ABSTRACT

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the power and interest of independent intermediaries in co-creation activities. More specifically, the study investigates the role of independent financial advisers (IFAs) in co-creation activities and identifies how their power and interest can be used to determine their level of involvement in co-creating innovation of new products and services in the financial services sector.

Methodology/Approach: A case study research method was employed for this study. The case study focuses on Provider XYZ, one of the largest UK-based financial services institutions. The sources of data used for the research were Provider XYZ’s market research reports aimed at customers and IFAs, interviews with nine of Provider XYZ’s Senior Marketing Managers and employees, interviews with nine IFAs who conducted business with Provider XYZ, and a discussion with nine of Provider XYZ’s customers who have a relationship with an IFA.

Findings: The findings of this study identify that independent intermediaries, such as IFAs, have a significant influence on the end customers’ view on financial services brands and they partially construct the provider’s brand value which is perceived and received by the end customers. Based on the power and interest of IFAs in the potential innovation propositions, IFAs can be classified into four categories: Recipient (Segment A), Consultant (Segment B), Guardian (Segment C) and Co-creator (Segment D).

Implications: The findings of the study provide evidence for both academics and practitioners that not all stakeholders can be involved in co-creation activities. To ensure the effectiveness of co-creation activities, it is important to assess the level of stakeholders’ power, which indicates the strength of relationship and influence on providers, and their interest in co-creation activities. The co-creator power/interest matrix proposed in this paper can be used to identify viable co-creating partners in an organization’s relationship network.

Originality: This study contributes to the existing literature by proposing a co-creator power/interest matrix, which can be used to determine the level involvement of intermediaries and other stakeholders’ in co-creating innovation.

摘要

目的：本文旨在探讨独立中介人在共同创造活动中的力量和兴趣。更具体地说，该研究调查了独立财务顾问（IFA）在共同创造活动中的作用，并确定了如何利用其力量和兴趣来确定他们参与共同创造金融服务中新产品和服务创新的程度。部门。

方法/方法：本研究采用案例研究方法。该案例研究的重点是提供商XYZ，这是英国最大的金融服务机构之一。用于研究的数据源包括针对客户和IFA的XYZ提供者市场研究报告，与XYZ九名高级营销经理和员工进行的访谈，与XYZ开展业务的九位IFA的访谈以及与九家XYZ进行的讨论与IFA有关系的XYZ客户。

结果：这项研究的结果表明，独立中介机构（例如IFA）对最终客户对金融服务品牌的看法有重大影响，并且它们部分地构建了最终客户感知和接受的提供商的品牌价值。根据IFA在潜在创新主张中的力量和兴趣，IFA可以分为四类：收件人（A段），顾问（B段），监护人（C段）和共同创建者（D段）。

启示：研究结果为学者和实践者提供了证据，即并非所有利益相关者都可以参与共同创造活动。为了确保联合创作活动的有效性，重要的是评估利益相关者的权力水平，这表明了关系的强度和对提供者的影响，以及他们对联合创作活动的兴趣。本文提出的共同创造者力量/兴趣矩阵可用于识别组织关系网络中可行的共同创造伙伴。

独创性：本研究通过提出共同创建者的权力/利益矩阵为现有文献做出了贡献，该矩阵可用于确定中间人和其他利益相关者共同创造创新的水平。