Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Organizational Performance and Value Co-Creation: Evidence from a Business-to-Business Context

Value creation is a central concept in the management and organization literature both at the micro and macro level (Lepak et al., 2007). The research work on customer value theory in B2B markets has focused on defining the concept (Woodruff, 1997), measuring value drivers (Mentzer et al., 2001; Ulaga & Eggert, 2006), and exploring value creation as a process (Grönroos, 2008; Blocker, 2011). Value can only be created where a deep understanding of customers/markets and supply chain capabilities exist. In a B2B context, customers should measure value in terms of trade off between benefits and sacrifices and it could be related also to the support from the supplier before, during and after the purchase Our contribution focused on healthcare professionals in the audiology industry, paying attention to their new way to be competitive in a changing market. We aimed at understanding how they shift from qualified health professionals to entrepreneurs and try to create value for themselves, their suppliers and their clients for a win-win outcome for all parties. The audiology industry has been selected for two main reasons. Firstly, the complexity for the products (hearing aids and fitting services) has driven final clients searching for advice from trustworthy and reliable sources. Secondly, it represents a good example of a changing and not yet studied marketing channel, with emerging actors taking a larger role in value exchange. The two main actors operating in the audiology industry are hearing aids manufacturers on the one hand and audiologists on the other. Most Italian audiologists work in small community-based private practices and, in fact, they act as both health qualified professionals and small entrepreneurs in the retail market. In that sense they develop a narrow relationship with their final clients, but, at the same time, they asks for their suppliers contribution to improve their business skills and manage their companies. In doing so they rely upon the competencies of their main hearing aid manufacturers that, in fact, have developed a considerable amount of support services, going beyond the hearing aids technological features. We developed an exploratory study through in-depth qualitative interviews. All interviewees were audiologists running a small business in the Italian hearing aid distribution industry, who were asked to discuss about their business relationship with the main supplier and their perception of factors that constitute value for them and can help suppliers to enhance this value. This research allowed an analysis of the way how stakeholders can contribute to a long-term value co-creation process, increasing effectiveness and efficiency in a complex industry.