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Theory and practice of brand co-creation and practice Theory Theory and Practice of Brand Co-Creation Samuel Kristal Samuel Kristal THEORY AND PRACTICE OF BRAND CO-CREATION Samuel Kristal THEORY AND PRACTICE OF BRAND CO-CREATION DISSERTATION to obtain the degree of doctor at the University of Twente, on the authority of the rector magnificus, prof.dr. T.T.M. Palstra, on account of the decision of the graduation committee, to be publicly defended on Friday the 4th of October 2019 at 16:45 hours by Samuel Kristal born on the 10th of April 1986 in Berlin, Germany This dissertation has been approved by: Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ir. J. Henseler Co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. C. Baumgarth Cover design: ProefschriftMaken BV, proefschriftmaken.nl Printed by: ProefschriftMaken BV, proefschriftmaken.nl Lay-out: ProefschriftMaken BV, proefschriftmaken.nl ISBN: 978-90-365-4840-3 DOI: 10.3990/1.9789036548403 © Samuel Kristal, 2019 Berlin, Germany. All rights reserved. No parts of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission of the author. Alle rechten voorbehouden. Niets uit deze uitgave mag worden vermenigvuldigd, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de auteur. GRADUATION COMMITTEE: Chairman/ secretary prof. dr. ir. G. P. M. R. Dewulf University of Twente, The Netherlands, ET Supervisor prof. dr. ir. J. Henseler University of Twente, The Netherlands, ET Co-supervisor prof. dr. C. Baumgarth Berlin School of Economics and Law Members prof. dr. A. T. H. Pruyn University of Twente, The Netherlands, BMS prof. dr. ir. L. Volker University of Twente, The Netherlands, ET prof. dr. M. Beverland University of Sussex prof. dr. J. M. M. Bloemer Radboud University Nijmegen dr. O. Iglesias Ramon Llull University Abstract The focus of this thesis is set on the application of the co-creation construct in the area of brand management and branding. The paradigm of brand co-creation follows a stakeholder-oriented perspective on brand building. A brand is seen as dynamic social process constructed through multiple networked interactions and relations between the company, the brand and various stakeholders. Instead of accepting the brand owner’s view of what its brand is, stakeholders act as co-creators of brand meaning. In fact, the concept of co-creation has become increasingly popular to contemporary branding literature and is regarded as a dominating paradigm shift in brand research. However, the topic is still in a fledgling state and further insights on the devel- opment and management of brands in the era of co-creation are needed. Therefore, this doctoral thesis contributes to brand research and brand practice alike by presenting four stand-alone papers on the theme of brand co-creation. The first paper in Chapter 2 creates the foundation for examining product- and brand-related effects of co-creation. The aim of this chapter is therefore to define and delimit the concept and process by describing the dominant research streams relevant to the phenomenon, presenting an up-to-date literature review, and discussing avenues for future research. The paper concludes by identifying gaps in research that establish the relevance of the subsequent empirical chapters. The second paper in Chapter 3 investigates the effect of co-creation on non-integrated consum- ers. That is the majority of the total who, in the real world, remain passive and only observe the outcome of the co-creation process. The construct of observer-based brand equity is introduced and a 2 x 2 between-subjects experimental research design tests a postulated conceptual frame- work. Thereby, the general effect of co-creation on observer-based brand equity is analyzed and the effect of two independent variables is captured. These variables are the intensity of integration and the level of expert knowledge. The third paper in Chapter 4 explores the dark side of brand co-creation. The tendency in ex- isting studies has been to take an optimistic perspective and overlook the fact that co-creators might misuse their increased empowerment to push the brand in unwanted directions. To coun- ter that limited view of the phenomenon, the notion of ‘non-collaborative co-creation’ is de- scribed and defined. A 2 x 2 between-subjects experiment measures the observer-based brand equity before and after exposure to purpose-designed co-created treatments that take the form of either ‘brand play’ or ‘brand attack’ and is executed either by established artists or main- stream consumers. - I - The fourth paper in Chapter 5 reflects upon the relevance of co-creation in business-to-business branding A qualitative case-study is presented and analysed, concerned with a transformation process of a German prosthetic-technology company, from internally governed branding to an externally co-created brand. This paper takes a dynamic approach to research brand co-creation through a longitudinal design that allows to analyze data ranging from 1988 – 2018. This thesis concludes by offering an overview of the findings of each chapter before answering the main research question by means of a synopsis of the theoretical and managerial implica- tions identified. General limitations are discussed and directions for future research suggested. - II - Acknowledgements “A ship is always safe at shore but that is not what it’s built for” (Albert Einstein) Reflecting upon my PhD thesis feels like thinking about an exciting, demanding and enjoyable journey - or in the sense of Einstein like a boat trip on a sometimes calm and safe and at other times on a quite rough sea. Such a long journey would not have been possible without the unconditional support of very special people that opened both, heart and mind to me. I would like to use this very special section in my thesis to say “thank you” to these persons. However, I will do this in the following while having the feeling that simple words are not enough to express my deepest gratitude. I would like to start with my supervisors: Prof. Dr. Jörg Henseler and Prof. Dr. Carsten Baumgarth. Wow, I am truly impressed by both of you! Carsten, I cannot thank you enough for believing in me and encouraging me to follow my dream of obtaining a PhD. I remember coming to your office in 2013/2014 constantly asking you for possibilities of doing a PhD under your supervision. You made my dream come true. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart for giving me guidance and motivating me to think critically about my work. Thank you for spending myriads of hours on brainstorming ideas, constructing frameworks and designing studies. I am very proud to call you my supervisor. Actually, you are much more to me than this. You are a true role model and I will do my very best in the future to make you proud. Also, thank you for the advice and guidance you gave me concerning my personal development and concerning private issues. Jörg, words are not enough to thank you from the bottom of my heart that you enabled the PhD project and agreed to supervise me. I am truly grateful to worked on my PhD under your supervision. I am deeply impressed by your wisdom, knowledge and devotion. Indeed, I try my best to adopt these attributes. Thank you for teaching me how to approach research rigorously and how to always keep a positive mindset. Thank you for all the support and for always believing in my abilities. I am honoured to call you my supervisor and I can tell you that you are a true role model to me. I will do my best to make you proud in the future. Next, I would like to thank all members of the graduation committee, Prof. Dr. G. P. M. R. Dewulf, Prof. Dr. A. Pruyn, Prof. Dr. Ir. L. Volker, Prof. Dr. O. Iglesias, Prof. Dr. M. Beverland and Prof. Dr. J. M. M. Bloemer. I am proud to have such established and well-known scholars as opponents for my thesis. Thank you for all the time and effort that you invest. - III - I would like to express a special thanks to Prof. Dr. Oriol Iglesias. Muchas gracias for your continuous support through my entire PhD project. I feel totally honoured that you provided me with continues feedback on my papers and also on my self-development. I also would like to thank all my colleagues at the Department of Design, Production and Management at the University of Twente who provided me with feedback and inspiration on our PhD days. I wish you all the very best for your PhD projects. Also, I would like to thank Mauricy for the feedback on my papers and Inge as well as Annemarie for all the support and the perfect organization. Patrick, thank you for becoming a friend and thank you for solving a lot of telecommunication issues for me within the last years. Bjorn and Robbert-Jan, thank you for all the support that strongly helped me to master organizational issues. Thank you, Dr. Carsten Gelhard and Eveline Maria van Zeeland-van der Holst for your support and input since the very first PhD-Day in February 2015. A special thanks goes out to Stefan Scheidt. Stefan, thank you for all the positive energy and for all the highly valuable feedback you provided me throughout all the years. Also, many thanks that you help me to build my personal brand. I am honoured to call you a true friend and look forward to many more meetings in Twente, Berlin, Düsseldorf or anywhere else. Also, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Peter Smith.

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