may be enhanced within the workplace to optimize value co-creation.

With the emergence of a new service delivery model, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), interest in quality management in the planning and operation of SaaS systems is increasing significantly. Most current quality management approaches for SaaS focus primarily on the perspective of service provider. They largely ignore the perspective of service customer as well as the nature of ongoing business relationship between the service provider and customer. Based on an extensive exploration of this relationship, the thesis research makes contributions in the following four areas: 1. A theory of SaaS business relationships is introduced by integrating an adapted quality paradigm with the notion of value co-creation (co-value) for the service provider and customer. In the theory, we define a specification of four quality-based service types (Ad-hoc, Defined, Managed and Strategic). 2. The theory is used as the foundation for building a model that assists service customers in SaaS evaluation in support of service planning and ongoing operations. 3. Based on the model, an evaluation tool is designed and used in a particular service area. As an example, a case study is undertaken to assist the decision making of email service adoption in the University of Alberta. 4. Two surveys are conducted to assist in the building and evolution of the evaluation model, as well as in the use of an email service evaluation tool.

Problem: In today’s business markets companies are faced with new challenges occurring from globalization, new technologies, deregulation, blurring borders between industries, and outsourcing which change the competitive environment in the market. To deal with these challenges organizations are forced to look for new and innovative ways to differentiate themselves from competitors and to satisfy customers’ demands for more customized products and services. Additionally, nowadays customers strive for fulfilling their needs by being more active. Value co-creation, the collaboration between companies and customers, is as a solution of current interest to cope with these challenges. Due to the close linkage between retailers and customers, value co-creation is of high interest for this part of the SC. Hence, this thesis focuses on the retailer-customer context and co-creation in terms of co-designing of bikes. Purpose: The purpose of this Master of Science thesis is to investigate how and why retailers and customers co-create value. Therefore, retailers’ and customers’ potential motivators, the interaction between them and the actors’ potential outcomes are explored. Method: This thesis conducts an exploratory and qualitative investigation of three case companies; Bike by Me, myownbike, and 718 Cyclery. The empirical material is gathered from interviews with the CEOs of the three companies, the retailers’ customers, and potential customers. The findings have been analyzed using a framework developed based on existing literature, stated in the frame of reference, which is improved by this thesis’ findings. Conclusions: Customers and retailers co-create value due to different potential motivators and outcomes. Retailers are motivated by aspects such as increases in competitive advantage, differentiation, customer loyalty, and better understanding of new needs. Customers’ motivators are amongst others the product itself, individuality, and enjoyment. As retailers’ outcomes increased efficiency and effectiveness, new customer acquisition, and the establishment of long-term relationships are identified. Customers’ outcomes are high customer satisfaction, new knowledge, convenience, and financial aspects. Actions between retailers and customers in value co-creation are identified through a learning phase and an innovation phase. The retailer participates through providing information, the platform for co-creation, and suggestions and assistance. The customers collaborate in terms of designing the product, expression of desires and experiences, feedback, and WOM in interaction with other customers.

The aim of this thesis is to explore and illustrate empirically how brand values are co-created in communication by users on a corporate Facebook page. The text from two months of conversa-tion on IKEA Sweden’s Facebook page has been analyzed using qualitative and quantitative meth-ods. The concept of value co-creation has been excessively discussed in marketing literature during the last decades. In co-creation the customers, or stakeholders, create value together with the brands, but how this happens in communication on the social media remains to be further exam-ined. This thesis takes a close perspective of the phenomenon and the result shows how a few brand values of the IKEA brand are recurrently reinforced in the text communication as IKEA and other users of their Facebook page share practical advices, emotions, and thoughts. The communication is surprisingly friendly and supportive, the atmosphere reminds of a big family, an IKEA family, even though users don’t know each other. The social values appear to be of fun-damental importance as one of the world’s largest furnisher retailers uses the world’s largest social media, and these values are co-created between the users in the IKEA Facebook community. Fur-thermore, there is a brand value of IKEA explaining that IKEA understands their customers living situations and needs. This value is continuously co-created as employees of IKEA talks with cus-tomers and learn from what is said, commented and suggested on their corporate Facebook page.

Today, many museums both around the world and in Britain are in the process of renewing, rejuvenating, refurbishing and/or rebranding themselves. These museums are actually doing this in order to be able to respond better to the evolving needs and wants of consumers, which change continuously as a result of the transformations that take place in the consumer culture. The central aim of this thesis is to investigate the paradigm shifts happening in contemporary British museums, which evolve parallel to the evolving British consumer culture. These paradigm shifts actually seem to be a reflection of the paradigm shifts that are happening in 21st century museums all around the world, in general. Museums of today are highly interested in branding and they invest in it to a great extent. This is in part due to the effects of postmodernism on museums. This fondness for branding seems to turn museums into objects of consumption, makes them like other products in the market. Another aim of this thesis is to investigate how contemporary museums are defined as objects of consumption and managed as brands. For this purpose, Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), a British museum situated in Exeter, which has been going through an inclusive refurbishment process for the last four years, has been selected for carrying out an extended case study on. Diverse data collection tools have been used such as participant and non-participant observations were made; in-depth interviews with especially staff members and also some other stakeholders like volunteers and visitors were carried out, photographs were taken; website of the museum was analysed; a lot of field notes were taken and then these data have been analysed. The RAMM example and also the literature review made on world museums in general have shown that the museums of the last century have got into the direction of uniting and co-creating value with their visitors, in their museums. This is a thorough democratization process in the museum. In order for this to take place, museums have taken the interaction and participation levels with their visitors much higher. Detailed accounts on these and other phenomena about new museums can be found in the thesis.