Utility of the theory of planned behavior for predicting consumers’ intentions toward involvement in co-creation activities

Abstract
The current study proposes an integrated framework to assess consumers’ decisions toward involvement in co-creation. In doing so, the research extends the theory of planned behavior by incorporating emotions. In order to accomplish our research objectives a sample of 103 participants were recruited and between-subjects experimental design with two groups (treatment vs. control) were employed. The research instrument based on scenario manipulations and questionnaires. Hayes PROCESS models were utilized for data analyses. The results show that attitudes and emotions strongly influence consumers’ intentions to engage in co-creation activities. Further, the hypothesized effects of subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were not confirmed. In conclusion, our research yielded significant theoretical and managerial implications.
 

Introduction

Literature on customer co-creation and related concepts is diverse (Heidenreich et al., 2015, P.280). In 2014, Galvagno and Dalli summarized and classified the extant research related to the theory of value co-creation in an attempt to identify the     different theoretical perspectives and research streams that characterize and define the co-creation literature.  A similar extensive review of co-creation literature has also been done by other scholars such as Mustak et al. (2013). Co-creation is the practice of designing and developing new systems, products or services through active collaboration between an organization and its customers, employees and other stakeholders. It involves a frequent, interactive, bidirectional, and face-to-face communication between participants to jointly create value (Ramaswamy and Gouillart, 2010a; Gustafsson et al., 2012). Kambil and co-authors in their 1996 working paper “re-inventing value propositions” firstly coined the term “Co-creation”. A further development in the concept has been made by Kambil and co-authors in their article “Explore the Power of the internet for Co-creation”, published in Accenture’s Outlook Magazine in 1999, where they defined co-creation as “engaging customers directly in the production or distribution of value” (Kambil et al. 1999, p. 40). Subsequent academic research in co-creation