The Influence of Context on Value Proposition Co-creation of Online Shopping Platform in China

Service-Dominant (S-D) logic emphasizes contextual conceptualization of value, while relatively little attention has been paid on context within value proposition co-creation research. This paper contributes to value proposition (VP) co-creation within S-D logic by providing the empirical evidence of how context, defined as stakeholders with unique reciprocal links among them, influencing this process of the online shopping platform. Synthesizing S-D logic and social network theory, the VP co-creation is conceptualized as an operant resource integration process that is influenced by the tie strength among the consumer and three core stakeholder groups, namely core service providers, supporting service providers and other consumers, of the platform. Data collected from 380 consumers of major online shopping platforms in China provide support for the study and demonstrate the influence on VP co-creation brought by stakeholder context is mediated by quality of shared information and trust among stakeholders.