Value cocreation at its peak: the asymmetric relationship between coproduction and loyalty
Abstract
Purpose
Coproduction, as one component of cocreation of value, offers many benefits to customers and management, but also requires customers to invest a considerable amount of effort and time. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the coproduction paradox of benefits and costs.
Design/methodology/approach
One experimental study and two cross-sectional field studies across three service industries test the nonlinear relationship between level of coproduction and customer loyalty.
Findings
Results show not only the optimum level but also the negative effects of increasing levels of coproduction on customer loyalty and, in turn, monetary expenditures. The negative effect can be partially offset by perceived process enjoyment (PE), such that consumers who enjoy the process exhibit increased loyalty after the optimum coproduction point. Customer self-efficacy (SE), however, further strengthens the inverted u-shaped relationship.
Research limitations/implications
Further research should try to replicate the findings in more complex and less hedonic service settings (e.g. financial investments) because both PE and SE might be even more powerful here.
Practical implications
Service managers need to determine the optimal degree to which customers want to engage in the creation of services and avoid overburdening them. Management should further explore opportunities to elicit feelings of fun and enjoyment through coproduction.
Originality/value
Research usually highlights the potential benefits of coproduction for customers and companies and suggests a positive linear relationship between coproduction and success outcomes. This article instead shows that after an optimum level, the marginal benefits of coproduction for customer loyalty turn negative.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dominic Mahr for his insightful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
Citation
Stokburger-Sauer, N.E., Scholl-Grissemann, U., Teichmann, K. and Wetzels, M. (2016), "Value cocreation at its peak: the asymmetric relationship between coproduction and loyalty", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 563-590. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2015-0305
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited