The aim of this article is to examine the effects of brand innovativeness (BI) and value co-creation (VCC) on the relationships between trust, perceived value (PV) and brand loyalty (BL), drawing on signalling theory. We collected data in 2020 from 403 smartphone users through Amazon MTurk and tested hypotheses using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). We found that BI as a signal initiator has a positive effect on VCC, PV and brand trust (BT). While VCC as a signal strengthener has a positive effect on PV and BT, VCC has no effect on BT. PV and BT also affect BL positively. Furthermore, this article broadens brand literature through showing how the holistic effects of BI and VCC can enhance BT, PV and BL. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first article to empirically focus on the holistic effects of BI and VCC on brand-specific consequences. Specifically, the holistic effects of BI and VCC foster the customer-brand relationship. Marketers should create unique innovations that encourage customers to participate in VCC; thereby, the holistic effects of BI and VCC will enhance positive attitudes on BT, PV and BL.

Gastronomy is a highly competitive and constantly evolving field worldwide. Some emerging countries, like Peru, have been among those that have solidly established their culinary art on the international stage over the past few decades. The creation of fusion cuisine, which merges elements from French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese cultures, has led to a significant product offering for various markets. Our research aims to demonstrate how Hanzo, a specialized Peruvian–Japanese restaurant, has focused on value creation as the foundation for business growth. An important element about the creation and performance of this restaurant is the entrepreneurial capability of the founder. He has established an innovation culture based on original dishes and personal service. Using the case study approach, we analyzed the iterative process among the involved actors. Among Hanzo’s achievements are its recognition as one of the top Nikkei–Japanese restaurants, which enhances its market position and attracts a loyal customer base. We found relevant lessons on how to solidly unify different cultures/cuisines for creating value through fusion cuisine. Implications for management include analyzing new ways to co-create value through innovation, oriented personalization and integrating employees according to the values of strong cultures.

Value creation processes differentiate firms and provide enduring advantages. Central to this process is managing stakeholder relationships, especially when negotiating, co-creating and distributing value, an endeavour with significant challenges, such as optimization of value creation without trade-offs amid complex and interdependent relationships. While stakeholder relationships are often recognized as crucial, existing theories inadequately address how interconnected exchanges influence the value created. To this end, we propose a framework that integrates stakeholder theory with systems theory, focusing on primary stakeholders. Our aim is to: (a) identify key stakeholder value concepts, (b) describe relationship dynamics initiated by stakeholders and (c) outline systemic processes that enable value creation. Stakeholder-driven value creation involves several interconnected activities and practices that reflect an organizational commitment to stakeholder well-being, for example, through employee-focused initiatives such as training, healthcare and the recognition of human capital. Furthermore, we suggest that collaborative value creation can be framed more clearly by emphasizing how organizations navigate interdependent stakeholder expectations through routines that promote fairness and mutual gain. This integrated approach advances stakeholder and systems theories by clarifying how relational dynamics enable value creation. For managers, these insights offer strategic guidance for developing stakeholder-oriented practices that align ethical commitments with performance.

This research aims to understand customer motivations to display customer citizenship behaviour in the emerging market setting of Egypt. It develops and empirically tests the multidimensional perspective of online experiential value (grounded in the theory of consumption value) and customer citizenship behaviour to determine customer motivations to become company citizens on social media brand pages. Using an online self-administered survey, 294 responses were collected. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling to achieve the research objectives. Findings confirm there is a positive and significant relationship between online experiential value and customer citizenship behaviour on social media brand pages. This research contributes to the literature by providing an understanding of how to employ the online experiential value dimensions to drive customer citizenship behaviour. The findings of this research will help marketers build effective social media marketing strategies where they provide customers with the five essential components of online experiential value necessary to establish customer citizenship behaviour.

In today’s economy, consumers are increasingly motivated by emotions and self-realization, and have been described as ‘transformational aspirants’. These aspirants demand companies to understand their needs, co-create products/services/experiences with them and to provide transformational value. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the characteristics of ‘transformational aspirants’. A descriptive phenomenological approach was used, and semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. The results showed that ‘transformational aspirants’ have two major characteristics: otakufication and progression. This study contributes to the understanding and application of transformational value in business settings by clarifying the characteristics of transformational aspirants and demonstrating the importance of transformation for the promotion of sustainable customer relationships.

Due to supply chain disruptions and sourcing uncertainties, multinational and large food manufacturers, retailers and suppliers are investing in New Food Product Development (NFPD) to add value and differentiate themselves from homogeneous food markets. However, for start-up food companies, especially in the NFPD field and within marketing research, this is difficult to do. This article’s aim is to analyse a microalgae milk pioneer and proteinalternative food technology company, its emerging NFPD, and its focused values, highlighting the differences with prior evolutions. A design science methodology and case study are applied. The findings show that technologydriven NFPD, with an integrative process, is promising. Moreover, a diversified and plant-based NFPD is encouraged as it creates sustainability values for consumer well-being by enhancing food technology and business performance. This study contributes to the NFPD literature and marketing research by improving current understandings of how to implement sustainability through technological breakthroughs and innovation in the NFPD process. In addition, it makes a methodological contribution by means of demonstrating how design science can help researchers think outside the box and create practical research to provide valuable solutions. Finally, this is the first study to use design science guidelines to create the NFPD value chain framework.

Platforms have entered many industries and increasingly dominate markets. As such, they increasingly displace the traditional linear pipeline model of value creation with a web of value-creating interactions among three key players: the platform provider, platform consumers and platform suppliers. Existing conceptualizations of consumer value, however, are still based in the linear pipeline world which raises the need to update these frameworks to the platform era. In this article, we make first important strides towards an overarching platform-based valuation framework which can be applied to any type of platform. We build upon Kumar et al. (2010) by applying and extending the concept of customer engagement value to the platform context. In doing so, we delineate a variety of value components that (a) originate from a platform’s consumers as well as suppliers, (b) generate monetary and non-monetary value for the platform provider, and (c) generate direct and indirect value for the platform provider. Together, these value components holistically capture platform participants’ value creation and assist managers in evaluating the health and sustainability of their platforms.

This article tries to deepen our knowledge on the nature of value creation and management in times of turbulent environments both for business management and academic research. The current uncertainties in our economy—coming from exogenous shocks (e.g., financial crises, political standoffs [US–China], pandemic and Ukrainian war) or from demand for more sustainable activities—affect existing companies and provide opportunities for new ventures. Both type of firms need to think of innovative and out-of-the-box ideas to keep generating value for all stakeholders, and particularly to their customers. The nuanced understanding of the factors describing the current economic situation and their effect on value creation and management affects management by, for example, efficient use of resources, and assists in strategy formulation and decision-making. Customer value creation is a dual concept: creating value for customers (value-to-customer [V2C]) as well as extracting some of that customer value at the same time to create value for the firm (value-to-firm [V2F]). While this might be known, it is rarely implemented. In order to deliver V2C, firms should look at the customer journey from a customers’ point of view rather than a firms’ point of view. Only then, the real revenue potential can be realized when thinking about monetizing the customer interface and, hence, developing the customer relationship options beyond the current business. Even if it exists for a long time already, customer lifetime value (CLV) und customer equity (CE) are the right techniques to measure and manage value in such times. Besides, in today’s environment, the gap between CLV and CE and shareholder value needs to be closed. Existing customer-based corporate valuation studies do exactly so and, more importantly, will become even more important in the future due to new business models.

Stakeholder theory and stakeholder engagement (SE) concepts have been widely used in management and marketing literature. In this study, we extend the SE concept to investigate value creation and management in Indian management education. Specifically, for an Indian management institute, we (a) define value, (b) identify nine value categories in which value can be created and managed, (c) advance a SE approach in creating and managing value, (d) identify and categorize value measures as contiguous and future measures, and (e) recognize the resources and capabilities needed to create and manage value. This is the first study in the Indian context to focus on value creation and management through the SE perspective. We conclude the study by discussing the implications of the proposed value categorizations for an Indian management institute and identifying areas for future research.