Service Dominant Logic in the Co-creation of Service Design: Based on the Case Study of Online User-Created Content Knowledge Sharing Service

Abstract

This master thesis examines the interpretations of value of service dominant logic (S-D logic) in the specific context of online knowledge sharing service, in which the content is created by users. Analyzing the interpenetrating influence of the co-creation between S-D logic and service design. The purpose of this study is trying to explore the potential of developing the service emphasis of S-D logic into the co-creation of service design, to widen the scope of service design and integrate practices and ideas from various disciplines. This qualitative study examined the motivation and behavior of users participating in the co-creation in Zhihu case. The study discusses how value is perceived in a specific context, how value is co-created based on the analysis of users’ motivations and behaviors. The study was conducted using case study methods, participatory observation and in-depth interviews. Data collection was completed during summer 2017 using in-depth interviews with 20 users, both face-to-face and via email. Subsequently, data were thematically analyzed to build research findings. The findings describe the user, as both creator of content and recipient of knowledge in the co-creation process based on their motivations and behaviors. The findings show that the perception of value is varied in different contexts. The time and place dimensions and network relationships as key variables are highlighted in the concept “value-in-context” of S-D logic, thus implying that the value of co-creation is an experiential concept that concerns the service ecosystem in its totality. The study concludes that co-creation in S-D logic has a broader meaning than co-creation in service design.