Conceptualizing social change, between value co-creation and ecosystem innovation

The work rereads value co-creation as a complex social process to detect the different shades of innovation that can emerge in service ecosystems to generate transformation and social change in the long run. Thanks to the adoption of an integrated perspective (that combines social construction theories and S-D logic), the study seeks to define conceptually: 1) the reinterpretation of value co-creation as a social process; 2) the different social “shades” of innovation (co-developed across micro, meso and macro contexts) that can lead to social change. Extant research on service does not provide a unifying framework that defines innovation in service ecosystems, that analyzes the social implications of value co-creation and that investigates the complex transition from innovation to social innovation, from ecosystem’s restructuring to social change. Thanks to a critical re-elaboration of literature, an overview on service ecosystems view, social contruction theory and service innovation is proposed. Then, a conceptual oerlapping of the main enablers of value co-creation and innovation is introduced. Further, a categorization of different kinds of innovation that reframe ecosystems socially is advanced. The conceptual framework is presented and discussed according to two different steps. Firstly, the main enablers of value co-creation (actors, value propositions, technology, shared intentions) into the three ecosystem’s contexts (micro, meso and macro) are matched with the key concepts of social construction theory to conceptualize the transition form: 1) actors to role players; 2) technology to social platforms; 3) value propositions to meanings; 4) shared intentions to culture and symbols. Secondly, three different kinds of innovation that can be co-developed across social service ecosystems, and can generate social change incrementally, are introduced and defined: 1) social innovation (micro-level); 2) systems innovation (mesolevel); 3) practice-based innovation (macro-level). The adoption of a synthesis perspective permits to describe the key ecosystem’s enablers of co-creation and innovation (“what”) and the way in which — thanks to the transition from micro, to meso and macro-levels and from social structure to systems — different patterns of innovation can be co-developed (“how”). Thus, a new conceptualization of ecosystems innovation and social change is advanced.