Value co-creation for FM innovation: Is it possible, and if yes, how?

No matter the industry, co-creation of value is a hot topic. Marketing specialists swear by it; manufacturers and service providers try to integrate it in their innovation practices; researchers study it. But what is value co-creation, and how does it apply to FM? Value co-creation is grounded in the recognition that firms are no longer in full charge of deciding upon the value to be offered to markets, but rather need to continuously cooperate with their customers, who become active collaborators in the creation of value. Value, in fact, is jointly created by supply and demand. The former offer the frame and resources for the co-creation of value, and the latter make their needs and expectations explicit and share their knowledge on how to satisfy them. In FM, value is created first and foremost by delivering and maintaining services that support the core business of organisations. According to the EN15221-1 definition, FM is “the integration of processes within an organization to maintain and develop (…) services which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities”. In other words, FM is expected to create value for the organization it belongs to, by at least delivering and maintaining services that support the core business. Moreover, FM can add value by contributing to the organisational performance it belongs to (Voordt & Jensen, 2017).