Co-Creating Value through Agents Interaction within Service Network

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to give further understanding on value co-creation
mechanisms in B-to-B service network by reinforcing the processes, the relationships, and the
influences of other agents where Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) forms
might be best employed.
Design/methodology/approach: In order to model the interactions among agents in the
collaboration processes and the value co-creation processes, this research used three
collaboration cases in Indonesia. The agent-based simulation was used to capture both the
collaboration process and the value co-creation process of the three collaboration cases.
Findings: The interactions among the agents both inside and outside their collaboration
environments determined agent’s role as a value co-creator. The willingness of an agent to
accept the opinion of another agent determined the degree of their willingness to co-operate
and to change their strategies, and perceptions. Therefore, interaction among agents
influenced the size of the value obtained by them in each collaboration process.
Research limitations/implications: The findings of the simulations subject to assumptions
based on the collaboration cases. Further research is related to how to encourage agents to
co-operate and adjust their perceptions.
Practical implications: It is crucial for the practitioners to interact with another agent both
inside and outside their collaboration environment. The opinions of another agent inside the
collaboration environment also need to be considered.
Originality/value: This research is derived from its emphasis on how a value is co-created by
reinforcing both the collaborative processes and the interactions among agents as well as on how
CTM might be best employed.