Co-creation from an employee perspective: Preconditions for success in professional service firms

Abstract

Nowadays, the number of opportunities in a business market characterized by networks, alliances and knowledgeable empowered customers has increased considerably compared to the past. This thesis will tackle the challenge of how Professional Service Firms can expand their collaboration with customers through implementing customer co-creation of value in their organization. The goal of the thesis was to define a number of internal preconditions that according to the employees are important for companies to succeed with customer co-creation of value. Questionnaires were sent out through e-mail, and answered via a website, to employees working as consultants in Professional Service Firms (PSF). With the aim of linking the theoretical perspectives of the thesis with the findings from the survey, hypotheses were created. The hypotheses was selected through a study of how present literature is defining cocreation and based on the theory of Liedtka et al., An Ethic of Collaboration. The conclusion of the thesis was 5 key preconditions that can serve as a valuable guideline and/or starting point for the management of PSF consultancies in planning and implementing co-creation. These preconditions were Coherent Intent, Capital for Learning and Relationships, Person- Centered Attributes, An Ethic of Collaboration, and Understanding of Customer Needs. Although the majority of articles written analyze co-creation from a management perspective, this thesis provides a new perspective through focusing on the employee experience and knowledge. By incorporating the employee perspective to the management perspective, important complementary information is gained and in addition, the probability of successful co-creation of sustainable business practices is increased.