The role of customer engagement in value co-creation within a multi-actor service system

The purpose of the paper is to explore the role of customer engagement in value co-creation in a service system consisting of multiple, divergent actors. The paper uses the recent notion of customer engagement as a theoretical frame to consider a partnership between a transport provider and community groups who are invited to ‘adopt’ railway stations in Scotland. The paper uses an embedded case study to explore how value co-creation occurs between consumers, members of the community, rail staff and governmental organisations. The study describes how community actors and the rail operator become the operant resources that integrate resources, promote the network and build relationships through their drive and passion to make the adopt project a success. The paper identifies prerequisites and implications of customer engagement at the service system level and the behaviours through which customers co-create value. The paper highlights the potential of customer engagement in the activities of the firm, future research could explore the role of the firm in motivating and facilitating customer engagement. The findings suggest that firms should explore the potential for engaging different stakeholders and their networks of relationships around a common cause making use of organically emerging service systems. This paper makes a contribution by exploring value co-creation at the service-system level and provides potential explanations for prerequisites and consequences of customer engagement