Creating value: value co-creation and value destruction

Historically, value has been understood largely in economic terms centred on, for example, notions of price, cost, profits and shareholder wealth. However, contemporary understandings of value also point at value being created through and around products and, above all, services, experiences and relationships in creating good, or improving the well-being of people and situations are considered valuable by various stakeholders. This means that value is surrounded by subjectivities. Furthermore, value is created by self-identity. For example, some people may see great value in saving the world’s rainforests but people who rely on logging of those forests for their livelihood may not place the same value on them. Thus, a “value” is grounded in a particular belief that is related to the worth of an idea, behaviour or mutual evaluation of a relationship. Also, ‘price’ is often perceived by many people as a key marker of ‘value’ but curiously, all too often price is quickly forgotten once a commitment to purchase is made and other emotions and factors begin to be foremost in the purchaser’s mind