From value co-creation to value co-destruction? The case of dockless bike sharing in China

Sharing-economy platforms have gained momentum in urban areas worldwide by offering the potential for efficient resource utilisation and novel value creation. A recent addition to the mobility sector of the sharing economy is the dockless bike-sharing system (DBSS), which emerged in late 2015 with the aim of complementing urban mobility and contributing to urban sustainability. However, recently, debate and controversy have emerged about the potential negative consequences of DBSS. Building on the value-creation literature, and drawing on practice theory and the resource-integration perspective, we investigate how users participate in value co-creation and co-destruction activities related to DBSS. Through a thematic analysis of 8813 social media (i.e. Sina Weibo) tweets from April 2016 to December 2017, we find that riding experience is the most important practice in the core using process for both value co-creation and co-destruction, and that post-riding practices can result in significant value co-destruction. In the value-formation process of DBSS, the critical firm resources are product–service resources and relational resources, and the critical customer resources are emotional resources, relational resources and energy resources. We also argue the enabling role of peripheral practices in the transition between value co-creation and co-destruction. We contribute to the literature by proposing a value co-creation and co-destruction framework for DBSS derived from key social practices and resources.