The customer experience as a multidimensional facilitator of an innovation of meanings : an explorative study

The ever-decreasing length of product lives has diminished the role of new technologies as a source of satisfactory profit and sustainability, as in today’s economies they are becoming commoditized in a growingly fast manner. To survive and increase its competitive advantage in an age of volatility and turmoil, innovation is no longer a luxury, it is becoming a necessity. Companies who have succeeded in developing defensible competitive advantages by an innovation of meanings have sustained long-term economical success and relevance, and therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of such companies. After gaining a good comprehension of the state of the art in literature on innovation, retail, and the customer experience, ten companies were analyzed with a case study approach. Through the lens of the design-driven innovation theory, the analysis aimed to examine the characteristics, nuances and cross-case patterns of some of the most successful innovators of meaning. An exploratory study was conducted on the customer perception of the experience provided by innovators of meaning, and validation of certain indications from the case study analysis were carried out by analyzing the primary experiential components and their interrelations. This was done through a survey with a structured questionnaire, answered by an international group of 262 respondents aged 18 to 35. Finally, both analyses were synthesized into general conclusions, theoretical and managerial implications, which could both inspire new avenues of research and aid the making of better executive decisions in the future.