A Review on the Customer Role in Smart Service Co-Creation

Abstract

In the course of digital servitization and the introduction of smart services, the provider-customer relationship in manufacturing industries is changing. The cooperation between providers and customers, which is also referred to as co-creation in research, can have a positive impact on the value creation of both parties in the various development phases of smart service. Co-creation is understood as a two-way communication in which providers and customers can exchange their resources, for example in the form of knowledge and skills. However, so far research has focused on the role of the provider in this constellation. Through a systematic literature review, this article examines the role of customers within industrial smart services. Four core areas could be identified within co-creation. These are discussed in the context of existing paradoxes and it is shown that the customer perspective should be given equal consideration in future research.