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Co-creation: obtaining an advantage through the involvement of consumers. A study providing insights in the effects of co-creation in new product development on consumer perceptions of brands and products

Lof, N.C.B. van der (2013) Co-creation: obtaining an advantage through the involvement of consumers. A study providing insights in the effects of co-creation in new product development on consumer perceptions of brands and products.

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Abstract:More than 50% of the newly launched products fail when introduced into the market. In the highly competitive consumer good markets it is therefore important to stand out and address the specific needs of customers efficiently and effectively. Co-creation, collaborative creating new products with consumers where they actively contribute ideas and/or select new products, can be seen as an interesting tool to satisfy consumer needs and develop more successful products. More and more companies involve their consumers in the development process. In this way they create successful products that fit consumers’ needs. In this process of co-creation, consumers can either be empowered to develop products or empowered to select the products that should be produced. Most research in this area is focused on the consumers that are involved in those processes. However, a major group, and maybe even more important group, is the consumer who is exposed to co-created products. Attention goes out to another important factor that may play a role in the effectiveness of co-creation processes namely; the complexity of products. No research has been conducted yet about the fact that maybe not all products are appropriate for co-creation activities. What if consumers are involved in the development process of highly complex products? The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of co-created products on product attitudes, brand attitudes and behavioural intentions of consumers who are exposed to those products. An online experiment is conducted which focused on the selection of products (selection by the company versus selection by consumers), the development of products (development by the company versus development by consumers) and the complexity of products (simple products versus highly complex products). Novelty seeking of consumers was considered as a moderator, but was not manipulated. In total 220 respondents participated in the experiment. Results show that co-creation can have a positive effect on consumer perceptions. There especially appears to be a positive relation between co-creation and perceived customer orientation and product advantage. Based on those findings there can be concluded that involving consumers can have an advantage for the company in the market. The moderating effect of complexity showed that people consciously perceived a good fit for this highly complex product for co-creation and do not value highly complex products less positive when developed or selected by consumers. A possible explanation for this is the fact that (partly due to the advent of the Internet) consumers believe that they themselves have enough expertise and therefore undervalue the knowledge of experts. Nevertheless, results do show that knowledge of the company does play a role in the appreciation of the product quality. It seems that people unconsciously may think that consumers do have a valuable input in product development processes, but the company should be involved the be sure that there is enough knowledge and expertise available.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/63796
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