Managing the politics of value propositions

• Published in: Marketing theory Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 355 - 375
• Main Authors: Corvellec, Hervé, Hultman, Johan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-12-2014; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Customer services; Environmental aspects; Environmental economics; Political economy; Service industries; Studies; Valuation methods; Sweden; value proposition; Politics of value; regimes of value; waste management; service-dominant logic
• ISSN: 1470-5931; 1741-301X
• DOI: 10.1177/1470593114523445

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion, revived by the service-dominant logic thesis, on value propositions in service organizations. Against a backdrop of understanding value as a pluralistic social construct that takes place across different institutionalized practices of valuation or regimes of value, we argue that value propositions transcend the immediate localness of both value in exchange and value in use. Correspondingly, we claim that service practitioners may draw advantages from engaging with a politics of value that addresses multiple regimes of value, whether commensurable or not. A case study of waste management services in Sweden serves as an illustration of such a politics that combines practical, economic, political, and environmental aspects of value propositions.