Abstract:

In the current market conditions, enterprises stopped competing with the product a long time ago. Building a competitive advantage is based on the creation of value for clients. This value varies depending on the needs of a given market segment, experience of clients and the relationship between the enterprise and consumers. Currently, clients more and more often become value co-creator. This increases the perceived attractiveness of products and positively influences the image of the manufacturer and the seller. This is connected with a more conscious behavior of consumers on the market and making purchase decision on the basis of social and ecological criteria, and not only criteria related to the functionality and aesthetics of the product. An increasing number of clients take into account the issues of environmental protection and care for local communities. Moreover, they evaluate the product in terms of its sustainability. Many clients do not limit themselves to the evaluation of a product or a service, but they want to have an impact on the creation of its value. The aim of this study is to emphasize the importance of the client in the process of value co-creating and the possibility of using this cooperation in building the enterprise’s competitive advantage. The literature review conducted in the first part of the work indicates that the attention is more often paid to the co-creation of value for the client from the point of view of the enterprise than from the point of view of the client (himself). This gives a significant area of research, which is mentioned in this study. The work presents an example regarding the co-creation of value by clients of online drugstores. The following parts of the study discuss the classic (Porter’s) approach to the creation of value, a marketing approach to the creation of value for the client with its implications and the process of co-creating by the enterprise and the client. The last part presents the above-mentioned exemplification of such co-creation of value with conclusions. The research methods include literature review method and case study.