Does one design fit them all? Study of drivers of co-creation interest along different consumer segments

Co-creation with consumers is increasingly attracting the interest of companies, as a rich source of innovation and value generation. However, the triggers of consumer’s interest toward co-creation and how they change among different consumer segments are still unclear. This article explores this issue, by investigating (i) the product-related drivers of interest, namely the product typology, product knowledge and prior co-creation experience and (ii) the consumer-related drivers of interest, namely motivations and inhibitors to co-create. The work further investigates if motivations and inhibitors as well as the preference toward a co-creation tool change among different consumer segments. Findings from 509 participants in a survey study reveal that both personal and product-related drivers affect the interest toward co-creation projects: specifically, monetary and personal benefits have the greatest influence on co-creation interest as well as prior co-creation experience and deep product knowledge. Further, motivations, inhibitors, and co-creation tools preference vary according to the consumer segment. This work underlines the importance of delivering tangible benefits to attract consumers in co-creation projects and to design the activity according to the consumer typology the firm wants to attract.