Lessons from arts experiences for service‐dominant logic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider whether art experiences can inform service‐dominant logic (SDL) discourse through an exploration of the co‐production and co‐creation processes of art experiences. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical knowledge gained about art experiences is analysed to identify emergent themes about co‐production and co‐creation. Four modes of qualitative data collection are employed: research participant diaries, photo elicitation, in depth interviews and focus groups. Findings – Key findings are there are three stakeholders involved in the co‐creation of art experiences, which all have critical and different roles; co‐creation and co‐production are both temporally based and evolving and there are points where they interact and intersect; and high levels of engagement in co‐production enhance individuals' contribution to the co‐creation of positive value and make their participation in future co‐production opportunities more likely. Research limitations/implications – The paper is exploratory and not a general population study. The methodology and sample of participants employed do not allow for the generalisation of the findings to the broader population. Practical implications – Organisations may benefit from devising strategies to encourage greater dialogue and connection between all stakeholders involved in co‐production and co‐creation. The higher the level of individuals' co‐production of art experiences the greater likelihood of positive value being co‐created. Furthermore, the greater the possibility of individuals engaging in other co‐production experiences in the future. While individuals are attracted to co‐production possibilities, there are factors that are external to an experience that can act as either barriers to or facilitators of co‐production, and that consequently impact on co‐creation. Originality/value – There is little extant research that explores the applicability of art experiences to SDL. This paper is significant in that it employs empirical research methods to develop knowledge on the topic. Furthermore, this paper is innovative in that it seeks to see whether the art experiences can inform generic marketing models, rather than whether generic marketing models can inform arts marketing.