From Co-Creation to Value Actualization: A Service-Ecosystem Theory of Transformation in Platform-Mediated Experiential Contexts Introducing the CORE Model as a Mid-Range Theory of Value Actualization

Abstract

Experiential industries face a growing disconnect: while service-dominant logic (SDL) establishes value as co-created through resource integration (Vargo & Lusch, 2004, 2016), an increasing share of consumers, particularly younger cohorts, seek durable, transformational outcomes as the return on investment in premium experiences (Anderson & Ostrom, 2015; Zimbatu & Russell-Bennett, 2025). We introduce the CORE model (Content, Outlet, Relation, Effect) as a mid-range theory of value actualization. While SDL, TSR, and CCT each address components of transformation, none specifies the institutionalized, relational micro-foundations through which narrative-based co-creation becomes durable value actualization. CORE introduces a previously unarticulated causal sequence linking narrative scaffolding, access orchestration, and participatory institutionalization to measurable transformation. We define value actualization as the institutionalized realization of experiential potential into durable identity, behavioral, or community change. We propose that Relation mediates the Content–Effect link, while Outlet configuration—the platform-mediated orchestration of access—moderates this mediation. This mechanism is under-specified in, but complementary to, TSR and consumer culture theory (CCT; Arnould & Thompson, 2005). We differentiate CORE from competing frameworks and outline a multi-method research agenda