Co-creating value in the dyadic relationships of small and large firms in the agri-food sector.

Abstract

Given the increasing interest in the process of how value is co-created through interaction in business relationships, this paper examines the areas of collaboration, value co-creation practices and the respective co-created value in the dyadic relationships. Multiple case studies design involving in-depth interviews were undertaken with Small and Medium-sized suppliers (SMEs) of organic food in South West England with the dyadic relationship being the unit of analysis. The findings suggest that SME suppliers and their larger customers collaborate in many areas including: innovation, corporate social responsibility, planning and interactive learning. The collaboration led to co-creation of monetary and nonmonetary values. This research advances the extant literature on value co-creation in business relationships by examining this complex phenomenon in the context of small and large firms’ dyads in the organic food sector. It is novel in identifying the linkage of the co-created value to the respective value co-creation practices and collaborative areas.