Essays on the engagement mechanisms in the value co-creation process : the case of gamification

Academics and practitioners acknowledge the relevance to co-create value with customers in terms of innovation and relationship management. The emergence of online platforms, communities and social networks has been widely recognized to facilitate the interactions, resources exchanges and value co-creation. However, despite their important role, these technologies are not sufficient for an effective engagement of customers yet considered as a key predictor of successful co-creation experiences. Although value co-creation has been explored by researchers from multiple fields, how to design interactive platforms to engage customers is a gap consistently identified by prior literature and the Marketing Science Institute as requiring further research. Therefore, this doctoral dissertation compiles four essays combining qualitative and quantitative methods to explore gamification as a powerful means to create, manage and maintain participants’ engagement over time. Our contributions to management and marketing disciplines are threefold. First, we unify the difference perspectives discussing value co-creation around a common theoretical framework. Second, we emphasize the dynamics underlying customer engagement and explore their evolution over time. Finally, we conceptualize gamification through a customer-centric perspective and explain how gamification mechanics operate thorough customers’ journey. In that respect, we report the benefits and potential risks related to those mechanics and provide managers with guidelines regarding how to manage gamification over time.