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.

This study intended to advance the understanding of brand and value co-creation in sport management. A single exploratory case study of the Ottawa REDBLACKS, the CFL expansion franchise launching in 2014, was conducted. The purpose of the research was to unveil the practices that could lead to brand and value co-creation in the relationships between the Ottawa REDBLACKS and their stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 20 participants from the focal organization’s network of stakeholders. The sample was built through a purposeful and snowball sampling method that added to stakeholders identified from the literature. Archival data of media publications, organizational online content, and radio podcasts were also gathered in order to complement the data from the interviews. The deductive and inductive data analysis highlighted five main practices that could lead to brand or value co-creation in the stakeholder-firm relationship performance in a unique sport context: establishing relationships, supporting public relations, sharing resources, enhancing the experience, and driving brand image. The findings explained that joint actions between stakeholders and the REDBLACKS can lead to increases in brand equity and value creation. In the end, the study suggested that future research should investigate the threat of co-destruction.

Saturated markets and a competitive business climate create pressure on organisation to find new ways to remain competitive and differentiated towards competitors. One new strategy is to adapt a more service oriented business, and more specifically a concept call solutions. Solutions is about moving from only selling e.g. products or single services, to offer a whole solution to cover more needs, an offer usually created together with the customers. This demand on the market together with limited research on the concept of solution, makes it an interesting area to study. The purpose with the study was to describe the whole solution process between the supplying firm and the customer. In order to do so, a longitudinal, dynamic model based on extant literature was developed, which consisted of three stages and 11 important factors throughout these three stages. The primary data collection came from interviews with managers from five companies, all experienced within the area of solution strategy. Out of the eleven theoretical factors, four factors were explicitly highlighted as most important.

<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.

El objetivo de esta tesis es explorar el concepto de interactiveness en el campo de marketing, entender las actitudes y las percepciones de los directivos hacia la interactiveness y evaluar empíricamente el efecto de la interactiveness en la generación de activos de marketing y los resultados empresariales. La motivación detrás de esta tesis doctoral es la preocupación creciente entre los directivos de marketing, derivada de una mayor dificultad para conectarse con los clientes y para demostrar la contribución del marketing en el resultado de la empresa.En primer lugar, se examinan las raíces y los impulsores de la utilización de los términos de la interacción e interactividad, que han visto una creciente popularidad en el marketing. Interactiveness se propone como un concepto unificador que se refiere a la interacción continua y el diálogo entre la empresa y los consumidores tanto a través del uso de tecnologías de información y comunicación, como a través de métodos tradicionales. La revisión de la literatura reveló que mientras la interactiveness puede aportar ventajas competitivas a las empresas comprometidas con el diálogo continuo con los consumidores, también requerirá cambios organizativos y planteará retos de gestión. Así, a continuación se desarrolló una investigación cualitativa basada en entrevistas con directivos a fin de proporcionar la comprensión en profundidad sobre cómo los mismos perciben interactiveness. En el proceso de recopilación y análisis de datos se utilizaron las técnicas y procedimientos de la Grounded Theory. A partir del análisis de las entrevistas y una revisión de la bibliografía pertinente, se conceptualizó y se ancló teóricamente la interactiveness como una capacidad dinámica y se sugirieron modelos de análisis e hipótesis que unen la interactiveness con los activos de marketing, innovación, participación de los interesados y el rendimiento empresarial, así como una modelo que relaciona la interactiveness con la eficiencia de innovación y, en consecuencia con la rentabilidad. Para probar las hipótesis, se aplicó una encuesta y se utilizaron los datos que se obtuvieron de la misma. Se utilizaron diferentes métodos de análisis de datos, tales como el análisis factorial confirmatorio, ecuaciones estructurales, análisis envolvente de datos, análisis FDH (Free Disposal Hull), regresiones truncada y Tobit. Los resultados revelaron que la interactiveness influye positivamente en los activos de marca y clientes, así como en la participación de los interesados y la innovación. De esta manera, la interactiveness ayuda a lograr una ventaja competitiva, que se traduce en consecuencia, a mejorar el rendimiento empresarial. Además, la interactiveness contribuye a mejorar la eficiencia con que las innovaciones se convierten en mayor satisfacción del cliente y mejor valor percibido de marca (eficiencia de innovación), lo cual influye indirectamente en la rentabilidad. Una consecuencia importante es que la interactiveness no se refleja directa e inmediatamente en los resultados empresariales, ya que la interactiveness primero genera y mejora los activos intangibles específicos de la empresa, y luego influye en los resultados empresariales. La interactiveness permite a las empresas gozar de una cultura más flexible y participativa, y hace posible la co-creación de valor con los consumidores, y por tanto les ayuda a estar mejor conectadas con sus clientes y a mejorar su rendimiento. Palabras clave: interactiveness, co-creación de valor, activos de marketing, participación de los interesados, eficiencia de innovación, rendimiento empresarial / The aim of this dissertation is to explore the concept of interactiveness in marketing, to understand managers' attitudes and perceptions about interactiveness and to assess empirically the effect of interactiveness on the generation of marketing assets and firm performance. The motivation behind this dissertation is the growing concern among marketers stemming from an increased difficulty to connect with customers and to prove the contribution of marketing to firm's financial performance. We first review the roots and the drivers behind the use of the terms interaction and interactivity, which have seen growing popularity in marketing. Interactiveness is suggested as a unifying concept that refers to continuous interaction and dialogue between marketers and consumers in both online and offline marketplace.The review of the literature revealed that while interactiveness is likely to bring competitive advantages to firms committed to continuous dialogue with consumers, it will also require organisational changes and will pose managerial challenges. Thus, we further focus on a qualitative research approach based on interviews with managers in order to provide in-depth understanding on how managers perceive interactiveness. We used the techniques and procedures of Grounded Theory in the process of gathering and analysing data.Based on the analysis of the interviews and a review of the relevant literature, we conceptualise and theoretically anchor interactiveness as a dynamic capability and we suggest models of analysis and hypotheses linking interactiveness with marketing assets, innovation, stakeholder involvement and performance, as well as a model linking interactiveness with innovation efficiency and consequently to profitability. To test the hypotheses, we used survey data. We ran several different analyses, employing Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Modelling, Data Envelopment Analysis, Free Disposal Hull analysis, Tobit and Truncated regressions. The results revealed that interactiveness influences positively customer and brand assets, as well as stakeholder involvement and innovation. This way, interactiveness helps achieve competitive advantage, which is translated consequently into improved performance. In addition, interactiveness helps improve the efficiency with which innovations are converted into higher customer satisfaction and perceived brand value (innovation efficiency), thus influencing indirectly profitability. A major implication is that the results of interactiveness at the performance level are not seen directly and immediately, since interactiveness works through building and leveraging intangible firm-specific assets. Interactiveness drives firms toward more flexible, participative culture and co-creation of value with consumers, thus helping firms to re-connect with customers and to enhance performance.Keywords: interactiveness, value co-creation, marketing assets, stakeholder involvement, innovation efficiency, performance.

The process of value creation is rapidly shifting from a product- and firm-centric view to personalized consumer experience today. Informed, networked, empowered and active consumers are increasingly co-creating value with the firm. The interaction between the firm and the consumer as well as the experience factor plays an increasingly important role in determining the success of a company’s offering. In this study, a special type of co-creating experience is investigated - “omstartspex” - where the audience is interacting with actors during the play. Drawing from results of three focus group interviews, this study attempts to understand the effect of co-creation on customer experience and its three dimensions - emotional, cognitive and relational. The co-creation process, demanding for both firm and consumers, raises important questions for managers in terms of operational efficiency and control over product quality, etc. Apart from it, the empirical results show that co-creation indeed has positive effect on customer experience. It creates unique customer experiences, strengthens the relationship between consumer (audience) and firm (actors). This, in turn, leads to an increasing level of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Tjänstekonsumtionen har numera gått om produktkonsumtionen och svarar därför nu för en större del av Sveriges BNP. Om tjänstekonsumtionen ökar bör rimligtvis även antalet tjänsteföretag öka och ett sätt för dessa företag att öka sin konkurrenskraft är att ändra kundens roll i processen. I branscher som definieras av att varje kund och varje uppdrag ser olika ut (om än med vissa återkommande inslag) är det svårt att som företag använda sig av standardisering och utformning av styrdokument för kvalitetssäkring. Det är därför av stor vikt att företagen vet hur kunden upplever samarbetet, då det är kunden som värderar kvaliteten på en tjänst. Vår problemformulering lyder således Hur kan små kompetensbaserade företag arbeta med co-creation i en kompetensstyrd bransch för att förbättra kundens upplevelse av samarbetet? Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka om det finns några skillnader och likheter i upplevelsen av samarbetet mellan tjänsteleverantören och kunden där fokus ligger på själva processen mellan företag och kund. Om vi upptäcker några sådana skillnader vill vi ge förslag på hur dessa kan överbryggas genom användandet av co-creation för att förbättra kundens upplevelse av samarbetet.  Som resultat av den valda problemformuleringen genomfördes studien tillsammans med ett studieobjekt. Studien skedde i två delar för att komma åt både de anställdas och kundernas del i processen. Vi valde det hermeneutiska perspektivet med dess fokus på tolkningar och människans subjektiva bild av verkligheten som paradigm (Johansson Lindfors, 1993, s. 41-42, 44). Angreppssättet för uppsatsen var abduktivt, som innebär en växelverkan mellan teori och empiri. En kvalitativ datainsamlings- och analysmetod användes för att försöka besvara problemformuleringen där det empiriska materialet kodades med hjälp av Grundad teori. Vår teoretiska referensram är grundad på teorier som är kopplade till ämnet co-creation. Andra inslag är sådant som framkommit under de två intervjuomgångarna eftersom vi kunnat återgå till teorin efter datainsamlingen på grund av det abduktiva angreppssättet. Våra slutsatser av studien är att begreppen kvalitet och värde är subjektiva och att kvalitetssäkring inte kan ske på ett standardiserat sätt inom undersökt område. Vi ser dock några gemensamma nämnare mellan studieobjektet och dess kunder och lämnar slutligen rekommendationer till hur det fortsätta arbetet med kunden bör utvecklas. För att lyckas utveckla ett samarbete med hjälp av co-creation krävs en bra dialog både internt och externt.

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.

Service innovation is increasingly becoming a basis for manufacturing firms to reach and sustain competitive advantages. While traditional product innovation typically includes how new technology can be utilized in new products, service innovation spans a broader area that is not exclusively focused on new technology, but rather how resources can be developed into value propositions and then integrated in the customer’s process in order to support customer value creation through realization. However, manufacturing firms that infuse services struggle with service innovation; this becomes especially evident in the realization phase. This thesis is a compilation of five papers discussing different aspects of service innovation realization and the inherited challenges. The study builds upon empirical data from four Swedish manufacturing firms that infuse services and develop new value propositions that include both products and services to support customer processes. The thesis illustrates realization as a phase in service innovation where the firm interacts with its customer in order to adjust, revise and further find new ways of improving the customer’s processes through for example customer training. Realization is characterized by a deployment phase and a post-deployment phase that represent the ongoing relationship between the customer and the firm. Depending on who has the competencies or ability to integrate the resources that are needed for service innovation, different interaction patterns are identified. Through indirect interaction, the firm facilitates the customer’s value creation through, for example, preventive maintenance, while through direct interaction the firm acts as a co-creator in the service innovation process and hence work jointly together with the customer in order to improve customer value creation. This thesis contributes to the literature by characterizing service innovation realization and by increasing the understanding for different interaction patterns in the service innovation process.