Designing Value Co-creation for a Free-Floating e-Bike-Sharing System

Value co-creation requires a system that links actors together for mutual value creation. In our paper, we describe the development of such a system in the context of the new free-floating e-bike-sharing system (BSS) in Zurich, Switzerland. This BSS is based on the idea that users of the BSS co-create value by adapting their usage behavior such that the overall service level is maximized. This creates value for other users and reduces the provider’s costs for redistribution, but requires some kind of incentive system for influencing the user behavior. We describe a systematic approach of designing such a system by operationalizing the concept of value and value generation for the different actors: What exactly is the value that is to be created, and how can it be measured? By which activities is value created, and what are the options for stimulating these activities? Which design options maximize value creation? We found that this required combining two different research approaches: Empirical social research was necessary to understand user needs, value perception, motivational patterns in response to incentives, and communication needs. Operational research was necessary for assessing different options for the incentive system with respect to the value creation both for provider and users. By interlinking both research activities, we were able to design an incentive system that allows reducing the number of bikes by 30% without diminishing the service level. Users are offered a reward for dropping-off their bikes in dynamically changing reward zones whose locations are determined based on the bike distribution and the future demand pattern. These incentives lead to two distinct behavioral responses which were assessed and quantified in an extensive real-life field test during a period of 13 weeks. The impact of the measured behavioral change on service level and the required number of bikes was modeled via simulation.