In my previous post, I reflected on service logic in the business consultancy industry. Focus were on services vs products and how value was co-created between these. The conclusion was that the services business consultancy firms offer, are what gives the ultimate value to its customers, but that the products behind the services was of necessity as well. In this post, I will have a closer look at the context of the value of the services in business consultancy.

Let’s look at three concepts: value in-exchange, value in-use and value co-creation. In the article Service Science Odyssey by Kaisa Koskela-Huotari, the first and third of the terms are explained. The article is about not looking at producers and consumers as value creators and value users but rather as them using and creating value together. In other words, co-creating value or value co-creating. Value in-exchange is closely related to this, and means that value is (always) exchanged for another value. For example, I work for a client who receives my experience in exchange for the salary I will eventually be paid. The last term is explained in the videos by Christian Grönroos. Value in-use means that a product or service has no value until it is being used, something can be gained from it and results can be seen.

In the industry of business consultancy, all of the three concepts are highly relevant. Consultants work on a project basis. An organisation identifies an issue and a project is built around this with the final aim to handle the issue and deliver a lasting result. When the project is finished, the deal between the consultancy firm and the client organisation is closed (or prolonged). In some projects, value is created throughout the time being, and in others it is not visible until the final product is delivered and can start being used. In both cases, we see that it is all about value in-use. If the project is creating something possible to use while the work is being done, value is as well. If usage is only possible when finished, the value comes does not come until then either.

Concerning value co-creation, this is much apparent since business consultants often work closely with their clients, in order to identify problems and share knowledge and experience to solve them in the most efficient way. For example, the client organisation contributes with company and industry expertise and the consultancy firm contributes with the skill to combine these into a strategy or implementation that would work the best. In other words, the project is performed with a combined input from the two sources, in order for value to be co-created. Lastly, there is the value in-exchange, and the exchange of services. This is connected to the value co-creation. By exchanging knowledge, experience and by working closely together, services and value is created and exchanged as well.

All in all, business consultancy is a service industry where input is needed both from the producers (the consultants) and the consumers (the clients) in order to create value. The value of a project is not delivered from one to the other but is always co-created with input from both sources, exchanging experience and value from each side’s specific part. Furthermore, when the business consultants have finished a project, they have extended their previous knowledge within the field and gained experience that can be used in projects in the future as well. Therefore, the consultancy firm has extended their project portfolio a bit more, which is yet another form of value in-exchange.

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