Transforming health-care service through consumer co-creation: directions for service design
Purpose
The increasing financial burden and complexity of health-care services, exacerbated by factors such as an ageing population and the rise of chronic conditions, necessitate comprehensive and integrated care approaches. While co-created service design has proven valuable in transforming some service industries, its application to the health-care industry is not well understood. This study aims to examine how health consumers are involved in health-care service co-creation.
The authors identified 21 articles, mainly from the UK, North America and Australia. Despite the need for more research, findings reveal limited and geographically narrow empirical studies with restricted theory and method applications. From these findings, the authors constructed a conceptual model to enhance nuanced understanding.
Originality/value
This study offers four contributions. First, it introduces the Health Service Design Transformation Model for Comprehensive Consumer Co-Creation, illustrating health consumers’ multifaceted roles in shaping services. Second, consumer vulnerabilities in co-creating services are identified, linked to diverse consumer groups, power dynamics and decision complexity. Third, this study suggests broadening participant inclusion may enhance consumer-centricity, inclusivity and innovation in service design. Finally, the research agenda explores consumer experiences, organizational dynamics, value outcomes and co-creation theory for health-care service advancement.
期刊介绍:
■Customer policy and service ■Marketing of services ■Marketing planning ■Service marketing abroad ■Service quality Capturing and retaining customers in a service industry is a vastly different activity to its product-based counterpart. The fickle nature of today"s consumer is a vital factor in understanding the factors which determine successful holding of market share - and the intense competition within the sector means practitioners must keep pace with new developments if they are to outwit competitors and develop customer loyalty.