Initiating value co-creation: Dealing with non-receptive customers

Scholarly emphasis on the significance of integrating customer and supplier work processes to co-create customer value is increasingly important. while suppliers and customers working closely is imperative for the success of the value co-creation (vcc) process, customers’ reluctance at times to allow suppliers into their environments has not been fully explored. the present study is an expansive qualitative inquiry consisting of 114 in-depth interviews across 57 business-to-business evaluations that aims to understand both the nuanced nature of customer non-receptivity to specific vcc initiatives and those strategies suppliers adopt to successfully manage it. findings elicit three potential kinds of customer non-receptivity: apathy, ambivalence, and annoyance. furthermore, conclusions propose six strategies suppliers use to manage customer non-receptivity: intrinsic initiative, inspiration and implementation, complexity absorption, value alignment, credibility building, and objective centrality.