Conceptualizing the Value Co-Destruction Process for Service Systems: Literature Review and Synthesis

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Conceptualizing the Value Co-Destruction Process for Service Systems:
Literature Review and Synthesis
Juuli Lintula
University of Jyväskylä
juuli.m.k.lintula@jyu.fi
Tuure Tuunanen
University of Jyväskylä
tuure@tuunanen.fi
Markus Salo
University of Jyväskylä
markus.t.salo@jyu.fi
Abstract
This study conceptualizes the notion of value co-
destruction by reviewing and synthesizing the scattered
and scarce value co-destruction literature in interdis-
ciplinary fields. Building on our synthesis, we outline a
conceptual framework for the value co-destruction
process consisting of three interrelated categories of
key concepts. Our framework helps in identifying,
analyzing and rectifying unwanted outcomes of a ser-
vice process and highlighting the dynamic nature of
value co-destruction in service systems.
1. Introduction
An essential goal when studying products, services
and their design is to understand how value is formed.
Vargo and Lusch [1, 2] argue that the traditional
goods-centered view, in which value is produced non-
interactively without customer involvement, is expen-
sive, perishable and nonresponsive to changing cus-
tomer needs. They present a service-dominant (S-D)
logic, in which the customer, possessing different re-
sources in a specific context, becomes essentially in-
volved with the value creation process [1, 2] as an
active, well-informed and networked individual, aim-
ing to have an influence on the company’s functions by
no longer merely accepting value propositions [3].
Customers interplaying with producers in the design
and development of services, enables producers to gain
a profound insight into what creates value for custom-
ers [4]. The interplay ends with the customer defining
the final value in use in a service system [1], which
refers to a configuration of people, technologies and
other co-creation entities [5].
There has recently been debate about value co-
creation in a subversive way, and the notion of value
co-destruction has been introduced to the S-D logic
literature [6-8] as an interplay of service systems re-
sulting in a decline of well-being of at least one of the
parties involved [8]. Understanding value co-
destruction is important as it may increase costs, cus-
tomer loss, dissatisfaction and negative word of mouth
[35]. However, little research has addressed it [6-8],
and the notion remains unclear [8], which motivates
the purpose of this study: describing value co-
destruction behavior. This literature gap is addressed
by our research question (RQ1): How can value co-
destruction be conceptualized? We further elaborate
this with RQ2: What are the most centric and recur-
ring foci and concepts in the value co-destruction lit-
erature? The main goal of this study is to synthesize
the scattered research field of value co-destruction and
to develop a conceptual framework for the value co-
destruction process. The usefulness of such synthesis
and framework arises from guiding researchers to-
wards understanding the concept and dimensions of
value co-destruction. Furthermore, practitioners using
the framework can prevent unwanted outcomes of a
service process by steering and rectifying components
prone to value co-destruction.
We start in the following section by introducing the
concepts of value, value co-creation and value co-
destruction. In the next section, we introduce the re-
search method applied in our study. Section four pre-
sents our findings, upon which a conceptual framework
of value co-destruction is formed. We then conclude by
discussing theoretical and practical implications of our
study, followed by limitations and future research
ideas.
2. Background of S-D logic
2.1. Value
Often, value has been described as an outcome of a
trade-off, where benefits are pursued by sacrificing
resources [9], and a division has been made between
extrinsic and intrinsic value [10]. Use of information
systems (IS) has been categorized into two types: utili-
ty (extrinsic value), which stands for productivity-
oriented, such as monetary benefit-driven, use, and
hedonic (intrinsic value), which comprises pleasure-
oriented, e.g., enjoyment-driven, use [11]. Utilitarian
value represents functional and practical means to an
end, whereas hedonic values are the aspired toward end

themselves with characteristics of fun, novelty, aesthet-
ics and unexpectedness [12].
In the IS field it is argued that all IS need to provide
users with some level of both hedonic and utilitarian
value [13]. Here, the type of IS acts as a moderator: in
utility-centric IS, the needed level of proposed utilitari-
an value is fairly high compared to hybrid IS, in which
it is roughly even, or hedonic IS, which possess the
lowest need for utilitarian value. After the needed level
of utilitarian value is exceeded, the hedonic value be-
comes dominant and the driver of any type of IS [13].
In goods-dominant (G-D) logic, value consists of
two phases: first, value is created by the producer, and
second, value is consumed by the consumer [14, 15].
By contrast, Prahalad and Ramaswamy [16, 17] sug-
gest interactive customer-producer involvement leads
to cooperatively created value unique to the individual
customer. Thus, consumers should be regarded as co-
creators of experience or value [16] and consumer-
provider interaction the key to value co-creation [17].
2.2. Co-creation of value
Vargo and Lusch [1] introduced S-D logic to mar-
keting, positioning service as the foundation for the
exchange instead of value. Service refers to the action
of an entity benefiting itself or another entity [1, 15] by
co-creating value-in-use, which is explained as an
improvement in a system’s well-being measured by the
system’s ability to fit in to its environment [18]. Con-
sequently, the value of a service or a good only exists
through customers’ perceived contextual experiences
enabled by the service or the good [19].
Thus, S-D logic comprises companies delivering
customers value propositions, which they use to co-
create actual perceived value-in-use, which is always
subjective and contextual [20]. Value co-creation, as an
interactive process of parties co-creating value-in-use
by integrating their own and utilizing others’ resources
[22-24], is the key function of S-D logic. It is a service-
for-service exchange occurring between involved par-
ties, referred to as service systems, which are connect-
ed to each other by value propositions [18]. The goal of
this service process is for the involved entities to bene-
fit themselves and/or other entities involved by apply-
ing resources through particular interactive functions
[18]. The used resources are divided into a) operant
resources, which are tangible and substantial resources
being acted upon by b) operand resources, such as
knowledge and skills [21]. Value co-production, a sub-
notion of value co-creation, occurs when consumers
integrate resources in the production of the core offer-
ing of the service, e.g., design or development [20].
While value co-production may be an essential part of
co-creation of value, the co-creation process consists of
companies delivering consumers value propositions,
which customers use to co-create actual perceived
value-in-use on a broader time frame and thus which
cannot conceptually be limited solely to the co-
production of value [20].
Tuunanen et al. [22] have presented a conceptual
framework for the design of consumer information
systems explaining value co-creation as interaction
between particular system value propositions and cus-
tomer value drivers. The framework suggests that in
successful co-creation of value, the offerings of the
system are complemented by the value drivers of the
user, and that value co-creation in the context of IS use
occurs as an interplay between these two entities [22].
2.3. Absence of value co-destruction in S-D
logic literature
In S-D logic literature, “service” fundamentally has
an optimistic tone to it, and value is referred to in an
intrinsically positive manner [8, 25]. Engaging in inter-
active value creation processes is also mainly ex-
plained in an unproblematic way [7]. The literature,
however, overlooks potential negative consequences of
a failed or errored co-creation process [26], and the
notion of value co-destruction has not been thoroughly
discussed, leaving it unclear and undefined [7, 8]. Plé
and Chumpitaz Cáceres [8] state that since value can
be co-created, it is logical that the interaction process
between parties may also result in value co-destruction,
and thus, they introduce and coin the concept of value
co-destruction within the S-D logic framework.
Echeverri and Skålén [7], consistent with Plé and
Chumpitaz Cáceres [8], argue value co-creation in S-D
logic is an unrealistic conception. For instance, value
co-destruction can occur in a service encounter where a
bus driver informs customers regarding issues related
to service but one or both parties fail to understand or
pass on the message or keep relevant information to
themselves [7]. Some earlier studies have also implied
a negative side of value co-creation, or in other words,
value being co-destroyed [7, 8]. For example, Prahalad
and Ramaswamy [27] make a notion of the negative
side of value co-creation, remarking that not all inter-
actions between firms and customers are enjoyed or
end up being perceived positively by the customer.
Furthermore, there are implications of value co-
creation not always being the optimal function for both
parties involved, and some depictions are made of
circumstances under which no interaction is recom-
mended [28]. Also, value imbalance between the cus-
tomer and the provider and a devaluation process po-
tentially resulting in value diminishment have been
noted in the literature [19]. Etgar [29], in turn, has
described value co-production as a process costing all

involved parties something, highlighting the risk of the
customer aiming to minimize its own costs of interac-
tion and thus making the trade less worthwhile for the
firm. He implies value diminishes due to the aspect of
cost imbalance [29]. Consistent with the argument of
Plé and Chumpitaz Cáceres [8], Echeverri and Skålén
[7] further argue that interactive value formation not
only occurs as value co-creation but also as value co-
destruction.
Later on, authors from various fields have, with
empirical studies, also supported the notion of value
co-destruction and it being as feasible an outcome of
an interaction process as value co-creation [30-37, 47,
51, 55, 57, 70, 71]. In the IS literature, early signs of
both value creation and destruction are depicted
through appearances of irrational behavior in IS devel-
opment [38] and destructive behavior referred to as
“the dark side,” such as theft, sabotage and deception,
in IS projects [39, 40]. Vartiainen and Tuunanen [6]
state there is a lack of previous research discussing the
negative consequences of design and possible negative
occurrences during the value co-creation process, plac-
ing particular interest in studying it in the context of IS
artifacts.
While researchers have recognized the notion of
value co-destruction, the research still remains at an
infant and scattered stage, calling to be synthetized and
conceptualized in a framework as proposed in this
study.
3. Research method
To synthesize value co-destruction literature and
develop a conceptual framework, we conducted a liter-
ature review selecting relevant literature through seven
steps (Table 1) and keyword searches in interdiscipli-
nary databases: ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Emerald In-
sight and Google Scholar. Relevant articles were found
in service science, marketing, management, IS, tourism
and sports management fields. In the first search in
ProQuest (step 1), 151 articles were found with the
keyword “co-destruction,” some addressing nonrele-
vant topics, such as chemistry or astronomy, where-
upon the keywords “value” and “service” were added
to the search to specify the context of the results.
The performed searches in four different databases
(steps 2-5) with the keywords “co-destruction,” “ser-
vice” and “value” returned 68 + 47 + 197 + 474 arti-
cles. All retrieved articles were assessed according to
the following inclusion criteria: 1) The article focuses
on studying value co-destruction (primary articles) or
2) The article presents occurrences of value co-
destruction (secondary articles). Of the retrieved arti-
cles, 15 met the criterion 1 and 14 the criterion 2.
After steps 2-5, references and citation indexes of
articles included by criterion 1 were assessed to find
relevant articles going backward and forward with the
same criteria (1 and 2). Two articles were added to the
selection in this phase, both by criterion 1. Finally, a
total of 31 articles were included in the review (17
articles by criterion 1 and 14 by criterion 2) (Table 1).
When analyzing the selected articles, our analysis
was based on the primary articles that met criterion 1:
we took extensive notes for each article in spreadsheet
format and discussed them among the authors. We
assessed the articles by their contexts, theories, meth-
ods, findings and the key concepts arising from pre-
sented explanations, predictions and outcomes of value
co-destruction. These notes and assessments were
backed up with the secondary articles that met criterion
2. Based on our extensive notes, handwritten memos
and discussions, we arranged the key concepts into
three overlapping dimensions (orientation, resources
and perceptions) and their components. Finally, by
arranging the components in the dimensions temporal-
ly according to their appearance in a service encounter,
we formed a conceptual framework.
Table 1. Literature review process.
Step 1: Broad search in ProQuest covering all
ProQuest p ublications. Keyword search: “co-
destruction” in “All text.” Results: 151. Variation
from nat ural to social sciences.
1) *
2) *
Step 2: Refining the keyword search of ProQuest
publications for the context of service-dominant
logic. Keyword search: “co-destruction,” “value”
and “service” in “All text.” Articles found: 68.
Selecting most relevant articles by criteria 1 and 2.
9
2
Step 3: Search in EBSCOhost covering all databases.
Keyword search : “co -destruction,” “value” and
“service” in “Anywhere.” Articles found: 47. Select-
ing most relevant articles by criteria 1 and 2.
10
5
Step 4: Search in Emerald Insight covering all
Emerald Insight c ontent . Key word search: “co -
destruction,” “value” and “service” in “Anywhere.”
Article s foun d: 197. Select ing mo st relevant articles
by criteria 1 and 2.
4
0
Step 5: Search in Google Scho lar. Keyword search:
“co-destruction” + “value” + “service” in “Any-
where.” Articl es fou nd: 474. Selecting most relevant
articles by criteria 1 and 2.
15
13
Step 6: Backward and forward reviewing of cita-
tions. Reviewing of the citations in articles selected
in previous steps and searching in Google Scholar
for articles citing articles selected by criterion 1 in
previous steps. Selecting relevant articles by criteria
1 and 2.
2
0
Step 7: Combining overlapping articles from steps
2-6.
17
14
Sum of rev iewed ar ticles: 3 1.
* Criteria: 1) The article focuses on studying value co-destruction.
2) The article presents oc currences of value co-destruction.
Selected
articles and
criteria:

4. Findings: framework for value co-
destruction process for service systems
Recurring value co-destruction components, such
as concepts, phrases, foci, similarities and differences,
are acknowledged in this review. The key components
of value co-destruction are tabulated in a concept-
centric [41] manner and categorized into three interre-
lated dimensions. These results are presented in Figure
1. The three overlapping dimensions of the framework,
Orientation, Resources and Perceptions, all have com-
ponents, which appear at different temporal points:
before, during and/or after the service process.
Orientation in our categorization includes inten-
tions and goals, which evolve throughout and after the
service process. In the Resources dimension, value co-
destruction may originate from lack of resources, po-
tentially leading to misuse and/or loss of resources
during the service process, which then may lead to
attempts to restore lost resources after the interaction
process. The Perceptions dimension sets prior expecta-
tions in a triggering role for value co-destruction. For
instance, perceived incongruence of applied practices
during service use may originate from inconsistencies
in expectations of the interacting parties. Unrealistic
prior expectations may also lead to insufficient per-
ceived value and value contradictions during service
use and after. The components are interrelated and may
occur linearly as well as inter-dimensionally and in
retroactive loops. For instance, lack of resources, such
as knowledge or access to information, may compound
unrealistic expectations, and the attempt to restore
resources may trigger a new retroactive value co-
destruction loop. The proposed framework (Figure 2)
categorizes value co-destruction dimensions and com-
ponents, hence, explaining the phenomenon of value
co-destruction. Contents of each dimension—
orientation, resources and perceptions—are next re-
viewed one by one.
4.1. Orientation
4.1.1. Goals and intentions. Plé and Chumpitaz Cáce-
res [8] state value co-destruction may result from an
accidental or intentional misuse of resources in an
interaction process between service systems; thus,
value co-destruction may be intended or unintended.
Unintentional value co-destruction occurs when in-
tended value co-creation accidentally results in dimin-
ishment of a system’s well-being. Intentional value co-
destruction, in turn, refers to a service system inten-
tionally misusing resources in order to gain more bene-
fit—described as well-being—and capacity for adap-
tiveness for itself, to the detriment of those of another
system [8]. Intentions to co-destroy or not to co-create
value [8, 23, 36, 49, 50, 63], opportunism or deviancy
[37, 47-49, 51-54, 56], and changes in intentions [31,
35, 48, 55-57] are implied to herald value co-
destruction in the literature.
Kashif and Zarkada [47] state “intentional misuse is
the existence of deliberate value imbalances.” Fur-
thermore, Vartiainen and Tuunanen [6] state value is
co-destroyed both knowingly and unknowingly in the
context of technology-assisted geocaching, in which
some participants are aware, while others are unaware,
of the negative value effect of their actions while pur-
suing positive value. For instance, a geocacher may
experience nature at its purest while consuming it at
the same time [6].
Ertimur and Venkatesh [48] argue deliberate oppor-
tunistic behavior in co-production of value is mainly
driven by incongruence of goals under the conditions
of information asymmetry or social disagreement. For
instance, if an automobile producer engages consumers
Figure 1. Results of the literature review.
Figure 2. Framework for value co-
destruction process for service systems.

to co-production of commercial online video material
aiming to develop a particular brand image, the in-
volved consumers may have incongruent goals in en-
gaging and actually use the opportunity to promote
their own agenda, such as environmental activism [48].
There is information asymmetry as the provider cannot
know if a consumer’s agenda is conflicted with their
own goals, which could lead to value co-destructive
outcomes in form of i.e. brand image weakening.
The evolution of the service process is often unpre-
dictable as well as conflicted [57] and opportunism is
found to occur in interactions when it is or becomes
profitable and feasible [48]. Echeverri and Skålén [7]
depict four subject positions, orientating roles that
actors step into in the course of the service interaction.
Subject positions portray orientations of parties and
may change from creative to destructive or vice versa
causing mixed service processes [7]. Along with a
destructive change of the subject position, a coherent
value co-creation praxis changes into reductive value
co-formation, where the ultimate outcome is co-
destructive [7]. Reductive value co-formation occurred,
for instance, when a public transportation driver first
aimed to co-create value welcoming a customer on
board, followed a value co-destructing reply from the
customer complaining loudly about the bus not being
on schedule. This also made the bus driver talk back to
the customer in an unprofessional and co-destructive
manner [7]. Von Becker et al. [57] conclude that the
relationship between co-creative and co-destructive
behaviors is dynamic, and based on evidence of a stud-
ied consulting situation, individual actors involved in
the service interaction lack control over the collectively
formed value regardless of individual intentions [57].
4.2. Resources
4.2.1. Lack of resources. Value co-creation is a re-
source integration process, which requires resource
inputs from both parties involved. In case one or both
service systems lack resources, such as time or skills to
engage in value co-creation, the process may fail, re-
sulting in diminishment of well-being for one or both
parties [8, 63]. Also, lack of provided information,
such as poor quality of communication between par-
ties, may appear as lack of resources in a value co-
formation process [34, 51]. Consistent with this, Kashif
and Zarkada [47] state that involving consumers in the
production process increasingly leads to accidental
value co-destruction because consumers lack sufficient
knowledge to successfully take part in the process. For
instance, Robertson et al. [34] studied value co-
destruction in the context of online self-diagnosis and
discovered value is co-destructed by both the provider
and the user due to initial lack of resources. Consumers
using self-diagnosis websites often couldn’t compre-
hend the provided information due to lack of resources,
such as sufficient medical knowledge, and secondly,
providers often lacked resources to provide users with
complete and understandable information [34]. Due to
initial lack of such resources, false and incomprehensi-
ble self-diagnoses occurred with a negative impact on
customers’ well-being, and thus, value was co-
destructed in the interactions [34].
4.2.2. Misuse and non-integration of resources.
Plé and Chumpitaz Cáceres [8] argue value co-
destruction occurs due to the misuse of available re-
sources in the interaction process between service
systems, and such misuse of resources as a manifesta-
tion of value co-destruction has also been supported by
other studies [25, 33-35, 37, 48-51, 53, 56, 58]. Plé and
Chumpitaz Cáceres [8] place the concept of value
destruction-through-misuse in the S-D logic frame-
work opposite to value-in-use, as an outcome of a
service system misusing its own or another service
system’s resources or different service systems both
misusing their own and/or each other’s resources. The
misuse results in value co-destruction for at least one
service system and is explained as at least one of them
failing to integrate or apply the available operant and
operand resources in an appropriate or expected way
from the perspective of the other service system [8].
For example, a web store company co-destructed value
by promising and failing to home deliver a purchased
laptop on a specific date and time. The company co-
destructed value by misusing their own technology
resources (delivery system) costing the customer re-
sources such as temporal, material and financial [35].
Consequently, misuse referring to resource integration,
Plé [23] adopts the term misintegration for the action.
An intentional choice not to collaborate may also
lead to non-integration of resources [23]: for example,
the online diagnosis service user experiencing lack of
essential knowledge on how to search for medical
information with correct terminology, could decide to
stop using the service (non-integrate), which would
result in value co-destruction for the customer in form
of not gaining expected information of the service use.
4.2.3. Loss of resources. As engaging in a value co-
creation process may require an investment of a high
amount of resources, customers’ value perceptions may
be impacted in a negative way [59]. Drawing on COR
theory [44, 45] Smith [35] suggests gain and loss of
individual resources, such as material, condition, self
and energies, link to well-being and can also help in
acquiring other resources, such as social status, self-
esteem or transportation. Expectations are in a key role
when it comes to the perceived loss of resources [35,

44, 60] and thus, value co-destruction [35]. For in-
stance, a customer engaging in co-production of a
service design process is expecting to be investing
resources, such as time and knowledge, to the project
and on the other hand, receiving other resources, such
as networking or access to use of the designed product.
If expected resources are not gained or the expected
loss of resources is exceeded, value co-destruction
occurs [35]. From the customer point of view, loss of
resources (value co-destruction) would occur in four
scenarios: 1) the provider is unexpectedly not able to
fulfill the expected resource offer, 2) expected re-
sources are not gained, 3) customer loses more re-
sources than expected or 4) “A combination of the
above” [35].
4.2.3. Attempt to restore resources. The outcome of a
value co-destructive service process can be seen as
primary loss of resources experienced by at least one of
the service systems [35]. After perceiving unexpected
loss of resources, a service system may deliberately
take on negative intentions and engage in co-
destructive actions as an attempt to restore lost re-
sources, which may then lead to secondary loss of
resources for one or multiply service systems involved
[35]. For instance, a customer using an online food
ordering service and not receiving her order on time
due to a system failure, experiences loss of resources
such as monetary, time and self-efficacy. This may
lead to taking on coping mechanisms [35, 47], such as
complaining directly and badmouthing the company to
other consumers in angry Twitter messages, in order to
regain resources, such as monetary and other compen-
sation and peer support. This action may result in sec-
ondary resource loss [35] for the company (loss of
reputation) and the customer (loss of time), yet, the
customer may also be able to regain resources, such as
self-efficacy, monetary and peer support [35]. Plé
suggests the process is dynamic and consists of retro-
active process loops, value co-destruction and co-
creation being steps on the way toward the final out-
come, which may be co-creative or co-destructive [23].
4.3. Perceptions
4.3.1. Expectations. Service encounters are co-
creation entities, where in order to co-create value,
parties must meet or exceed each other’s expectations
[62]. Hence, if both parties’ needs are not fulfilled, the
attempt of co-creation fails in a deficit, and value co-
destruction occurs [36]. One of the service systems not
receiving the expected value of the service encounter
(the other party failing to play the expected role) may
lead to intentional misbehavior and value co-
destruction [47]. Hence, the adequate level of co-
created value in a service encounter is defined through
expectations [35], and whether the expected outcome is
reached or not may define if value is co-created or co-
destroyed [8]. Multiple studies imply a party in a ser-
vice encounter has expectations of the nature or the
level of the other party’s actions or the service outcome
[7, 23, 25, 30, 49-51, 53]. From one service system’s
point of view, an inappropriate or unexpected way of
another system integrating and applying available
resources can result in the concept of value destruc-
tion-through-misuse for the service system [7, 8].
Smith [35] suggests that value co-destruction occurs
even when the pursued enhancement of well-being has
not been quite fully met, as the expected increase of
well-being, such as expected pleasure of service use,
remains unachieved, but invested resources, such as
time spent on using the service, are lost.
4.3.2. Insufficient perceived value. Perceived value is
linked to prior experiences and expectations based on
them, and consequently, individual actors engaging in
a service interaction, expect a certain value dimension
to be met based on their experience [36]. The expected
level of service not being met [36], and non-preferred
value being co-created [30, 65] during service use
could lead to value co-destruction. Such value co-
destruction could occur for instance, when a bank
customer hoping to open a new bank account was
asked to wait for more than two hours in order to get
the absent manager to sign a form and thereby submit
the application [47]. Such situation could end in the
customer having the account opened, but not in the
expected time frame, which would lead to insufficient
co-created value and ultimately, value co-destruction.
4.3.3. Incongruence of practices. Echeverri and
Skålén [7] draw on practice theory stating interactive
value formation – either value co-creation or co-
destruction – proceeds from the actions of service
systems drawing upon congruent or incongruent ele-
ments of practices. Drawing on Schau et al. [64], they
depict three such elements of practices: 1) Procedures,
2) Understandings, and 3) Engagements, which are
drawn upon according to prior conceptions, and when
such conceptions of practitioners are incongruent,
value is co-destroyed [7]. For example, a bus driver
greeting a customer in an overly cheerful manner may
have a co-destructive effect as the greeting may not
have been adapted to the sensitive personal situation of
the customer. This occurrence would translate to value
co-destruction through drawing on incongruent en-
gagements [7]. Inversely, a process of practitioners
drawing on congruent procedures, understandings and
engagements leads to value co-creative outcomes [7,
54].

4.3.4. Contradictions of value. According to Plé
and Chumpitaz Cáceres [8], the process of value co-
destruction may lead to differential results for separate
service systems, and the level of co-destructed value
resulting from the interactional process may not be the
same for all systems involved. Value is measured by
the system’s ability to adapt to the environment [19];
thus, value being co-destructed may lead to different
service systems fitting differentially into their envi-
ronments, and for one service system, the interaction
may co-create value-in-use, while for the other, it may
cause value destruction-through-misuse [8]. For exam-
ple, this was what happened with audience dissipation
in relation to the America’s Next Top Model show [32],
where the self-branding efforts of the participants of
the television show resulted in contradictions in per-
ceived value by the television viewers. Contradictions
in value co-creation outcomes can be interpreted from
findings and discussions of some reviewed articles [51,
65, 66] and a duality in value co-formation has been
recognized [8, 32, 66]. For instance, football hooligan-
ism could be converted into commercial opportunities,
achieving value co-creative outcomes from value co-
destructive process attempts [66].
Echeverri and Skålén [7] argue that a value co-
formation process can consist of both value co-creation
and co-destruction. They depict four types of praxis
through which value either forms or diminishes in an
interactive service process: 1) Reinforcing value co-
creation, 2) Recovery value co-creation, 3) Reductive
value co-formation and 4) Reinforcing value co-
destruction [7]. Reinforcing value co-creation and
Reinforcing value co-destruction are coherent in their
value formation processes, as Recovery value co-
creation and Reductive value-co-creation offer a mixed
process view. A mixed process begins with practition-
ers either drawing on congruent or incongruent ele-
ments of practices, followed by an alteration to contra-
dictory drawings, and thus leading an initially co-
creative process to co-destructive outcomes or vice
versa. However, according to Echeverri and Skålén [7],
regardless of the nature of the process, the outcome
cannot be contradictory, as it always results either in
value co-creation or co-destruction [7].
Vartiainen and Tuunanen [6] introduce the topic of
value co-destruction to IS literature and, inconsistent
with Echeverri and Skålén [7], discover simultaneous
value co-creation and value co-destruction, identifying
two poles in the results of the studied IS artifact of
geocaching. They apply the concept of contradictions
identifying four contradictive results, finding that both
the value creation pole and the value destruction pole
exist in an interactive value formation process, and that
value can be co-destroyed while positive value is pur-
sued [6]. For instance, geocachers’ values of socializ-
ing and strong sense of community can contradict with
the game’s premise of being competitive. Contradicto-
ry outcomes of value co-formation are explained by the
link between the IS artifact’s sub-systems enabling
simultaneous co-creating and co-destructing of value.
It is discovered that an IS artifact may be inherently
contradictory, and “through differentiation and integra-
tion, both poles reinforce each other, and through de-
velopment of links, it is possible to create solutions for
practical conflicts and eruptions” [6].
5. Implications and concluding remarks
This study contributes by addressing the scarce and
scattered value co-destruction literature by conducting
a review of 31 articles and developing a conceptual
framework for the value co-destruction process for
service systems (see Table 1 and Fig. 1). As an answer
to our research questions, we synthesized the literature,
revealing value co-destruction as an important yet
recently discovered phenomenon lacking versatile
empirical research and consensus as well as distin-
guishing recurring concepts and foci of the phenome-
non and its dimensions.
We divided the key concepts and foci into three in-
terrelated dimensions: orientation (goals and inten-
tions), resources (lack, misuse, non-integration and loss
of resources and attempt to restore resources) and per-
ceptions (expectations, incongruence of applied prac-
tices, insufficient perceived value and contradictions of
value), and examined their properties in relation to
time. As a result, we were able to present a preliminary
and conceptual framework of the value co-destruction
process for service systems (see Fig. 2). Our synthesis
and conceptual framework are particularly useful in
this early phase of value co-destruction research be-
cause they relate the first, relatively fragmented studies
to each other.
As for theoretical implications, our study extends
the prior knowledge by presenting a literature review
and a conceptualization of value co-destruction for S-D
logic. To our knowledge, this is an original contribu-
tion, as value co-destruction has not been conceptual-
ized this way in prior literature. With our study, we
aim to provide researchers a tool—the framework (Fig.
2)—to understand the dimensions and central compo-
nents of value co-destruction. Furthermore, our frame-
work particularly highlights the dynamic nature of
value co-destruction: there are crucial differences in
how value co-destruction is shaped regarding the dif-
ferent temporal dimensions of the interaction process
(before, in use, after). This can be applied, for exam-
ple, within the different temporal phases of a service

process to investigate differences in what kind of atten-
tion is needed to support co-creation of value.
In addition to the theoretical contribution of con-
ceptualizing value co-destruction, this study also aims
to give firms and service designers important insights
on the value co-destructive side of the interactive ser-
vice process in order for them to identify and avoid the
worst pitfalls. Understanding the potential of value co-
destruction is important in order to identify, analyze
and rectify unwanted outcomes of a service process [8]
in a similar way that it is fundamental to competitive-
ness to gain profound insights on creating value for and
co-creating value with customers [4]. We see that our
conceptual framework can help practitioners who de-
sign and implement services in channeling attention to
specific components such as user expectations [8] and
value perceptions [35], that are especially vulnerable to
value co-destruction. By taking notice of the varied
risks of co-creation practices before, after and during
the course of a service encounter, a number of pitfalls
could be avoided. For example, ensuring users receive
sufficient prior information of the offering, time frame
and requirements of the service and providing access to
sufficient information during use may increase congru-
ence of practices and reduce negative outcomes of the
service process. Such actions may prevent service
providers from losing their customers and suffering
from negative word of mouth.
There are certain limitations related to this study.
First, the article acquisition completed by a keyword
search limits this study because some potentially rele-
vant articles may recognize the studied phenomenon
but use different terminology than that of S-D logic
and value co-destruction. Second, articles studying the
problems and challenges of value co-creation may
offer additional contributions to the literature of value
co-destruction but were excluded from this review as a
result of the outlining of the data acquisition to the
keywords “co-destruction,” “value” and “service.”
Third, some critical viewpoints to value co-creation
(e.g., the ethics of consumer exploitation) have been
taken in marketing literature, such as [67-69]. Finally,
the method of selecting and categorizing key compo-
nents to develop a conceptual framework is by nature
subjective and interpretative and thus limits this study.
While literature discussing co-destruction of value
is scattered and lacking versatile empirical studies, we
recognize that some noteworthy viewpoints remain
unaddressed. This sets an arena for future studies.
Some questions remain with respect to our framework,
for instance, how interrelated the categories and com-
ponents are when it comes to the process of value co-
destruction. For instance, the perceptions and resources
categories were highly related, as prior expectations
defined the acceptable loss of resources during a ser-
vice encounter [35]. More research is therefore needed
to strengthen our framework by studying whether some
of the components are more dominant than others,
cross-affecting each other, or if some of the compo-
nents can be more easily rectified than the others. Fu-
ture studies could also take a one-component-centric
approach, studying thoroughly the relations of a specif-
ic component, such as lack of resources, to all other
components.
Our conceptual framework can benefit future re-
search and practitioners in piecing together factors
causing co-destruction in service encounters and de-
termining significant temporal points for rectifying
actions. Analyzing value co-formation processes using
our framework may help in breaking down dimensions
of value co-destruction. For instance, value co-
destruction in IS use could be observed through a spe-
cific category (orientation, resources or perceptions),
and relations between categories could be studied in
order to find which category and components are most
likely to drive negative outcomes in different contexts,
user groups or types of IS. Through empirical studies,
categories could also be ranked by their effects on
value co-formation (from most to least likely to in-
crease co-destructive outcomes). Consequently, an
amplified and interrelated framework of value co-
destruction could be built in order to provide system
designers correcting guidelines for avoiding co-
destruction of value among users of varied groups,
contexts or system types.
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