Co-production and the roles of dependence and service importance

Recent research suggests that there are increasing opportunities for customer-firm co-production as a means to achieve competitive advantage. This study proposes a model of co-production and investigates the link between co-production and its antecedent factors in a financial services context. The model is empirically tested in a survey of 288 customers of banks (or financial holding companies). Support is found for a contingency model involving customer expertise, service provider expertise, communication and interpersonal relationships along with perceived importance of service and dependence. Theoretical and managerial implications of findings are discussed.