From customer to actor value propositions: an analysis of digital transaction platforms

ABSTRACT Digital transaction platforms are reconfiguring how customers and suppliers interact and transact. This evolution challenges the applicability of some of the canonical concepts and theories inherited from businesses focusing on dyadic customer-firm relationships. In this respect, we know very little about the extent to which business concepts, such as the customer value proposition (CVP), can capture the dynamics of multi-actor digital platforms. The purpose of this study is thus to explore how value can be proposed in digital transaction platforms. To illustrate and capture the complexity and diversity of digital transaction platforms’ current value propositions, we identify, compare, and analyze the CVPs of 58 digital transaction platforms worldwide. As a result, we introduce and define the construct of the actor value proposition (AVP) as a distinct and critically important concept for understanding and managing value creation in digital transaction platforms. This study is among one of the first to uncover the mechanisms and dynamics of digital transaction platforms from the point of view of different actors’ value creation.