Co-governance in the consumer engagement process: facilitating multi-beneficial value creation

This paper explores how consumer engagement (CE) in new media can become part of and support the everyday life of companies. Paradoxically, facilitating consumers' engagement in activities such as co-developing products also implies companies ceding control over their value proposition to consumers. Subsequently, this evokes the issue of management or self-management of the CE process, making it vital to address the challenges of governing the facilitation of value co-creation in service ecosystems. By contextualising how activities within, and the co-governance of, the CE process are manifested, this paper discusses if and how consumers' new media activities may offer multi-beneficial opportunities for value creation to both social and economic actors within a service ecosystem. The paper furthers the understanding of co-governance as a nexus, facilitating the CE process, which is essential for generating benefits for supplying companies, beyond traditional aspects of collaboration, monetary gains and loyal customers.