Customer experience and emotional value in industrial service systems

Various studies around the world emphasize the meaning of customer experience in consumer services. Hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and travel agencies are working hard for creating unique experiences for consumers in business to consumer (B2C) relationship. Meanwhile in industrial business to business (B2B) context, the material and component suppliers' focus is typically on the lean management, cost reduction and smooth supply chains. When looking at machine and equipment manufacturers, they are usually trying to offer and marketing best available products with streamlined processes. Manufacturers are offering also services as installation and maintenance. Surely digitalization has extended service offering to information and data provision. Earlier, the services made competitive advantage and differentiation in markets, but that is not anymore the case. Services are today crucial part of the offerings, but the competitive advantage is becoming from the business model and the way of operating in service system. Why don't suppliers and manufacturers in B2B environment try to offer new experiences and good feelings for their customers, as in B2C context? Do the companies have enough rich understanding what is valuable for customers and what they really appreciate? This study has indicated how the customer value is created and what are the value creation determinants in B2B service systems. Based on the multiple case studies, this research indicates that B2B customers' decision making is based on the emotional value rather than functional and economic value. Success is increasingly dependent on the company's ability to extract value from knowledge resources rather than physical resources. Customers are looking for successful brands, trusty relationship and flexible operations, rather than lowest possible price or technical features for example. However, in mass production companies are still looking for cheap price and huge volume. This study is focused on European industries, which makes the difference in findings from low cost economies. As the real world is not so black and white, there are many potential product and service configuration opportunities and requirements in the markets. That is the reason why is needed to enrich the understanding of customer value and create unique offering for customers, with special attention to customer experience and emotional value. Study provide a framework for identify and analyze customer value in different industrial service systems.