Co-Creation in unternehmerischen Entscheidungsprozessen in den Bereichen Marke, Marketing und Innovation im Privatkundengeschäft von Kreditinstituten

The classic distribution of roles between producers and consumers, derived from the industrial age, is generating numerous sources of tension in the financial services segment. Competitive advantages no longer seem possible given the interchangeability of intangible financial products. Previously product-focused value chains and the marketing strategies derived from them have to undergo a fundamental paradigm shift. Banks are thus called upon to develop dynamic capabilities and to reconfigure their resources. Financial institutions in particular will have to break away from their provider-centred service provision and align value creation in the spirit of co-creation together with their customers. Service-dominant logic indicates that the value of service provision should not be measured in terms of production costs, which are then apparently consumed (devalued) by customers. Rather, a link to value only arises through the use of a service. The specific characteristics of financial services necessitate the participation of the customer in the provision of the service (e.g. financial advice). Customer participation in advisory and other services should be expanded to include extended participation and discretionary rights. Identity factors related to the corporate brand as well as to aspects of community, regionality and life interests are proposed as a means of achieving decisive customer engagement. In this respect, customer participation in corporate decision-making leads to a reciprocal increase in willingness to provide services as well as advantages in terms of benefits. The everyday problems in everyday life as well as the lifestyles and interests of the customer and their environment need to be taken into account. For this purpose, the design areas of brand, marketing and innovation are identified in the context of this paper, allowing customers to be involved as external actors in corporate decision-making. The criteria of co-creation in financial institutions can be further specified in the categories of ecosystem, range of activities and customer resources. In this respect, concrete customer roles in retail banking that can be used in the context of co-creation models in the design areas of brand, marketing and innovation are identified. This dissertation contains a qualitative explorative research design. The findings are underpinned by qualitative findings from empirical surveys. For the fields of brand, marketing and innovation, statements from expert interviews and customer focus groups (private customers) are taken from the practical environment.