Value Creation through Inter-Organizational Systems (iOS): from Governance Process View

In this study, we seek to reveal the mechanism of value creation between firms and their partners in B2B context. An integrated conceptual model is constructed grounded in the co-creation theory and the process view, which proposes the interaction between relational assets, IOS support and governance process, as well as their impacts on co-created value. It differs from previous studies by highlighting the mediating effect of governance on value creation. Using a sample of 181 collected from China, our analysis indicates the contribution of governance to co-created value, which is generated through IOS and relational assets. In fact, the IOS support and relational assets alone don’t hold the answer to value co-creation, but they affect the mediating process and enable governance to create value. Especially, the IOS could accommodate the use of relational assets and significantly affect governance process, which is found to be fundamental in value creation. While commodity-like resources have diminishing value in co-creation, governance process with causal ambiguity, social complexity and organizational interconnectedness, becomes the main source of co-created value. Overall, our research sheds light on the key drivers of value co-creation, and provides insights to their impacts on value creation.