Venkat Ramaswamy and Kerimcan Ozcan
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the “interacted” actor and connect it with practices of managerial value creation in an interactive business world. In doing so, it…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the “interacted” actor and connect it with practices of managerial value creation in an interactive business world. In doing so, it accounts for the interactive agency of actors via dynamics of the creational process across increasing technological “platformization” of interactions of heterogeneous (human and non-human) sociomaterial entities.
Design/methodology/approach
The study discusses a foundational theoretical framework of a co-creation paradigm (CCP) while connecting it with recent industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP) literature on mixed network and system ontology. It then elaborates on conceptual research contributions and key business management implications in advancing IMP studies through CCP.
Findings
The framing of interactional flows across interactive system environments in business networks is related to both stability and developmental change in the enactment of creation via interactive agencies-structures in the ongoing pursuits of both business efficiency and innovation of value creational opportunities.
Practical implications
By effectively configuring platformed networked interactions of experience value creation in their business contexts, managers (and stakeholding individuals in general) can better cope with the complexity of interactivity and interdependencies.
Originality/value
Managerial experience value co-creation through CCP builds on the IMP tradition by explicitly recognizing actors, in addition to activities and resources as being interactively defined. Because the relational logics are applicable at varying levels of scale across system-environment boundaries, it can be applied at both the individual and company levels or more generally at any level of agglomeration.
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Venkat Ramaswamy and Krishnan Narayanan
The authors introduce readers to the eXperience-verse revolution, the next strategic frontier of cloud business innovation and value co-creation.
Abstract
Purpose
The authors introduce readers to the eXperience-verse revolution, the next strategic frontier of cloud business innovation and value co-creation.
Design/methodology/approach
The eXperience-verse revolution unfolds concurrently with the evolution of the digital technologies and as enterprises learn to harness them and create greater and more unique, personalized value to all stakeholding individuals-as-experiencers.
Findings
Unlike the previous four Industrial Revolutions driven by technology, this new era requires an “experience-first” frame of reference of value creation by every enterprise.
Practical/implications
Emerging technologies are leveraged at the moment of engagement between the enterprise and the experiencers?the goal is to engender value to the individual-as-experiencer.
Originality/value
As industry clouds now accelerate strategic business innovation of interactive experience ecosystems, a whole new dimension of value-innovation and value-creation is being created - the “eXperience-verse”.
Venkat Ramaswamy and Maarten K. Pieters
The authors anticipate that in a post-COVID, hyper-connected and interdependent world, all businesses will inevitably have to become co-creational “living” enterprises -…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors anticipate that in a post-COVID, hyper-connected and interdependent world, all businesses will inevitably have to become co-creational “living” enterprises -- organizations that purposefully learn and adapt through experiential interactions with all stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
Maps out how enterprises will need to develop “Platformized Impact Ecosystems of Engagements of Experiences” (PIEEE). These are digital platforms that bring together five key facets of the current fourth industrial revolution -- digital technology platforms, impacts of activities, experience personalization, service ecosystems and flows of engagements
Findings
Industry 4.0 enterprises now manage a software-based value chain that must constantly learn and adapt its offerings to meet the rising expectations of individuals as they navigate through a multitude of interactive experiences.
Practical implications
Microsoft's Health Care in the Cloud and Signify's platforms transform value for stakeholding individuals’ experiences in ways that were never possible before.
Originality/value
This article imagines a not-too-distant future in which the most successful companies conduct business with customers, partners and a variety of stakeholders on digital platforms that are so interactive, adaptive and responsive that it’s not hyperbole to describe them as co-creative “living” systems.
The author explains how networked interaction, propelled by the internet and the forces of digitalization, ubiquitous connectivity, globalization and social media has become the…
Abstract
Purpose
The author explains how networked interaction, propelled by the internet and the forces of digitalization, ubiquitous connectivity, globalization and social media has become the new locus for creating value. And how that networked interaction is accelerating the shift of value creation towards the experiences of individuals who want to define choices in a manner that reflects their view of value and their own expressions of personalization. 10;
Design/methodology/approach
The article explains that every enterprise is now faced with the challenge of learning how to create valuable impacts of experienced outcomes through smarter, connected offerings and the networked interactions of individuals.
Findings
Instead of having fixed economic value, offerings are increasingly a means for the dynamic creation of experience value through ongoing and new types of networked interactions.
Practical implications
Rather than simply elevating the user experience of a good or service, the co-created experience itself becomes the product.
Originality/value
The Starbucks and Burberry examples suggest how offerings are being enhanced by interactive technologies that open up new sources and avenues of experience value creation. The article explains how any enterprise can now adopt a strategy of ‘capabilities as a service’ by innovating its own ecosystems of customer and stakeholder experiences.
C.K. Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy
The traditional system of company‐centric value creation (that has served us so well over the past 100 years) is becoming obsolete. Leaders now need a new frame of reference for…
Abstract
The traditional system of company‐centric value creation (that has served us so well over the past 100 years) is becoming obsolete. Leaders now need a new frame of reference for value creation. In the emergent economy, competition will center on personalized co‐creation experiences, resulting in value that is truly unique to each individual. The authors see a new frontier in value creation emerging, replete with fresh opportunities. In this new frontier the role of the consumer has changed from isolated to connected, from unaware to informed, from passive to active. As a result, companies can no longer act autonomously, designing products, developing production processes, crafting marketing messages, and controlling sales channels with little or no interference from consumers. Armed with new tools and dissatisfied with available choices, consumers want to interact with firms and thereby co‐create value. The use of interaction as a basis for co‐creation is at the crux of our emerging reality. The co‐creation experience of the consumer becomes the very basis of value. The authors offer a DART model for managing co‐creation of value processes.
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Sakshi Goyal, Venkat Narasimhan Ramaswamy, Praveen Goyal and Udayan Chanda
Given the multifaceted nature of research in green advertising (GA), it is critical to holistically review the extant literature to understand their contributions. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the multifaceted nature of research in green advertising (GA), it is critical to holistically review the extant literature to understand their contributions. This study aims to perform a hybrid literature review by combining citation analysis and a theory-context-method (TCM) framework to map the conceptual development of GA in the past three decades.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the SPAR-4-SLR technique, the current study identified the literature contributions of 133 articles published between 1993 and 2024 in the Scopus and Web of Science databases.
Findings
The study’s findings identified that certain theories, such as attribution theory and signalling theory have been used frequently in investigating the influence of GA on consumer behavior. The context analysis identified emerging themes like green trolling and green demarketing. This study also proposes substantial avenues with alternative theories for further advancement of GA research.
Research limitations/implications
By conducting a hybrid literature review, this study identifies the highly cited articles and sources and provides a comprehensive synthesis of GA research.
Practical implications
Analysis of 133 articles from eight subject areas identified various themes in GA, aiding future researchers in identifying potential research opportunities and for marketers to develop appropriate strategies for their GA campaigns.
Originality/value
This study is the initial attempt to perform a hybrid literature review on GA using citation analysis and TCM framework.
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In this interview with Prof. Venkat Ramaswamy, Strategy & Leadership reviews the way the concept of co-creation of value with customers is being implemented on its tenth…
Abstract
Purpose
In this interview with Prof. Venkat Ramaswamy, Strategy & Leadership reviews the way the concept of co-creation of value with customers is being implemented on its tenth anniversary. Prof. Ramaswamy explains the basic elements of the co-creation playbook.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on his research with companies pioneering innovation co-creation with customers, Prof. Ramaswamy offers insights for executives into what makes this perspective different and powerful.
Findings
Prof. Ramaswamy discusses the guiding principle underlying the transformation of enterprises towards co-creation: how to engage people to create valuable experiences together while enhancing network economics.
Practical implications
In designing and managing a co-creation platform, ask, how accessible is it to consumers or any other key stakeholders; how well does it facilitate dialogue among them; how transparent is this interaction to all, which helps to build trust and attract even more participants; and how well does it enable the reflexive leveraging of the innovation and learning generated to enhance the value of the platform?
Originality/value
Senior executives need to know how co-creation engagement platforms can also be used to generate ideas for continuously improving products and services through the lens of customer experiences.
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This second part of Strategy & Leadership's interview with Prof. Venkat Ramaswamy, one of the early proponents of co-creating value with stakeholders, asks him about the progress…
Abstract
Purpose
This second part of Strategy & Leadership's interview with Prof. Venkat Ramaswamy, one of the early proponents of co-creating value with stakeholders, asks him about the progress of the “co-creation transformation” of markets on its tenth anniversary and its wider implications for firm strategists and public policy makers. The interview concludes with a remembrance of the late C.K. Prahalad, a co-developer of the theory, and reviews his many contributions to the advancement of strategic management.
Design/methodology/approach
This interview considers how the co-creation view starts with interactions as the locus of value and platforms of engagements with individuals as the locus of value creation.
Findings
The co-creation paradigm is a dynamic perspective that sees the interaction of customers, employees and other stakeholders as forums for learning and ever-expanding capability building.
Practical implications
Strategy as “stretch and leverage” in the world of co-creation becomes about joint aspirations>joint resources.
Originality/value
Corporate managers need to understand that leading companies that have successfully adopted the co-creation model follow a simple principle – they focus their entire organization on the engagements with individuals.
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Alistair Davidson and Jonathan Copulsky
A new player has emerged to influence the buying behavior of customers – the webmaven. Marketers and product developers must take in account that webmavens now have a huge…
Abstract
Purpose
A new player has emerged to influence the buying behavior of customers – the webmaven. Marketers and product developers must take in account that webmavens now have a huge potential audience for their reviews of products and services. An active program of tracking, measuring and marketing to these influential infomediaries is likely to reduce the risk of unpleasant surprises. For many firms, marketing to mavens, hobbyist and rating sites may also prove to be a strategic and cost effective means to stimulate innovation and revenue growth.
Design/methodology/approach
Shows how marketing to mavens, hobbyist and rating sites can be implemented.
Findings
The good news for decision makers is that access to comments from webmaven websites can provide product managers with fresh intelligence on the failures and successes that customers are experiencing with their offerings. The bad news is that the negative feedback from just one or two influential webmavens can influence a brand's reputation, sometimes with the same dire effect as poor reviews in traditional media such as Consumer Reports or PC Magazine.
Research limitations/implications
Journalistic research.
Practical implications
R&D – take advantage of Internet customer and user experience to research new innovations and develop new features based upon rapid and early user feedback. Product defect tracking – track user complaints, ratings and reviewer critiques about your, competitive and leading edge or deviant product[9] usage to frame future product development. Market research – measure share of mind on the Internet, in traditional media, at rating sites, at review sites. Maven management – pay special attention to the heavily involved user and hobbyist sites.
Originality/value
Alerts managers to the power of these new market influencers and provides a how‐to guide for marketing to webmavens and other infomediaries on the Internet.