The Influence of Customer Value Co-Creation Behavior on SME Brand Equity: An Empirical Analysis

Competition in the service industry is intense. To deliver value-added services, more companies are focusing on consumers as a powerful means of establishing firm performance through dialog, participation, and engagement. However, scant research has been conducted to examine whether customer value co-creation can boost brand equity, particularly among SMEs. To address these shortcomings in the literature, this paper investigates the impact of customer value co-creation on brand equity among SME consumers of service industries. A theoretical model is developed and tested using survey data from 548 customers in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to simultaneously test the hypothesized relationships. The results demonstrate a positive relationship between information seeking, responsible behavior, personal interaction, advocacy, tolerance and brand equity. This study contributes to the development of knowledge regarding the transfer of the concept of customer value co-creation to an SME service context.