The Value Creation Process: illuminating the transformation of resources into value

Current marketing literature, regardless of its underlying paradigm/logic, lacks consensus on how to conceptualise value creation, how to define what it entails, along with by whom, how, where and when it is created, which... [ view full abstract ]

Current marketing literature, regardless of its underlying paradigm/logic, lacks consensus on how to conceptualise value creation, how to define what it entails, along with by whom, how, where and when it is created, which brings out the complexity of the value creation concept. It is no surprise then that the value creation process is often described as a ‘black box’. In this empirical paper, based on 29 in-depth interviews with camera users, the customer’s perspective on value creation has been advocated. It was found that the value creation process consists of inputs (resources and customer and other socio-economic actors), 5 value creation phases (the content of black box, including: usage episode initiation, resource selection, resource adjustment, resource integration and evaluation) and value-in-use as an output (comprising instrumental, experiential and symbolic benefits and sacrifices). Value was found to be an episodic phenomenon, while value creation was found to be an iterative or fuzzy process, showing how unpredictable the unique value creation path of an individual consumer can be. While the model developed acknowledges the idiosyncrasies of individual customers’ approaches, it provides a theoretically structured view of this inherently idiosyncratic process and practical ways for managers to support customer’s value creation activities.