Introduction
Globalization, the importance of Research & Development, and consumer involvement, all underpinned by technological advancement, urge a more strategic use of co-creation efforts. Fierce competition nowadays urges firms to remain close to their customers to match their requests better. As a result, companies started to innovate to provide the best possible customer experience to sustain competitive advantages. Van den Broeke and Paparoidamis (2021) state that a multitude of research on the advantages of co-creation has been published recently. Co-creation is an important topic among academics and professionals due to its capacity to produce value for both the customer and the enterprise (Boadi et al., 2020). Customer co-creation, or incorporating customers in a company’s new product or service development, is gaining popularity (Van den Broeke & Paparoidamis, 2021). Businesses recognize that extending product lifetimes rather than encouraging over-consumption can produce more sustainable value, taking a value co-creation approach(Gerke, 2020). Hence, firms have turned to co-creation to effectively discover and meet customer requirements, enhancing the success of the proposed solutions and fostering sustainability.
In terms of marketing strategies, one of the firms’ most important demands and interests is incorporating innovation and progress into their plan. The philosophy of value co-creation is one of these emerging accelerators. Because co-creation activities and their impacts are difficult for competitors to imitate, including such a technique in marketing strategy may provide a strategic advantage. Saha et al. (2020) acknowledge that one of the most crucial aspects of value co-creation is its use as a strategic tool for enterprises. It has been discovered that successfully implementing value co-creation as a corporate strategy contributes to increased customer satisfaction (Saha et al., 2020). Furthermore, it may be more successful than market research since it includes fresh consumer ideas to deliver more excellent value. The co-creation trend requires research to identify how to assist a company’s success through customer co-creation. This paper aims to investigate the co-creation phenomenon and explain its merits in the marketing field in particular; the intended audience includes marketing experts. The paper will argue that co-creation is an effective way for marketing professionals and managers to investigate prospects for strategic development and create positive business outcomes by presenting arguments in favor and against it.
Literature Review
Co-creation allows organizations and customers to work together to achieve a common goal and explore new opportunities. When suppliers and consumers connect intending to produce mutual advantages, value co-creation emerges (Bonamigo & Frech, 2021). Saha et al. (2020) state that value co-creation is built on the concept that customers are co-creators of value and that enterprises cannot produce value on their own but can only propose value propositions. According to Gerke (2020), the co-creation movement has an intriguing history. In the twenty-first century, the consumer of goods and services has emerged as an essential participant in developing customer-centered value (Gerke, 2020). Historically, the economic and social system has moved from a goods-for-goods trade system to a goods-for-money trading system (Gerke, 2020). Nonetheless, modern businesses are progressively shifting toward a value-creation-based service-for-service exchange framework. The main difference between value creation and other economic activities is that all economic factors and transactions are relational (Gerke, 2020). As a result, value is only created through interactions involving at least two actors; it is always co-created. The customer is the center around which the whole process of value co-creation revolves, and the organization should facilitate this process.
The process of co-creation provides customers with the tools and possibilities to collaborate with businesses to create their value offers. Zhang et al. (2020) assert that both service and industrial businesses have experimented with different levels of client interaction. For instance, flexible manufacturing practices have enabled consumers to select characteristics and modify the product through a process known as “mass customization” (Zhang et al., 2020, p. 688). Following that, service companies encouraged consumers to tailor the services they received by combining activities, customizing appointments, and allowing greater customer engagement. Shulga et al. (2021) claim that co-creation takes time and requires long-term connections based on positive-sum interactions and reciprocal rewards. Trust is required in order to promote co-creation between customers and a firm (Shulga et al., 2021). Co-creation takes strategies a step further by allowing consumers to develop ideas and push the limits of the existing customer experiences.
Customer Co-Creation: Better Business Outcomes and New Opportunities
Notably, co-creation is a powerful tool for marketing professionals and managers to achieve excellent business results. Customers are bombarded with a plethora of alternatives among products, services, and offerings in the modern world. Saha et al. (2020) emphasize that companies devote significant efforts to gaining customer mind-share and differentiating themselves from the competition. Nevertheless, not every business succeeds; not every company can generate healthy profitability. In order for a growth-oriented corporation to thrive, value creation must be at the heart of all of its business operations (Saha et al., 2020). Before developing value propositions, businesses must first understand their consumers’ perceptions of what is valuable to them. Saha et al. (2020) claim that relationship management between a company and its customers is at the center of the co-creation process; emotional interaction, information exchange, and mutual collaboration are required. Hence, value co-creation results in increased personal involvement, enhanced performance, reduced expenses and decreased turnover for businesses.
Moreover, customer co-creation enables managers to examine strategic development opportunities. Cheung and To (2020) note that co-creation may reach a high degree of innovation and business excellence when approached from a customer-centric standpoint. Customer-dominant logic is one of the most current viewpoints that highlight the rising relevance of customer co-creation, among other process improvement ideas. This argument is prevalent since clients have easy access to all types of information thanks to simple access to the internet and smart gadgets (Cheung & To, 2020). Customers may now choose what services they want, when and where they want them, and how they want them delivered. Therefore, they are actively involved in upgrading the product or service characteristics to meet their demands; high product or service quality cannot ensure customer happiness.
Customer experience is critical when taking the tourism and hospitality industries as an example. Solakis et al. (2022) suggest that because of the experience character of tourism, value for consumers must be realized through cooperation between hospitality enterprises and their clients since such partnerships can influence customers’ assessment and willingness to purchase the service. The co-creation process extends beyond a single connection to include a series of planned interactions to boost product innovation and customer engagement (Solakis et al., 2022). A high degree of interaction at each customer contact is required to encourage innovation and development. Dialogue promotes knowledge exchange and cooperation in the co-creation process (Solakis et al., 2022). By engaging in conversation, both sides can harmonize competing points of interest to establish mutually win-win solutions and discover fresh ideas for business. Hence, when the consumer actively participates in designing and delivering offerings that are unique to the customer and beneficial to the business, value is produced.
The counter-argument is that co-creation may disadvantage the customer and, in some situations, can be considered a weak approach. Appiah et al. (2021) emphasize that like other buyers–sellers’ interactions, co-creation demonstrates power imbalances, tensions, opportunistic behavior, and selfish objectives. Customers are not always compensated for their participation in co-creation activities. For instance, some organizations burden customers with the total burden of product development in an attempt to transition away from the conventional firm-centric strategy and toward a consumer-centric orientation (Appiah et al., 2021). Therefore, while co-creation portrays customers as emancipated participants, they are not equal partners and may be manipulated. Sheth (2020) argues that value co-creation, as opposed to value creation or value exchange, is more complicated and varied in scope. Various goals can be accomplished, including performance improvement, cost savings, carbon emissions reduction, and societal contribution. Value co-creation is “a non-zero-sum game (win-win)” between the supplier and the customer to look at it another way (Sheth, 2020, p. 313). Nonetheless, value co-creation necessitates ongoing collaboration and dedication from both customers and the enterprise to prevent undesirable outcomes.
Conclusion
According to the study, co-creation is an excellent technique for marketing professionals and managers to examine strategic growth opportunities and generate beneficial corporate outcomes. Co-creation is a critical technique since it allows for a more in-depth understanding of customers. Modern firms are gradually evolving toward a service-for-service exchange paradigm centered on value generation. Significantly, value is only generated when at least two actors engage, and it is always co-made. Based on the findings, marketing professionals and managers should focus on consumers’ value perceptions to completely grasp their present desires and discover new prospects for generating creative goods and services. Co-creation is more potent than market research since it incorporates new ideas from customers to provide better value.
Furthermore, value co-creation leads to higher personal participation, improved performance, lower expenditures, and reduced turnover for firms. Excellent services or product quality cannot guarantee customer satisfaction; consequently, businesses should use the co-creation strategy. Dialogue fosters information exchange and collaboration in the co-creation process. By interacting, both parties may balance opposing areas of interest to build mutually beneficial solutions and uncover new business ideas. The counter-argument provided is that co-creation may disfavor the customer and, in some cases, is a poor technique. Customers are not always rewarded for their engagement in co-creation activities. Some firms may place the whole weight of product innovation on customers to shift away from the traditional firm-centric approach and toward a consumer-centric attitude. Value co-creation needs continual engagement and commitment from both customers and the company to avoid adverse experiences and results.
Co-creation enables companies to more effectively identify and address consumer needs, increasing the success of proposed solutions and ensuring sustainability. A growth-oriented firm must place value creation at the center of all of its business processes to succeed. Value co-creation is a win-win situation for both the supplier and the customer; hence, companies should co-create value with their consumers to obtain a competitive edge, increase customer satisfaction, and foster innovation.
References
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