Value co-creation and co-destruction in the first cashless society in Colombia – a middle range theory approach

• Published in: Information technology & people (West Linn, Or.) Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 1298 - 1325
• Main Authors: van Klyton, Aaron, Tavera-Mesias, Juan-Fernando, Castaño-Muñoz, Wilson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: West Linn Emerald Publishing Limited 06.06.2022; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Access to information; Applications programs; Banking; Consumers; COVID-19; Creation process; Cultural theory; Destruction; Digital currencies; Ecosystems; Empirical analysis; Epistemology; Female headed households; Financial inclusion; Informal economy; Information technology; Literature reviews; Local government; Middle range theories; Mobile commerce; Mobile computing; Negative interactions; Online banking; Payments; Retail banking; Rural areas; Rural communities; Technology; Value; Value creation; Colombia; Value co-destruction; Service ecosystem; Middle range theory; Value co-construction; Mobile banking; Rural communities
• ISSN: 0959-3845; 1758-5813
• DOI: 10.1108/ITP-05-2020-0273

PurposeThe research examines the simultaneous processes of value co-creation and value co-destruction in the implementation of a mobile banking application in rural Colombia. Rural communities experience digital and financial deficits and often become the object of technology-based initiatives. In the town, vulnerable female heads of household received a government subsidy through a mobile app, becoming an experimental group for this government–private bank collaboration. In an effort to create the first cashless society in Colombia, the bank engaged the entire town and local government to create a service ecosystem, constituted by operant resources.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a qualitative, ethnographic approach to investigate the experiences of stakeholders in engaging with a mobile banking app. The empirical data is drawn from 34 interviews, representing different layers of this service ecosystem. The study identified and analysed actor engagement behaviours that occurred in the micro-, meso-, macro- and meta-layers of this ecosystem that shaped the perception and usage of mobile payments and digital money for rural consumers.FindingsThe study found that simultaneous manifestations of the co-creation and co-destruction of value present in different layers ultimately diminished the value proposition for this digital money system. We shed light on how actor engagement transitions across different layers of the ecosystem and that negative interactions in the meta-layer of the ecosystem can affect perceptions of value in the micro-layer.Originality/valueThis study has contributed to the service literature by integrating epistemological cultural theory into value co-creation and co-destruction construct. In doing so, we provide a broader context for understanding how actor engagement can negatively impact on the value creation process and offer a meaningful contribution to the development of midrange theory of the value creation process.