Social media as factor of co-creation in musical events organization: Three case studies

Abstract

The concept of co-creation appeared in the business management literature thanks to the studies of Prahalad and Ramaswamy. It develops from the observation that people started to act as informed, empowered and active consumers. They have access to a larger amount of information with respect to the past, therefore they want to contribute to the creation of the company offerings. Value itself cannot be controlled solely by the company but it must be the result of an interaction between firms and customers. This interaction was enhanced thanks to the advent of social media, digital tool which permits to communicate, share and exchange information and other contents with a virtual community in an easy and fast way. Companies, recognizing the potential of such social networks, created their own social media pages in which they directly communicate with their consumers, provide them notices about the brand and capture ideas and opinions to improve their image. This dissertation analyzes the phenomenon of co-creation through the study of three music festivals. Organizers, through the festival social media pages, aim at extending the overall festival experience on the web, stimulating the sharing of fans’ own content. It has been noted that they directly encourage community to express preferences about artists or suggestions about the event creation, as well as looking for collaborators among the community members. Moreover, social media provides fans the opportunity to freely express themselves and contribute to create the value of the festival.