Co-creation

Co-creative interface development in MMORPGs - the case of World of Warcraft add-ons

by Patrick Prax

This article argues that the innovation in the interface design of the MMORPG World of Warcraft is to a substantial... more This article argues that the innovation in the interface design of the MMORPG World of Warcraft is to a substantial part originating in the user-created interface modifications called add-ons. This is shown in an analysis of the connection of the development in interface design to the creation of interface modification add-ons by players. The analysis is informed by interviews with specialists in the community of add-on programmers and focuses on the content and functionality of the add-ons mapped against the respective standard interface elements including an explanation of the problem they solve for the player and a measure of the similarity between them. The article also gives an outlook on the influence of these interface-modifications on the actual practice of game play as well as on game design and interface design by the game producer.

Consumer Workers as Immaterial Labor in the Converging Media Markets: Three Value Creation Practices

by Johanna Moisander

co authored with Saara Könkkölä and Pikka-Maaria Laine; forthcoming in International Journal of Consumer Studies

This paper takes a practice-based approach to consumer studies and focuses on the strategic and productive roles that... more This paper takes a practice-based approach to consumer studies and focuses on the strategic and productive roles that consumers play as immaterial labor or consumer workers in the converging media markets. Based on a case study of a print media organization and its customers, the aim is to discuss the collaborative practices through which value is created in the market. By means of a textual analysis of online and interview data, three value-creation practices are abstracted and illustrated: constructing a sense of belonging and collective identity, mutual helping and peer support, and building pride and self-respect. Overall, the paper suggests that in global media environments, consumer-customers are playing increasingly significant strategic roles in the practices and processes through which value is co-created in the market. It is therefore concluded that the idea of consumers, and media audiences in particular, as recipients of communication and targets of marketing activities needs to be problematized and the dynamic strategic roles that consumers currently play in the market need to be acknowledged and actively incorporated into the business praxis of media corporations.

Making a face: Graphical illustrations of managerial stances toward customer creativity

by Ian McCarthy

Campbell, C., Berthon, P., Pitt, L., McCarthy, I., & Plangger, K. 2012. Making a Face: Graphical Illustrations of Managerial Stances Toward Customer Creativity, Australasian Marketing Journal, 20, 1, 9-15.

Creative consumers – consumers who adapt, modify or transform a proprietary offering – represent an intriguing paradox... more Creative consumers – consumers who adapt, modify or transform a proprietary offering – represent an intriguing paradox for business. On the one hand they can be a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property, while on the other hand they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. This problem is central to business – business needs to both create and capture value; the problem is that creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms both create and capture value. We develop a typology of firms’ stances to creative consumers based upon their attitude and action towards customer innovation. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy, and examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers, namely, awareness, analysis and response.

Creative consumers: awareness, attitude and action

by Ian McCarthy

Berthon. P.R., Campbell, C.L., Pitt, L.F., and McCarthy, I. 2011. Creative Consumers: Awareness, Attitude and Action, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28 (7): 500 – 507

This paper reports on the construction of a scale to measure a firm’s stance towards creative consumers; that is,... more This paper reports on the construction of a scale to measure a firm’s stance towards creative consumers; that is, customers who adapt, modify or transform a proprietary offering.

Organic Brands: Why Managers Need a New Perspective About Branding

by Oriol Iglesias

Co-authored with Nicholas Ind and Manuel Alfaro (2010)

If we take a neutral view – rather than one that goes from the organization to the customer – then we would see an... more If we take a neutral view – rather than one that goes from the organization to the customer – then we would see an organization with a permeable boundary – indicating its openness and transparency – that is already connected to an individual, who is also open. The area of overlap is that of dialogue where the idea of the brand, which we call organic, is created.

Design Charrette A Vehicle for Consultation or Collaboration

by Nicola Dawn Smith

As a model of participation and creativity, the design charrette has huge potential for reshaping the engagement of... more As a model of participation and creativity, the design charrette has huge potential for reshaping the engagement of design professionals and the dynamic processes available to businesses and organisations seeking ongoing innovation. Design charrettes in their current form largely remain the preserve of design firms, used both for internal project analysis and synthesis of large volumes of complex information. Charrettes are most often used as a consultant tool for engaging the community in participatory workshops on potentially controversial developments.

Taking the format of charrette as developed in the field of planning and urban design, this paper will reflect on the enquiry by design process and explore the potential of stimulating innovation through drawing as a way of collaborating with stakeholders outside of the key design professions.

Development, facilitation and analysis of a student workshop explores abstracted principles of a design charrette and indicates possibilities for more open, inclusive and holistic engagement between design professionals as consultants and others as collaborators.

A conversation approach to business model innovation

by Zaana Howard

Proceedings of Participatory Innovation Conference, 12-14 January 2012, Melbourne, Australia.

Sense making through conversation plays a key
role in channelling and furthering participatory business model... more Sense making through conversation plays a key
role in channelling and furthering participatory business model innovation. The designer as facilitator, with conversation as a core tool, is an emerging area of interest within the design research literature. This paper will discuss preliminary findings of a case study of Second Road, a strategy and innovation consultancy that employed a design thinking approach and conversational methods to redesign a client’s business development model. Through this study conversation based co-creation emerged as the primary method for participatory innovation.

Co-creation by engaging beyond oneself: The influence of task contribution on perceived customer-to-customer social interaction during a group service encounter

by Volker Kuppelwieser

Co-authored with Jörg Finsterwalder, forthcoming in Journal of Strategic Marketing

Research has increasingly focused on investigating not only interactions between companies and customers in... more Research has increasingly focused on investigating not only interactions between companies and customers in business-to-consumer settings, but also on analysing the influence of accidental or occasional customer-to-customer interactions on the service experience. However, there has been little research on the effects of planned co-creation efforts of customers in service encounters – where multiple customers simultaneously engage in producing and consuming a service experience. During such encounters, each customer’s contribution to tasks related to creating the service experience can be analysed in terms of its influence on social dynamics within the group. Drawing on a sample of 249 customers who have experienced a group service encounter, we demonstrate that customer engagement in the group task has a positive influence on perceived customer-to-customer social interaction. We also show how the perceived task contribution of other customers significantly influences an individual’s perception of their own input.

Value in Co-Created Content Production in Magazine Publishing: Case Study of Co-Creation in Three Scandinavian Magazine Brands

by Tanja Aitamurto

Aitamurto, T.&Könkkölä, S. 2011. Value in Co-Created Content Production in Magazine Publishing: Case Study of Co-Creation in Three Scandinavian Magazine Brands. Presented at the 2011 World Conference on
Mass Customization, Personalization, and Co-Creation: Bridging Mass Customization & Open Innovation. San Francisco.

This paper taps into the evolving phenomenon of co-creation in publishing industry. The paper identifies the value... more This paper taps into the evolving phenomenon of co-creation in publishing industry. The paper identifies the value which emerges from content co-creation in three Scandinavian magazines. In this context, co-creation refers to a shared content production process in which customer-collaborators and editorial teams collaborate. By examining three case studies of online co-creation initiatives of three magazine concepts, this paper identifies the value of shared content production process in magazine publishing, whether the value manifests in a closer reader-brand relationship, increased revenue, more personalized products or in other benefits. Magazines are traditionally very closed concepts, and therefore co-creation contributes to new, yet unexplored value constellation in digital publishing. Preliminary findings indicate that community engagement strengthens the brand experience and creates a feeling of ownership of the product within the customer-collaborators; however, the publishers have challenges identifying opportunities in these developments.

Ng, Irene C. L. and Nick Yip (2009), “Identifying Risk and its Impact on Contracting Through a Benefit Based-Model Framework in Business to Business Contracting: Case of the Defence Industry”

by Irene C L Ng

CIRP Design Conference 2009, 30-31 March, Cranfield, UK

Two defence contracts for availability are studied in the attempt to better understanding the provision of service in... more Two defence contracts for availability are studied in the attempt to better understanding the provision of service in a maintenance, repair and overhaul environment that is contracted on the performance of the equipment, rather than merely providing equipment. The nature of the contract changes the dynamics of the delivery, bringing behavioural issues into the forefront, with both customer and firm focused on value co-creation, rather than each party’s contractual obligation. Our study provides a customer focused approach that exposes gaps in the way organizations approach their service provision in MRO.
We argue that customer involvement and behavioural issues in the co-creation process has to be factored into the design and delivery of traditional MRO delivery systems. This paper uncovers four areas that pose risks to performance based contracts and are crucial in the design of services under such a contractual environment and provides a research agenda for future studies in this area.

Consumer Roles in Brand Culture and Value Co-Creation in Virtual Communities

by Jason C. Healy

Co-authored with McDonagh, P., Journal of Business Research, forthcoming, in-press.

    Using a Netnographic Grounded Theory approach to an online fan forum, a Virtual Community (VC), this... more     Using a Netnographic Grounded Theory approach to an online fan forum, a Virtual Community (VC), this article considers brand culture and value co-creation. The research site is a VC containing football fans who are viewed as stakeholders of the organisation Liverpool Football Club. Following a service-dominant logic (SDL) and consumer culture theory (CCT) approaches, analysis is conducted on fan consumer behaviour leading to the submission of a Typology of Seven Consumer Community Cultural Co-creative Roles. The authors reflect on existing theoretical consumer responses to market offerings of exit, voice, loyalty, and twist, found in extant literature; adopting these as four co-creative roles. This study contributes three new consumer co-creative roles of entry, re-entry, and non-entry. Managerial implications of the typology are discussed.

Modelling customer process activities in interactive value creation

by Thomas Eichentopf

In this form co-authored with Michael Kleinaltenkamp and Janine van Stiphout, presented in 2010 at The 11th International Research Seminar in Service Management, La Londe les Maures, France, originally based on my co-author van Stiphout's dissertation.

Purpose – Customers' role in value creation has changed dramatically over the past few years. Today, many firms view... more Purpose – Customers' role in value creation has changed dramatically over the past few years. Today, many firms view customers as co-creators of value. Until recently, however, attention to customer integration was mainly directed toward customers' role in a firm's given supply processes. The goal of this paper is to show that processes on the customer side are equally important for the overall success of value creation.

Design/methodology/approach – The reasoning for the role of customers is based on a theoretical discussion of customer integration, blueprints and customer scripts. Relating this work to the general problem of transaction costs from information asymmetries, the paper develops a typology of how customer scripts can be applied in various situations.

Findings – It is found that customer scripts can have a positive effect on interactive value creation because they enable companies to build a holistic process image for all process participants.

Research limitations/implications – Marketing must rethink its role as an agent of companies. Indeed, in interactive value creation, boundaries blur. However, the results lack broad empirical confirmation.

Practical implications – It is argued that firms must adopt a customer perspective and provide an approach of how to achieve this.

Originality/value – The paper reintroduces scripts in the marketing discussion. In addition, it provides a new typology of situations in interactive value creation.

Consumer Participation In Commercial Hospitality

by Peter Lugosi

This is the accepted version. The final version was published as Lugosi, P., 2007. Consumer participation in commercial hospitality. International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1 (3), pp. 227-236. DOI: 10.1108/17506180710817756. Please consult the published version if citing.

Purpose of this paper
    This paper examines customers’ participation in the production of... more Purpose of this paper
    This paper examines customers’ participation in the production of commercial hospitality. Drawing on a study of queer consumers (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals), the paper considers the ways in which frequently circulated understandings, or myths, shaped consumers’ actions. The case study is used to highlight previously under examined dimensions of participation.

Design/methodology/approach
    The paper draws on an ethnographic study of bar culture. The principal method of data collection was participant observation, which involved working at one venue for 27 months, as well as social visits throughout a five year period. Participant observation was complemented by semi-structured interviews with 26 informants, 19 of whom were interviewed repeatedly during the research. 

Findings
    The paper suggests that three myths were evident in consumers’ behavior: commonality, mutual safety, and the opportunities for liberated, playful consumption. Focusing on two particular aspects of participation: performative display and frontline labor, the paper discusses the ways in which these myths influenced patrons’ actions.

Research implications
      The study suggests that an examination of the cultural dimensions of patronage provides crucial insights into consumer participation. The results will be relevant to social scientists and management academics seeking to understand the relationship between shared interest and identity, consumption, and the production of hospitable spaces.

Originality/value
      This study provides a new understanding of both the nature of and motivations for consumer participation. This challenges existing approaches, which have tended to focus narrowly on the managerial aspects of participation in the service sector.

The Promise of Idea Crowdsourcing: –Benefits, Contexts, Limitations

by Tanja Aitamurto

Whitepaper for Nokia in 2011, co-authored with Aija Leiponen and Richard Tee from Imperial College, London.

The Impact of Crowdfunding on Journalism

by Tanja Aitamurto

Published in Journalism Practice 5 (4), 2011.

This article analyzes the impact of crowdfunding on journalism. Crowdfunding is defined as a way to harness collective... more This article analyzes the impact of crowdfunding on journalism. Crowdfunding is defined as a way to harness collective intelligence for journalism, as readers’ donations accumulate into judgments about the issues that need to be covered. The article is based on a case study about Spot.Us, a platform pioneering community-funded reporting. The study concludes that a crowdfunded journalistic process requires journalists to renegotiate their role and professional identity to succeed in the changing realm of creative work. The study concludes that reader donations build a strong connection from the reporters to the donors, which creates a new sense of responsibility to the journalists. The journalists perceive donors as investors, that cannot be let down. From the donor’s perspective, donating does not create a strong relationship from donor to the journalist, or to the story to which they contributed. The primary motivation for donating is to contribute to the common good and social change. Consequently, donors’ motives are essentially more altruistic than instrumental. Thus, when the public donates for a cause, the marketing of a certain type of journalism should be aligned with the features of cause marketing. The traditional role of journalism as a storyteller around the campfire has remained, but the shared story is changing: people no longer share merely the actual story, but also the story of participating in a story process.

Collaborative value Co-creation in crowd sourced communities

by Andrew Whalley

Talhonia: empowering collaborative storytelling.

by Petter Bae Brandtzaeg

Verde, 0, Karahasanović, A., Bruynooghe, B., Van Herreweghe, H., Van Den Broeck, M.,  Brandtzæg, P.B.,  Vermeir, L., & Vanattenhoven, J. (2008). Talhonia: empowering collaborative storytelling. NEM Summit 2008 - Towards Future Media Internet. Palais du Grand Large - Saint-Malo, France. October 13-15, 2008. Eurescom - the European Institute for Research and Strategic Studies in Telecommunications – GmbH. ISBN: 9783000259784

Non-professionals produce and share media content and become active participants of the media chain in a larger degree... more Non-professionals produce and share media content and become active participants of the media chain in a larger degree than ever before. There is therefore an increasing demand for tools supporting non-professionals in collaborative creation of user-generated content. This paper describes a tool supporting and stimulating nonprofessionals in collaborative storytelling that we have developed within the CITIZEN MEDIA project.

Editorial: Special issue: Enabling elderly users to create and share self-authored multimedia content

by Petter Bae Brandtzaeg

Brandtzæg, P.B., & Roibás, A.C. (Eds) (2009). Enabling elderly users to create and share self authored multimedia content. Special Issue of Computers in Human Behavior, 25(3), 597–792.

The Information Society is fostered by an increase in media content made available through different interfaces... more The Information Society is fostered by an increase in media content made available through different interfaces (mobile phone, PCs, TV, etc.). Lately, blogging tools and diverse Web 2.0 services have made it easier for the non-professional user to create and share digital content. This trend is also triggered by the increasing availability of broadband and digital recording devices, as well as display and rendering devices (Trogemann & Pelt, 2006). A big part of media content has therefore become user-generated content (UGC). Unfortunately, elderly people are to a lesser extent part of this active user revolution in UGC platforms. The scope of this special issue is for that reason to generate insights about the present usage, design and development of engaging, relevant and accessible UGC platforms targeting elderly people

Supporting non-professional users in the new media landscape

by Petter Bae Brandtzaeg

Geerts, D., Obrist, M., Tscheligi, M., & Brandtzæg, P. B. (2007). Supporting non-professional users in the new media landscape. In CHI '07 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (San Jose, CA, USA, April 28 - May 03, 2007). CHI '07. ACM, New York, NY, 2849-2852. Doi: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1240866.1241093

Design for creating, uploading and sharing user generated content

by Petter Bae Brandtzaeg

Obrist, M., Geerts, D., Brandtzæg, P. B., & Tscheligi, M. (2008). Design for creating, uploading and sharing user generated content. In CHI '08 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Florence, Italy, April 05 - 10, 2008). CHI '08. ACM, New York, NY, 2391-2394. Doi: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1358628.1358692

The power of users playing the roles of authors and editors is undeniable these days [1]. New media, not only the... more The power of users playing the roles of authors and editors is undeniable these days [1]. New media, not only the Internet, are enabling people to become active users related to content production and sharing, and in co-creation of User Generated Content (UGC). In particular younger users and heavy users of Internet use networked applications to create and share content [1]. There is a need for UGC applications targeting a broader market, including older users and average Internet users. Today, the knowledge in designing and building for co-creation in networked media is still rather weak. The lack of information about UGC characteristics makes it difficult to expect what kind and amount of content will be produced, and to understand and interpret the reasons why users and user communities arise or fail. A significant effort is currently made by the HCI community in order to support active user involvement into the design and evaluation of networked applications [6]. Non-professional users are encouraged to become active producers and designers themselves [1]. However, there is still the need to explore how to apply and further extend these approaches and methods to better understand, design for and evaluate UGC applications. This SIG will contribute to this discussion by actively involving the audience in UGC creation.