Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical framework
3. Research methods
4. Findings: commercial, intellectual and collaborative values-in-use
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion
Acknowledgement
Appendix 1. Interview protocol
References
Abstract
There has been recent academic interest in programs as value creation processes. Scholars focus particularly on the front end of programs as opportunities for clients to create value. At the front end, client and market partners can actively co-produce value through co-creation sessions. This paper investigates what stakeholders do in co-creation sessions and how this contributes to the co-creation of value at the front end of programs. We used an action research approach combined with participant observation, document analysis, and interviews with participants to study stakeholder engagement in co-creation sessions at the front end of a Dutch infrastructure development program. The findings show that the client intended to realize a value (value-for-firm) that was competing with market partners’ values. By engaging in co-creation sessions with the client, market partners and knowledge partners co-created three sets of values (value-in-use) as follows: commercial, intellectual and collaborative values. The findings contribute to the academic debate on value creation in programs with an in-depth understanding of co-creation sessions at the front end.
Introduction
Increasing academic attention has been devoted to fully understanding the value creation process in the context of programs (Martinsuo and Hoverfält, 2018; Thiry, 2002, 2004; Winter and Szczepanek, 2008). A program is defined as “a group of projects which contribute to a common, higher order objective” (Turner, 2014: 324). Programs are often regarded as large-scale projects (Morris, 2013), as strategic and long-term undertakings (Pellegrinelli, 2002) and as complex and uncertain endeavors (Artto et al., 2009). Although the conceptualization of programs in the project management literature has been diverse over the years, scholars have come both to cherish the value-oriented, integrated multi-project character of programs and to understand their context-specific management requirements (Martinsuo and Hoverfält, 2018).