The Business Value of Consumer Participation through Social Media

Authors:
Hanna-Kaisa Ellonen;Miia Kosonen
Affiliations:
Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland;Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland
Venue:
International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems and Technologies
Year:
2012

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Abstract

Despite the growing enthusiasm about social media's revolutionary potential, there is a lack of research on the possible business-side benefits. The authors maintain that in order to realize social media's business potential, it is essential to identify the roles in which customers can participate in value co-creation. This study explores consumer participation enabled by social interaction technologies in the context of the newspaper and magazine industry. A qualitative analysis of 31 interviews with the publishers of the leading Finnish newspapers and magazines was conducted. A typology of six different roles of online consumer participation was developed: namely, agent, commentator, tester, debater, content producer, and messenger. The more company-driven types of participation agent, commentator, and tester can be integrated with product development support and learning from customers, the more consumer-driven types debater, content producer, and messenger are able to provide brand support and options for value co-creation.