Please leave a comment : A case study of value co-creation in the Swedish telecom industry

Sammanfattning: The customer’s role as a co-creator of value is an essential element in the service-dominant (S-D) logic, highlighting the importance for firms to develop relationships with customers through dialogue. By providing feedback customers become co-developers, and help create a competitive advantage. Moreover, the Internet offers an abundance of digital channels for dialogue. Payne et al (2008) have developed a framework for value co-creation, which in this paper is adapted to communication in digital channels, focusing on a company perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate how companies in the Swedish telecommunication industry use digital channels, including social media, for value co-creation with customers. To enable this a case study is conducted with three network operators. The data collection consists of several interviews. Findings indicate that the companies are indeed customer-centric in their offerings, and that communication and feedback in digital channels are of strategic importance. Furthermore, changes in technology, industry logics and customer preferences offer opportunities as well as challenges. Another challenge lies in finding suitable metrics and in knowledge management. The concept of lead users is presented as a potential resource. It is concluded that communication in digital channels enhances the features of the S-D logic.