The Co-Creation Paradigm
Venkat Ramaswamy and Kerimcan Ozcan
Imprint: Stanford Business Books
April 2014
360 Pages
Hardcover ISBN: 9780804789158
Ebook ISBN: 9780804790758
A fundamental shift is underway that will change how we conceive of value. In an era of increasing interconnectedness, individuals, as opposed to institutions, stand at the center of value creation. To adapt to this tectonic shift, organizations can no longer unilaterally devise products and services. They must engage stakeholders—from customers and employees to suppliers, partners, and citizens at large—as co-creators.
Co-creation guru Venkat Ramaswamy and Kerimcan Ozcan call for enterprises to be mindful of lived experiences, to build engagement platforms and management systems that are designed for creative collaboration, and to develop "win more-win more" strategies that enhance our wealth, welfare, and, well-being. Richly illustrated with examples of co-creation in action, The Co-Creation Paradigm provides a blueprint for the co-creative enterprise, economy, and society, while presenting a conceptual framework that will guide organizations across sectors in adopting this transformational approach. Challenging some of our most deeply held ideas about business and value, this book outlines the future of "business as usual."
"[W]hat does Professor Ramaswamy's third book, The Co-creation Paradigm, written with Kerimcan Ozca, have to offer strategists . . .? The short answer: an abundance of fresh insights and cases that are especially useful in the emerging era of social business!"—Robert DeFillippi, Strategy & Leadership
"Throughout the book's ten chapters, the authors offer timely, excellent insight into the managerial renaissance of worldwide companies, along with practical guidelines that saliently illustrate the impact of networking and global connectivity on the traditional paradigms of organizational culture and strategic leadership . . . Recommended."—S. R. Kahn, CHOICE
"Firms are no longer the center of value creation, which now pivots around around the human experience, interactions, and platforms of engagement. The Co-Creation Paradigm is a multi-layered view of strategy that opens up new insights and points toward profits that are not attainable using conventional tools."—Venki Rajah, Vice President of Infrastructure Insight, Oracle Corporation
"Creating and maintaining a competitive advantage is a race towards an ever moving target. Co-creation is the latest lever to get ahead by involving business partners, directly drawing upon their skills and efforts. Doing this requires a new business paradigm, which is well captured in Ramaswamy and Ozcan's practical and inspiring book."—Hans Læssøe, Senior Director, Strategic Risk Management, The LEGO Group
"The Co-creation Paradigm represents the next wave of strategic marketing and management. We need to train our students and re-train our executives to think in terms of co-creation and platform building. Inviting all stakeholders to co-create our business will lead to competitive insights and advantages that are unimaginable in traditional companies."—Philip Kotler, Northwestern University and author of Market Your Way to Growth: Eight Ways to Win.
"As a sequel to The Future of Competition and The Power of Co-Creation, Venkat Ramaswamy and co-author Kerimcan Ozcan provide a compelling case of how companies who engage customers and develop an ecosystem of capabilities transform value creation in R&D, supply chains, and marketing to create sustainable competitive advantage."—Professor Jagdish N. Sheth, Charles Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Emory University
"The Co-creation Paradigm is an important read for those who are interested in the consequences of co-creation. It shows how co-creation is changing the agenda for how to run our organizations—which deeply involves how we relate to other organizations, groups, and customers. The authors provide compelling cases and examples throughout that highlight pertinent concerns for practitioners and academics alike."—Rex Degnegaard, Assistant Professor, Copenhagen Business School
"Patients nowadays are connected and networked in ways that were unthinkable a decade ago. Allowing the patient to co-construct medical solutions to suit their conditions, symptoms, level of comfort, and experience with specific medications should be the aspiration of every pharmaceutical company. Yet, health systems and authorities need a roadmap for co-creating value. Venkat Ramaswamy and Kerimcan Ozcan show us the way."—Humberto C. Antunes, President & CEO, Galderma S.A.
"Building collective knowledge with stakeholders is no longer a privilege, but a must for organizations to survive in complex environments. The Co-Creation Paradigm presents the foundation for this thinking, and the concepts and tools to make it happen. Working co-creatively with the Brazilian public sector has showed me this is the only way forward."—Paulo Fresneda, President's Advisor, Brazilian Agricultural Economic Development
"In the last decade, we began to recognize that firm-centric organizations are losing ground, and a new way of co-creating value is taking hold. Paradigm shifts are necessarily slow revolutions. But, this book neatly synthesizes all that we know today about co-creation, while showing the way forward in the next generation of value creation. Whether you want to build a co-creative enterprise, or are intellectually curious about the shifting world of business, this book is for you."—S. Sivakumar, Group Head - Agri & IT Businesses, ITC Limited
"We are no longer in an information age. We are in an age of networked intelligence. The Internet gives us access not only to information, but also to the wisdom of people around the world. In this environment, trying to create value in isolation isn't sustainable. Porous organizations outperform those that are insular. And, companies co-create maximum value through creative collaboration with customers, business partners, employees, citizens, and other stakeholders. Ramaswamy and Ozcan provide guidelines for and rich examples of this new normal."—Don Tapscott, co-author of Macrowikinomics
"Throughout the book's ten chapters, the authors offer timely, excellent insight into the managerial renaissance of worldwide companies, along with practical guidelines that saliently illustrate the impact of networking and global connectivity on the traditional paradigms of organizational culture and strategic leadership . . . Recommended."—S. R. Kahn, CHOICE
"Firms are no longer the center of value creation, which now pivots around around the human experience, interactions, and platforms of engagement. The Co-Creation Paradigm is a multi-layered view of strategy that opens up new insights and points toward profits that are not attainable using conventional tools."—Venki Rajah, Vice President of Infrastructure Insight, Oracle Corporation
"Creating and maintaining a competitive advantage is a race towards an ever moving target. Co-creation is the latest lever to get ahead by involving business partners, directly drawing upon their skills and efforts. Doing this requires a new business paradigm, which is well captured in Ramaswamy and Ozcan's practical and inspiring book."—Hans Læssøe, Senior Director, Strategic Risk Management, The LEGO Group
"The Co-creation Paradigm represents the next wave of strategic marketing and management. We need to train our students and re-train our executives to think in terms of co-creation and platform building. Inviting all stakeholders to co-create our business will lead to competitive insights and advantages that are unimaginable in traditional companies."—Philip Kotler, Northwestern University and author of Market Your Way to Growth: Eight Ways to Win.
"As a sequel to The Future of Competition and The Power of Co-Creation, Venkat Ramaswamy and co-author Kerimcan Ozcan provide a compelling case of how companies who engage customers and develop an ecosystem of capabilities transform value creation in R&D, supply chains, and marketing to create sustainable competitive advantage."—Professor Jagdish N. Sheth, Charles Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Emory University
"The Co-creation Paradigm is an important read for those who are interested in the consequences of co-creation. It shows how co-creation is changing the agenda for how to run our organizations—which deeply involves how we relate to other organizations, groups, and customers. The authors provide compelling cases and examples throughout that highlight pertinent concerns for practitioners and academics alike."—Rex Degnegaard, Assistant Professor, Copenhagen Business School
"Patients nowadays are connected and networked in ways that were unthinkable a decade ago. Allowing the patient to co-construct medical solutions to suit their conditions, symptoms, level of comfort, and experience with specific medications should be the aspiration of every pharmaceutical company. Yet, health systems and authorities need a roadmap for co-creating value. Venkat Ramaswamy and Kerimcan Ozcan show us the way."—Humberto C. Antunes, President & CEO, Galderma S.A.
"Building collective knowledge with stakeholders is no longer a privilege, but a must for organizations to survive in complex environments. The Co-Creation Paradigm presents the foundation for this thinking, and the concepts and tools to make it happen. Working co-creatively with the Brazilian public sector has showed me this is the only way forward."—Paulo Fresneda, President's Advisor, Brazilian Agricultural Economic Development
"In the last decade, we began to recognize that firm-centric organizations are losing ground, and a new way of co-creating value is taking hold. Paradigm shifts are necessarily slow revolutions. But, this book neatly synthesizes all that we know today about co-creation, while showing the way forward in the next generation of value creation. Whether you want to build a co-creative enterprise, or are intellectually curious about the shifting world of business, this book is for you."—S. Sivakumar, Group Head - Agri & IT Businesses, ITC Limited
"We are no longer in an information age. We are in an age of networked intelligence. The Internet gives us access not only to information, but also to the wisdom of people around the world. In this environment, trying to create value in isolation isn't sustainable. Porous organizations outperform those that are insular. And, companies co-create maximum value through creative collaboration with customers, business partners, employees, citizens, and other stakeholders. Ramaswamy and Ozcan provide guidelines for and rich examples of this new normal."—Don Tapscott, co-author of Macrowikinomics
Venkat Ramaswamy is Hallman Fellow of Electronic Business and Professor of Marketing at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He is co-author of the award-winning books The Future of Competition and The Power of Co-Creation. Kerimcan Ozcan teaches marketing at Marywood University. He conducts research on value co-creation, word-of-mouth and social media marketing, consumer networks, and complex adaptive systems. Learn more about co-creation and engage with the authors at www.cocreationparadigm.com.
