A Mathematical Model of Value Co-Creation Dynamics Using a Leverage Mechanism

Abstract

Service marketing for sustainability can be addressed in studies on human wellbeing promoted by delight and value co-creation within service systems. However, there is scant research on formal models of value co-creation dynamics with respect to customer delight. This study aimed to formulate a mathematical model of value co-creation dynamics based on a “seesaw catapult” using a lever system. This is based on the concept presented in ISO/TS 24082 and involved service providers’ customer centricity and customers’ active participation. We solved the maximization problem for a ball’s height (i.e., customer experience) by optimizing customers’ active participation and the scale of data collection. Theoretical analysis of rotational motion dynamics revealed nonlinear, complementary, and trade-off relationships in the model. Optimal conditions for the variables were obtained, and additional conditions of the service provider’s customer centricity were derived to achieve customer delight. In this study, a switchback co-creation process of the service system was constructed based on these findings. This study contributes to the value co-creation literature by providing a normative model of co-creation dynamics that enables deductive development and generates various co-creation processes. Service marketing sustainability can be expanded by exploring appropriate co-creation scenarios that maintain and engage people in service systems.