A classification schema of co-production of goods: an open-systems perspective

Purpose – A growing body of literature reveals that the domain of customer co-production of goods is expansive. Many research articles in the area of co-production of goods, however, have focused on specific sub-areas within the larger domain. One result of these multiple lines of inquiry is that they establish overlapping construct names and definitions. The purpose of this article is to propose a classification schema of customer co-production of goods based on general systems theory (GST). Design/methodology/approach – A logical partitioning approach was employed. Findings – A classification schema of co-production of goods is derived from two criteria: the nature of the customer's input and the customer's autonomy. The classification suggests six sub-areas of co-production of goods: restricted co-manufacturing, unrestricted co-manufacturing, co-ideation, co-design, mass customization, and participation loop. Practical implications – The distinction of activities involving co-production of goods guides...