Engaging employees in value cocreation: interplay among firm, employee, and supervisor

Research on value cocreation with customers is considerable, yet questions remain regarding whether and how to engage frontline employees (FLEs) in such efforts. Adopting the ability–motivation–opportunity perspective, we conceptualize service firms’ interaction capabilities as ability, employees’ motivation to cocreate value with customers (EMCCV) as motivation, and supervisor proactive personality as opportunity. This empirical investigation thereby addresses the effect of service firms’ interaction capabilities on EMCCV and employees’ subsequent value cocreation behaviors (participation and citizenship). Data collected from 311 FLEs in automotive industries reveal that EMCCV mediates the positive effects of firms’ interaction capabilities (developmental, relational, ethical, and individuated) on employees’ value cocreation behaviors. Further, supervisor proactive personality significantly strengthens the effects of firms’ interaction capabilities on EMCCV. Supplementary analyses uncover a stronger indirect positive association between firms’ interaction capabilities and employees’ value cocreation behaviors (via EMCCV) when employees perceive their supervisors as proactive. These findings highlight the crucial roles of firms’ interaction capabilities and supervisors’ personalities in motivating FLEs’ value cocreation behaviors during service exchanges. They also reveal practical options for promoting more inclusive, sustainable economic growth and guidelines for fostering and promoting improved working conditions for FLEs (UN Sustainable Development Goal 8).