Customer involvement in new service development: a conversational approach

Abstract

The expression “customer involvement” is finding increasing popularity with popular as well as academic marketing texts. Within the evolving research, customer involvement is cast in an information‐processing mould that tends to reduce it to the mere transfer of information from where it exists (customers) to where it is dearly needed (the firm). Customers' active participation is accounted for in economic psychological (contract) terms. Drawing on case study material gleaned from an organisation that adopted a customer involvement strategy, the present paper suggests a conversational approach that regards customers' active participation and involvement in terms of conversational exchanges between customers during which new ideas are jointly co‐created and commitment to action is established. Conversation is not only the fostering ground for new ideas and knowledge, but also the source of social agency. Some theoretical and practical implications of the conversation‐based customer‐firm interface for involving customers are discussed.