Emerging trends in the literature of value co-creation: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the extant literature on value co-creation using bibliometric analysis in an attempt to gauge the evolving journey of this concept since its inception in the business and management domain. Design/methodology/approach Based on a bibliometric analysis of 458 research articles retrieved from the Thompson Reuters’ Web of Science Core Collection™ for the period of 2004–July 2018, this study carries out the following bibliometric techniques: citation analysis, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence of author keywords . Findings The study reveals the nature and direction of research that the field of value co-creation has taken over the past decade. Three significant areas emerge out as prominent themes in the literature of value co-creation: value co-creation in the context of customer service, value co-creation in the context of enhancing brand value and value co-creation for marketing of services through the adoption of service logic. Apart from these, the study also reveals the most influential authors, journals, institutions and countries pertaining to the research on value co-creation, along with the possible future directions of research in this area. Research limitations/implications This study has limitations in terms of usage of a single database and its inability to contextualize the citation structure of articles revealed from the review. Practical implications This study would enable practitioners gain a comprehensive understanding of the concept of value co-creation that they can eventually adopt as a strategy for enhancing their business growth, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Originality/value This study identifies the intellectual structure of the value co-creation literature and maps out the gradual advancement of the field over the years.