Consumers as Co-Producers in the Sharing Economy

With the advent of the Sharing Economy, more and more consumers are becoming active as co-producers. Consumers are creating value for other consumers in many sectors such as hospitality (e.g., Airbnb) and transportation (e.g., Uber). These co-production activities open up new challenges and opportunities for marketing. My recent paper in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) on this topic, is now freely available through Open Access (click here to download the paper).

In the paper, I propose that in the Sharing Economy firms should increasingly develop new marketing functions that create value for consumers who are also co-producers. I propose a two-layered conceptual framework, consisting of (1) consumer co-production networks, and (2) the individual consumer production journeys within these networks. Based on an analysis within this framework, I anticipate two strategic marketing resources are likely to determine firms’ success when marketing to consumers as co-producers.

First, by using strong analytical capabilities firms can more effectively empower and support consumers as co-production partners, and thus create lasting value for them. Logically, firms that at the center of consumer co-production networks are well-placed to fulfill this analytical role because they have access to large and unique consumer data sets.

However, the use of consumer analytics also has inherent boundaries when only scant consumer data are available or when consumption is highly unpredictable. Therefore, a second strategic marketing resource in the Sharing Economy is to the capability to activate and engage consumers as co-producers in the value creation process. Firms that can more effectively promote consumer value creation using their goods and services can increase consumer loyalty and also benefit from the value that co-producing consumers create for other consumers.