The art of creating attractive and unique consumer experiences

In order to grow and to survive, a firm must create value with consumers in ways that both fit in with consumer demands and stand out from competitors. In a new doctoral thesis from CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University, Claes Högström describes different approaches to accomplishing this from a consumer experience perspective.

- In my dissertation I examine how value is created in the interactions between consumers and businesses. The consumer experience perspective is important in order to understand how consumers decide what creates value, and also how companies can support consumer creation and experience of value, says Claes Högström, researcher at CTF.
Claes Högström has studied companies, organizations and consumers in both the private and public sectors. In a sub-study, his main focus is on how the norms, rules and resources interact and evolve with the common understanding that is the basis for different actor’s co-creation of value.
Another study shows how companies use strategic logics to support different types of user value. For example, some companies focus on their products and services, while others focus on the meaning of their brand and what it symbolizes.
Other sub-studies provide a deeper understanding of how consumers value different experience attributes.
- My research contributes to an increased understanding of how companies can create strategies to meet consumer demand, while also standing out among competitors, says Claes Högström.
You can download the thesis here: Fit in to stand out: An experience perspective on value creation
During his doctoral studies, Claes Högström has also been tied to MIT, The Swedish Research School of Management and Information Technology. The dissertation took place on September 23rd at Karlstad University. Faculty Opponent was Professor Thorsten Gruber, Loughborough University, UK.