Customer dominant value formation in service

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to extend current discussions of value creation and propose a customer dominant value perspective. The point of origin in a customer-dominant marketing logic (C-D logic) is the customer, rather than the service provider, interaction or the system. The focus is shifted from the company's service processes involving the customer, to the customer's multi-contextual value formation, involving the company. Design/methodology/approach - Value formation is contrasted to earlier views on the company's role in value creation in a conceptual analysis focusing on five central aspects. Implications of the proposed characteristics of value formation compared to earlier approaches are put forward. Findings - The paper highlights earlier hidden aspects on the role of a service for the customer. It is proposed that value is not always an active process of creation; instead, value is embedded and formed in the highly dynamic and multi-contextual reality and life of the customer. This leads to a need to look beyond the line of visibility focused on visible customer-company interactions, to the invisible and mental life of the customer. From this follows a need to extend the temporal scope, from exchange and use even further to accumulated experiences in the customer's life and ecosystem. Research limitations/implications - This paper is conceptual. It discusses and presents a customer-dominant value perspective and suggests implications for empirical research and practice. Practical implications - Awareness of the mechanism of the customer value formation process provides companies with new insight on the service strategy, service design and new service innovations. Originality/value - The paper contributes by extending the value construct through a new customer dominant value perspective, recognizing value as multi-contextual and dynamic based on customers' life and ecosystem. The findings mark out new avenues for future research.