The dark side of customer co-creation: exploring the consequences of failed co-created services

J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2015) 43:279296 DOI 10.1007/s11747-014-0387-4

ORIGINAL EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

The dark side of customer co-creation: exploring the consequences of failed co-created services

Sven Heidenreich & Kristina Wittkowski &

Matthias Handrich & Tomas Falk

Received: 24 April 2013 /Accepted: 14 April 2014 /Published online: 14 May 2014 # Academy of Marketing Science 2014

Abstract Whereas current literature emphasizes the positive consequences of co-creation, this article sheds light on potential risks of co-created services. Specifically, we examine the implications of customer co-creation in service failure episodes. The results of four experimental studies show that in a failure case, services high on co-creation generate a greater negative disconfirmation with the expected service outcome than services low on co-creation. Moreover, we examine the effectiveness of different service recovery strategies to restore customer satisfaction after failed co-created services. According to our results, companies should follow a matching strategy by mirroring the level of customer participation in service recovery based on the level of co-creation during service delivery. In particular, flawed co-creation promotes internal failure attribution which in turn enhances perceived guilt. Our results suggest that in such case customer satisfaction is best restored by offering co-created service recovery.

Keywords Customer co-creation . Service failure . Service recovery . Technology-based services

Introduction

In services, innovation always starts with customers unmet needs (Ostrom et al. 2010, p. 16). One prominent strategy for companies to capture customers needs is to actively engage them in the service delivery process (Payne et al. 2008). As such, an increasing number of firms (e.g., Nike, Mymuesli) provide Internet-based self-services, enabling them not only to outsource value creation to customers but also to customize offerings (Moraeu and Herd 2010). In general, customer participation in service delivery, referred to as customer co-creation (Prahalad and Ramaswamy 2004; Witell et al. 2011), yields benefits for both service providers and customers. On the one hand, co-creation enables companies to effectively adapt to changing customer needs (Etgar 2008). On the other hand, it provides customers with a feeling of accomplishment that enhances satisfaction (Meuter et al. 2000).

In particular, co-created services reveal their potential to strengthen customer relationships when service delivery is successful (Chan et al. 2010; Witell et al. 2011). Yet, high customer involvement in service delivery results...