Managing Advertising Agency Client Partnerships for Value Co-Creation: Characteristics, Categories and Challenges

This article examines the role and characteristics of professional client partners in the value co-creation process. Previous literature has studied the role of clients in the co-creation process; however, the effects of different characteristics of clients on co-creation of value are less clear. This study examines these through a research design comprising depth multiple case studies of client relationships with professional service firms (PSFs). Empirical primary data were collected from in situ in-depth interviews with senior account managers in leading advertising agencies in Spain. Our initial results suggested that the type of clients and their characteristics was important for determining the potential and approach to managing their relationships for positive value creation. Further analysis identified key client characteristics and a classification of four types of clients: low involved novice clients, highly involved novice clients, control-concerned expert clients, and integration-concerned exp...