Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2015-11
Engaging Customers in Coproduction Processes: How Value-Enhancing and Intensity-Reducing Communication Strategies Mitigate the Negative Effects of Coproduction Intensity
Coproduction offerings, in which customers engage in the production of goods and services, are ubiquitous (e.g., ready-to-assemble products, self-service technologies). However, although previous research has predominantly identified beneficial aspects of coproduction in contrast to traditional firm production, the pivotal role of coproduction intensity within coproduction processes has largely been neglected. Furthermore, little is known about strategies that firms can employ to positively influence customers’ perceptions of coproduction processes. Drawing on a large field experiment with 803 customers engaging in actual coproduction processes, the current study makes a first attempt to address these research voids. The results show that coproduction intensity negatively affects customers’ satisfaction with the coproduction process. Furthermore, the study offers first insights into how firms can mitigate these negative effects by employing corporate communication strategies that either emphasize specific coproduction value propositions (value-enhancing communication strategies) or highlight additional coproduction service supplements (intensity-reducing communication strategies).
AdamsJ. Stacy (1963), “Toward an Understanding of Inequity,”Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67 (5), 422–36.
2.
AdamsJ. Stacy (1965), “Inequity in Social Exchange,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 2, BerkowitzLeonard, ed. New York: Academic Press, 267–99.
3.
AguinisHerman (2004), Regression Analysis for Categorical Moderators. New York: Guilford Press.
4.
AguinisHerman and PierceCharles A. (1998), “Heterogeneity of Error Variance and the Assessment of Moderating Effects of Categorical Variables: A Conceptual Review,”Organizational Research Methods, 1 (3), 296–314.
5.
AikenLeona S. and WestStephen G. (1991), Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
6.
AndersonEugene W. and SullivanMary W. (1993), “The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Satisfaction,”Marketing Science, 12 (2), 125–43.
7.
ArnouldEric J. and PriceLinda L. (1993), “River Magic: Extraordinary Experience and the Extended Service Encounter,”Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (1), 24–45.
8.
AtakanSinem, BagozziRichard P., and YoonCarolyn (2014), “Consumer Participation in the Design and Realization Stages of Production: How Self-Production Shapes Consumer Evaluations and Relationships to Products,”International Journal of Research in Marketing, 31 (4), 395–408.
9.
AuhSeigyoung, BellSimon J., McLeodColin S., and ShihEric (2007), “Co-Production and Customer Loyalty in Financial Services,”Journal of Retailing, 83 (3), 359–70.
10.
BagozziRichard P. and YiYoujae (1988), “On the Evaluation of Structural Equation Models,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16 (1), 74–94.
11.
BagozziRichard P. and YiYoujae (1989), “On the Use of Structural Equation Models in Experimental Designs,”Journal of Marketing Research, 26 (August), 271–84.
12.
BartlettMaurice (1937), “Properties of Sufficiency and Statistical Tests,”Proceedings of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A160, 268–82.
13.
BatesonJohn E. (1985), “Self-Service Customer: An Exploratory Study,”Journal of Retailing, 61 (3), 49–76.
14.
BaumeisterRoy F. and LearyMark R. (1995), “The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation,”Psychological Bulletin, 117 (3), 497–529.
15.
BawdenDavid and RobinsonLyn (2009), “The Dark Side of Information: Overload, Anxiety and Other Paradoxes and Pathologies,”Journal of Information Science, 35 (2), 180–191.
16.
BechwatiNada Nasr and SiegalWendy Schneier (2005), “The Impact of the Prechoice Process on Product Returns,”Journal of Marketing Research, 42 (August), 358–67.
17.
BendapudiNeeli and LeoneRobert P. (2003), “Psychological Implications of Customer Participation in Co-Production,”Journal of Marketing, 67 (January), 14–28.
18.
BerryLeonard L., SeidersKathleen, and GrewalDhruv (2002), “Understanding Service Convenience,”Journal of Marketing, 66 (July), 1–17.
19.
BitherSteward W., DolichIra J., and NellElaine B. (1971), “The Application of Attitude Immunization Techniques in Marketing,”Journal of Marketing Research, 8 (February), 56–61.
20.
BitnerMary Jo, FarandaWilliam T., HubbertAmy R., and ZeithamlValarie A. (1997), “Customer Contributions and Roles in Service Delivery,”International Journal of Service Industry Management, 8 (3), 193–205.
21.
BitnerMary Jo, OstromAmy L., and MeuterMatthew L. (2002), “Implementing Successful Self-Service Technologies,”Academy of Management Executive, 16 (4), 96–109.
22.
BoltonRuth and Saxena-IyerShruti (2009), “Interactive Services: A Framework, Synthesis and Research Directions,”Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23 (1), 91–104.
23.
BowenDavid E. (1986), “Managing Customers as Human Resources in Service Organizations,”Human Resource Management, 25 (3), 371–83.
24.
BowenDavid E. and SchneiderBenjamin (1985), “Boundary-Spanning-Role Employees and the Service Encounter: Some Guidelines for Future Management and Research,” in The Service Encounter, CzepielJ., SolomonM.R., and SurprenantC.F., eds. New York: Lexington Books, 127–47.
25.
CampbellDonald T. and FiskeDonald W. (1959), “Convergent and Discriminant Validation by the Multitrait Multimethod Matrix,”Psychological Bulletin, 56 (2), 81–105.
26.
CavanaughLisa A. (2014), “Because I (Don't) Deserve It: How Relationship Reminders and Deservingness Influence Consumer Indulgence,”Journal of Marketing Research, 51 (April), 218–32.
27.
ChanKimmy W., YimChi Kin (Bennett), and LamSimon K. (2010), “Is Customer Participation in Value Creation a Double-Edged Sword? Evidence from Professional Financial Services Across Cultures,”Journal of Marketing, 74 (May), 48–64.
28.
CohenJacob, CohenPatricia, WestStephen G., and AikenLeona S. (2003), Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 3. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
29.
CronbachLee J. (1951), “Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests,”Psychometrika, 16 (3), 297–334.
30.
DabholkarPratibha A. (1994), “Incorporating Choice into an Attitudinal Framework: Analyzing Models of Mental Comparison Processes,”Journal of Consumer Research, 21 (1), 100–118.
31.
DabholkarPratibha A. (1996), “Consumer Evaluations of New Technology-Based Self-Service Quality,”International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13 (1), 29–51.
32.
DabholkarPratibha A. and BagozziRichard P. (2002), “An Attitudinal Model of Technology-Based Self-Service: Moderating Effects of Consumer Traits and Situational Factors,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30 (3), 184–201.
33.
DahlDarren W., FrankenbergerKristina D., and ManchandaRajesh V. (2003), “Does It Pay to Shock? Reactions to Shocking and Nonshocking Advertising Content Among University Students,”Journal of Advertising Research, 43 (3), 268–80.
34.
DahlDarren W. and MoreauC. Page (2007), “Thinking Inside the Box: Why Consumers Enjoy Constrained Creative Experiences,”Journal of Marketing Research, 44 (July), 357–69.
35.
DellaertBenedict G.C. and StremerschStefan (2005), “Marketing Mass-Customized Products: Striking a Balance Between Utility and Complexity,”Journal of Marketing Research, 42 (May), 219–27.
36.
DeShonRichard P. and AlexanderRalph A. (1996), “Alternative Procedures for Testing Regression Slope Homogeneity When Group Error Variances Are Unequal,”Psychological Methods, 1 (3), 261–77.
37.
DongBeibei, EvansKenneth R., and ZouShaoming (2008), “The Effects of Customer Participation in Co-Created Service Recovery,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36 (1), 123–37.
38.
DuncanTom and MoriartySandra E. (1998), “A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing Relationships,”Journal of Marketing, 62 (April), 1–13.
39.
EdmundsAngela and MorrisAnne (2000), “The Problem of Information Overload in Business Organizations: A Review of the Literature,”International Journal of Information Management, 20 (1), 18–28.
40.
EppAmber M. and PriceLinda L. (2008), “Family Identity: A Framework of Identity Interplay in Consumption Practices,”Journal of Consumer Research, 35 (1), 50–70.
41.
EppAmber M. and PriceLinda L. (2011), “Designing Solutions Around Customer Network Identity Goals,”Journal of Marketing, 75 (March), 36–54.
42.
EppAmber M., SchauHope Jensen, and PriceLinda L. (2014), “The Role of Brands and Mediating Technologies in Assembling Long-Distance Family Practices,”Journal of Marketing, 78 (May), 81–101.
43.
EpplerMartin J. and MengisJeanne (2004), “The Concept of Information Overload: A Review of Literature from Organization Science, Accounting, Marketing, MIS, and Related Disciplines,”Information Society, 20 (5), 325–44.
44.
EtgarMichael (2008), “A Descriptive Model of the Consumer Co-Production Process,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36 (1), 97–108.
45.
FitzsimmonsJames A. (1985), “Customer Participation and Productivity in Service Operations,”Interfaces, 15 (3), 60–67.
46.
FornellClaes and LarckerDavid F. (1981), “Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error,”Journal of Marketing Research, 18 (February), 39–50.
47.
FrankeNikolaus and SchreierMartin (2010), “Why Customers Value Self-Designed Products: The Importance of Process Effort and Enjoyment,”Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27 (7), 1020–31.
48.
FrankeNikolaus, SchreierMartin, and KaiserUlrike (2010), “The ‘I Designed It Myself’ Effect in Mass Customization,”Management Science, 56 (1), 125–40.
49.
GwinnerKevin P., GremlerDwayne D., and BitnerMary Jo (1998), “Relational Benefits in Services Industries: The Customer's Perspective,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 26 (2), 101–114.
50.
HomansG. (1961), Social Behavior. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
51.
HuppertzJohn W., ArensonSidney J., and EvansRichard H. (1978), “An Application of Equity Theory to Buyer–Seller Exchange Situations,”Journal of Marketing Research, 15 (May), 250–60.
52.
IselinErrol R. (1988), “The Effects of Information Load and Information Diversity on Decision Quality in a Structured Decision Task,”Accounting, Organizations and Society, 13 (2), 147–64.
53.
IyengarSheena and LepperMark R. (2000), “When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79 (6), 995–1006.
54.
JanisIrving Lester (1983), “The Role of Social Support in Adherence to Stressful Decisions,”American Psychologist, 38 (2), 143–60.
55.
KelleyScott W., DonnellyJames H., and SkinnerSteven J. (1990), “Customer Participation in Service Production and Delivery,”Journal of Retailing, 66 (3), 315–35.
56.
KlineRex B. (2011), Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, Vol. 3. New York: Guilford Press.
57.
KristenssonPer, MatthingJonas, and JohanssonNiklas (2008), “Key Strategies for the Successful Involvement of Customers in the Co-Creation of New Technology-Based Services,”International Journal of Service Industry Management, 19 (4), 474–91.
58.
Lengnick-HallCynthia A. (1996), “Customer Contributions to Quality: A Different View of the Customer-Oriented Firm,”Academy of Management Review, 21 (3), 791–824.
59.
LovelockChristopher H. and YoungRobert F. (1979), “Look at Customers to Increase Productivity,”Harvard Business Review, 57 (3), 168–78.
60.
LuschRobert F. and VargoStephen L. (2006), “Service-Dominant Logic: Reactions, Reflections and Refinements,”Marketing Theory, 6 (3), 281–88.
61.
LuschRobert F. and VargoStephen L. (2012), “Marketing Value,”Marketing News, 46 (6), 30.
62.
MacKenzieScott B. (2001), “Opportunities for Improving Consumer Research Through Latent Variable Structural Equation Modeling,”Journal of Consumer Research, 28 (1), 159–66.
MeuterMatthew L. and BitnerMary Jo (1998), “Self-Service Technologies: Extending Service Frameworks and Identifying Issues for Research,” in AMA Winter Educators’ Conference Proceedings, Vol. 9, GrewalDhruv and PechmannConnie, eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 12–19.
65.
MeuterMatthew L., BitnerMary Jo, OstromAmy L., and BrownStephen W. (2005), “Choosing Among Alternative Service Delivery Modes: An Investigation of Customer Trial of Self-Service Technologies,”Journal of Marketing, 69 (April), 61–83.
66.
MeuterMatthew L., OstromAmy L., RoundtreeRobert I., and BitnerMary Jo (2000), “Self-Service Technologies: Understanding Customer Satisfaction with Technology-Based Service Encounters,”Journal of Marketing, 64 (July), 50–64.
67.
MillsPeter K., ChaseRichard B., and MarguliesNewton (1983), “Motivating the Client/Employee System as a Service Production Strategy,”Academy of Management Review, 8 (2), 301–310.
68.
MillsPeter K. and MorrisJames H. (1986), “Clients as Partial Employees of Service Organizations: Role Development in Client Participation,”Academy of Management Review, 11 (4), 726–35.
69.
MochonDaniel, NortonMichael I., and ArielyDan (2012), “Bolstering and Restoring Feelings of Competence via the IKEA Effect,”International Journal of Research in Marketing, 29 (4), 363–69.
70.
MorganFelicia N., Deeter-SchmelzDawn, and MobergChristopher R. (2007), “Branding Implications of Partner Firm-Focal Firm Relationships in Business-to-Business Service Networks,”Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 22 (6), 372–82.
71.
MorhartFelicitas M., HerzogWalter, and TomczakTorsten (2009), “Brand-Specific Leadership Turning Employees into Brand Champions,”Journal of Marketing, 73 (September), 122–42.
72.
NortonMichael I., MochonDaniel, and ArielyDan (2012), “The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love,”Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22 (3), 453–60.
73.
OliverRichard L. and DeSarboWayne S. (1988), “Response Determinants in Satisfaction Judgments,”Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (4), 495–507.
74.
OliverRichard L. and SwanJohn E. (1989a), “Consumer Perceptions of Interpersonal Equity and Satisfaction in Transactions: A Field Survey Approach,”Journal of Marketing, 53 (April), 21–35.
75.
OliverRichard L. and SwanJohn E. (1989b), “Equity and Disconfirmation Perceptions as Influences on Merchant and Product Satisfaction,”Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (3), 372–83.
76.
OstromAmy L., BitnerMary Jo, BrownStephen W., BurkhardKevin A., GoulMichael, Smith-DanielsVicki, (2010), “Moving Forward and Making a Difference: Research Priorities for the Science of Service,”Journal of Service Research, 13 (1), 4–36.
77.
ParasuramanAnanthanarayanan (2000), “Technology Readiness Index (TRI): A Multiple-Item Scale to Measure Readiness to Embrace New Technologies,”Journal of Service Research, 2 (4), 307–320.
78.
PayneAdrian, StorbackaKaj, and FrowPennie (2008), “Managing the Co-Creation of Value,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36 (1), 83–96.
79.
PechmannCornelia and KnightSusan J. (2002), “An Experimental Investigation of the Joint Effects of Advertising and Peers on Adolescents’ Beliefs and Intentions About Cigarette Consumption,”Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (1), 5–19.
80.
PodsakoffPhilip M., MacKenzieScott B., LeeJeng-Yeon, and PodsakoffNathan P. (2003), “Common Method Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies,”Psychological Methods, 88 (5), 879–903.
81.
PodsakoffPhilip M., MacKenzieScott B., and PodsakoffNathan P. (2012), “Sources of Method Bias in Social Science Research and Recommendations on How to Control It,”Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 539–69.
82.
PodsakoffPhilip M. and OrganDennis W. (1986), “Self-Reports in Organizational Research: Problems and Prospects,”Journal of Management, 12 (4), 531–44.
83.
PrahaladC.K. and RamaswamyVenkatram (2000), “Co-Opting Customer Competence,”Harvard Business Review, 78 (1), 79–87.
84.
PritchardRobert D. (1969), “Equity Theory: A Review and Critique,”Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 4 (2), 176–211.
85.
ReganWilliam J. (1960), “Self-Service in Retailing,”Journal of Marketing, 24 (October), 43–48.
86.
ReutskajaElena and HogarthRobin M. (2009), “Satisfaction in Choice as a Function of the Number of Alternatives: When ‘Goods Satiate,’”Psychology and Marketing, 26 (3), 197–202.
87.
RyanRichard M. and DeciEdward L. (2000), “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being,”American Psychologist, 55 (1), 68–78.
88.
SchaferJoseph L. and GrahamJohn W. (2002), “Missing Data: Our View of the State of the Art,”Psychological Methods, 7 (2), 147–77.
89.
SchauHope J., MuñizAlbert M.Jr., and ArnouldEric J. (2009), “How Brand Community Practices Create Value,”Journal of Marketing, 73 (September), 30–51.
90.
ShethJagdish N., NewmanBruce I., and GrossBarbara L. (1991), “Why We Buy What We Buy: A Theory of Consumption Values,”Journal of Business Research, 22 (2), 159–70.
91.
SweeneyJillian C. and SoutarGeoffrey N. (2001), “Consumer Perceived Value: The Development of a Multiple Item Scale,”Journal of Retailing, 77 (2), 203–220.
92.
SzybilloGeorge J. and HeslinRichard (1973), “Resistance to Persuasion: Inoculation Theory in a Marketing Context,”Journal of Marketing Research, 10 (November), 396–403.
93.
TaxStephen S., BrownStephen W., and ChandrashekaranMurali (1998), “Customer Evaluations of Service Complaint Experiences: Implications for Relationship Marketing,”Journal of Marketing, 62 (2), 60–76.
94.
TroyeSigurd Villads and SupphellenMagne (2012), “Consumer Participation in Coproduction: ‘I Made It Myself’ Effects on Consumers’ Sensory Perceptions and Evaluations of Outcome and Input Product,”Journal of Marketing, 76 (March), 33–46.
95.
Van BeuningenJacqueline, de RuyterKo, WetzelsMartin, and StreukensSandra (2009), “Customer Self-Efficacy in Technology-Based Self-Service: Assessing Between- and Within-Person Differences,”Journal of Service Research, 11 (4), 407–428.
96.
Van DoornJenny, LemonKatherine N., MittalVikas, NaßStephan, PickDoreén, PirnerPeter, (2010), “Customer Engagement Behavior: Theoretical Foundations and Research Directions,”Journal of Service Research, 13 (3), 253–66.
97.
VuoriJukka and VinokurAmiram D. (2005), “Job-Search Preparedness as a Mediator of the Effects of the Työhön Job-Search Intervention on Reemployment and Mental Health,”Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26 (3), 275–91.
98.
WagnerTillmann, LutzRichard J., and WeitzBarton A. (2009), “Corporate Hypocrisy: Overcoming the Threat of Inconsistent Corporate Social Responsibility Perceptions,”Journal of Marketing, 73 (November), 77–91.
99.
WalsterElaine H., WalsterWilliam G., and BerscheidEllen (1978), Equity: Theory and Research. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
100.
WestStephen G., AikenLeona S., and KrullJennifer L. (1996), “Experimental Personality Designs: Analyzing Categorical by Continuous Variable Interactions,”Journal of Personality, 64 (1), 1–48.
101.
WoodruffRobert B., CadotteErnest R., and JenkinsRoger L. (1983), “Modeling Consumer Satisfaction Processes Using Experience-Based Norms,”Journal of Marketing Research, 20 (August), 296–304.
102.
XieChunyan, BagozziRichard P., and TroyeSigurd (2008), “Trying to Prosume: Toward a Theory of Consumers as Co-Creators of Value,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36 (1), 109–122.
103.
ZhuZhen, NakataCheryl, SivakumarK., and GrewalDhruv (2007), “Self-Service Technology Effectiveness: The Role of Design Features and Individual Traits,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35 (4), 492–506.
104.
ZuckermanMiron, PoracJoseph, LathinDrew, and DeciEdward L. (1978), “On the Importance of Self-Determination for Intrinsically-Motivated Behavior,”Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4 (3), 443–46.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
