Open co-creation coming of age: The case of an open services experiment

Abstract

Multiple organizations increasingly co-create value – that either organization is unable to create on its own – in a cooperative manner, based on digital platforms [14]. Co-creation has been studied in the context of a single firm and in dyadic relationships, but much less in environments with multiple parties. Furthermore, open co-creation alliances differ from traditional (dyadic, contract-based, or closed) alliances in various aspects. In this research-in progress, we focus on open co-creation and the organizational capabilities required to get the most out of it. We do this by investigating the case of VDAB, the public employment service of the Flemish region in Belgium, and its 4-year experiment with open services. Based on an embedded case study, we ultimately aim to propose a characterization of the difference between ad hoc efforts versus a repeatable form of open co-creation with multiple partners.