Identifying the Antecedents of Value Co-Creation in Startups in A Shared Economy Environment: A Qualitative Content Analysis Approach

Shared economics platforms have created new business models that have changed the way customers feel and express their experiences. Companies operating in the context of corporate economics are startups and the main players in the corporate economy are consumers who constantly create value with companies and other consumers. Value co-creation is the process of cooperation between the customer and the supplier in co-ideation activities, co-design, and co-development of new products. Therefore, the present study seeks to identify the antecedents of value co-creation in startups in the context of the sharing economy.

In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 experts in the field of start-up economics in Iran. These individuals were selected by the purposive sampling method. The collected data were analyzed by a thematic analysis approach. By analyzing the data, 131 basic themes were extracted and from these themes, 32 organizing themes and 8 global themes were obtained.

The antecedents of value creation in startups in a shared economy environment include "Consumer Ethical Perceptions", "brand strength", "relationship marketing", "expected values", "customer experience", "sustainability", "Helping business growth and development", and "infrastructures". The reliability of the qualitative data analysis was calculated through the Cohen’s Kappa coefficient, which was in good condition.

Based on the results of the research, it was found that startups in the field of the sharing economy must, first of all, know what is important for customers and what is needed to form value creation.