Cocreation as Moderator between the Experience Value and Satisfaction Relationship

Abstract

The article explores the concept of cocreation of value, defined as the tourist’s interest in mental and physical participation in an activity and its role in tourist experiences. Based on the theoretical perspective of “the new service-dominant logic,” customer participation in tourist experiences is explored and tested as a moderating variable on the perceived value – satisfaction relationship. In essence, the customer partakes mentally and physically in an experience, which moderates the role that experience value has on overall satisfaction. The study thus hypothesizes that the higher the level of participation, the stronger the experience value–satisfaction link becomes and vice versa. Using a sample drawn from tourists in Norway, the results confirm that experience value is an effective predictor of tourist satisfaction. The study reveals that the level of cocreation moderates the effect between the experience value of winter tourism activities and satisfaction.