Consumers' paradoxical motives of co-creation: from self-service technology to crowd-sourcing platform

Abstract

Self-service technologies (SSTs) have unleashed the productive potential of modern consumers, while crowd-sourcing (C–S) platforms have further elevated the co-creation role of consumers. In this regard, consumers participate to serve not only themselves privately but also other consumers in social/communal settings. Thus, this study aims to explore and compare consumers' motives to co-create using technological platforms in both private and social contexts. A conceptual framework was developed by integrating the theory of technological paradoxes with co-creation literature. Additionally, a social-exchange perspective was adopted to rationalise the differences in private-social contexts and the moderating effects on consumer co-creation motives. The study data (n = 500) were collected using a questionnaire survey and analysed using structural equation modelling. The paradoxical motives of empowerment and shared responsibility were found to be significant contributors to consumers' willingness to co-create, confirming the independence/jointness paradox that shapes technology-mediated service co-creation. Furthermore, the communal setting of C–S platforms tends to suppress consumers' empowerment motive, making responsibility-sharing the dominant motive. Therefore, the findings of this study validate (partially with mixed statistical/descriptive evidence) the moderating effect of co-creation contexts on the perceived technological paradox. Finally, this study presents the theoretical and practical implications of the research findings.