Value-creation space : the role of events in a service-dominant marketing paradigm

This paper provides a new conceptual contribution to our understanding of the value of events, examining their potential through the lens of service dominant logic. Through a conceptual analysis and discussion, augmented by a small scale and exploratory empirical study using semi-structured interviews, it evaluates the growing resonance of events in modern day marketing. The paper advances the conception of ‘value creation space’ as an overarching term to coalesce the otherwise disparate range of organisational events that have marketing imperative, and/or impact. The underpinning virtues of events are recognised and used to build a discussion that can provide a coherent basis for further conceptual development. The findings depict considerable synergy between the collaborative nature of events and the service dominant logic notions of co-creation (or co-destruction), and co-production. However, an intuitive and well executed event marketing approach is critical to events’ continued success as value creation spaces.