Insights into consumer resource integration and value co-creation process

Abstract

The contemporary view in marketing literature is that value is a subjective process created and defined by consumers during use. This perspective of value is emphasised by high-quality interactions between the company and the customer, enabling the co-creation of unique value. However, very little appears to be known about how consumers combine resources. The aim of this research is to provide an in depth understanding of how customers integrate their own and other resources in the context of value co-creation. The case study methodology, with indepth semi-structured interviews as the methodological tool was employed in this paper. 33 interviews were conducted with first, second and third-year, business school undergraduate students. The paper provides evidence of resource integration and value co-creation being context or activity-dependent. In addition, the findings illustrate the pre-requisites and consequences of resource integration in the context of value co-creation.