How to engage customers in co-creation: customers' motivations for collaborative innovation

The term 'customer engagement' has been increasingly used in academic marketing literature. Empowered by the rise of the internet, customers are no longer a 'passive audience' but 'active co-producers' and engage in behaviours that strengthen their relationship with the product, company or brand, such as collaborating to co-create value through innovation. However, few studies exist on collaborative innovation and how to engage customers in co-creation, namely in specific virtual environments. Drawing on insights from product innovation and virtual communities, our study seeks to understand why customers participate voluntarily and freely in co-creation online activities, by testing a conceptual model which considers an integrated set of motivations for members to engage in collaborative innovation. On a managerial level, our study intends to provide valuable insights to firms on how to create an experience to engage consumers in co-creation in virtual communities.