Expanding understanding of service exchange and value co-creation: A social construction approach

According to service-dominant logic (S-D logic), all providers are service providers, and service is the fundamental basis of exchange. Value is co-created with customers and assessed on the basis of value-in-context. However, the extensive literature on S-D logic could benefit from paying explicit attention to the fact that both service exchange and value co-creation are influenced by social forces. The aim of this study is to expand understanding of service exchange and value co-creation by complementing these central aspects of S-D logic with key concepts from social construction theories (social structures, social systems, roles, positions, interactions, and reproduction of social structures). The study develops and describes a new framework for understanding how the concepts of service exchange and value co-creation are affected by recognizing that they are embedded in social systems. The study contends that value should be understood as value-in-social-context and that value is a social construction. Value co-creation is shaped by social forces, is reproduced in social structures, and can be asymmetric for the actors involved. Service exchanges are dynamic, and actors learn and change their roles within dynamic service systems

The interrelationships between television viewing, values and perceived well-being: A global perspective

Do global marketing efforts, for example, those using television as a medium, impact on the values and life satisfaction of people, and, if so, is the process similar or different in various regions of the world? We empirically examine the relationship between television viewing, core values (i.e., religiosity and materialism), and perceived well-being factors (e.g., perceived socioeconomic status and relative life satisfaction). Data collected from the Western developed nations (e.g., United States and New Zealand) and several culturally homogeneous regions, including New Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Far and Southeast, support the prevalence of diverse consumptionscapes with multiple global consumer cultures, rather than a single global culture. Globalization and advances in technology have not created global norms and homogenized our identities, but behavioral patterns and regional identities that are surprisingly durable. Specifically, materialism was shown to influence perceived socioeconomic status both positively (for two regions) and negatively (for two regions), and relative life satisfaction (except in New Europe), while perceived socioeconomic status had a positive influence on relative life satisfaction (except in New Europe and Latin America). The quantity of television viewing was positively shown to influence materialism, directly in some cases, as well as through perceived realism in others, providing limited support for the cultivation theory effect. Finally, religiosity was shown to play a countervailing role in negatively influencing materialism only in Latin American and Middle Eastern countries, and a positive influence on relative life satisfaction only in Latin America. The rationale behind the differences across regions was also explored. The overall results can perhaps be best explained by “postmodern” epistemologies, in which people worldwide are increasingly implicated, and in which new traditions are constantly being invented. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 1197–1219. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400359