The Value Co-creation Mechanism Of Start-up Firm And Users In The Digital Age

In the digital age,it has become an inevitable trend for users to participate in value creation,but the inducement and mechanism of value co-creation have always been the key points and difficulties that have not been solved.In entrepreneurial activities,the process of value creation formed by the interaction between start-ups and users has not been systematically explained,which is mainly due to the lack of combination with entrepreneurial theory.For start-ups,the development of entrepreneurial opportunities means the beginning of value creation.The concept of entrepreneurial opportunity explicitly mentions that who,what factors and how to influence the discovery,evaluation and exploitation of opportunities should be included in entrepreneurial activities.This is consistent with the logic of value co-creation.Therefore,it is helpful to understand the process mechanism of value creation by analyzing the impact of the interaction between start-ups and users on all aspects of entrepreneurial opportunity development.The key to constructing the process mechanism of value co-creation is to analyze the relationship and causal logic among various subjects and elements.This paper focuses on the manufacturing start-ups with Internet genes,and refines three research questions on the basis of practical activities and theoretical review.First of all,what is the driving force for start-ups and users to jointly carry out entrepreneurial opportunity development activities? What is the impact on the source of entrepreneurial opportunities? Secondly,from the process of value cocreation,what are the aspects of the interaction between start-ups and users? Which aspects of the development of entrepreneurial opportunities are specifically affected? Finally,from the result of value co-creation,what kind of value creation has been formed and further promoted the sustainable development of start-up,as well as the construction of good user relations.Therefore,this paper first combs the relevant literature,and find the shortcomings of the research to answer this question.Then,through the exploratory case study method,with Xiaomi and Shangpin Home Collection as the research object.By combing the development process of the two start-ups,we find out the key events in the process of entrepreneurial opportunity development,use the qualitative analysis software Nvivo12.0 to code the case materials,then get the theoretical framework and conduct verification analysis.Finally,the conclusion of the study is drawn.The research results of this paper mainly include the following three points:(1)The matching of the value proposition of start-ups and the value demands of users is the dynamic factor of value co-creation,and affects the formation of entrepreneurial opportunities.(2)Startups and users will form two kinds of path choices of value co-creation,including the path of jointly discovering entrepreneurial opportunities and jointly building entrepreneurial opportunities.Different types of user groups and the degree of resource integration are important factors affecting path selection.(3)With the successful development of entrepreneurial opportunities,start-ups and users have achieved value co-creation,promoting start-ups to gain competitive advantage and sustainable development,and obtaining perceived value for users.The contribution of this paper mainly include:(1)Constructing the mechanism of value co-creation from the perspective of entrepreneurial opportunity,which has novelty and practical guiding significance.(2)Expands the theory of entrepreneurial opportunity,take users as the main body of entrepreneurial opportunities,improve the theoretical construction of entrepreneurial opportunities jointly developed by start-ups and users in the digital economy.(3)Further open the black box of start-ups and users interaction for the development of entrepreneurial opportunities.