Consumer value co-creation in higher education

Two separate but related streams of literature, i.e. consumer value and service dominant logic, are united in this research, the focus of which is the co-creation of value in the higher education domain. The research explores... [ view full abstract ]

Two separate but related streams of literature, i.e. consumer value and service dominant logic, are united in this research, the focus of which is the co-creation of value in the higher education domain. The research explores how students create, experience and perceive value through the learning experiences facilitated by universities. Through an exploratory methodology, rich data collected through one-to-one depth interviews from two populations (students and staff) provide the basis for exploring students' value perceptions in relation to the value propositions offered by the university. Analysis is guided by theme-finding techniques popularised in grounded theory. The results conclude that value is created through students' independent processes, facilitated by the university, and that student-staff interactions play a key role in the value-creating process. The majority of co-creation opportunities arise from intellectual innovation facilitated by academic staff. The student’s role in the value-creating process extends beyond that of consumer as they also influence the educational experience of their peers through peer-to-peer co-creation interactions. The contribution of this research lays in its attempt to consolidate the wider SDL and consumer value literatures by demonstrating how consumers' perceptions of value are formed through the integration of operand and operant resources during the co-creation process.