Solution selling and value co-creation : different forms and contexts

Alexander, Matthew (2010) Solution selling and value co-creation : different forms and contexts. In: Frontiers in Service Service and Solution Innovation Pre-Conference, 2010-06-10.

[thumbnail of Solution selling and Value Co-Creation: Different Forms and Contexts]
Preview
 PDF. Filename: M_Alexander_SolutionPreConference_June2010_Ver001.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
Download (244kB)| Preview

Abstract

Creating customer solutions is said to embody the new service-dominant logic (Sharma, Iyer, & Evanschitzky, 2008; Tuli, Kohli, & Bharadwaj, 2007); the elaboration of solutions is likely to result from a value co-creation process involving actors from both the supply network and the customer network (Cova & Salle, 2007). Value co-creation addresses the growing importance of customer involvement in an organization; service-dominant logic states that the customer is always a co-creator of value (Vargo & Lusch, 2008) but the extent to which customers co-create value and facilitate the creation of solutions in a range of Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer contexts is, as yet, undetermined. This conceptual, exploratory research investigates value co-creation through a set of four encounters between firm, customer, and other networks based on a solution selling model(Tuli, et al., 2007). Using a pre-determined sample of service firms a set of expert ratings was gathered to analyze the level of value co-creation during the encounters. The results of the ratings suggest that firms create solutions and co-create in different ways during the 4 stages of the encounter process. A series of semi-structured interviews suggested that firms would benefit from a greater understanding of the forms of value co-creation, and the contexts where they can best be applied to a solution selling model. The research concludes by suggesting a conceptual framework for analyzing value co-creation in service firms and its potential impact on firm activity and performance.

ORCID iDs

Alexander, Matthew ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3770-8056;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)