MKT2013 ASSIGNMENT 2: DETAILS
YOUR TASK
In Assignment 1 you examined an organization or enterprise in terms of traditional and digital marketing. In Assignment 2 you will examine the same organization or enterprise in terms value co-creation. This assignment has two parts. In PART 1 you will identify what you mean by value co-creation. You are putting forward an argument here so it MUST be based on course content and readings. (Please see a list of reading below).
Place your answers to PART 1 and PART 2 in the spaces provided below. Write in paragraphs – not dot points. Include in-text references and a reference list. Use Harvard referencing.
PART 1: What is value co-creation? (This is a short essay so it should include an introduction, main body and conclusion)
Among scholars, there has been some difficulty in defining the term ‘value co-creation’. This is largely due to no clear definition for the term ‘value’ has been agreed upon. Therefore, to answer the question of what value co-creation is, some research and discussion based on defining value in terms of value co-creation in the context of a producer to consumer relationship will be necessary. Following that, there will be a brief examination of how value has been traditionally produced and why this is changing, to understand the emergence of value co-creation in production processes. With that clarification in mind, it will then be a more straightforward matter to discuss what value co-creation is. It will be made clear that value co-creation is a process of equal interaction between companies and consumers, which increases innovation and produces value both symbolically and materially; this is achieved by focusing on how experiences shape consumer perception of value, through joint interaction between consumers and consumers, and consumers and producers, largely conducted on virtual platforms.
Value is a concept that is largely individual in nature; for any meaningful definition to be attempted, it is important that it is treated as a concept that can be interpreted differently by different people, and with these potentially conflicting ideas as a foundation, it is almost impossible to give a true definition of value (Grönroos & Voima 2013). Further to this, due to the complex and multidimensional nature of the value, it is important to note that this already arguably subjective concept is made more complex due to it being able to be perceived differently depending on time, place or situation (Pongsakornrungsilp & Schroeder 2011). Value can be understood to have two meanings, symbolic or material. Symbolic value is individual to each person (Grönroos & Voima 2013), and each person can tailor the value or meaning of a product to suit their own goals (Pongsakornrungsilp & Schroeder 2011). Material value is created through use of a product over time (Grönroos & Voima 2013), and ultimately is derived by the consumer through the process of acquisition, use and disposal (Vargo, Magli...