Beyond intermediaries: distributors’ dual roles in B2B value co-creation
Yong He, Guijun Zhuang, Sihan Li, Chao FengPurpose
More and more firms are inviting distributors to participate in business-to-business value co-creation, aiming to gain a competitive edge in the current business market. Based on the resource interaction and resource orchestration theory, this study aims to examine the mechanisms through which distributors’ two value co-creation behaviors – market information interaction and the new product development (NPD) interaction – enhance firm performance, while analyzing the differential interplay effects between these value co-creation behaviors and manufacturers’ capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors obtained 187 responses from manufacturers across multiple industries in China. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical moderated regressions are used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results suggest that, first, market information interaction and NPD interaction positively influence joint action, thereby enhancing firm performance. Second, digital capability attenuates the positive effect of market information interaction on joint action but amplifies the impact of NPD interaction. Third, market sensing capability strengthens the effect of market information interaction on joint action while reducing the influence of NPD interaction.
Originality/value
These findings provide new theoretical perspectives and insights into how distributor participation in value co-creation affects joint action and firm performance, and offer a theoretical framework to explain the differential effects between distributors’ value co-creation behaviors and manufacturers’ capability combinations.