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

• Published in: Internet research Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 393 - 412
• Main Authors: Blasco-Arcas, Lorena, Hernandez-Ortega, Blanca, Jimenez-Martinez, Julio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01-01-2014
• Subjects: Analysis; Behavior; Collaboration; Community Involvement; Competition; Computer simulation; Consumer behavior; Cues; Customer satisfaction; Customer services; Electronic commerce; Information & communications technology; Information & knowledge management; Internet; Mathematical analysis; Motivation; Online; Platforms; Social Networks; Studies; Touch; User behaviour; Value creation; Coproduction; Online cues; Co-creation experience; Online purchase; Engagement platforms; C2C interactions
• ISSN: 1066-2243; 2054-5657
• DOI: 10.1108/IntR-02-2013-0023

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.