Value Co-Creation in Industrial Buyer-Seller Partnerships ... - Doria

4.5.2 Summing up the conceptual discussion on co-creation of valueThe reason why parties cooperate is that they are dependent on each other’ s resources andthe resources can only by utilized through cooperation (Håkansson & Prenkert 2004).The assumption of resource heterogeneity 10 and possession of heterogeneous resources isone of the cornerstones of the argumentation on interaction in the network view. Ascompanies possess heterogeneous resources it makes a difference with whom you interactand how you interact. Interacting with the partner with the resources that are most valuableand doing it in the most sensible way makes sense. No single resource is of any value if youcannot make use of it. So, interacting with the partner right partner and being able to use thepartners´resources in a meaningful way becomes key.The above reasoning leads to the following conclusion: when two companies possessheterogeneous resources it makes sense to interact in order to create something together,provided that the companies can make use of each other’ s resources in a meaningful way.The choice of value creating process for a specific relationship depends on the closure of theactivity system i.e. whether it is a buying/selling, producing/using, cooperative ornetworking activity system. Each activity system implies different logics for value creation.Value is created by exploiting different types of interdependencies in order to achieve eithera) efficiency in the exchange or b) a more effective use of each other’ s resources. Thefigure below illustrates the above reasoning. The positive trade off between benefits andsacrifices of involvement is argued to be a prerequisite for value co-creation potential in thisstudy, something that is also illustrated in the figure below.7810 Alderson (1957) originally brought forth the notion of marketing bringing together heterogeneous supply andheterogeneous demand. Thereafter this idea has been a basic assumption in a number of studies within industrialmarketing (Liljegren 1988, Hägg & Johanson (1982), Richardson (1972), Williamson (1973, 1975, 1980). Thediscussion on resource heterogeneity is one of theoretical building blocks of the IMP view on relationships andnetworks.