The Virtual Opening of the Value Chain : A Conceptual Model of Customer-firm Interaction on the Internet

Service and Innovation Processes on the Internet in a Customer-Firm Relationship Framework

This project analyses service and innovation processes on the Internet, capable of generating implicit knowledge in a value network of collaborating actors. Although the impacts of the Internet on data exchange in the form of explicit knowledge are clearly visible, explorations of the Internet's influence as an integral "knowledge technology" remain in its infancy. Whereas current co-creation applications on the Internet center mainly on mutual production issues, the service aspects of customer relationships become increasingly important (Rust and Lemon 2001). A myopic concentration on single Internet features tends to overwhelm a process view of activities, which is necessary to create sustainable value (Porter 1996). As Normann and Ramírez (1993) note, "the secret" of a company's value inheres in the "fit of knowledge and relationships." That is, relational aspects play a major role in the innovation and exploitation success of a company (Dyer and Singh 1998). This project attempts to foster a deeper understanding of the role of the Internet in different types of service and innovation processes within a framework of customer-firm interactions. A cross-case study reveals that operant resources on the Internet build around the buying process of the customer while also drawing a circle through the value chain. The architecture of the value chain changes from a single-directed stream to a loop of knowledge exchange that includes almost every vertical stage. Firms cannot assign customer input to a certain functionality but rather must decipher it through interdisciplinary approaches that involve the cooperation of multiple areas.