Editorial

Citation

Ind, N. and Svensson, G. (2013), "Editorial", European Business Review, Vol. 25 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2013.05425aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: European Business Review, Volume 25, Issue 1

This special issue, which includes articles that address the theme of “co-creation” will be of interest to researchers and doctoral students as well as lecturers and graduate/under graduate students. The articles provide interesting, innovative and relevant topics which add to the understanding of European business as well as wider international influences affecting Europe. As the theory and practice of co-creation gains momentum, we ought to reflect on the impact it has on both the organization and external stakeholders.

The first article is co-authored by Hannu Saarijärvi at University of Tampere, Finland; P.K. Kannan at University of Maryland, USA; and Hannu Kuusela at University of Tampere, Finland. It is entitled “Value co-creation: theoretical approaches and practical implications”. Existing research suggests a multitude of approaches to value co-creation that bring with them a range of different ideas on what constitutes the concept. This article attempts to identify the sources of the differing approaches, and so reduce the complexity of the concept while developing a business-oriented analytical framework for assessing the opportunities presented by value co-creation.

The second article is co-authored by Thorsten Roser at The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK; Robert DeFillippi at Suffolk University, Boston, USA; and Alain Samson at The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. It is entitled “Managing your co-creation mix: co-creation ventures in distinctive contexts”. This article aims to make a contribution to co-creation theory by integrating conceptual insights from the management and marketing literatures. The authors develop a reference model for comparing how different organizations organize and manage their co-creation ventures. They also apply their framework to four distinct cases that illustrate the differences in co-creation practice within different co-creation environments.

The third article is co-authored by Hannelize Jacobs at Monash University, South Africa. It is entitled “Co-innovation through multiple social identity processes: the story of a South African co-op owned business”. This article investigates the relationship between “social identities” and “innovation as a collective act”, specifically how multiple social identity processes construct, reconstruct and revise organizational identity, and create positive commitment and motivation for collaborative innovation (co-innovation).

The fourth article is co-authored by Olaf Plötner at ESMT European School of Management and Technology, Germany; Jan Lakotta at FOM University of Applied Sciences, Germany (also of Capgemini Consulting); and Frank Jacob at ESCP Europe, Germany. It is entitled “Differentiating market offerings using complexity and co-creation: implications for customer decision-making uncertainty”. This article focuses on business-to-business markets and looks at the phenomenon of decision-making uncertainty. The authors propose a new classification scheme to explain the variances in uncertainty that helps the reader better understand the effects of co-creation on customer value.

The last article is co-authored by Nicholas Ind at Oslo School of Management, Norway; and Nick Coates, Research Director at Promise, UK. It is entitled “The meanings of co-creation”. This article draws attention to the diverse strands that underpin the still emerging concept of co-creation. The authors suggest that there are alternative views rooted in psychotherapy, critical theory, software development and design that can help provide us with a richer understanding of the meaning of co-creation.

We hope that you – the reader of the European Business Review – will find the five contributions of this special issue of great intellectual interest and stimulation.

Welcome to the thought-provoking and challenging world of European Business Review!

Nicholas Ind, Göran Svensson