How to create more customer value in independent shops: A set-theoretic approach to value creation

The purpose of this essay is to study different pathways to high customer episode/relationship values using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) based on 93 cases of customers who visited independent coffee shops in South China. The results demonstrate that a high level of episode/relationship value can be produced through multiple configurations of a customer’s personal characteristics, value co-creation behaviours, and employee citizenship behaviours toward the customer. The key conclusions indicate that, to achieve a high episode value, employee citizenship behaviours toward customers (OCB-C) are key factors, and customers’ citizenship behaviours (CCB) and/or OCB-C are essential to producing high relationship values. In addition, high agreeableness, high openness, and low conscientiousness play important roles in achieving a high level of episode/relationship value. This study contributes to the advancement of the value co-creation theory by providing configurational insights.