Motivation triggers for customer participation in value co-creation

Innovative new ideas are no longer bound by internal R&D efforts of the organisation. Many successful innovation ideas stem from external sources, especially engaged customers. This study investigates motivation triggers for customer participation in co-creation of value with the firm by using a dual-research approach: grounded theory to explore the factors that motivate customers to participate in value co-creation, and a survey to identify the primary triggers of customer value co-creation. Six primary triggers identified were affiliation, expertise, expression and experience, recognition, community and tangible reward. The results contribute to the literature on co-creation as well as to practicing managers for formulating effective customer engagement.