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Managing the co-creation of value

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Abstract

Central to service-dominant (S-D) logic is the proposition that the customer becomes a co-creator of value. This emphasizes the development of customer–supplier relationships through interaction and dialog. However, research to date suggests relatively little is known about how customers engage in the co-creation of value. In this article, the authors: explore the nature of value co-creation in the context of S-D logic; develop a conceptual framework for understanding and managing value co-creation; and utilize field-based research to illustrate practical application of the framework. This process-based framework provides a structure for customer involvement that takes account of key foundational propositions of S-D logic and places the customer explicitly at the same level of importance as the company as co-creators of value. Synthesis of diverse concepts from research on services, customer value and relationship marketing into a new process-based framework for co-creation provide new insights into managing the process of value co-creation.

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Acknowledgment

We wish to thank Dr. Oskar Korkman for his contribution to the research process, and three anonymous reviewers and the Special Issue Co-editors for their insights and helpful comments on previous versions of this article.

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Correspondence to Adrian F. Payne.

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Payne, A.F., Storbacka, K. & Frow, P. Managing the co-creation of value. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 36, 83–96 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-007-0070-0

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