An MBA dissertation report (a sketchy sample): on job value co-creation

An MBA dissertation report (a sketchy sample): on job value co-creation

What are: (1) the main research theme, (2) the main research issues, and (3) the main research objectives of this article? 

Based on the content of the article "Value co-creation in tourism live shopping": 

1. Main Research Theme: The central theme revolves around understanding value co-creation in tourism live shopping. Specifically, it focuses on how customers and tourism live streamers interact to co-create value during live-streamed shopping sessions within the tourism industry. 

2. Main Research Issues: The study addresses the following core issues: 

• Despite the increasing use of live streaming to sell tourism offerings, the mechanism through which value is added to customer shopping experiences remains underexplored, especially from a customer-centric perspective. 

• The need to understand how customers can actively co-create value through interactions enabled by tourism live shopping platforms. 

• The role of tourism live streamers’ credibility traits (trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness) in fostering customer co-creation behaviors. 

• The moderating role of social presence (the sense of being “there” and genuine interaction) in enhancing the effect of streamer credibility on customer engagement and value co-creation. 

3. Main Research Objectives: The study aims to: 

• Investigate how customers co-create value by using the interactive features in tourism live shopping. 

• Examine how the credibility of tourism live streamers influences customer co-creation behaviors. 

• Explore how social presence during the live shopping sessions may moderate the influence of streamer credibility on customer co-creation behavior, ultimately enhancing the perceived value of the shopping experience. 

These objectives are approached through a conceptual framework grounded in source credibility and social presence theories, with empirical testing conducted in the context of Chinese tourism live commerce 

 Describe two main arguments of the article in terms of the Toulmin model of argument. 

Based on the article "Value co-creation in tourism live shopping" and its empirical findings , two main arguments can be described using the Toulmin model of argument, which consists of Claim, Data (Grounds), Warrant, Backing, Qualifier, and Rebuttal: 

 

Argument 1: The Influence of Live Streamer Credibility on Customer Co-Creation Behavior • Claim: The credibility traits of tourism live streamers (trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness) positively influence customer co-creation behaviors during tourism live shopping. 

• Data (Grounds): Empirical results showed significant positive relationships between trustworthiness (β = 0.314), expertise (β = 0.355), and attractiveness (β = 0.323) with customer participation behavior, as well as with customer citizenship behavior (β values all significant) . 

• Warrant: Based on source credibility theory, credible sources are more persuasive and able to foster active engagement and participation among consumers . 

• Backing: Prior literature supports that credible influencers increase consumer trust and interactions in marketing contexts (e.g., Hovland & Weiss, 1951; Ohanian, 1990; Ismagilova et al., 2020) . 

• Qualifier: These effects are significant and supported statistically in the context studied, although they may vary depending on platform characteristics or cultural contexts. 

• Rebuttal: Some customer co-creation behaviors might be influenced by other factors such as platform interface or product type that were not the focus in this study. 

 

Argument 2: The Moderating Role of Social Presence in Enhancing the Effect of Streamer Credibility 

• Claim: The level of social presence during tourism live shopping sessions positively moderates the effect of live streamer credibility traits on customer co-creation behaviors. 

• Data (Grounds): The study empirically identifies that higher social presence strengthens the impact of streamer credibility on customer participation and citizenship behaviors . 

• Warrant: Social presence theory posits that a stronger sense of “being there” and genuine interaction in mediated environments enhances the influence of communicators and drives engagement . 

• Backing: Research on social presence in digital marketing contexts indicates that higher social presence increases consumer trust and interactive behaviors (e.g., Short et al., 1976; Kreijns et al., 2022) .

 • Qualifier: This moderating effect holds true within the constraints of the studied tourism live shopping platforms and audience demographics. 

• Rebuttal: In cases of low social presence or less interactive platforms, the moderating effect may be diminished or non-significant. 

These two arguments capture the article’s main claims about the mechanisms of value co-creation in tourism live shopping, supported by quantitative data and established theory 

In terms of an MBA dissertation report structure, highlight 3 main points from the article on each of the following dissertation chapters: Introduction Literature review Research methodology Presentation of research findings Discussion of research findings Conclusions and recommendations. 

Here are three main points from the article "Value co-creation in tourism live shopping" mapped onto typical MBA dissertation chapters:  

1. Introduction 

• Tourism live shopping is an emergent e-commerce format combining live streaming and tourism offerings, with growing consumer engagement but limited academic understanding of how customer value is co-created in this setting . 

• The study emphasizes the role of tourism live-streamers’ credibility traits (trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness) as key drivers for customer co-creation behaviors critical to value generation . 

• Live streamer credibility alone may not guarantee customer engagement; the study proposes exploring social presence as a contextual boundary condition influencing co-creation behaviors . 

2. Literature Review 

• Customer co-creation in tourism is defined as customers actively participating or engaging in value production, requiring cognitive and affective inputs that determine perceived value 

• Source credibility theory underpins the conceptualization of live-streamer credibility, which includes trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness, each linked to enhanced customer interaction and trust in tourism contexts . 

• Social presence theory provides a theoretical lens to explain how communication cues and interactive features in live streaming mediate the influence of streamer credibility on customer behavioral outcomes . 

3. Research Methodology 

• The study used a quantitative survey grounded in validated scales (e.g., Ohanian’s credibility scale, Gefen & Straub’s social presence scale) adapted for the tourism live shopping context, piloted through observations in Chinese live commerce . 

• Data collection involved an online survey targeting experienced users of tourism live shopping platforms, yielding 434 valid responses after screening and attention checks, ensuring data relevance and quality . 

• Structural equation modeling (SEM) using Mplus was employed for measurement validity, hypothesis testing of direct, mediating, and moderating effects, focusing on the relationships between streamer credibility, social presence, co-creation behavior, and perceived value . 

4. Presentation of Research Findings 

• Customer participation behavior was positively associated with perceived cognitive value, while customer citizenship behavior correlated with affective value; some expected associations were not significant . 

• All three dimensions of live-streamer credibility (trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness) showed significant positive effects on both customer participation and citizenship behaviors, supporting Hypothesis 2 . 

• Customer co-creation behaviors mediated the relationships between live-streamer credibility traits and customer perceived value; social presence was confirmed as a positive moderator amplifying these effects in tourism live shopping . 

5. Discussion of Research Findings 

• The findings validate the critical role of live-streamer credibility in facilitating active customer value co-creation behaviors, confirming and extending source credibility theory to tourism live shopping . 

• The distinct roles of participation behavior (linked to cognitive value) and citizenship behavior (linked to affective value) highlight the dual pathways through which customers derive value . 

• The moderating role of social presence emphasizes the importance of interactive live streaming features and real-time communication in boosting engagement and co-creation outcomes . 

6. Conclusions and Recommendations 

• Credible tourism live streamers who are trustworthy, knowledgeable, and attractive are instrumental in engaging customers to co-create value, thereby enhancing perceived cognitive and affective value of live shopping experiences . 

• Live shopping platforms should enhance social presence cues (e.g., interactive chats, real-time feedback) to maximize the positive effects of streamer credibility on customer engagement and co-creation behavior . 

• Future research could explore cross-cultural validations and the impacts of other technological features while tourism marketers should strategically invest in training and selecting credible live streamers to optimize live commerce performance .

Reference

Zang, Y.Z. and Prebensen, N.K.  2025. "Value co-creation in tourism live shopping" Journal of Business Research 186. 114964.