Virtual Customer Environments: IT-Enabled Customer Co-innovation and Value Co-creation - Information Technology and Product Development - page 112

product-development plans). By exercising such influence, they may realize a sense
of self-efficacy.
6.3.4 Hedonic Benefits
Customers' interactions in the VCE could also be a source of highly interest-
ing/pleasurable as well as mentally stimulating experiences. First, studies on brand
communities show that customers derive considerable pleasure from conversing
with one another about the product, features, and the idiosyncrasies of the usage
context (Muniz & O'Guinn, 2001). Such positive reactions and enjoyment, rooted in
the product context, are equally applicable in VCEs too (Jeppesen & Molin, 2003).
Second, the problem solving that underlies much of the interactions in a product-
support-focused VCE can also be a source of mental or intellectual stimulation that
forms another aspect of hedonic benefits.
Thus, by leveraging the U&G framework, we can identify a cogent set of four
benefit categories that can potentially inform on customer participation in innovation
and value creation, and are also theoretically rooted in the interactions occurring in
the VCEs. Recent empirical works (Nambisan & Baron, 2007; Nambisan & Baron,
2009) have shown that these different potential benefits all have strong positive
impact on customer participation in innovation and value creation.
A dominant perspective in the online community literature is the one relat-
ing to “citizenship” behavior. It has been widely acknowledged and empirically
shown (e.g., Constant et al., 1996) that individuals assist others (often strangers)
with little or no expectation of direct or immediate recompense (the “kindness of
strangers”). The empirical work in the area of VCEs indicates that customers do
not participate in these online forums purely on the basis of such “altruistic” or
“citizenship” motives. On the other hand, they expect to attain considerable benefits
from their participation in innovation and value creation - benefits such as enhanced
product knowledge, communication with other knowledgeable customers, enhanced
reputation, cognitive stimulation, and enjoyment.
This has important directly implications for managerial practice. Most organi-
zations seem to assume that customers' citizenship or “altruistic” feelings drive
their value co-creation and innovation activities in VCEs. Recent studies on open
source and other such “communities of creation” (Sawhney & Prandelli, 2000) have
only further emboldened such assumptions. This has resulted in many organiza-
tions adopting a “when we build it, they will come” approach toward VCEs - in
other words, if the technological infrastructure is put together for an online forum,
customers will come and support one another endlessly. The implication is that com-
panies do not need to invest additional resources in such initiatives (other than the
basic technological infrastructure). However, the empirical work in the VCE indi-
cates the opposite. Specifically, they suggest that customers' active participation in
VCEs is strongly influenced by their beliefs concerning benefits they will receive
from engaging in such activities. Thus, companies that are interested in having
their customers participate in innovation and value co-creation activities must take