Modeling Value Cocreation Processes and Outcomes in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services Engagements

Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) are a distinct category of business-to-business services, with unique implications for current understandings of value within the field of service science. KIBS engagements often involve multiple stakeholders with sometimes differing assessments of value. Moreover, stakeholders’ assessment of value is not based solely on an engagement’s deliverables; it also takes into account the collaborative process of producing these deliverables and the indirect outcomes resulting from the integration of deliverables and process results as new resources in line with each stakeholder’s interests. Supporting the design of KIBS engagements thus needs to enable a multistakeholder and multilevel measurement of value.

This article identifies requirements for modeling KIBS engagements in a manner that addresses their specific characteristics and can support their design; requirements were derived from a multiple-case study of value cocreation in this domain. The article also presents value cocreation modeling (VCM), a technique developed to fulfill these requirements. In VCM, indicators help measure and evaluate elements that support each stakeholder’s value assessment at the process, deliverable, and outcome levels. VCM can be used as a conceptual tool by KIBS professionals to establish and monitor KIBS engagements and take corrective actions as needed for successful outcomes.