Value co‐creation as a determinant of success in public transport services: A study of the Swiss Federal Railway operator (SBB)

This paper seeks to utilise Prahalad's five activities of co‐creation (customer engagement, self‐service, customer involvement, problem‐solving, and co‐design) to explore how value co‐creation occurs in the context of a public‐transport service provider.

The paper is based on a single qualitative case study of the Swiss federal railway operator (SBB).

The findings enrich understanding of value co‐creation by showing that the case firm is not merely a value facilitator, but has increasingly become a value co‐creator through the five co‐creation activities noted above. Organisations should take a comprehensive view of value co‐creation if they are to exploit its full strategic potential.

The study is a single case study with a focus on the supplier perspective.

Public‐transport operators should facilitate the active participation of customers in designing and implementing their processes and systems. Rather than relying on knowledge about the customers, customer‐relationship management should be based on knowledge of the customers (that is, the knowledge that customers possess).

The paper provides a comprehensive framework to help organisations manage the value co‐creation process. The study shows that a public‐transport service provider is not restricted to making value propositions, but can actively influence and assist customers in their fulfilment of value‐co‐creation.