Value co-creation in B-to-B environments

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the way in which B-to-B relationships are built, based on commitment and trust affecting value co-creation (VcC) and resulting in greater or lesser economic and social satisfaction and the manager’s perception of the delivered value (business customer value) moderating these effects. Design/methodology/approach: Through a means-end approach, a causal model is estimated with PLS using a sample of 268 hotel managers who rate their relationship with their main partner (travel agency or booking center) in Spain. Findings: VcC is a) dynamic because it is episodic, where VcC is a mediator between the trust–commitment relationship and two types of satisfaction (economic and social) and b) synergetic, because when the hotel delivers higher levels of business customer value, the effects in the linkages of VcC–satisfaction(s) are intensified. These effects are not significantly different on economic versus social satisfaction. Research limitations/implications: The empirical paper collects the perception of a single partner (hotel managers) in a single setting (hotels in Spain). The moderating role of business customer value on the VcC–satisfaction(s) relationship should be further analyzed. The paper contributes to the growing literature on B-to-B VcC by translating empirically the theoretical richness of the VcC concept as being dynamic and synergetic. Originality/value: This paper adds quantitative evidence to theoretical assumptions on VcC as dynamic and synergetic. The quantitative modelling proves VcC as a true mediator, in a chain of variables in a B-to-B setting.