Value Co-creation and Leadership: An Analysis Based on the Business Ecosystem Concept

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments of the scientific discussion on multi-company co-operation leading, given that co-creating value between companies is a survival strategy for organizations by boosting competitiveness jointly several players. However, in the literature, the empirical characterization of value creation management in service companies is little explored. Therefore, the main objective of the research is to list the key factors for managing value co-creation in an industrial service company. To achieve this goal, an on-site interview was conducted with the leaders of a business-consulting firm whose business strategy is to cooperate with multiple players. The company object of research is located in southern Brazil, in the state of Santa Catarina. Once data collection was conducted, then content analysis was conducted. Based on the research findings, eleven key criteria that characterize cooperation between companies in the business consulting area were listed. It was found that value co-creation had several advantages for the company studied, however, lack of trust is one of the critical and risk factors for cooperation with other companies. Thus, it can be seen that leadership strategies are a key element for meeting potential business partners to co-create value as well as for managing cooperation between multiple companies. Given the findings, some practical implications can be highlighted. The study can serve as a basis for managers and leaders to make strategic business decisions, guide business leadership in driving plans to capture new business partners reliably and that together can generate mutual value. In addition, it is clear that the studied company's system in relation to knowledge management is fragile since there is no structured system to control and disseminate knowledge internally and externally to the analyzed company. Thus, this research allows us to identify new insights to advance in studies related to the leadership of value co-creation among companies.