Co-Creation of Value In Real Estate Investments

In the services management literature the role of the customer as co-producer of a service is widely described. At the moment there is a shift in the services management literature from a focus on company-centric co-production to a focus on joint co-creation of value between supplier and customer. In the real estate investment literature there has not been much focus on the value creation from a service or a service supply chain perspective. Owners of real estate can however be seen as suppliers of space for rent and tenants can be viewed as the customers. Based on a literature review about the joint co-creation of value in services management, this paper explores the possibilities how co-creation of value can be established in the real estate investment industry in a business to business environment. One of the key findings is that owners need to have an understanding of the customer learning process and relationship experience processes as well an understanding of their own learning process and customer experience process. When other participants are involved in the supply chain, such as real estate agents and property managers who can be viewed as suppliers to the owner and the tenant, it means that more time needs to be spent on understanding. Time can be reduced if more parts of the service process is managed like a production process with clear specifications enhancing the understanding.