The online purchase as a context for co-creating experiences. Drivers of and consequences for customer behavior

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the concept of engagement platforms and the theories of co-creation of value to analyze the purchase as a context for customers to co-create their own experiences. Specifically, the paper proposes that including online cues related to Customer to customer (C2C) interactions and coproduction in the engagement platform determines customer co-creation experiences. Moreover, the paper tests for the relationship between the co-creation experience and customer's purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach – An online platform was designed and a purchase situation was simulated, in which the participants were asked to buy a pair of sneakers. To make the experience more realistic, participants could navigate and undertake activities related to the available cues, thus obtaining a direct experience of the possibilities of the platform. Structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings – The results confirm the importance of including cues related to C2C interactions and coproduction in order to increase co-creation experience possibilities for the customer during the online purchase. Moreover, if customers perceive that they are co-creating the experience, their purchase intentions increase. Practical implications – This paper addresses the importance of virtual engagement platforms as touch points for interaction and the importance of their characteristics for facilitating co-creation. These platforms provide customers with cues that promote their participation, the establishment of collaborative relationships and the co-creation of the purchase experience. Originality/value – There is a growing interest in understanding how customers interact with firms to co-create experiences and in the influence of IT-related service in this process. Nevertheless, to date, the online purchase experience as a co-creation context has not been fully investigated.