Value Creation in Online Services

In the transition from a

goods-dominated logic (GDL)

to a

service-dominant logic (SDL)

considerable discussion has been emerged as to the (co-)creation of value, e.g., Grönroos (2008); Grönroos/Voima (2013); Lusch/Vargo (2006); Möller (2008); Vargo/Lusch (2008a). In a service-dominant perspective, services are understood as “processes” (Vargo/Lusch 2004a). This view has inherent shifts from the traditional product orientation view as to how value is determined and created. Vargo and Lusch (2004a) assert the consumer to be a co-creator, co-producer of service and “… always a co-creator of value” (Vargo/Lusch 2008a, p. 2). The consumer is thus rather an operant resource than an operand resource. More specifically, the consumer’s role shifts from a passive one, i.e. a resource which requires action to create benefit, to an active service input, i.e. a resource that can act on or in concert with other resources to create value (Vargo/Lusch 2008b).