Value-in-Use and Mobile Technologies

The increasing number of offerings that support consumers’ daily routines has led to a growing discussion in scientific research about consumers’ usage processes. A theoretical foundation for this discussion is offered by the service-dominant logic of marketing. The central idea is that value creation for a consumer is not based on mere product ownership but rather evolves through the usage of various offerings in terms of value-in-use. However, there is no universally accepted method to capture usage processes and analyze them with regard to value-in-use. The article therefore suggests a method for capturing value-in-use. For this purpose the repertory grid method is applied which is further adapted according to the underlying theoretical assumptions and empirically tested in a qualitative study on smartphone usage. On the basis of the findings, a specific value-in-use scale is then developed. Finally, this scale is validated in a quantitative study. The results indicate that the adapted repertory grid method is a promising approach to capture usage processes and the value-in-use created through these processes.