Hoteliers’ service design for mobile-based value co-creation

Purpose: This study aims to investigate how hoteliers leverage mobile technologies to shape services that allow customers to create their own unique and personalized experiences. Design/methodology/approach: Guided by service-dominant logic and sociomateriality, this study analyzes hoteliers’ reasoning behind the design of mobile-based services through qualitative research. Data were collected from interviews with hotel managers representing best-practice companies in the industry. Findings: The findings provide a rich description of mobile-based value co-creation in the hotel context. They delineate hoteliers’ understanding of mobile technologies as a means to co-create value, their strategic considerations and the forms in which value is expected to be co-created. Research limitations/implications: This study unearths the new roles of hoteliers, unique forms of value co-creation and their underlying structures in the specific context of mobile-based value co-creation. Practical implications based on industry best practices are provided for hospitality companies seeking to innovate by co-creating value with customers using mobile technologies. Originality/value: This research paper contributes to the hospitality literature on IT-enabled service innovation and value co-creation by comprehensively explaining the underlying structure and design of co-created experiences facilitated by mobile-based services.