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Co-creating educational consumer journeys: A sensemaking perspective

Co-creating educational consumer journeys: A sensemaking perspective To date, customer education has been framed in terms of one-way information provision, at odds with much of the litera- ture on meaning co-creation. Drawing on an ethnography of a specialty coffee purveyor, we show how staff and consum - ers co-create educational consumer journeys through the deployment of seven practices: auditing, realignment, marrying competing logics, negotiating scripts, evangelizing, expanding collective knowledge, and impression management. These practices require staff and consumers to enact three different educational roles (educator, student, and peer), which are necessary for the co-creation and extension of consumer journeys. The roles, practices and the journeys themselves emerge iteratively through sensebreaking, sensegiving, and sensemaking processes among staff, consumers and the servicescape. Our findings frame customer education as a dynamic process in which meaning is co-created between participants. Fur - thermore, the cues and touchpoints needed for meaning-making shift as power relations between participants change. Managerially, these findings highlight the potential of co-created educational consumer journeys to expand established market categories. Keywords Consumer journeys · Customer education · Co-creation · Sensemaking · Practice theory Introduction The study of collaborative forms of consumption has pro- vided important insights into how enhancing customer Hope Schau served as Area Editor for this article. knowledge can lead to improved marketing performance outcomes such as loyalty and competitive positioning (Mar- Michael B. Beverland m.beverland@sussex.ac.uk tineau & Arsel, 2017; Muñiz & O’Guinn, 2001; Schau et al., 2009). Customer education is a critical means by which Pınar Cankurtaran p.cankurtaran@tudelft.nl firms and service staff engage with customers to improve their knowledge and skill (Eisingerich & Bell, 2008). How- Pietro Micheli Pietro.micheli@wbs.ac.uk ever, studies on customer education focus on unidirec- tional information provision by staff to customers (Bell et Sarah JS Wilner swilner@wlu.ca al., 2017), and assume relatively simple, smooth customer journeys at odds with research on co-creation (Nakata et Department of Strategy & Marketing, University of Sussex al., 2019; Schau & Akaka, 2021) and the stickier nature of Business School and Copenhagen Business School, journeys undertaken by empowered consumers over time Falmer BN1 9SL, UK 2 (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Siebert et al., 2020). Faculty of Industrial Design and Engineering, Delft Despite the increasing interest in how consumer journeys University of Technology, Landbergstraat 15, Delft 2628 CE, Netherlands are created and shaped over time, research on co-creating educational journeys is sparse (Steils, 2021). Journeys are Operations Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK a useful lens for understanding the implementation of edu- cational strategies over time as they encompass the service Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Ontario touchpoints, roles and practices that enable knowledge N2L 3C5, Canada 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science co-creation and use (Becker & Jaakkola, 2020; Hamilton dynamics of educational consumer journeys (Hamilton & & Price, 2019). However, very little is known about how Price, 2019) and highlight the shifting role and effectiveness consumers and providers establish and enact the schema of relevant touchpoints (Becker & Jaakkola, 2020; Nakata necessary to enable knowledge co-creation (Becker & Jaak- et al., 2019). To this end, we focus on the experiences and kola, 2020; Schau & Akaka, 2021; Thomas et al., 2020). practices of both consumers and producers (including those Furthermore, education strategies are often atypical in many of employees) that enable or frustrate journey creation and categories as marketers view empowering customers as extension and are required for education to occur. We choose potentially harmful to their competitive position out of fear specialty coffee as a context because it is one sector—along that knowledgeable customers will switch (Bell et al., 2017; with food and drink, butchery, and hairdressing, among oth- Bell & Eisingerich, 2007). ers (Ocejo, 2017)—that has seen the emergence of strate- In this longitudinal study, we draw on the process of sen- gic specialists emphasizing education (or more precisely, semaking to understand how meaning is enacted by mar- re-education) against a competitive background defined by ketplace participants (Rosa et al., 1999; Rosa & Spanjol, efficient, smooth journeys (Schau & Akaka, 2021; Siebert 2005; Sujan & Bettman, 1989), providing insight into how et al., 2020). Although the coffee sector is characterized by to create journeys that flourish. To this end, we explore established routines and tight scripting (cf. Rosa & Span- customer education in the context of an emerging artisan jol, 2005), it is experiencing schema expansion from new economy in which strategic specialists (i.e., firms that focus entrants focused on educating customers about new tastes, on a narrow target) innovate practices to reinvigorate satu- new processes, and new experiences (Dolbec et al., 2022). rated markets (Dolbec et al., 2022). We do this through an Specifically, we ask: What practices enable the co-creation extended ethnography of a specialist “third wave” coffee of meaning and value for consumers during educational innovator who sought to emphasize provenance, diversity journeys? of flavor, and expert-driven production methods at a time Our findings reveal that educational consumer jour - when the market had converged around a dominant, chain- neys require dynamic negotiation between the desires of driven, mass-production model. In such a context, education producers and the expectations embedded in consumers’ can represent knowledge innovation in a category where a category schema. Accordingly, we find that careful servic - shared schema—defined as “a collection of basic knowl - escape design and the deployment of seven practices (audit- edge about a concept…that serves as a guide to perception, ing, realignment, marrying competing logics, negotiating interpretation, imagination or problem solving” (APA Dic- scripts, evangelizing, expanding collective knowledge, and tionary of Psychology, n.d.)—already exists (Rosa et al., impression management) give rise to, and reinforce, three 1999). Therefore, proposing new journey scripts requires participant roles (educator, student, peer) which enable the accommodation or adaptations to pre-existing schemas, co-creation and sustenance of journeys. Importantly, these which can result in confusion and dissatisfaction (Otnes et practices and roles emerge within an iterative process of sen- al., 2012; Schau et al., 2007). semaking that enables the development of the new schema We focus our investigation on educational consumer necessary for each consumer to embark on an educational journeys, highlighting the meaning-making practices journey that can be both extensive and dynamic. The prac- enacted by participants. Meaning is understood as the cog- tices identified in this study involve negotiation, iteration, nitive and emotional significance of a concept, and scholars innovation, role performances, and shifting power relations. of cognitive development have noted that “sociocultural Tracking shifts in knowledge and expectations is therefore contexts (including their deliberately organized routines essential to both co-create journeys and, where desired by and practices…) play decisive roles” in meaning-making the customer, extend them in personalized ways. and learning (van Oers 2008, p. 4). Practices are defined as “a routinized type of behavior which consists of several elements, interconnected to one another: forms of bodily Theoretical framework activities, forms of mental activities, things and their use, a background knowledge in the form of understanding, know- Sensemaking in educational consumer journeys how, states of emotion and motivational knowledge” (Reck- witz, 2002, p. 249). Practices can be enacted individually Sensemaking has its origins in social constructionism and or collectively and involve different levels including social to date has been used primarily to understand crises, change norms (such as category-level service scripts), individual processes, role identity, innovation, and creativity in orga- and shared schema—visions of how things ought to be— nizations (Weick, 1995). Sensemaking is defined as “a and the enactment of the performance itself (Thomas et al., process, prompted by violated expectations, that involves 2020). By undertaking a longitudinal study, we explore the attending to and bracketing cues in the environment, 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science creating intersubjective meaning through cycles of interpre- informed decisions (Bell & Eisingerich, 2007; Eisingerich tation and action, and thereby enacting a more ordered envi- & Bell, 2008). For example, in a context related to our study ronment from which further cues can be drawn” (Maitlis & (food), respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness Christianson, 2014, p. 67). It is “rooted in usage conditions of the delivered sensory and procedural (“how to cook”) and the choices available” (Rosa et al., 1999, p. 65) and can knowledge (Steils, 2021). Any active role for customers resolve disruptive ambiguity (Weick et al., 2005), and is tends to be reduced to “iterative testing,” i.e., confirming thus critical to the creation of category meaning. Drawing that they have understood the information provided (Bell & on sensemaking, Rosa et al. (1999) argue that consumers Eisingerich, 2007). and producers enact markets through a process of interac- Considering studies of collaborative consumption, this tion and convergence around the meaning of stimuli, behav- one-sided perspective offers an impoverished view of cus - ior, and expectations. These activities lead to the creation of tomer education (Akaka & Schau, 2019). For example, schemas that subsequently guide behavior and, much like a work on brand community identifies that education involves service script or “the predetermined, stereotyped sequences processes akin to sensemaking (Muñiz & O’Guinn, 2001). of actions that define a well-known situation” (Schank & It also highlights the various educational practices used by Abelson, 1977, p. 41), define roles and relations among par - insiders to help newcomers deepen their engagement in ticipants (Schau et al., 2007). the focal activities of the community (Schau et al., 2009). Sensemaking and the related concepts of sensebreak- However, little is known about how the actions of provid- ing and sensegiving offer insight in addressing our research ers and customers influence their respective experiences; question. Disruptions to schemas characterize the first phase how existing beliefs and attitudes regarding change affect of sensemaking—sensebreaking—and can alter both the interactions; and the role of unexpected experiences in the environment and the roles enacted in it, resulting in a need learning process. for sensegiving devices such as storytelling to rebuild con- In this study, we frame customer education as a consumer sensus (Rosa et al., 1999). Sensegiving communicates the journey involving the co-creation of meaning by all partici- rituals and routines which express, and help consumers to pants. Schau and Akaka (2021, p. 10) call for a shift from make sense of, new values and which “provide constituents firm-controlled customer journeys to what they term “con - material to recognize how to behave” (Press & Arnould, sumption journeys” which “recognize consumers’ active 2011, p. 651). In so doing, sensegiving guides the construc- participation in value creation through the enactment of tion of new mental models in line with the preferred orga- practices.” Similarly, Becker and Jaakkola (2020) contend nizational reality (Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991). Together, the that firms can only influence rather than control consumer concepts of sensemaking, sensebreaking and sensegiving journeys, calling for more research on the practices used enable us to illuminate a dialectic process in which educa- to create shared meaning between consumers and service tion serves to challenge customers’ schemas and provides staff. In this sense, education can be an effective way to cre - new opportunities for resource integration and value extrac- ate new niches into established market categories (Sujan & tion (Hibbert et al., 2012). Bettman, 1989) that expand consumer practices (Dolbec et Prior research highlights that sensemaking engenders al., 2022) and enhance value (Bell et al., 2017). Customer learning and enables the adoption of new practices (Mai- education can also help firms move journeys from a pre - tlis & Christianson, 2014), while reflexivity—defined as dictable and streamlined process to a more effortful, unpre - awareness of one’s identity role in a context—is central dictable, “sticky” one (Siebert et al., 2020) enabling more to consumer journeys (Akaka & Schau, 2019). Sensemak- excitement or engagement among customers. Stickiness ing also illuminates the co-constitutive nature of customer makes journeys more valuable as consumers can deepen education; as Maitlis and Christianson (2014, p. 66) argue, their engagement in focal activities, deploy knowledge, and “meaning is negotiated, contested and mutually co-con- demand more individualized approaches, resulting in the structed.” Despite its importance, research on customer edu- changing effectiveness of stimuli over time (Becker & Jaak - cation appears to overlook the interdependence of producers kola, 2020). and consumers in the process. Customer education is often The approach applied here enables understanding of how defined from the provider’s point of view as the “process consumer journeys are co-created and how specific practices of informing, explaining, and demonstrating core concepts influence the process for mutual value creation (for con - to customers” (Bell et al., 2017, p. 307), a perspective that sumers and firms). Prior research has shown that customer relegates consumers to the role of passive recipient. Mea- education, by providing novelty amid existing knowledge sures of customer education ask consumers to rate the extent structures, can help create new forms of value in stagnant to which providers keep customers well-informed, explain markets (Dolbec et al., 2022; Rosa et al., 1999; Sujan & core concepts, and give all the information needed to make Bettman, 1989) and can enable new entrants to undermine 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science incumbents (Hoch & Deighton, 1989). Furthermore, despite part of a “third place” (i.e., a social space outside of home being framed in terms of one-way information provision, and work) strategy. In contrast, third-wave specialists take customer education research is fraught with contradictions, a product-centered strategy: they tend to reject blends in as education is also often described both as a partnership favor of seasonally available single-origin coffees, restrict (Bell & Eisingerich, 2007) and as an essential ingredient the ways in which certain coffees can be produced (usu - for customer centricity and co-creation (Bell et al., 2017). ally only serving filter coffee with no additions), reject so- In examining educational consumer journeys from a sen- called “impure” products such as mochaccino (coffee with semaking perspective, we can explore the practices used chocolate added) and Americano (espresso diluted with hot by staff and customers to stimulate interest in new forms water), and use an expert-driven model to counter customer of value and sustain it over time, thereby contributing to preferences for hotter drinks, milk, sugar, and other flavor - the understanding of journey design, management and inno- ings. Third-wave producers also place greater emphasis on vation (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Becker & Jaakkola, 2020; coffee appreciation, often limiting the range of food avail - Schau & Akaka, 2021). able and rejecting the third-place model through policies, such as bans on laptop use or seating arrangements that work against large groups, that discourage lengthy stays. Method Although Specialty Co. aligns with the “craft specialist” approach to coffee identified by Dolbec et al. ( 2022), the Research context: Third-wave specialist coffee in the founders desired to expand coffee appreciation beyond a UK small segment of connoisseurs. Specialty Co. was founded in December 2009 by owners David and Paige, both of A six-year ethnographic study was conducted to address whom had previous barista experience, in a mid-sized UK our research question. The research site is a globally rec- city with a high proportion of middle to upper-middle-class ognized category innovator based in the United Kingdom, residents. At the time of Specialty Co.’s establishment, the anonymized as “Specialty Co.” An ethnographic design city was dominated by large second wave chains and had was deemed appropriate, as the aim was to capture in situ just one independent store. Specialty Co.’s store concept the practices enacted by both frontline staff and customers was particularly unusual at the time because it placed pri- to co-create novel consumer journeys, and the means by mary emphasis on the unique qualities of each coffee’s ter- which a sensemaking process occurred through interactions roir (a concept which holds that taste or flavor of a product between both parties (Hamilton & Price, 2019). The UK is is characteristic of the unique combination of the geogra- a relevant context for such inquiry as, according to the Brit- phy, climate, growing and processing practices from which ish Coffee Association ( n.d.), almost 16 per cent of the UK it was derived). The initial store could accommodate around population visit a coffee shop at least once a day. In addi - 10 customers and had only three staff, including the owners. tion, changes in the UK coffee sector reflect the introduction After a year, David and Paige moved to larger premises with of novel practices by craft specialists in the form of a more space for 50 customers and employed a team of 10 staff. education-driven approach (Dolbec et al., 2022). According to Manzo (2010, p. 143), the “first wave” of Data collection coffee consumption took place from the 1950s to the early 1990s and was typified by the consumption of instant and Data were collected in three phases as part of a longitudinal mass-drip coffee, while the “second wave” was character - research design. Initial exposure to the site occurred when ized by the emergence and popularity of branded chains the lead author first encountered Specialty Co. in 2010, soon such as Starbucks (USA), and Costa and Café Nero (UK). after it had opened. During an initial eight-month period, The “third wave” began in the 2000s and was driven by the lead author became acquainted with the owners and small independent stores or minichains, which celebrated regulars, spending an average of two hours per day in store the diversity of flavor arising from single-origin coffees and (during the busy 8 − 10am period). The theoretical focus sought to expand the range of experiences possible within on the co-creation of shared meaning emerged at that time, the category (Dolbec et al., 2022). Second-wave brands offer following observation of a shift by the owners from replicat- a mass-appeal, customer-driven experience using a standard ing existing independent store scripts to focusing on educat- set of practices. They use an in-house blend to ensure con- ing customers on how each individual coffee could be best sistency (i.e., predictability), offer a wide range of coffee experienced. styles (e.g., espresso, Americano, flat white) brewed to meet The second phase of the research involved a more for- customers’ preferences, and often complement the beverage mal two-and-a-half-year ethnography within the store. Dur- offering with café-styled food, encouraging longer stays as ing this time, the lead author spent on average 15 h a week 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science in the store, including peak hours, seated near the ordering with the principles of grounded theory such as iterative cod- area to observe service encounters. The researcher kept field ing, memo writing, constant comparison, tacking back and notes, engaged with customers and service staff, and fully forth between the literature, relating emerging theory and participated in the service system as a “regular” of the café. data, and a desire for theoretical saturation (Otnes et al., During this period, ethnographic inquiry extended to visits 2012). Particular attention was paid to the use and changes of other regions’ specialty coffee shops and industry immer - in ritualistic language, emotionally charged interactions sion (e.g., reading specialty literature and blogs and taking between customers and service staff, and the owners. Revi - coffee tasting and preparation courses). sions to the desired service journey were observed during The final phase involved less immersion over a two-year regular debrief sessions among the owner, senior staff, and period (albeit still five times a week), twice-weekly observa - the serving team. Interpretations were subjected to mem- tions in a second store opened by the owners that extended ber checks with key informants, and initial coding by the the script into a coffee/craft beer concept and conducting lead author was discussed and validated by the other authors a more formal set of interviews with former and current through discussion. staff (n = 8), customers (n = 21), and both owners (n = 2) To triangulate initial findings, Tripadvisor reviews were (see Web Appendix A). Throughout the latter two phases, examined as a source of additional information regarding the authors conducted regular member checks of emerging consumers’ experience of Specialty Co. At the time of writ- insights and themes. Finally, reviews on Tripadvisor (the ing, Specialty Co. had 668 reviews, a Tripadvisor “Certifi - dominant review platform during data collection) were ana- cate of Excellence” and was ranked first for coffee in its lyzed to provide further insights. locale. After removing a small number of non-English lan- Semi-structured interviews were on average one-hour guage reviews, two reviews about the store training courses long, with some extending to over three hours. Interviews and two reviews of the other shop of Specialty Co.’s own- with the owners focused on the evolving concept of the ers, a total of 647 reviews were coded by the authors, using store, key challenges, and staff management. Interviews iterative comparison and discussion to validate categoriza- with staff focused on prior work experience, induction into tion. Of the 647 reviews examined, 107 consisted of short Specialty Co.’s business and ethos, critical customer inci- reviews that did not include any references to the sensemak- dents, and reflections on practice. Particular attention was ing constructs of interest (of these, 99 were generic positive devoted to a shift in the staff’s core role from making the reviews indicating the reviewer’s enjoyment of the visit, five coffee to taking orders. When staff were tasked with making were neutral in tone or suggested a mixed opinion on the coffee, they had almost no customer interaction; when they shop’s offerings, and three described a negative experience took on the role of the server responsible for taking orders, at a specific visit, such as the reviewer’s seat being taken by they played the vital role in communicating Specialty Co.’s another customer). We coded these as “generic reviews” and approach to consumers. This shift was so important that fail- subjected them to no further analysis, focusing instead on ure to effectively embrace this customer-facing role resulted the remaining 540 reviews (504 positive, 28 neutral/mixed in dismissal. Interviews with customers focused on prior and eight negative). Drawing on the sensemaking literature, expectations of service encounters at coffee shops, their we paid particular attention to descriptions of uncertainty experience at Specialty Co., and their post-exposure expec- or discomfort, unexpected experiences, attitudes regarding tations in terms of coffee service encounters more gener - change, the role of service environment cues, the actions of ally. Informants were all regulars. Interviewing those who both staff and customers, beliefs the reviewer appeared to rejected the store’s approach was more difficult as many have about the café’s target customers, and its market posi- were transient (i.e., day tourists), or did not make their feel- tioning. The final coding scheme is reported in Web Appen - ings known during their encounter, although many were dix B, with supportive passages provided in Web Appendix reflected in Tripadvisor reviews. In addition, some in situ C. conversations with locals who were not positively disposed towards Specialty Co. were recorded in field notes. Findings Data analysis We find that journey creation and extension entail an ongo - ing cycle of sensebreaking, sensegiving and sensemaking Transcripts total 403 pages, supplemented by over 220 whereby (1) schema accommodation is necessary, (2) such pages of observational notes including those taken during accommodation requires participants to embody appropri- ethnographic interviews. All authors were familiar with the ate roles, (3) each role is generated by seven practices that general empirical context and relevant academic literatures reflect and are generative of meaning, and (4) this meaning and worked collaboratively to analyze the data consistent enables the enactment of successful educational consumer 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science journeys. The seven practices (auditing, realignment, mar- Schau, 2019), resulting in extended journeys characterized rying competing logics, negotiating scripts, evangelizing, by greater stickiness and schema adjustment. This triggers expanding collective knowledge, impression management) a third phase where customers desire to explore coffee edu - are spread out over three phases (designing, activating, and cation in more depth. These customers saw themselves as extending) of the consumer journey. These practices give peers, reflecting both a rebalancing of power between them rise to—and reinforce—the roles necessary for journey co- and the servers and more active engagement in co-creation. creation and, where desired, extension (Akaka & Schau, Such “expert” customers also played a more direct role in 2019). Figure 1 summarizes the journey co-creation pro- shaping how the owners and servers approached new design cess. Throughout the process, changing power dynamics and scripting choices. (reflected in role relations such as designer-tester, educa - Due to space constraints, we draw on exemplar inter- tor-student, and peer-to-peer) between staff and customers views (and supportive observational and secondary data) occur. Power shifts also result in changes in how and to what to substantiate our findings (further data are provided in extent staff and customers co-create the journey, directly or Web Appendix D). Our findings are structured following indirectly. For example, while responsibility for design- the three phases of the journey: designing, activating, and ing the journey lies primarily with the owners and servers, extending. Table 1 summarizes the findings, providing each customer input indirectly shapes servicescape decisions (as practice’s definition, result and exemplar quotations. indicated by the dotted lines in the Designing the Journey phase of Fig. 1). As the journey unfolds, the shift towards Designing the journey: Auditing and realignment peer-to-peer power relations result in more direct impact of customer input, with staff playing a secondary role by sup - Initially, David and Paige were struck by the potential for porting a community of practice that champions Specialty coffee to have a unique terroir. In his first interview, David Co.’s educational approach within and beyond the immedi- described his first experience of specialty coffee as laced ate consumption context. It is important to note the iterative with skepticism before being “completely blown away” and nature of the journey co-creation process as evidenced, for immediately seeing that “coffee as a richly diverse product example, in staff’s decision to change the servicescape in could represent an interesting idea people could engage the light of customer responses. with.” Interestingly, the staff with prior experience of the For many customers, staying within the first two phases category working for second-wave chains became instant is enough. In these cases, customers had made sense of Spe- converts to the emphasis on single origin coffee, believing cialty Co.’s approach but were content with a smooth cus- the product would speak for itself, in terms of both consumer tomer journey focused on enjoying the best possible coffee. experience and consumers valuing diversity and provenance For these customers the journey ends there. However, for (in contrast, staff with no prior experience in coffee had a others, journeys became integrated into identities (Akaka & slightly easier path to realizing the need for education). Fig. 1 The process of co-creating shared meaning 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Table 1 Summary of findings Practices Definition Result Supportive data Designing the journey: Auditing: Building an Removing script “A lot of people put sugar in coffee, because a lot of coffee is quite bitter. And so people practices, inventory and inconsistencies go and do that in a specialty espresso and it starts to taste like sour orange squash. It was roles, objects assessing its a customer who said to me once when they said oh this tastes really sour and I said, ‘you consistency put sugar in it?’ and they said ‘yes’. And then I said, ‘try another shot on the house’, and with desired they’re like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. Why didn’t you tell me that it wouldn’t work with journey sugar?’ And I was like that’s a really good point.” (David, owner) Realignment: Removing, Building “When I first came here, I found it quite intimidating. I had no idea what the [menu] board practices, adding, and capabilities for was saying. I’m used to walking into a café and the boards always have the same thing on roles, objects tightening the educational them, they have all the drinks and the prices. So, when you look up at a board, you would connections journey intuitively think: “I already know what it’s going to be.” […] I had to relearn how to under- between stand what they were selling.” (Francis, customer) servicescape and desired journey Activating the journey: Marrying Combining an Reflexivity “When someone asks something, rather than saying ‘yeah sure you can have that’, you try competing expert ethos and get someone’s interest, which is completely non-traditional because you’re saying ‘I’m logics with a cus- going to tell you something’ or look at me I’m going to draw attention to myself. Whereas tomer focus the role of the server in most situations is to not be there. Saying ‘I would recommend that you try this’, it’s a really big step to take as it’s very hard not to say, ‘yes’ to customers.” (Jackie, staff) “You’re almost like the tour guide for the experience. I think the word experience is impor- tant because it takes it apart from, oh, it’s just a cup of coffee. It’s more than that; it’s a cup of coffee with the experience and the knowledge of the staff.” (Maude, staff) “You have to go there and kind of play it a bit naïve and a bit ignorant but be prepared to learn and while specialty shops dictate what I can have, they actually put the power in the consumer’s hands again in the sense that, if you walk into the shop prepared to try some- thing special, you have to be prepared to learn about something.” (Hannah, customer) [I: What made the transition easier?] “Just listening to how David and Paige explain it. You think oh, yeah, actually, I can get that, I can see where you’re going with that, things like that. It was more like relearning coffee and all the things that can change and what coffee can do or has an effect, all those things, that you probably don’ t appreciate when you just have a normal cup.” (Charles, customer) Negotiating Aligning the Co-creation “You’re the most successful server here if you’re always going off script. The script is good scripts educational because you need somewhere to start. Then the idea is that the script becomes so common script to users to you that you can ad lib. It’s almost like a comedy show where they’ve got the sketch written out, but you decide where you’re going with it. … So in every single situation you have a better customer interaction if you treat them completely individually, react to the way that they’re reacting, and don’t restrict yourself. It’s like a really weird broad script in which there’s definitely a wrong and a right way to approach everything, but you couldn’t possibly have it all written out because it would be way too complex.” (Brandt, staff) “Approaching customers on a one-on-one basis and this idea of looking at an individual and seeing what they need and kind of assessing every transaction, person to person. It’s a really difficult skill to achieve. That conversation - the fact that the conversation never really ends is fantastic, because you keep on developing your skill.” (Donny, staff) Ethnographic note (15/3/2015): Today David is pushing a Brazilian coffee to the more experimental regulars. This is unusual, in so far as Brazilian coffees are typically the go to for servers when dealing with new customers. David’s recommendation is greeted with skepticism by these regulars, including myself, but he urges us to try the coffee, regaling us with how some Brazilian growers have embraced new varieties and processes, and new regions are opening up. It makes me reflect on when I was learning about wine and how as a nascent expert the “ABC” or “anything but Chardonnay or Cabernet” became a tool to indicate status, but also a process one moved through before realizing that there was still much to discover in these varietals. Extending the journey: 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Table 1 (continued) Practices Definition Result Supportive data Evangelizing Champi- Building commu- “I was in a place called [name] and they had an unusual looking machine, so I wanted to oning the nity of practice talk to them about it and they had four different types of filter coffee they were making and educational I stood up and the waiter said, it’s table service and I was like, well I’m going to go talk approach to your barista, I don’t give a shit if it’s table service… I walked over and they were all within and hesitant to speak about their product and it’s like they didn’t know. I don’t understand how beyond the you don’t know what you’re working with.” (Emma, customer) focal provider Expanding Providing Stickiness “It’s useful for us as well. I find that when I teach someone something else it makes it collective new resources much more concrete in my mind. I find we do pass on what we learn; so how to deal with knowledge to servers certain customers, how to give advice on things like sugar or Americanos, that kind of and other thing. Our little coping things.” (Maude, staff) like-minded customers Impression Signaling Community “There’s a lot of people watching, watching the staff, how they cope with it. You know for management membership identity a fact that some of these people think this is completely mad and they’ll never come back and engaging again, or they don’t even stay. So, it’s almost like: ‘well, are you going to join this club, are in collective you going to actually associate with what’s going on here?’” (Ian, customer) performances “The slight thing I do find myself now is, if I’m sat upstairs and someone comes in for the first time and they say, “I just want a strong coffee,” I make a face, like, “oh, wrong thing to say.” You just think that person has no idea. They’ve either come into the coffee shop because someone says there’s great coffee, thinking it means coffee as in coming out of Starbucks or Costa or something like that. I think that’s how I see it.” (Mikhalia, customer) This product-centric belief saw David and Paige design can trigger and enable responsive action, setting the founda- their initial store like standard independent cafés, using sig- tion for educational consumer journeys to take place. nifiers of origin such as burlap sacks of coffee beans as wall Customers, experiencing inconsistencies between Spe- displays and a menu framed by styles of coffee production cialty Co.’s espoused desires and actual practices, provided (espresso, flat white, Americano etc.). Furthermore, the ser - input into David and Paige’s own meaning-making practices vice model was originally embedded in the second-wave (in this case, how to signal the need for customers’ schema coffee-chain service script with a focus on giving customers accommodation). In this cycle of sensebreaking, sensegiv- what they wanted in terms of product range, additions of ing, and sensemaking, a servicescape that would enable milk and sugar, and honoring requests for “extra hot” drinks. further journey co-creation emerged through two practices: The sole difference was that consumers could choose from a auditing and realignment (see Table 1). The servicescape regular house blend and two single-origin coffees that were was designed to trigger a journey through touchpoints changed weekly, all of which were described on a board in that signaled the need for schema accommodation (i.e., in terms of flavor notes. response to sensebreaking) and then provided customers While this approach created a small group of converts, with cues that enabled them to make sense of and derive the feedback the owners received from customers was value from the journey (i.e., through processes of sensegiv- inconsistent with their own expectations for their offering: ing and sensemaking) (see Web Appendix B). Although the core elements of servicescape design were developed during Paige: The filters with milks, the espressos with sugar, the first six months of operation, changes evolved over time, people would return them all the time. Then we tasted reflecting both indirect and direct customer input (since data them, and we were like, ‘this is awful.’ It occurred to collection finished, Specialty Co.’s practices have been nor - us that this isn’t even close to representative of this malized in other third-wave operations). kind of [specialty] coffee because [for] all the flat The customer confusion described by Paige, reflective whites we were making, all the espresso shots and of disruptive ambiguity (Weick et al., 2005), triggered an black filters, you would get ‘that was great, thank you accommodation process, whereby the owners sought to so much.’ But for all those non-pure styles of drinks, understand the nature of the problem and craft an atypical we could see a huge problem and we would have to do category schema (Sujan & Bettman, 1989) that would trig- something radical. ger the sensebreaking and sensegiving necessary for further journey co-creation. This involved an audit of practices, Paige’s recounting of the dissonance she experienced after material objects and staff roles to identify those that were (in) the consumer feedback points to the kind of reflexivity that consistent with Specialty Co.’s strategic intent. In the small shop, initial changes focused on removing many mainstays 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science of second wave coffee shops: coffee prepared from a blend of uncertainty or confusion (Web Appendix B, “Sensebreak- of different beans, sugar (which Paige described as “like ing consequences”). However, as well as serving to desta- taking candy off a baby literally, just outrage”), and drinks bilize, they also signaled to customers the need for schema such as Americano, mochaccino, and hot chocolate. These accommodation and eventual role shift (to student). removals were done to disrupt expectations and signal the David and Paige’s process reflects an iterative approach need for schema accommodation, which, as Sujan and Bet- to sensemaking that is co-creative (Weick et al., 2005). In tman (1989, p. 455) explain, occurs “when a new mental redesigning the servicescape, they made sense of initial cus- schema is created, or the present schema undergoes sub- tomer disappointment by realizing that adhering to typical stantial modification to interpret a new concept.” The result sector schema made sensemaking of their new practices dif- ranged from customers simply being confused to some ficult for customers. Instead, a servicescape that signaled to being angry, yet each deletion was deliberately designed to customers the necessity of schema accommodation or modi- stimulate further inquiry. In David’s words, the aim was to fication (Sujan & Bettman, 1989) was needed. The auditing “move away from a comfort product; the person has to be and realignment practices resulted in the owners removing interested in exploration.” design elements that were not conducive to sensebreaking To be productive, sensebreaking must be followed by and sensegiving. Over time, these cues would continually sensegiving (Maitlis & Christianson, 2014). Thus, the dis- be adjusted in line with shifts in customer input and the nor- ruptive shifts also required servers to engage in co-creation malization of third-wave practices as a new model of ser- with customers, not only by explaining the reasoning behind vice within the category. However, while the servicescape disrupting expectations (see David’s passage in Table 1), aspects of the journey represented a critical basis for shap- but also rethinking their own role identities. For example: ing server and customer interactions, further reflexivity by both parties was necessary for consumer journeys to begin David: When you walk into the shop, it doesn’t look in earnest. like a coffee shop. The menu with espresso, flat white, cappuccino was replaced with [information on] the Activating the journey: Marrying competing logics coffee’s provenance and some flavor notes. … You and negotiating scripts have a menu that doesn’t really make sense, so you’ve broken expectation now. But what you need to do is Once manifestations of existing schema—such as menus fill it, because otherwise the customer is just uncom - featuring abundant beverage and food options, sugar, milk, fortable. So, then it becomes about hosting. We real- and other signals of customers’ authority in determining the ized that we had to have full time staff only who would design of their service experience—were re-aligned, staff develop a lot of knowledge, and we wanted them to members and customers had to embody new, appropriate role not be servers, but to be hosts and there’s a significant identities for their revised journeys to begin. This required difference: a server waits to be told by the customer the co-creation of a shared mental model that would enable what they’d like, a host does a very different job. staff and customers to enter a mutually beneficial journey. For both customers and staff, two practices were initiated: David’s passage reflects not only his desire to signal the need marrying competing logics and negotiating scripts. Marry- for schema accommodation to customers through touch- ing competing logics enabled servers to embody the shift point design choices (such as the menu board that describes from “server” to what we label as “educator” in Fig. 1 (see flavor notes, see Web Appendix E), but also the use of that Maude and Donny’s passages in Table 1). The same practice design to trigger a new consumer journey. Tripadvisor pas- saw customers give up some sovereignty and enter what we sages confirm that sensebreaking did occur, with numerous call the “student” role that was necessary for a satisfying references to the ways in which the store’s design—includ- journey to begin (Fig. 1). We evidence the shift in roles fur- ing the non-category-related name, lack of food, and aes- ther with quotes from the Tripadvisor reviews (and Hannah thetic sparseness—suggested the unexpected in relation to and Glen’s passages below) that contained advice to other the usual café schema (Web Appendix B, “Sensebreaking customers on the need to adopt a repertoire of new roles, triggers”). Interviews and observations of customers slow- including “learners” and “nascent connoisseurs,” while also ing down (see Francis’ passage in Table 1), doing mental framing baristas as “experts” and “teachers” (Web Appen- double takes, showing signs of confusion and/or looking dix B, “New role expectations”). The second practice, script for familiar cues suggests the atmospheric design had its negotiation, flowed from and reinforced these new roles. intended effect. Changes in atmospherics undermined cus - Servers needed to move beyond mere knowledge provision tomer expectations of category norms, which created a and focus on sensegiving. Getting this right led customers sense of being unsettled, and often resulted in expressions 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science to (1) engage in script negotiation through the provision of were possible. Thus, for servers, the educational process preferences and (2) be receptive to shifts in power relations. highlights the complexity of managing a multivocal pro- cess where schema accommodation entailed embodying a Servers become educators Although the move to an educa- mix of expertise, control, authority and professionalism to tor-student relationship is suggestive of shifts in power rela- trigger journeys that offered consumers’ desired levels of tions, server authority required customer receptivity to be stickiness. That is, some journeys developed from sticky to effective. In addition, as with any effective educator, servers smooth as the consumer made sense of the educational offer had to deploy knowledge in a way that enabled customers but desired to deploy that knowledge to choose a coffee best to engage in sensemaking through learning. This resulted aligned to their existing preferences. Other journeys con- in the need to find a balance between competing logics: too stantly oscillated between smooth and sticky as more con- much product-centricity and expertise led to accusations of sumers progressively sought deeper levels of engagement “being lectured to” (observed in situ and common to Tripad- with the category including continually challenging their visor complaints), while simply surrendering to customer own preferences. Accordingly, regardless of the type of cli- demands would reinforce a non-educational journey. In ent and journey required, Brandt learned to engage in a role marrying competing logics, servers faced unique challenges suggestive of authority and expertise tempered with respect, in embodying the educator role, due to their own received rather than subservience to customer expectations. rigid knowledge structures (Rosa et al., 1999). Those with To ease them into the educational role, probationary staff previous experience in service tended to fall back on a began by covering early morning shifts (8–10 am), because more passive, subservient approach to service (see Jackie, that usually meant attending to regular customers who were Table 1). Brandt, for example, had been in service jobs since familiar with Specialty Co.’s approach. As they progressed his teenage years, from food and beverage roles to retail. At in their own learning about the shop’s service concept, staff the time of the interview, he had just successfully passed his then proceeded to managing customer encounters at the till probationary period (he subsequently went on to be a shift during the busy 10–11am period, which involved groups manager for several years). He explained: of tourists or others less familiar with Specialty Co.’s approach. During this time, probationers were monitored Brandt: I was expecting to slip into [the role] eas- by experienced staff and allowed to make mistakes (unless ily because I thought I know about the product. I’ve they were struggling in a very difficult encounter). Each watched people learn how to serve here but it’s just encounter was followed by an in situ debrief in the form not like that at all … The biggest obstacle was talking of experienced staff asking questions that trigger reflexiv - to people and not being scared of what was happen- ity, such as “how do you think that went?”, “could it have ing. I wasn’t comfortable being confident and taking been different, better?” and “what could you have done to control. David wants someone who takes control of make it more effective for the customer?” For example (eth - an easy transaction to, in the case of businessmen who nographic note 3/7/2014), when a probationary member of challenge the philosophy but don’t listen, someone staff (Donny) acquiesced to a customer’s demands for the who can dominate and make them walk away having sugar dispenser, David was quick to gently reprimand him: listened to you. That requires a character trait that you “Don’t let customers just have sugar without first remind - develop or you put on. It’s like acting. ing them that the coffees are extra sweet, and they should first try it before they add anything.” This kind of coaching Brandt’s description of the process as a form of acting cap- introduced an intensity into the service role that resembled tures the range of skills needed to engage with and attempt an apprenticeship process whereby aspiring craftspeople are to educate customers with varying levels of interest and molded into skilled artisans (Campbell, 2005). receptivity. Hannah’s passage in Table 1 illustrates the simi- Interestingly, those with prior coffee service expertise lar need for customers to act differently to enable co-cre - could also struggle to make the necessary transition to the ation with servers to happen. Moreover, Brandt’s passage role of consumer educator. An exemplar is found in Geof- reveals the genuine struggles many servers experienced frey, who was so enamored with the Specialty Co. concept in their shift to the educator role, in which they needed to that he struggled to understand why customers would not be diagnose customers’ sensemaking problems, interpret core open to a more expansive view of coffee. His self-described cues to engage in sensegiving, and do so on a customer-by- tendency of “giving up on customers” not only earned the customer basis. In the case of the disinterested customer, the ire of David and Paige, but was also experienced by custom- challenge became how to align their preferences with what ers as pretentiousness, with the shop’s script viewed as an Specialty Co. could deliver. When customers were more unnecessary “lecture” (the opposite of sensegiving through open to the new approach, greater degrees of co-creation “passion without pretense,” see Web Appendix B). Geoffrey, 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science who eventually became a beloved shop manager (and later logic is being decentered and replaced with a learning logic opened his own third-wave coffee store), described his with a student–educator relationship at its center. Hannah transformation towards embodying the customer educator describes how one needs to be open-minded, initially giving role: up power to learn about coffee, while Charles acknowledges his novice role, recounting his appreciation for David and [Interviewer: Can you describe those difficulties?] Paige for teaching him what coffee could be. Another regu - Geoffrey: The fact that people hadn’t really thought lar, Glen, who eventually worked with David on a variety of about coffee in a specialist way meant that people projects that drew on his chemistry background (including a would ask why it would taste different with the milk. championship-winning barista routine, a book, and a crowd- I’d be like, ‘because there’s milk in it.’ There’s a nicer funded product innovation), describes becoming a student: way to put it. I had come here to seek experience, and people who hadn’t done that I didn’t really appreciate, Glen: I had to relearn how to understand what they I didn’t really want them here. I was sort of appalled at were selling, and then after I kind of embraced the idea their ignorance… Something like sugar in an espresso, of something a little bit more technical, because I can something people have had for years with Italian cof- appreciate technical sides of things. … People usually fees, it’s difficult to say that we recommend our cof - will use the words like, “I had a good coffee,” “I had fees without sugar. Immediately in the customer’s a bad coffee” and typically attribute that to either the mind they think ‘Oh, pretentious wanker,’ when the machine or the guy behind the machine and not any- reality of the message is more nuanced, that the sugar thing more than that. So, I thought I knew something, makes the coffees taste acidic and sharp. but I didn’t really. In [my hometown] I could identify naïvely what was and was not a good coffee, but the Geoffrey’s passage reflects a common experience among definition of good was not well defined because I had servers in businesses that have adopted more of an artisanal no idea what I was looking for. approach to well-established categories (Ocejo, 2017), inso- far as they expect customers to defer to their expertise and be Glen’s passage describes how sensebreaking involves the intrinsically interested in exploring new experiences within realization that there are discrepancies between a current a familiar domain. Like Brandt, Geoffrey needed to embody situation and one’s previous worldview. In comparison, sen- an educational role, but in his case, doing so was more semaking involves knitting cues together to form a coher- about being empathetic—in his words, “fair”—to custom- ent schema (Bingham & Kahl, 2013). For example, regular ers, neither pandering to their preferences nor seeing them customer Richard describes his embrace of the student role as uncultured, disinterested parties undeserving of further at Specialty Co. by comparing his experience to a friend’s: engagement. Marrying competing logics enabled servers to engage in the second practice of negotiating scripts, which Richard: A great friend of mine, he always drinks was central to co-creating educational consumer journeys. espresso, and he likes it hot. The first time he went to However, for that to work, customers also had to embody [Specialty Co.] he had to send it back because it wasn’t an educational role, that of the “student”, through marrying hot enough and they were very begrudging about it. competing logics. He can’t see why I’d want to go to that place. For me, I haven’t asked for anything in particular because I’m Customers become students Throughout data collection interested in their advice because I recognize they’ve we gained extensive insight into consumer experiences got a certain expertise that I haven’t. at Specialty Co. When confronted with the outcomes of realignment or server role changes whereby previously Tripadvisor reviews contained numerous references to role held schemas defined by customer-centricity were dis - orientations to help other customers make sense of Spe- rupted, most consumers faced initial periods of uncertainty, cialty Co.’s approach and avoid the situation that Richard’s discomfort, and frustration, typical of those experiencing friend found himself in. These included advising visitors to sensebreaking. In our sample of reviews on Tripadvisor, for “be prepared,” “understand what you are getting into” and example, we noted 39 passages in which it was clear that the metaphors suggestive of different roles and journeys, refer - disruption of pre-existing scripts was not appreciated and ring to Specialty Co. as a “cathedral” or “mecca” of coffee, was resisted (Web Appendix B, “Response to sensebreak- and parallels with similar classes of products such as wine ing”). Hannah and Charles, two regulars, explain how to suc- and tea. Finally, the store’s coffee was often described as cessfully approach the initial encounter (see Table 1). Both “real” and “proper,” and production practices were referred descriptions contain evidence that a consumer sovereignty to as “intelligent,” a “new way,” a “science experiment,” 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science or “the creation of artists” (Web Appendix B, “New mental time. The script takes no more than 30 seconds to go models”). through but does not feel rushed. At that point, cus- Having experienced sensebreaking through atmospheric tomers begin to engage, often providing cues in the cues, we find that customer responses fell into three types: form of preferred blends or styles, preferred brands, or passive participation (displays of lack of interest or impa- other cues that are then used by Paige. tience, such as interrupting servers in mid-explanation to ask that a coffee be chosen for them), rejection (angry outbursts However, servers were also trained on how to adapt the invoking their sovereignty in the form of a command such as script through what Paige refers to as “degrees of dilution.” “just make me a coffee”), and intrigued participation (dis- Paige, who often provided service training to the novice plays of eagerness in participating in the service encounter, staff, describes how even the most experienced baristas such as listening carefully to the server, explaining prefer- struggled with this practice: ences, and recounting previous experience in the category) (cf. Dong & Sivakumar, 2017). Servers were trained to Paige: The first thing you’ve got to get into staff’s respond to each, with sensegiving via script negotiation heads is what we do and why, so that they can, in most relevant for the third (the first two were dealt with in a varying degrees of dilution, pass it on. It’s the varying more forceful way, with servers often stating, “I would rec- degrees of dilution that’s difficult because we’re train - ommend this coffee for you, OK?”). Just as servers had to ing people to be savvy, to watch the person in front learn to become more reflexive about their responses and be of them. What did they say? How did they ask for ready to become an “educator,” script negotiation resulted their drink? What’s their demeanor? In one sentence in a shift for the customers too, requiring them to embody you can glean so much information and that’s where a new role identity—that of the student—and participate you step forward. That’s why it’s tough on till and it’s more actively to co-create the journey. [why] I’ve had staff members that couldn’t be more In summary, marrying competing logics involved an onboard with it [the product concept], but just can’t interplay between sensegiving and sensemaking. While deliver. servers sought ways to blend an expert-centric logic with one that ensured customers would embark upon an educa- Whereas previous research suggests that sensegiving is pri- tion-oriented journey, customers had to take a somewhat marily top-down or unidirectional (Press & Arnould, 2011), subservient position to re-learn about coffee. This shift in passages such as Paige’s above reveal a more adaptive pro- customer practices and roles was also aided by the script cess consistent with mainstream pedagogical philosophies. negotiation practices initiated by servers. Through these Furthermore, we note recent clarifications that co-creation is practices, servers could identify the appropriate sensegiving not the same as co-production and therefore does not always mechanisms that would empower consumers to embrace the require active participation by all involved (Vargo & Lusch, journey that had been devised for them. 2016, p. 8). Just as many teachers embrace the concept of “child-centered education” but would be wary of allowing Script negotiation Script negotiation emerged from and students to determine the curriculum, staff at Specialty Co. complemented the practice of marrying competing logics: want new customers to have a positive experience, but do as staff and customers alike engaged in the reflexivity neces - not assume that the customers themselves are best posi- sary to adopt a new role, they recognized the need to engage tioned to determine how they should drink their coffee. in mutual sensegiving through the collection and provision Donny’s comment in Web Appendix D (“Triggers”) echoes of cues that would result in the construction and activation a common parental strategy to distract children as a means of a somewhat personalized journey. Specialty Co. had a of coaxing them into a new behavior. standardized server script as part of their welcoming of As Paige recounts, while customers were making sense customers to the store as described in the following ethno- of the new servicescape, staff were gathering clues related graphic note: to the customers’ experience and expectations. Whereas novice and unsuccessful servers simply stuck with the basic (8/6/2012): Paige welcomes customers and asks, “Is training script which outlined Specialty Co.’s point of dif- this your first time in the store?” Since it is, Paige ference, more successful servers used the service script as explains how Specialty Co. is different from other a starting point and adapted it for each customer they dealt shops, preferring to focus on the unique flavor of with (see passages from Donny and Brandt, Table 1). To do individual coffee lots that change with seasonal avail - so, they attempted to “read” the customer and build a con- ability. She then runs through the categories and offer - nection between the store’s concept and shared frames that ings on the board, looking at the customer the entire could co-create a new schema (Moreau et al., 2001). In so 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science doing, servers and customers reached “understandings that saw as more nuanced and complex flavors. To get regulars are close enough … in ways that allow coordinated action” to rethink these default preferences, David would counter (Maitlis & Christianson, 2014, pp. 66–67). reluctance with a stern facial expression or a gentle prompt Although servers strived to bring the owners’ concept such as “no, c’mon” that would signal his educator status and attendant service ideals to fruition, they found that, to and the need for a customer to return to student mode. produce a successful outcome, education had to be anchored As the journey took shape and began to extend, we also to a customer-held frame to enable what Rosa and Spanjol saw more engaged customers seek out stickiness by adopt- (2005, p. 201) call “analogical transference,” which is “the ing a stance that represents a role identity high on skill ori- borrowing of structure and meaning from source domains entation (Martineau & Arsel, 2017) by appraising the extent of experience to assist in the interpretation of novel infor- of their knowledge. This was reflected in the commonly mation.” One cue was country of origin, with servers often observed practice of asking servers not to tell them which picking up on an antipodean accent or reference that inspired coffee they were being served. For example: them to adapt the script to relate Specialty Co.‘s coffee to the types served in Australia. Other cues included reference Mel: I have an Excel sheet [laughs]. The rule for to a preferred roast (e.g., dark, French or Italian) or prepara- myself is that I’m going to taste [the coffee] first. So, I tion style, allowing the server to quickly suggest compara- would tell David, ‘Don’t tell me what it is, I’m going tive options. For example, Vladimir would often anchor to taste it.’ After I taste it, I write it down, and then his conversation in a stronger-to-lighter continuum as he I’ll go back to see the flavor notes that they suggest described the order of the coffees on the menu. Brandt, who and where it is from. The idea is that I want to see found figuring out how to connect to customers “exhilarat - over time whether I can taste the provenance. I think ing,” “challenging” and “intellectually engaging,” would at the end of the one year I tasted 98 estates and 20 experiment with new ways to explain the café’s ideology. countries. For example, drawing on previous experience in wine ser- vice, he would use the concept of terroir as a metaphor to This passage illustrates Mel’s desire to find out what she explain the significance of “single origin” coffees. Others may not know; she voluntarily participates (Dong & Sivaku- employed more everyday analogies: Geoffrey’s favorite mar, 2017) in the role of learner and creates a game that tests was that of cake mix. He would explain that just as chang- her skill and then engages with servers to suggest changes ing ingredients and processes when making a cake would in taste descriptors. A sign of further journey stickiness was change the flavor, so was it with coffee. These script adapta - customers’ use of technical, “in-group” terms when speak- tions functioned as simple sensegiving devices and enabled ing with servers (and signaling to like-minded other custom- co-creation to occur, as consumers were offered a personally ers), such as “dialing in” (baristas’ code for setting the daily relevant starting point to a journey. recipe in terms of grind, weight, and water, for each roast); Despite some initial skepticism, a common observation “potato characteristics” (an undesired flaw common in the was that consumers gave servers the benefit of the doubt, otherwise sought-after Rwandan coffee) or when discussing and subsequently expressed surprise at how their experi- David’s most recent blog posts. It was not uncommon for ence with the coffee had conformed with the server’s pre - loyalists to extend their educational journey further, either diction. Tentatively, these more open customers would by seeking out like-minded cafés elsewhere when travelling begin to increase their engagement with servers, providing or by bringing their knowledge into their own home, trig- insights into their changing preferences, and affirming that gering further engagement with staff. For example: sensemaking had occurred by, for example, remarking that specialty coffee offered parallels to wine or tea. It was not Richard: I got introduced to [Specialty Co.] and unusual for previously uncertain consumers to thank serv- started to think more about it and since then I now ers as they exited the café and acknowledge that they were have a weekly delivery from [brand name]. So, they “won over.” Importantly, roles and scripts were dynamic, send me every week a bag of beans which they roasted even for more experienced regulars. The ethnographic note on a Thursday, I get sent it on the Friday and that will in Table 1 contains one such example, in which David was last for the week and then we get a new one and the introducing further stickiness into the journeys of regulars provenance of the beans that it’s come from and how by asking them to reconsider Brazilian coffee. Brazilian it’s been prepared, is all itemized. It’s fascinating; you coffee is typically regarded as the preferred industry stan - start to appreciate the differences and if you’ve got a dard and thus suffers from a kind of reverse snobbery (e.g., reasonable source of fresh coffee that is different every emically referred to with derision as “trad”) from more week it gives you a great opportunity to understand experienced customers who had transitioned to what they the differences from geography but also from the way 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science that the beans are prepared, whether they’re washed or Extending the journey: Evangelizing, expanding unwashed or whether they’re pulped or not pulped, all collective knowledge, and impression management that sort of stuff. Extended journeys were characterized by two significant Richard’s passage reflects his role as a continuous learner changes. First, consumer roles shifted from student to peer, who strives to acquire more knowledge. He then deploys with further shifts in power relations between them and this understanding when engaging with servers at Specialty the staff. Second, extended journeys saw consumers enter Co. to signal that he shares the same schema and desires a community of practice, or group of like-minded others more knowledge—not only about what is currently on offer, (customers and staff) focused on upskilling in an area of but also more esoteric information, such as how each of the personal passion (Wenger et al., 2002). Therefore, these three available preparation methods might impact flavor. extended consumer journeys are characterized by a high This further reinforces the dynamic nature of role relations degree of personalization and co-creation (cf. Schau & within journeys, as customers like Mel and Richard (and the Akaka, 2021). Journey extension involved three co-creation first author, referred to in the Brazilian coffee field note; see practices: evangelizing, expanding collective knowledge, “New mental models” in Web Appendix D) switch among and impression management. student, nascent expert and, as we explain below, peer roles. Evangelizing, whereby “members act as altruistic emis- Furthermore, servers similarly shift their role-driven prac- saries and ambassadors of good will” (Schau et al., 2009, tices, reflecting changes in power relations as journeys take p. 34), is a practice that co-creates value for the commu- shape and become more complex or stickier over time. nities that consumers are part of. Importantly, in this case, In summary, marrying competing logics and script nego- evangelizing meant consumers championing the educa- tiation created the reflexivity necessary for staff to develop tional approach to other consumers. This occurred both in a role identity that would enable journey activation (Akaka Tripadvisor passages defending Specialty Co.’s approach & Schau, 2019). To embrace the educator role, staff needed and pushing back against other reviewers, as well as in to consider their expertise in the context of customers’ sen- face-to-face interactions. Emma’s passage in Table 1 pro- semaking needs. In so doing, they deployed sensegiving vides an example of this, whereby the now more educated mechanisms that contained superordinate shared meanings customers would seek greater knowledge on technical pro- that were also personalized, enabling consumers to embrace duction issues from servers or owners of other cafés that Specialty Co.‘s logic. Whereas Rosa and Spanjol (2005) sold single-origin coffee. Consumers such as Emma draw identify that initial sensemaking comes from complex on deeper levels of knowledge to apply legitimacy litmus stories, we find that co-created journeys start with simple tests to judge the sincerity of seemingly like-minded oth- sensegiving devices that subsequently provide the basis for ers, while Anna deployed the knowledge she gained from greater complexity to emerge. Critically, we also identify the Specialty Co. to engage with the emerging specialist coffee multivocal nature of these interactions as customers deepen scene in her home country: their engagement in their journey (within and outside the confines of Specialty Co.) and begin to offer personalized Anna: When I go home [Russia] I look for such shops. narrative devices to staff, who then can use this for a new If they sort of look remotely like [Specialty Co.], I iteration of sensemaking. want to know to what extent they are similar to what As shown in Fig. 1, consumers who had made sense of they are doing here. If I go to a shop where I’ve felt Specialty Co.’s offer then engaged in two types of journeys: that they are really excited about what they’re doing, (1) one that was primarily smooth, which involved oper- then I’ll ask them, ‘Oh, have you heard about this?’ in ating within the parameters of Specialty Co.’s offer (i.e., a way to sort of try to influence them. they understood that coffee was diverse, knew their pref - erences, and therefore entered into a predictable journey Tripadvisor reviewers provide examples like Anna’s, in each encounter) or (2) one that was extended in unique explaining how Specialty Co. expanded their knowledge ways where consumers’ identity was increasingly connected of coffee and inspired them to learn even more, while also to further exploration of coffee (and, in some cases, similar shaping their category expectations and standards (see Web emerging categories such as craft beer). Appendix B, “Modified category-related behaviors”). The internalization of Specialty Co.’s concept led evangelists to deploy their newly found knowledge when visiting other specialist coffee shops. Customers such as Emma noted how they would drop cues into conversations with servers about their city of origin or mention Specialty Co. as an expression 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science of status and a signal to those in the know to prove their cof- For Mel and others, the development of expertise led to a fee credentials. They would also ask more penetrating ques- sustained journey that resulted in a further updating of their tions at other cafés, offer technically sophisticated responses schema while simultaneously developing new expectations and make thoughtful suggestions of coffees and preparation of the staff. The passages in Table 1 (Maude) and from methods, expecting servers to engage them as peers. Anna and Mel indicate that role relationships shifted from A peer identity also emerged through the practice of student–educator to peer-to-peer, resulting in an expectation expanding collective knowledge. This is exemplified by Mel, that servers would respond in kind. This expectation is also who integrated Specialty Co.’s approach within her profes- reflective of customers’ own embrace of a craft, rather than sional studies on product origin and traceability to discuss commercial, logic (Dolbec et al., 2022). Other evidence of with David the veracity of sustainability and ethical claims the shift in relations and resulting expectations came when made by the independent coffee sector. In turn, this line of we noticed that some customers reported decreasing their questioning led David to update his own knowledge, explor- patronage of the café when Specialty Co. focused on new ing topics such as the impact of growing coffee on wild - business opportunities. The owners’ absence from the store life, the sustainability of the expansion of coffee farming, as they worked on developing their new venture, coupled and how to authenticate claims of origin. Mel also drew on with the loss of three early staff, meant that the remaining her cultural background (Chinese-Malay) to engage servers (and usually less experienced) servers focused more on about tasting notes. Her experience revealed the culturally managing a smooth customer journey than on further devel- situated nature of flavor profiles and led the Specialty Co. oping expertise. As Al describes: staff to use an expanded range of descriptors, which eventu - ally evolved into a new way of writing tasting notes to be Al: Those old staff members that seemed to have more accessible. quite an in-depth knowledge and would talk to me about coffee aren’t there anymore. … I don’t really Mel: I remember being excited about tasting Jackfruit think I’ve learned much in the last six to eight months. in Ethiopian natural types. I think there were times There’s just a lot younger staff members there at the that I tasted [another flavor type] in the Javanese one moment. I think that I definitely experience a kind of as well. Never tasted that in coffee before. [I: Did you one-size-fits-all service in the sense of “yeah, this one tell those guys?] Yes … people relate to taste based is a really good one, you’ll like it,” but not being told on what they have tasted before. So, they would write why. Whereas in the past it would have been like my something along the line of stone fruits. Then I said palate would have been better understood. Now I’m Jackfruit, because in some fruits you have the taste not expecting a coffee shop to remember every single of sour, in some fruit you have the taste of sweetness. coffee every single person has, but there was definitely Then you have the aroma as well. For me Jackfruit more of a ‘we know that this guy likes this and there- has all the different spectrums of flavors. That’s kind fore he might be interested in trying something com- of fun. But also sort of having this awareness that we pletely different down the end of the spectrum because might be tasting the same thing, but we’re describing we’re trying to enhance his relationship to coffee.’ I it differently. don’t experience that anymore. As an example of customer-initiated co-creation, Mel’s Al’s decrease in patronage is a reminder that, contrary culturally generated insights shaped changes to Specialty to expectations, the engagement that can initially lead Co.’s store design and script behaviors. First, servers used to extended journeys can also lead to a diminishment of Mel’s insights to engage other customers, both in script commitment. form and with an expanded set of descriptors on the menu Finally, impression management was a means by which board. Mel’s insights also were used by other customers, peers signaled their identity. This took many forms and many of whom were familiar with South-East Asian flavors, included assessing customers for their potential as com- to expand their own sensory repertoire. Second, the real- munity members and welcoming and engaging with new, ization that tasting notes were culturally situated led David seemingly like-minded customers (see Ian and Mikha- to reconsider the value of notes altogether. In a subsequent lia’s passages in Table 1). Other examples of this practice blog post he announced that Specialty Co. had moved to involved using expert language as described earlier, com- much simpler notes focusing on dominant flavors, as overly menting on David’s recent blog posts, watching and dis- complicated notes often made customers feel incompetent cussing coffee-related events including competitions, and when they could not perceive subtle flavors. engaging with complex ideas such as those covered in David and Glen’s blog posts on the science of coffee. For example: 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Charles: Just everything about the coffee industry, all and sensemaking dynamics, involving shifts in roles, power the things that go into coffee and what can affect cof - relations, and practices. fee—so obviously some of it is pressure, grind size, all In doing so, we also challenge and extend previous work that type of stuff. Water. I could probably recite quite in customer education. A successful educational journey a lot of Glen’s talk - not necessarily understanding it is enacted when service context, roles and practices align. all - at least the first time I heard it, when he was test - Whereas education has been regarded as a one-way activity ing this, that and the other, and parts per million. But that is largely done to customers (Bell et al., 2017) and that as he’s refined that talk, it’s not necessarily dumbed relies on the authority of skilled providers (Ocejo, 2017), we down, but it’s more relative to the normal people as find that it is co-created, dynamic, and potentially empower - opposed to scientists. So now when I go to places, I ing. The longitudinal nature of our study reveals the com- have my Beanhunter app and I go and find coffee or I plex and tension-ridden nature of educational consumer say to David and Paige ‘I’m off to so-and-so, is there journeys. We capture the challenges involved in sensebreak- anything good?’ ing, sensegiving and sensemaking that occur as staff and customers unlearn old roles and adopt new ones, grapple As well as deepening one’s engagement in the category with new concepts that expand category boundaries, and, like Charles describes, other actions often involved defend- where desired, begin to explore new pathways that expand ing the café, with regulars submitting Tripadvisor reviews identities and shape the evolution of expectations and com- to counter criticisms and signal to like-minded others that mercial practices. As a result, we identify managerial impli- Specialty Co. was worthy of visiting (see the passage on cations arising from the need to cede control to consumers “Distinction” in Web Appendix C). Finally, regulars would as part of the journey process (Akaka & Schau, 2019) that try and enhance their status by sharing bags of externally can be transferred to other contexts in which education, or sourced beans with Specialty Co. In one case, the first other knowledge-based innovations, may offer new sources author provided David with a Robusta-Arabica (two species of value for consumers and marketers. of coffee) blend used by a Singaporean barista as a path - way to shift locals away from more bitter (Robusta) coffee Consumer journeys as practiced sensemaking towards a lighter (Arabica) roast. Specialty Co. had a policy of acknowledging status by serving the best of such shared In extending research on sensemaking in marketing, we beans as a special “guest coffee” on the menu board. In make several contributions to our understanding of con- these cases, the coffee was credited to the customer, provid - sumer journeys. Although previous research has explored ing them with enhanced status among community members. sensemaking in the marketing context, the focus has been The very best of these were immortalized in a display work on how a single individual engages in sensemaking, rather developed by David and placed in the seating area at the than on how sensemaking occurs through and enables co- entrance of the café (see Web Appendix F). creation (see Press & Arnould 2011 for an exception). For example, Rosa and Spanjol (2005) focus on the power of storytelling as a sensemaking device and how the content Discussion of stories shifts over time. Reflecting the logic of dominant design in innovation, these authors show how sensemaking This study focuses on educational consumer journeys, stories move from complex to simple over time, as category adopting a sensemaking perspective to explore how provid- stakeholders (journalists and marketers) come to a con- ers and customers co-create meaning. We find that journey sensus on the nature of the innovation. In contrast, we find creation and extension consist of dynamic and ongoing that sensemaking stories in co-created journeys are more cycles of sensebreaking, sensegiving and sensemaking. dynamic, shifting between simple and complex depend- Although previous work highlights the importance of ing on the alignment of context, participants and practices schemas in knowledge innovation or category expansion over time. Expressed differently, whereas sensemaking is (Rosa et al., 1999; Rosa & Spanjol, 2005; Sujan & Bett- defined as a socio-cognitive construct, we show that it is man, 1989), prominence is given to the communication also embedded in and emerges through material and social practices of producers, with consumers fulfilling a mainly practices deployed by individuals throughout the journey passive role. In contrast, we show that consumer journeys (Akaka & Schau, 2019). are co-created, and identify the meaning-making practices Whereas previous research suggests consumers are that are used by all parties to enable meaning enactment. receivers of information in the form of top-down sensegiv- Specifically, we unpack a set of sensebreaking, sensegiving ing (Rosa & Spanjol, 2005), we identify seven practices that underpin shifting information asymmetries, power 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science relations, and identities of staff and consumers. As a result, on the effectiveness of staff and servicescape sensebreaking meaning-making practices involve an iterative cycle of and sensegiving practices. sensebreaking, sensegiving, and sensemaking as each party Research on other value-generating constructs, such engages in the reflexivity essential to journey creation and as community, play, and skill have noted the journey-like extension (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Schau & Akaka, 2021). nature of value creation (Muñiz & O’Guinn, 2001; Sere- This process is often far from smooth and entails iteration, gina & Weijo, 2017; Woermann & Rokka, 2015). In each particularly on behalf of servers, to craft simple stories or case, for value to be experienced, identity roles must be scripts that enable co-creation, adapt them to fit each con - embodied, often through, sustained effort, learning, and sumer, and where desired, add greater complexity to help disappointment (Siebert et al., 2020). Although these stud- consumers expand their journeys. It also requires reflexivity ies often focus on the subjective experience of embodying regarding role identity and power relations, as servers must each form of value, their findings indicate the practices that shift roles from educator to peer as journeys extend. Even at can be used to enact such journeys and, critically, to sustain this stage, stickiness must be introduced to re-trigger sense- them. In the context of cosplay, for example, Seregina and breaking and further schema accommodation, and must Weijo (2017) identify how play-based journeys deteriorate, be done respectfully yet forcefully, as with the example of moving from identity-driven consumption to decreased David trying to overcome customer bias towards Brazilian engagement or even exit. In that study, peer-like consumers coffee. Therefore, our contribution lies in extending sense - felt alienated from their play as the effort required to better making to account for co-creation in consumer journeys, each cosplay performance increased. In such cases, our find - and in unpacking the dynamic nature of an expanded set ings suggest that journeys might need to be extended in dif- of meaning-making practices over the length of extended ferent directions, possibly through embodying an educator encounters while also accounting for shorter, one-off ser - (rather than peer) role and engaging with novices. Similarly, vice interactions. marketers of extreme sports could introduce new sources of Consumer journeys involve different sets of relations— stickiness that could temporally misalign practices to trigger staff–customer, staff–staff, and customer–customer as well the mastery of new skills and extend journeys with users as the relation of all to the servicescape. In examining the (Woermann & Rokka, 2015). multivocal nature of journey co-creation and extension, we find that customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) plays an Customer education as a co-created journey important role in the sensemaking process. Although we emphasize CCIs in journey extension primarily through This study goes beyond viewing customer education as mere communities of practice, we believe that CCIs have a role information provision and instead reveals its potentially to play in the other parts of the journey. For example, Tri- critical role in consumer journeys, particularly when exist- padvisor reviews are a customer-generated form of sense- ing category schemas are being meaningfully disrupted. We giving that alerts potential customers to the need for schema find that both providers and customers benefit from adopt - accommodation. Furthermore, we observed how direct and ing an educational orientation. By assuming new roles to indirect interactions, including simple vocal expressions of co-create journeys, participants add meaning and innova- confusion, surprise, joy and anger, played a sensemaking tion to established categories, upskill customers seeking role. For example, whispered comments of “it’s unusual” or new experiences, and create greater engagement, not only “not like a normal coffee shop” were common in the store as between customers and providers but also within commu- customers lined up to order. These help not only to confirm nities of like-minded customers. These powerful outcomes that sensebreaking is occurring and that it is a shared experi- are achieved through a blend of deliberate changes to the ence, but also potentially reflect customers’ initial engage - servicescape as well as co-creative practices—an iterative ment in schema accommodation. Indeed, commonly heard approach involving sensebreaking, sensegiving and sense- claims affirming different flavors and desirable, if surpris - making—which eventually lead to changes to server and ing, outcomes may help reduce anxiety among other cus- customer role identities. tomers and help ease them into a new journey. Furthermore, Whereas existing research defines customer education in engagements with staff and subsequent discussions among terms of one-way information transfer (Bell et al., 2017), friends that coffee is for example “just like wine,” help with we find that seeking to engage and empower customers the journey co-creation process, and often trigger further through education involves role embodiment, co-creation, explorations between customers that lead to further journey and evolving power relations and expectations over time. extension. Future research should explore these different We contribute to scholarly understanding of both customer types of CCIs on journey cocreation, including their impact education and consumer journeys, showing the arc of how such journeys are designed and managed, as well as how 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science shifts in engagement impact on the veracity of touchpoints of staff reflexivity, which we have shown is necessary to and interactions (Becker & Jaakkola, 2020). We show that trigger meaningful educational journeys with customers. As customer education involves engaging in practices that seen in the case of Specialty Co., providers can maintain an prompt new role adoption that are necessary to enact a jour- expert-driven logic by extending the performative aspects ney (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Schau & Akaka, 2021). Impor- of craft to include working with the material customers pro- tantly, the implementation of customer education strategies vide. The result is a more personalized approach that cre- relies on meaning co-creation, entailing careful attention to ates the potential for longer consumer journeys with a larger alignment across servicescape design, server role, and cus- number of customers. tomer knowledge to enable the development of the shared Our findings also have implications for training and reward schema necessary for educational journeys to take place. In structures. Specialty Co. deliberately moved away from a adopting the perspective of a journey, we show how educa- model focused on hiring part-time staff (such as students). tion involves sensemaking devices such as stories (Rosa et While employing transient employees is common in the UK al., 1999) allowing the consumer to place themselves in the where service is seen as a temporary role mainly for young journey being offered (van Laer et al., 2014). Thus, although people, the case of Specialty Co. highlights the benefit of we identify that some aspects of education are consciously hiring staff whose values are consistent with the organiza - designed, satisfying consumer journeys emerge over time tion’s identity and image. It is worth noting that Specialty through interactions among participants, practices and Co. also had a longer probation period (six rather than the context. three-month standard), paid above the industry average, There are many educational contexts in which atypical and encouraged and supported staff to invest in their own schemas or scripts are deployed which can also benefit from knowledge and skill. Owner David often made it clear that the perspective we offer here. For example, studies of spe - the desire was to combine the potential of single-origin cof- cialist firms in the artisanal economy report staff frustration fee with the service ethos and consistency of larger chains, with unresponsive or disbelieving customers (Ocejo, 2017). leading to a recruitment brief that ignored previous sector Staff typically react by either falling back on typical schemas experience in favor of a focus on hospitality. (e.g., offering a full range of products) or engaging in subter - Our findings suggest that for marketers seeking to engage fuge to impose a “better” solution on the customer (Ocejo, in educational journeys, an apprenticeship-like approach 2017). In either case, information has been provided, but where newer employees can emulate and get feedback from no journey has been initiated, leaving customers skeptical, more experienced staff is essential. Therefore, developing ignorant, or frustrated, while the specialist firm struggles to educators in such service settings also requires sharing best legitimize its offering. Research on craft specialists identi - practice to make tacit knowledge more explicit. Relatedly, fies the importance of practice expansion to enhance mar - retention of more experienced staff appeared to be vital ket dynamism and value creation (Dolbec et al., 2022), but to retain longstanding customers who could experience a represents such practices as largely performative, whereby reduction in satisfaction without the consistent educational skilled artisans display their skills to entrance like-minded challenges. Sabbaticals or short-term placements in like- customers. In this study, we emphasize the ways in which minded companies, which are used in industries such as fine meaning-based journeys must be crafted through practices wine and film production, could be deployed to increase to enable staff and customers to embody the roles necessary retention. for education and co-creation to occur. Although we focused on a category disruptor and stra- tegic specialist, our findings have implications for a wider Managerial implications set of firms. Starbucks, for example, has sought to leverage its purchasing power and stave off competitive threats by Creating value through educational journeys Our findings expanding its offerings to include a range of single-origin indicate that value can be created in established categories coffees in what it terms “reserve” cafés. Although the empha - through educational journeys. We show that an educational sis is on targeting more knowledgeable customers prepared approach can be vital to firms engaged in a so-called artisanal to pay a premium for better coffee (Dolbec et al., 2022), this economy, where an emphasis on craft, origin, and diversity approach could be combined with an educational focus that may also require the adoption of an alternative market logic reinforces the brand’s historic emphasis on skilled baristas, (Dolbec et al., 2022). For example, Ocejo (2017) shows and on creating brand loyalty through extended journeys, how, in craft-focused service businesses in sectors domi- while enhancing its authenticity and status. Although a nated by generalist chains focused on smooth journeys, large chain’s business model does not allow for the level staff struggle to educate customers about new possibilities. of personalization of Specialty Co., established general- Considering our findings, this might be indicative of lack ists could still benefit from offering educational events and 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science establishing collaborations with high profile insiders such as specific points in the “sticky” educational journey (Siebert David, similar to the championing of like-minded brands by et al., 2020), with provider-driven practices triggering jour- larger specialists such as BrewDog (a Scottish craft brewery neys and interactive practices sustaining them over time. with international branches) and Shinola Detroit (founded as a watch maker and now purveyor of a range of goods As noted earlier, we emphasize the shift as customers move manufactured with a “craft ethos”). from extracting primarily functional value to identity-based Customer education also occurs within a supportive ser- value as their engagement in the category deepens (Schau & vicescape. Research suggests that servicescapes can enable Akaka, 2021; Siebert et al., 2020). As they extend the jour- participation in activities and absorption of knowledge ney, consumers begin engaging in practices that enhance (Pine & Gilmore, 1999). Specialty Co. was designed to their knowledge of coffee, often through grooming (shar - deliberately break sense by stopping consumers from auto- ing knowledge of taste, like-minded cafés, blogs, other matically slipping into the dominant category script. How- brands) and customizing (Schau et al., 2009), such as when ever, it was also designed to highlight skilled performances Mel adapted tasting notes to her own cultural context and of servers and to provide enough cues that could be used by shared it with others. Practices such as badging (Schau et consumers to make sense of the journey. Seemingly small al., 2009) (e.g., selling coffees discovered by customers design decisions, such as the choice of a professional but as guest products) enable social affirmation of consumers’ non-branded uniform resembling the cultural codes of table status and highlight creative ways in which managers can service at high-end restaurants, the strategic placement of leverage customers’ personal education to enhance not only awards, coffee information (e.g., a flavor wheel), and vari - customers’ experience but benefit the organization. This is ous equipment used to make drinks enabled consumers to well illustrated by practices such as evangelizing, which quickly recognize the need for schema accommodation help increase community resources while further develop- and subsequently piece together a new mental model that ing brand reputation. would help them embody the appropriate role. If the aim is to break with pre-existing schemas focused on smooth Educational journeys as cultural innovation Finally, educa- journeys, managers would be well advised to design their tional journeys represent a form of cultural innovation that servicescape with clarity of purpose, including significant can lead to market disruption in saturated categories. Cul- use of strategic absences, as well as placement of cues to tural innovation has been offered as an alternative form of encourage the cognitive processing that is central to sense- value creation for challenger brands and draws on sociolog- making for educational journeys. ical insights to reframe categories in ways that add deeper The extended immersion with the service detailed in meaning for consumers (Holt, 2020). However, to date, cul- this study leads us to conclude that in many settings, par- tural strategies have focused primarily on mythic storytell- ticularly those with sensory and/or emotional elements, ser- ing at the brand level, rather than focusing on disrupting vicescapes need to be designed for pleasurable or joyous the consumer experience. Educational journeys, such as the experiences that drive consumer journeys forward. In the ones explored here and reflected elsewhere in the growing case of Specialty Co., we noted customers’ delight when artisanal economy, provide the mechanism by which cul- discussing flavor notes within groups or discovering that tural innovations can be activated. espressos were naturally sweet, for example. These “aha!” moments had an important role to play not only in the initial Educational journeys, particularly stickier consumer jour- engagement, but also in discovering the long-term benefits neys, require work. However, not all consumer work is and enjoyment of education. alike, with a growing stream of research identifying the value that can emerge from meaningful, self-actualizing Building and leveraging peer communities This study work (Campbell, 2005). This suggests new ways that cat- shows that consumer journeys can be extended through egory value can be created by marketers. Disrupters could communities of practice (Wenger et al., 2002), thus increas- create educational journeys that provide the basis for con- ing loyalty. Education is central to many brand-community sumers to reassert sovereignty in their consumption and strategies, often as a means of deepening engagement with connect with like-minded others in communities of prac- the brand by enabling consumers to build and extend skills tice. These journeys are also more likely to foster innova- with like-minded peers (Schau et al., 2009). We emphasize tion and challenge category assumptions, as illustrated by that aside from the benefit of extending their knowledge, the challenging of culturally specific flavor norms described consumers also acquire the cultural capital necessary for above. For market Goliaths, small-scale disruptors like Spe- community membership and enhanced status. Furthermore, cialty Co. represent a vanguard of a potential future main- we find that certain community practices are more present at stream shift in consumer expectations, thus providing larger 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science generalists an opportunity to differentiate and enhance their underpinning each learning style, as well as the triggers that journeys by adding stickiness through educational events, enable the shift between them as journeys develop, would special ranges, sub-brands, or partnerships. provide further insights into journey management. Our study focused on the co-creation of journeys over time. We did not focus on the more micro aspects of the Conclusion journey, as evident in research on different engagement lev - els within communities (Martineau & Arsel, 2017). How Our research reveals that customer education involves staff capabilities are nurtured to manage multiple journey engaging in meaning-making practices and embodying spe- types, and how customers could be moved to more involved cific roles that enact journeys. Instead of simply providing journeys should be addressed in future studies. For exam- information to customers or targeting a small set of innova- ple, what are the signs that someone is ready to shift from tors, this study suggests that education can be made to appeal a functionally oriented customer journey to a deeper con- to a broader public, expand value for firms and consumers, sumer journey? Could servers gain value from using prac- and revive markets. Future research into the applicability tices associated with small-scale innovations that could of these findings in other category contexts and in relation trigger just enough stickiness to change the direction of to journeys framed by different value-creating mechanisms the journey without frustrating or excluding those content (such as play, spirituality, deceleration and so on) should with their present smooth journey? Finally, we have iden- be conducted to expand knowledge of journey co-creation. tified how extended journeys may potentially regress. The Furthermore, while we have focused on a strategic special- actions providers can take to recover regressed journeys ist, we believe more generalist providers can also offer edu - also deserves further research. cational elements to their offering, even if it is in the form of mass-customized stickiness or empowering touchpoints Declarations provided by stores, staff, and artificial intelligence. Future Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of research is therefore needed on the schema management interest. practices (and their supportive policies) that enable general- ists to add some educational stickiness to otherwise smooth Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons journeys. Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, Future research could also examine some of the mental as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the processes underpinning the sensemaking practices identi- source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate fied herein. For example, openness to change could help if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this account for different consumer reactions to sensebreaking article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not and sensegiving (Rodas et al., 2021). Openness to change included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended also requires cognitive flexibility or the “mental character - use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted istic that facilitates restructuring, adapting, or appropriately use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright updating mental processes and strategies” (Buechner et al., holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/. 2022, p. 267), which we have demonstrated is necessary for combining and receiving different information to enable the co-creation of new scripts and to activate journeys. 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Co-creating educational consumer journeys: A sensemaking perspective

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Abstract

To date, customer education has been framed in terms of one-way information provision, at odds with much of the litera- ture on meaning co-creation. Drawing on an ethnography of a specialty coffee purveyor, we show how staff and consum - ers co-create educational consumer journeys through the deployment of seven practices: auditing, realignment, marrying competing logics, negotiating scripts, evangelizing, expanding collective knowledge, and impression management. These practices require staff and consumers to enact three different educational roles (educator, student, and peer), which are necessary for the co-creation and extension of consumer journeys. The roles, practices and the journeys themselves emerge iteratively through sensebreaking, sensegiving, and sensemaking processes among staff, consumers and the servicescape. Our findings frame customer education as a dynamic process in which meaning is co-created between participants. Fur - thermore, the cues and touchpoints needed for meaning-making shift as power relations between participants change. Managerially, these findings highlight the potential of co-created educational consumer journeys to expand established market categories. Keywords Consumer journeys · Customer education · Co-creation · Sensemaking · Practice theory Introduction The study of collaborative forms of consumption has pro- vided important insights into how enhancing customer Hope Schau served as Area Editor for this article. knowledge can lead to improved marketing performance outcomes such as loyalty and competitive positioning (Mar- Michael B. Beverland m.beverland@sussex.ac.uk tineau & Arsel, 2017; Muñiz & O’Guinn, 2001; Schau et al., 2009). Customer education is a critical means by which Pınar Cankurtaran p.cankurtaran@tudelft.nl firms and service staff engage with customers to improve their knowledge and skill (Eisingerich & Bell, 2008). How- Pietro Micheli Pietro.micheli@wbs.ac.uk ever, studies on customer education focus on unidirec- tional information provision by staff to customers (Bell et Sarah JS Wilner swilner@wlu.ca al., 2017), and assume relatively simple, smooth customer journeys at odds with research on co-creation (Nakata et Department of Strategy & Marketing, University of Sussex al., 2019; Schau & Akaka, 2021) and the stickier nature of Business School and Copenhagen Business School, journeys undertaken by empowered consumers over time Falmer BN1 9SL, UK 2 (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Siebert et al., 2020). Faculty of Industrial Design and Engineering, Delft Despite the increasing interest in how consumer journeys University of Technology, Landbergstraat 15, Delft 2628 CE, Netherlands are created and shaped over time, research on co-creating educational journeys is sparse (Steils, 2021). Journeys are Operations Group, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK a useful lens for understanding the implementation of edu- cational strategies over time as they encompass the service Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Ontario touchpoints, roles and practices that enable knowledge N2L 3C5, Canada 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science co-creation and use (Becker & Jaakkola, 2020; Hamilton dynamics of educational consumer journeys (Hamilton & & Price, 2019). However, very little is known about how Price, 2019) and highlight the shifting role and effectiveness consumers and providers establish and enact the schema of relevant touchpoints (Becker & Jaakkola, 2020; Nakata necessary to enable knowledge co-creation (Becker & Jaak- et al., 2019). To this end, we focus on the experiences and kola, 2020; Schau & Akaka, 2021; Thomas et al., 2020). practices of both consumers and producers (including those Furthermore, education strategies are often atypical in many of employees) that enable or frustrate journey creation and categories as marketers view empowering customers as extension and are required for education to occur. We choose potentially harmful to their competitive position out of fear specialty coffee as a context because it is one sector—along that knowledgeable customers will switch (Bell et al., 2017; with food and drink, butchery, and hairdressing, among oth- Bell & Eisingerich, 2007). ers (Ocejo, 2017)—that has seen the emergence of strate- In this longitudinal study, we draw on the process of sen- gic specialists emphasizing education (or more precisely, semaking to understand how meaning is enacted by mar- re-education) against a competitive background defined by ketplace participants (Rosa et al., 1999; Rosa & Spanjol, efficient, smooth journeys (Schau & Akaka, 2021; Siebert 2005; Sujan & Bettman, 1989), providing insight into how et al., 2020). Although the coffee sector is characterized by to create journeys that flourish. To this end, we explore established routines and tight scripting (cf. Rosa & Span- customer education in the context of an emerging artisan jol, 2005), it is experiencing schema expansion from new economy in which strategic specialists (i.e., firms that focus entrants focused on educating customers about new tastes, on a narrow target) innovate practices to reinvigorate satu- new processes, and new experiences (Dolbec et al., 2022). rated markets (Dolbec et al., 2022). We do this through an Specifically, we ask: What practices enable the co-creation extended ethnography of a specialist “third wave” coffee of meaning and value for consumers during educational innovator who sought to emphasize provenance, diversity journeys? of flavor, and expert-driven production methods at a time Our findings reveal that educational consumer jour - when the market had converged around a dominant, chain- neys require dynamic negotiation between the desires of driven, mass-production model. In such a context, education producers and the expectations embedded in consumers’ can represent knowledge innovation in a category where a category schema. Accordingly, we find that careful servic - shared schema—defined as “a collection of basic knowl - escape design and the deployment of seven practices (audit- edge about a concept…that serves as a guide to perception, ing, realignment, marrying competing logics, negotiating interpretation, imagination or problem solving” (APA Dic- scripts, evangelizing, expanding collective knowledge, and tionary of Psychology, n.d.)—already exists (Rosa et al., impression management) give rise to, and reinforce, three 1999). Therefore, proposing new journey scripts requires participant roles (educator, student, peer) which enable the accommodation or adaptations to pre-existing schemas, co-creation and sustenance of journeys. Importantly, these which can result in confusion and dissatisfaction (Otnes et practices and roles emerge within an iterative process of sen- al., 2012; Schau et al., 2007). semaking that enables the development of the new schema We focus our investigation on educational consumer necessary for each consumer to embark on an educational journeys, highlighting the meaning-making practices journey that can be both extensive and dynamic. The prac- enacted by participants. Meaning is understood as the cog- tices identified in this study involve negotiation, iteration, nitive and emotional significance of a concept, and scholars innovation, role performances, and shifting power relations. of cognitive development have noted that “sociocultural Tracking shifts in knowledge and expectations is therefore contexts (including their deliberately organized routines essential to both co-create journeys and, where desired by and practices…) play decisive roles” in meaning-making the customer, extend them in personalized ways. and learning (van Oers 2008, p. 4). Practices are defined as “a routinized type of behavior which consists of several elements, interconnected to one another: forms of bodily Theoretical framework activities, forms of mental activities, things and their use, a background knowledge in the form of understanding, know- Sensemaking in educational consumer journeys how, states of emotion and motivational knowledge” (Reck- witz, 2002, p. 249). Practices can be enacted individually Sensemaking has its origins in social constructionism and or collectively and involve different levels including social to date has been used primarily to understand crises, change norms (such as category-level service scripts), individual processes, role identity, innovation, and creativity in orga- and shared schema—visions of how things ought to be— nizations (Weick, 1995). Sensemaking is defined as “a and the enactment of the performance itself (Thomas et al., process, prompted by violated expectations, that involves 2020). By undertaking a longitudinal study, we explore the attending to and bracketing cues in the environment, 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science creating intersubjective meaning through cycles of interpre- informed decisions (Bell & Eisingerich, 2007; Eisingerich tation and action, and thereby enacting a more ordered envi- & Bell, 2008). For example, in a context related to our study ronment from which further cues can be drawn” (Maitlis & (food), respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness Christianson, 2014, p. 67). It is “rooted in usage conditions of the delivered sensory and procedural (“how to cook”) and the choices available” (Rosa et al., 1999, p. 65) and can knowledge (Steils, 2021). Any active role for customers resolve disruptive ambiguity (Weick et al., 2005), and is tends to be reduced to “iterative testing,” i.e., confirming thus critical to the creation of category meaning. Drawing that they have understood the information provided (Bell & on sensemaking, Rosa et al. (1999) argue that consumers Eisingerich, 2007). and producers enact markets through a process of interac- Considering studies of collaborative consumption, this tion and convergence around the meaning of stimuli, behav- one-sided perspective offers an impoverished view of cus - ior, and expectations. These activities lead to the creation of tomer education (Akaka & Schau, 2019). For example, schemas that subsequently guide behavior and, much like a work on brand community identifies that education involves service script or “the predetermined, stereotyped sequences processes akin to sensemaking (Muñiz & O’Guinn, 2001). of actions that define a well-known situation” (Schank & It also highlights the various educational practices used by Abelson, 1977, p. 41), define roles and relations among par - insiders to help newcomers deepen their engagement in ticipants (Schau et al., 2007). the focal activities of the community (Schau et al., 2009). Sensemaking and the related concepts of sensebreak- However, little is known about how the actions of provid- ing and sensegiving offer insight in addressing our research ers and customers influence their respective experiences; question. Disruptions to schemas characterize the first phase how existing beliefs and attitudes regarding change affect of sensemaking—sensebreaking—and can alter both the interactions; and the role of unexpected experiences in the environment and the roles enacted in it, resulting in a need learning process. for sensegiving devices such as storytelling to rebuild con- In this study, we frame customer education as a consumer sensus (Rosa et al., 1999). Sensegiving communicates the journey involving the co-creation of meaning by all partici- rituals and routines which express, and help consumers to pants. Schau and Akaka (2021, p. 10) call for a shift from make sense of, new values and which “provide constituents firm-controlled customer journeys to what they term “con - material to recognize how to behave” (Press & Arnould, sumption journeys” which “recognize consumers’ active 2011, p. 651). In so doing, sensegiving guides the construc- participation in value creation through the enactment of tion of new mental models in line with the preferred orga- practices.” Similarly, Becker and Jaakkola (2020) contend nizational reality (Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991). Together, the that firms can only influence rather than control consumer concepts of sensemaking, sensebreaking and sensegiving journeys, calling for more research on the practices used enable us to illuminate a dialectic process in which educa- to create shared meaning between consumers and service tion serves to challenge customers’ schemas and provides staff. In this sense, education can be an effective way to cre - new opportunities for resource integration and value extrac- ate new niches into established market categories (Sujan & tion (Hibbert et al., 2012). Bettman, 1989) that expand consumer practices (Dolbec et Prior research highlights that sensemaking engenders al., 2022) and enhance value (Bell et al., 2017). Customer learning and enables the adoption of new practices (Mai- education can also help firms move journeys from a pre - tlis & Christianson, 2014), while reflexivity—defined as dictable and streamlined process to a more effortful, unpre - awareness of one’s identity role in a context—is central dictable, “sticky” one (Siebert et al., 2020) enabling more to consumer journeys (Akaka & Schau, 2019). Sensemak- excitement or engagement among customers. Stickiness ing also illuminates the co-constitutive nature of customer makes journeys more valuable as consumers can deepen education; as Maitlis and Christianson (2014, p. 66) argue, their engagement in focal activities, deploy knowledge, and “meaning is negotiated, contested and mutually co-con- demand more individualized approaches, resulting in the structed.” Despite its importance, research on customer edu- changing effectiveness of stimuli over time (Becker & Jaak - cation appears to overlook the interdependence of producers kola, 2020). and consumers in the process. Customer education is often The approach applied here enables understanding of how defined from the provider’s point of view as the “process consumer journeys are co-created and how specific practices of informing, explaining, and demonstrating core concepts influence the process for mutual value creation (for con - to customers” (Bell et al., 2017, p. 307), a perspective that sumers and firms). Prior research has shown that customer relegates consumers to the role of passive recipient. Mea- education, by providing novelty amid existing knowledge sures of customer education ask consumers to rate the extent structures, can help create new forms of value in stagnant to which providers keep customers well-informed, explain markets (Dolbec et al., 2022; Rosa et al., 1999; Sujan & core concepts, and give all the information needed to make Bettman, 1989) and can enable new entrants to undermine 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science incumbents (Hoch & Deighton, 1989). Furthermore, despite part of a “third place” (i.e., a social space outside of home being framed in terms of one-way information provision, and work) strategy. In contrast, third-wave specialists take customer education research is fraught with contradictions, a product-centered strategy: they tend to reject blends in as education is also often described both as a partnership favor of seasonally available single-origin coffees, restrict (Bell & Eisingerich, 2007) and as an essential ingredient the ways in which certain coffees can be produced (usu - for customer centricity and co-creation (Bell et al., 2017). ally only serving filter coffee with no additions), reject so- In examining educational consumer journeys from a sen- called “impure” products such as mochaccino (coffee with semaking perspective, we can explore the practices used chocolate added) and Americano (espresso diluted with hot by staff and customers to stimulate interest in new forms water), and use an expert-driven model to counter customer of value and sustain it over time, thereby contributing to preferences for hotter drinks, milk, sugar, and other flavor - the understanding of journey design, management and inno- ings. Third-wave producers also place greater emphasis on vation (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Becker & Jaakkola, 2020; coffee appreciation, often limiting the range of food avail - Schau & Akaka, 2021). able and rejecting the third-place model through policies, such as bans on laptop use or seating arrangements that work against large groups, that discourage lengthy stays. Method Although Specialty Co. aligns with the “craft specialist” approach to coffee identified by Dolbec et al. ( 2022), the Research context: Third-wave specialist coffee in the founders desired to expand coffee appreciation beyond a UK small segment of connoisseurs. Specialty Co. was founded in December 2009 by owners David and Paige, both of A six-year ethnographic study was conducted to address whom had previous barista experience, in a mid-sized UK our research question. The research site is a globally rec- city with a high proportion of middle to upper-middle-class ognized category innovator based in the United Kingdom, residents. At the time of Specialty Co.’s establishment, the anonymized as “Specialty Co.” An ethnographic design city was dominated by large second wave chains and had was deemed appropriate, as the aim was to capture in situ just one independent store. Specialty Co.’s store concept the practices enacted by both frontline staff and customers was particularly unusual at the time because it placed pri- to co-create novel consumer journeys, and the means by mary emphasis on the unique qualities of each coffee’s ter- which a sensemaking process occurred through interactions roir (a concept which holds that taste or flavor of a product between both parties (Hamilton & Price, 2019). The UK is is characteristic of the unique combination of the geogra- a relevant context for such inquiry as, according to the Brit- phy, climate, growing and processing practices from which ish Coffee Association ( n.d.), almost 16 per cent of the UK it was derived). The initial store could accommodate around population visit a coffee shop at least once a day. In addi - 10 customers and had only three staff, including the owners. tion, changes in the UK coffee sector reflect the introduction After a year, David and Paige moved to larger premises with of novel practices by craft specialists in the form of a more space for 50 customers and employed a team of 10 staff. education-driven approach (Dolbec et al., 2022). According to Manzo (2010, p. 143), the “first wave” of Data collection coffee consumption took place from the 1950s to the early 1990s and was typified by the consumption of instant and Data were collected in three phases as part of a longitudinal mass-drip coffee, while the “second wave” was character - research design. Initial exposure to the site occurred when ized by the emergence and popularity of branded chains the lead author first encountered Specialty Co. in 2010, soon such as Starbucks (USA), and Costa and Café Nero (UK). after it had opened. During an initial eight-month period, The “third wave” began in the 2000s and was driven by the lead author became acquainted with the owners and small independent stores or minichains, which celebrated regulars, spending an average of two hours per day in store the diversity of flavor arising from single-origin coffees and (during the busy 8 − 10am period). The theoretical focus sought to expand the range of experiences possible within on the co-creation of shared meaning emerged at that time, the category (Dolbec et al., 2022). Second-wave brands offer following observation of a shift by the owners from replicat- a mass-appeal, customer-driven experience using a standard ing existing independent store scripts to focusing on educat- set of practices. They use an in-house blend to ensure con- ing customers on how each individual coffee could be best sistency (i.e., predictability), offer a wide range of coffee experienced. styles (e.g., espresso, Americano, flat white) brewed to meet The second phase of the research involved a more for- customers’ preferences, and often complement the beverage mal two-and-a-half-year ethnography within the store. Dur- offering with café-styled food, encouraging longer stays as ing this time, the lead author spent on average 15 h a week 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science in the store, including peak hours, seated near the ordering with the principles of grounded theory such as iterative cod- area to observe service encounters. The researcher kept field ing, memo writing, constant comparison, tacking back and notes, engaged with customers and service staff, and fully forth between the literature, relating emerging theory and participated in the service system as a “regular” of the café. data, and a desire for theoretical saturation (Otnes et al., During this period, ethnographic inquiry extended to visits 2012). Particular attention was paid to the use and changes of other regions’ specialty coffee shops and industry immer - in ritualistic language, emotionally charged interactions sion (e.g., reading specialty literature and blogs and taking between customers and service staff, and the owners. Revi - coffee tasting and preparation courses). sions to the desired service journey were observed during The final phase involved less immersion over a two-year regular debrief sessions among the owner, senior staff, and period (albeit still five times a week), twice-weekly observa - the serving team. Interpretations were subjected to mem- tions in a second store opened by the owners that extended ber checks with key informants, and initial coding by the the script into a coffee/craft beer concept and conducting lead author was discussed and validated by the other authors a more formal set of interviews with former and current through discussion. staff (n = 8), customers (n = 21), and both owners (n = 2) To triangulate initial findings, Tripadvisor reviews were (see Web Appendix A). Throughout the latter two phases, examined as a source of additional information regarding the authors conducted regular member checks of emerging consumers’ experience of Specialty Co. At the time of writ- insights and themes. Finally, reviews on Tripadvisor (the ing, Specialty Co. had 668 reviews, a Tripadvisor “Certifi - dominant review platform during data collection) were ana- cate of Excellence” and was ranked first for coffee in its lyzed to provide further insights. locale. After removing a small number of non-English lan- Semi-structured interviews were on average one-hour guage reviews, two reviews about the store training courses long, with some extending to over three hours. Interviews and two reviews of the other shop of Specialty Co.’s own- with the owners focused on the evolving concept of the ers, a total of 647 reviews were coded by the authors, using store, key challenges, and staff management. Interviews iterative comparison and discussion to validate categoriza- with staff focused on prior work experience, induction into tion. Of the 647 reviews examined, 107 consisted of short Specialty Co.’s business and ethos, critical customer inci- reviews that did not include any references to the sensemak- dents, and reflections on practice. Particular attention was ing constructs of interest (of these, 99 were generic positive devoted to a shift in the staff’s core role from making the reviews indicating the reviewer’s enjoyment of the visit, five coffee to taking orders. When staff were tasked with making were neutral in tone or suggested a mixed opinion on the coffee, they had almost no customer interaction; when they shop’s offerings, and three described a negative experience took on the role of the server responsible for taking orders, at a specific visit, such as the reviewer’s seat being taken by they played the vital role in communicating Specialty Co.’s another customer). We coded these as “generic reviews” and approach to consumers. This shift was so important that fail- subjected them to no further analysis, focusing instead on ure to effectively embrace this customer-facing role resulted the remaining 540 reviews (504 positive, 28 neutral/mixed in dismissal. Interviews with customers focused on prior and eight negative). Drawing on the sensemaking literature, expectations of service encounters at coffee shops, their we paid particular attention to descriptions of uncertainty experience at Specialty Co., and their post-exposure expec- or discomfort, unexpected experiences, attitudes regarding tations in terms of coffee service encounters more gener - change, the role of service environment cues, the actions of ally. Informants were all regulars. Interviewing those who both staff and customers, beliefs the reviewer appeared to rejected the store’s approach was more difficult as many have about the café’s target customers, and its market posi- were transient (i.e., day tourists), or did not make their feel- tioning. The final coding scheme is reported in Web Appen - ings known during their encounter, although many were dix B, with supportive passages provided in Web Appendix reflected in Tripadvisor reviews. In addition, some in situ C. conversations with locals who were not positively disposed towards Specialty Co. were recorded in field notes. Findings Data analysis We find that journey creation and extension entail an ongo - ing cycle of sensebreaking, sensegiving and sensemaking Transcripts total 403 pages, supplemented by over 220 whereby (1) schema accommodation is necessary, (2) such pages of observational notes including those taken during accommodation requires participants to embody appropri- ethnographic interviews. All authors were familiar with the ate roles, (3) each role is generated by seven practices that general empirical context and relevant academic literatures reflect and are generative of meaning, and (4) this meaning and worked collaboratively to analyze the data consistent enables the enactment of successful educational consumer 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science journeys. The seven practices (auditing, realignment, mar- Schau, 2019), resulting in extended journeys characterized rying competing logics, negotiating scripts, evangelizing, by greater stickiness and schema adjustment. This triggers expanding collective knowledge, impression management) a third phase where customers desire to explore coffee edu - are spread out over three phases (designing, activating, and cation in more depth. These customers saw themselves as extending) of the consumer journey. These practices give peers, reflecting both a rebalancing of power between them rise to—and reinforce—the roles necessary for journey co- and the servers and more active engagement in co-creation. creation and, where desired, extension (Akaka & Schau, Such “expert” customers also played a more direct role in 2019). Figure 1 summarizes the journey co-creation pro- shaping how the owners and servers approached new design cess. Throughout the process, changing power dynamics and scripting choices. (reflected in role relations such as designer-tester, educa - Due to space constraints, we draw on exemplar inter- tor-student, and peer-to-peer) between staff and customers views (and supportive observational and secondary data) occur. Power shifts also result in changes in how and to what to substantiate our findings (further data are provided in extent staff and customers co-create the journey, directly or Web Appendix D). Our findings are structured following indirectly. For example, while responsibility for design- the three phases of the journey: designing, activating, and ing the journey lies primarily with the owners and servers, extending. Table 1 summarizes the findings, providing each customer input indirectly shapes servicescape decisions (as practice’s definition, result and exemplar quotations. indicated by the dotted lines in the Designing the Journey phase of Fig. 1). As the journey unfolds, the shift towards Designing the journey: Auditing and realignment peer-to-peer power relations result in more direct impact of customer input, with staff playing a secondary role by sup - Initially, David and Paige were struck by the potential for porting a community of practice that champions Specialty coffee to have a unique terroir. In his first interview, David Co.’s educational approach within and beyond the immedi- described his first experience of specialty coffee as laced ate consumption context. It is important to note the iterative with skepticism before being “completely blown away” and nature of the journey co-creation process as evidenced, for immediately seeing that “coffee as a richly diverse product example, in staff’s decision to change the servicescape in could represent an interesting idea people could engage the light of customer responses. with.” Interestingly, the staff with prior experience of the For many customers, staying within the first two phases category working for second-wave chains became instant is enough. In these cases, customers had made sense of Spe- converts to the emphasis on single origin coffee, believing cialty Co.’s approach but were content with a smooth cus- the product would speak for itself, in terms of both consumer tomer journey focused on enjoying the best possible coffee. experience and consumers valuing diversity and provenance For these customers the journey ends there. However, for (in contrast, staff with no prior experience in coffee had a others, journeys became integrated into identities (Akaka & slightly easier path to realizing the need for education). Fig. 1 The process of co-creating shared meaning 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Table 1 Summary of findings Practices Definition Result Supportive data Designing the journey: Auditing: Building an Removing script “A lot of people put sugar in coffee, because a lot of coffee is quite bitter. And so people practices, inventory and inconsistencies go and do that in a specialty espresso and it starts to taste like sour orange squash. It was roles, objects assessing its a customer who said to me once when they said oh this tastes really sour and I said, ‘you consistency put sugar in it?’ and they said ‘yes’. And then I said, ‘try another shot on the house’, and with desired they’re like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. Why didn’t you tell me that it wouldn’t work with journey sugar?’ And I was like that’s a really good point.” (David, owner) Realignment: Removing, Building “When I first came here, I found it quite intimidating. I had no idea what the [menu] board practices, adding, and capabilities for was saying. I’m used to walking into a café and the boards always have the same thing on roles, objects tightening the educational them, they have all the drinks and the prices. So, when you look up at a board, you would connections journey intuitively think: “I already know what it’s going to be.” […] I had to relearn how to under- between stand what they were selling.” (Francis, customer) servicescape and desired journey Activating the journey: Marrying Combining an Reflexivity “When someone asks something, rather than saying ‘yeah sure you can have that’, you try competing expert ethos and get someone’s interest, which is completely non-traditional because you’re saying ‘I’m logics with a cus- going to tell you something’ or look at me I’m going to draw attention to myself. Whereas tomer focus the role of the server in most situations is to not be there. Saying ‘I would recommend that you try this’, it’s a really big step to take as it’s very hard not to say, ‘yes’ to customers.” (Jackie, staff) “You’re almost like the tour guide for the experience. I think the word experience is impor- tant because it takes it apart from, oh, it’s just a cup of coffee. It’s more than that; it’s a cup of coffee with the experience and the knowledge of the staff.” (Maude, staff) “You have to go there and kind of play it a bit naïve and a bit ignorant but be prepared to learn and while specialty shops dictate what I can have, they actually put the power in the consumer’s hands again in the sense that, if you walk into the shop prepared to try some- thing special, you have to be prepared to learn about something.” (Hannah, customer) [I: What made the transition easier?] “Just listening to how David and Paige explain it. You think oh, yeah, actually, I can get that, I can see where you’re going with that, things like that. It was more like relearning coffee and all the things that can change and what coffee can do or has an effect, all those things, that you probably don’ t appreciate when you just have a normal cup.” (Charles, customer) Negotiating Aligning the Co-creation “You’re the most successful server here if you’re always going off script. The script is good scripts educational because you need somewhere to start. Then the idea is that the script becomes so common script to users to you that you can ad lib. It’s almost like a comedy show where they’ve got the sketch written out, but you decide where you’re going with it. … So in every single situation you have a better customer interaction if you treat them completely individually, react to the way that they’re reacting, and don’t restrict yourself. It’s like a really weird broad script in which there’s definitely a wrong and a right way to approach everything, but you couldn’t possibly have it all written out because it would be way too complex.” (Brandt, staff) “Approaching customers on a one-on-one basis and this idea of looking at an individual and seeing what they need and kind of assessing every transaction, person to person. It’s a really difficult skill to achieve. That conversation - the fact that the conversation never really ends is fantastic, because you keep on developing your skill.” (Donny, staff) Ethnographic note (15/3/2015): Today David is pushing a Brazilian coffee to the more experimental regulars. This is unusual, in so far as Brazilian coffees are typically the go to for servers when dealing with new customers. David’s recommendation is greeted with skepticism by these regulars, including myself, but he urges us to try the coffee, regaling us with how some Brazilian growers have embraced new varieties and processes, and new regions are opening up. It makes me reflect on when I was learning about wine and how as a nascent expert the “ABC” or “anything but Chardonnay or Cabernet” became a tool to indicate status, but also a process one moved through before realizing that there was still much to discover in these varietals. Extending the journey: 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Table 1 (continued) Practices Definition Result Supportive data Evangelizing Champi- Building commu- “I was in a place called [name] and they had an unusual looking machine, so I wanted to oning the nity of practice talk to them about it and they had four different types of filter coffee they were making and educational I stood up and the waiter said, it’s table service and I was like, well I’m going to go talk approach to your barista, I don’t give a shit if it’s table service… I walked over and they were all within and hesitant to speak about their product and it’s like they didn’t know. I don’t understand how beyond the you don’t know what you’re working with.” (Emma, customer) focal provider Expanding Providing Stickiness “It’s useful for us as well. I find that when I teach someone something else it makes it collective new resources much more concrete in my mind. I find we do pass on what we learn; so how to deal with knowledge to servers certain customers, how to give advice on things like sugar or Americanos, that kind of and other thing. Our little coping things.” (Maude, staff) like-minded customers Impression Signaling Community “There’s a lot of people watching, watching the staff, how they cope with it. You know for management membership identity a fact that some of these people think this is completely mad and they’ll never come back and engaging again, or they don’t even stay. So, it’s almost like: ‘well, are you going to join this club, are in collective you going to actually associate with what’s going on here?’” (Ian, customer) performances “The slight thing I do find myself now is, if I’m sat upstairs and someone comes in for the first time and they say, “I just want a strong coffee,” I make a face, like, “oh, wrong thing to say.” You just think that person has no idea. They’ve either come into the coffee shop because someone says there’s great coffee, thinking it means coffee as in coming out of Starbucks or Costa or something like that. I think that’s how I see it.” (Mikhalia, customer) This product-centric belief saw David and Paige design can trigger and enable responsive action, setting the founda- their initial store like standard independent cafés, using sig- tion for educational consumer journeys to take place. nifiers of origin such as burlap sacks of coffee beans as wall Customers, experiencing inconsistencies between Spe- displays and a menu framed by styles of coffee production cialty Co.’s espoused desires and actual practices, provided (espresso, flat white, Americano etc.). Furthermore, the ser - input into David and Paige’s own meaning-making practices vice model was originally embedded in the second-wave (in this case, how to signal the need for customers’ schema coffee-chain service script with a focus on giving customers accommodation). In this cycle of sensebreaking, sensegiv- what they wanted in terms of product range, additions of ing, and sensemaking, a servicescape that would enable milk and sugar, and honoring requests for “extra hot” drinks. further journey co-creation emerged through two practices: The sole difference was that consumers could choose from a auditing and realignment (see Table 1). The servicescape regular house blend and two single-origin coffees that were was designed to trigger a journey through touchpoints changed weekly, all of which were described on a board in that signaled the need for schema accommodation (i.e., in terms of flavor notes. response to sensebreaking) and then provided customers While this approach created a small group of converts, with cues that enabled them to make sense of and derive the feedback the owners received from customers was value from the journey (i.e., through processes of sensegiv- inconsistent with their own expectations for their offering: ing and sensemaking) (see Web Appendix B). Although the core elements of servicescape design were developed during Paige: The filters with milks, the espressos with sugar, the first six months of operation, changes evolved over time, people would return them all the time. Then we tasted reflecting both indirect and direct customer input (since data them, and we were like, ‘this is awful.’ It occurred to collection finished, Specialty Co.’s practices have been nor - us that this isn’t even close to representative of this malized in other third-wave operations). kind of [specialty] coffee because [for] all the flat The customer confusion described by Paige, reflective whites we were making, all the espresso shots and of disruptive ambiguity (Weick et al., 2005), triggered an black filters, you would get ‘that was great, thank you accommodation process, whereby the owners sought to so much.’ But for all those non-pure styles of drinks, understand the nature of the problem and craft an atypical we could see a huge problem and we would have to do category schema (Sujan & Bettman, 1989) that would trig- something radical. ger the sensebreaking and sensegiving necessary for further journey co-creation. This involved an audit of practices, Paige’s recounting of the dissonance she experienced after material objects and staff roles to identify those that were (in) the consumer feedback points to the kind of reflexivity that consistent with Specialty Co.’s strategic intent. In the small shop, initial changes focused on removing many mainstays 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science of second wave coffee shops: coffee prepared from a blend of uncertainty or confusion (Web Appendix B, “Sensebreak- of different beans, sugar (which Paige described as “like ing consequences”). However, as well as serving to desta- taking candy off a baby literally, just outrage”), and drinks bilize, they also signaled to customers the need for schema such as Americano, mochaccino, and hot chocolate. These accommodation and eventual role shift (to student). removals were done to disrupt expectations and signal the David and Paige’s process reflects an iterative approach need for schema accommodation, which, as Sujan and Bet- to sensemaking that is co-creative (Weick et al., 2005). In tman (1989, p. 455) explain, occurs “when a new mental redesigning the servicescape, they made sense of initial cus- schema is created, or the present schema undergoes sub- tomer disappointment by realizing that adhering to typical stantial modification to interpret a new concept.” The result sector schema made sensemaking of their new practices dif- ranged from customers simply being confused to some ficult for customers. Instead, a servicescape that signaled to being angry, yet each deletion was deliberately designed to customers the necessity of schema accommodation or modi- stimulate further inquiry. In David’s words, the aim was to fication (Sujan & Bettman, 1989) was needed. The auditing “move away from a comfort product; the person has to be and realignment practices resulted in the owners removing interested in exploration.” design elements that were not conducive to sensebreaking To be productive, sensebreaking must be followed by and sensegiving. Over time, these cues would continually sensegiving (Maitlis & Christianson, 2014). Thus, the dis- be adjusted in line with shifts in customer input and the nor- ruptive shifts also required servers to engage in co-creation malization of third-wave practices as a new model of ser- with customers, not only by explaining the reasoning behind vice within the category. However, while the servicescape disrupting expectations (see David’s passage in Table 1), aspects of the journey represented a critical basis for shap- but also rethinking their own role identities. For example: ing server and customer interactions, further reflexivity by both parties was necessary for consumer journeys to begin David: When you walk into the shop, it doesn’t look in earnest. like a coffee shop. The menu with espresso, flat white, cappuccino was replaced with [information on] the Activating the journey: Marrying competing logics coffee’s provenance and some flavor notes. … You and negotiating scripts have a menu that doesn’t really make sense, so you’ve broken expectation now. But what you need to do is Once manifestations of existing schema—such as menus fill it, because otherwise the customer is just uncom - featuring abundant beverage and food options, sugar, milk, fortable. So, then it becomes about hosting. We real- and other signals of customers’ authority in determining the ized that we had to have full time staff only who would design of their service experience—were re-aligned, staff develop a lot of knowledge, and we wanted them to members and customers had to embody new, appropriate role not be servers, but to be hosts and there’s a significant identities for their revised journeys to begin. This required difference: a server waits to be told by the customer the co-creation of a shared mental model that would enable what they’d like, a host does a very different job. staff and customers to enter a mutually beneficial journey. For both customers and staff, two practices were initiated: David’s passage reflects not only his desire to signal the need marrying competing logics and negotiating scripts. Marry- for schema accommodation to customers through touch- ing competing logics enabled servers to embody the shift point design choices (such as the menu board that describes from “server” to what we label as “educator” in Fig. 1 (see flavor notes, see Web Appendix E), but also the use of that Maude and Donny’s passages in Table 1). The same practice design to trigger a new consumer journey. Tripadvisor pas- saw customers give up some sovereignty and enter what we sages confirm that sensebreaking did occur, with numerous call the “student” role that was necessary for a satisfying references to the ways in which the store’s design—includ- journey to begin (Fig. 1). We evidence the shift in roles fur- ing the non-category-related name, lack of food, and aes- ther with quotes from the Tripadvisor reviews (and Hannah thetic sparseness—suggested the unexpected in relation to and Glen’s passages below) that contained advice to other the usual café schema (Web Appendix B, “Sensebreaking customers on the need to adopt a repertoire of new roles, triggers”). Interviews and observations of customers slow- including “learners” and “nascent connoisseurs,” while also ing down (see Francis’ passage in Table 1), doing mental framing baristas as “experts” and “teachers” (Web Appen- double takes, showing signs of confusion and/or looking dix B, “New role expectations”). The second practice, script for familiar cues suggests the atmospheric design had its negotiation, flowed from and reinforced these new roles. intended effect. Changes in atmospherics undermined cus - Servers needed to move beyond mere knowledge provision tomer expectations of category norms, which created a and focus on sensegiving. Getting this right led customers sense of being unsettled, and often resulted in expressions 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science to (1) engage in script negotiation through the provision of were possible. Thus, for servers, the educational process preferences and (2) be receptive to shifts in power relations. highlights the complexity of managing a multivocal pro- cess where schema accommodation entailed embodying a Servers become educators Although the move to an educa- mix of expertise, control, authority and professionalism to tor-student relationship is suggestive of shifts in power rela- trigger journeys that offered consumers’ desired levels of tions, server authority required customer receptivity to be stickiness. That is, some journeys developed from sticky to effective. In addition, as with any effective educator, servers smooth as the consumer made sense of the educational offer had to deploy knowledge in a way that enabled customers but desired to deploy that knowledge to choose a coffee best to engage in sensemaking through learning. This resulted aligned to their existing preferences. Other journeys con- in the need to find a balance between competing logics: too stantly oscillated between smooth and sticky as more con- much product-centricity and expertise led to accusations of sumers progressively sought deeper levels of engagement “being lectured to” (observed in situ and common to Tripad- with the category including continually challenging their visor complaints), while simply surrendering to customer own preferences. Accordingly, regardless of the type of cli- demands would reinforce a non-educational journey. In ent and journey required, Brandt learned to engage in a role marrying competing logics, servers faced unique challenges suggestive of authority and expertise tempered with respect, in embodying the educator role, due to their own received rather than subservience to customer expectations. rigid knowledge structures (Rosa et al., 1999). Those with To ease them into the educational role, probationary staff previous experience in service tended to fall back on a began by covering early morning shifts (8–10 am), because more passive, subservient approach to service (see Jackie, that usually meant attending to regular customers who were Table 1). Brandt, for example, had been in service jobs since familiar with Specialty Co.’s approach. As they progressed his teenage years, from food and beverage roles to retail. At in their own learning about the shop’s service concept, staff the time of the interview, he had just successfully passed his then proceeded to managing customer encounters at the till probationary period (he subsequently went on to be a shift during the busy 10–11am period, which involved groups manager for several years). He explained: of tourists or others less familiar with Specialty Co.’s approach. During this time, probationers were monitored Brandt: I was expecting to slip into [the role] eas- by experienced staff and allowed to make mistakes (unless ily because I thought I know about the product. I’ve they were struggling in a very difficult encounter). Each watched people learn how to serve here but it’s just encounter was followed by an in situ debrief in the form not like that at all … The biggest obstacle was talking of experienced staff asking questions that trigger reflexiv - to people and not being scared of what was happen- ity, such as “how do you think that went?”, “could it have ing. I wasn’t comfortable being confident and taking been different, better?” and “what could you have done to control. David wants someone who takes control of make it more effective for the customer?” For example (eth - an easy transaction to, in the case of businessmen who nographic note 3/7/2014), when a probationary member of challenge the philosophy but don’t listen, someone staff (Donny) acquiesced to a customer’s demands for the who can dominate and make them walk away having sugar dispenser, David was quick to gently reprimand him: listened to you. That requires a character trait that you “Don’t let customers just have sugar without first remind - develop or you put on. It’s like acting. ing them that the coffees are extra sweet, and they should first try it before they add anything.” This kind of coaching Brandt’s description of the process as a form of acting cap- introduced an intensity into the service role that resembled tures the range of skills needed to engage with and attempt an apprenticeship process whereby aspiring craftspeople are to educate customers with varying levels of interest and molded into skilled artisans (Campbell, 2005). receptivity. Hannah’s passage in Table 1 illustrates the simi- Interestingly, those with prior coffee service expertise lar need for customers to act differently to enable co-cre - could also struggle to make the necessary transition to the ation with servers to happen. Moreover, Brandt’s passage role of consumer educator. An exemplar is found in Geof- reveals the genuine struggles many servers experienced frey, who was so enamored with the Specialty Co. concept in their shift to the educator role, in which they needed to that he struggled to understand why customers would not be diagnose customers’ sensemaking problems, interpret core open to a more expansive view of coffee. His self-described cues to engage in sensegiving, and do so on a customer-by- tendency of “giving up on customers” not only earned the customer basis. In the case of the disinterested customer, the ire of David and Paige, but was also experienced by custom- challenge became how to align their preferences with what ers as pretentiousness, with the shop’s script viewed as an Specialty Co. could deliver. When customers were more unnecessary “lecture” (the opposite of sensegiving through open to the new approach, greater degrees of co-creation “passion without pretense,” see Web Appendix B). Geoffrey, 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science who eventually became a beloved shop manager (and later logic is being decentered and replaced with a learning logic opened his own third-wave coffee store), described his with a student–educator relationship at its center. Hannah transformation towards embodying the customer educator describes how one needs to be open-minded, initially giving role: up power to learn about coffee, while Charles acknowledges his novice role, recounting his appreciation for David and [Interviewer: Can you describe those difficulties?] Paige for teaching him what coffee could be. Another regu - Geoffrey: The fact that people hadn’t really thought lar, Glen, who eventually worked with David on a variety of about coffee in a specialist way meant that people projects that drew on his chemistry background (including a would ask why it would taste different with the milk. championship-winning barista routine, a book, and a crowd- I’d be like, ‘because there’s milk in it.’ There’s a nicer funded product innovation), describes becoming a student: way to put it. I had come here to seek experience, and people who hadn’t done that I didn’t really appreciate, Glen: I had to relearn how to understand what they I didn’t really want them here. I was sort of appalled at were selling, and then after I kind of embraced the idea their ignorance… Something like sugar in an espresso, of something a little bit more technical, because I can something people have had for years with Italian cof- appreciate technical sides of things. … People usually fees, it’s difficult to say that we recommend our cof - will use the words like, “I had a good coffee,” “I had fees without sugar. Immediately in the customer’s a bad coffee” and typically attribute that to either the mind they think ‘Oh, pretentious wanker,’ when the machine or the guy behind the machine and not any- reality of the message is more nuanced, that the sugar thing more than that. So, I thought I knew something, makes the coffees taste acidic and sharp. but I didn’t really. In [my hometown] I could identify naïvely what was and was not a good coffee, but the Geoffrey’s passage reflects a common experience among definition of good was not well defined because I had servers in businesses that have adopted more of an artisanal no idea what I was looking for. approach to well-established categories (Ocejo, 2017), inso- far as they expect customers to defer to their expertise and be Glen’s passage describes how sensebreaking involves the intrinsically interested in exploring new experiences within realization that there are discrepancies between a current a familiar domain. Like Brandt, Geoffrey needed to embody situation and one’s previous worldview. In comparison, sen- an educational role, but in his case, doing so was more semaking involves knitting cues together to form a coher- about being empathetic—in his words, “fair”—to custom- ent schema (Bingham & Kahl, 2013). For example, regular ers, neither pandering to their preferences nor seeing them customer Richard describes his embrace of the student role as uncultured, disinterested parties undeserving of further at Specialty Co. by comparing his experience to a friend’s: engagement. Marrying competing logics enabled servers to engage in the second practice of negotiating scripts, which Richard: A great friend of mine, he always drinks was central to co-creating educational consumer journeys. espresso, and he likes it hot. The first time he went to However, for that to work, customers also had to embody [Specialty Co.] he had to send it back because it wasn’t an educational role, that of the “student”, through marrying hot enough and they were very begrudging about it. competing logics. He can’t see why I’d want to go to that place. For me, I haven’t asked for anything in particular because I’m Customers become students Throughout data collection interested in their advice because I recognize they’ve we gained extensive insight into consumer experiences got a certain expertise that I haven’t. at Specialty Co. When confronted with the outcomes of realignment or server role changes whereby previously Tripadvisor reviews contained numerous references to role held schemas defined by customer-centricity were dis - orientations to help other customers make sense of Spe- rupted, most consumers faced initial periods of uncertainty, cialty Co.’s approach and avoid the situation that Richard’s discomfort, and frustration, typical of those experiencing friend found himself in. These included advising visitors to sensebreaking. In our sample of reviews on Tripadvisor, for “be prepared,” “understand what you are getting into” and example, we noted 39 passages in which it was clear that the metaphors suggestive of different roles and journeys, refer - disruption of pre-existing scripts was not appreciated and ring to Specialty Co. as a “cathedral” or “mecca” of coffee, was resisted (Web Appendix B, “Response to sensebreak- and parallels with similar classes of products such as wine ing”). Hannah and Charles, two regulars, explain how to suc- and tea. Finally, the store’s coffee was often described as cessfully approach the initial encounter (see Table 1). Both “real” and “proper,” and production practices were referred descriptions contain evidence that a consumer sovereignty to as “intelligent,” a “new way,” a “science experiment,” 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science or “the creation of artists” (Web Appendix B, “New mental time. The script takes no more than 30 seconds to go models”). through but does not feel rushed. At that point, cus- Having experienced sensebreaking through atmospheric tomers begin to engage, often providing cues in the cues, we find that customer responses fell into three types: form of preferred blends or styles, preferred brands, or passive participation (displays of lack of interest or impa- other cues that are then used by Paige. tience, such as interrupting servers in mid-explanation to ask that a coffee be chosen for them), rejection (angry outbursts However, servers were also trained on how to adapt the invoking their sovereignty in the form of a command such as script through what Paige refers to as “degrees of dilution.” “just make me a coffee”), and intrigued participation (dis- Paige, who often provided service training to the novice plays of eagerness in participating in the service encounter, staff, describes how even the most experienced baristas such as listening carefully to the server, explaining prefer- struggled with this practice: ences, and recounting previous experience in the category) (cf. Dong & Sivakumar, 2017). Servers were trained to Paige: The first thing you’ve got to get into staff’s respond to each, with sensegiving via script negotiation heads is what we do and why, so that they can, in most relevant for the third (the first two were dealt with in a varying degrees of dilution, pass it on. It’s the varying more forceful way, with servers often stating, “I would rec- degrees of dilution that’s difficult because we’re train - ommend this coffee for you, OK?”). Just as servers had to ing people to be savvy, to watch the person in front learn to become more reflexive about their responses and be of them. What did they say? How did they ask for ready to become an “educator,” script negotiation resulted their drink? What’s their demeanor? In one sentence in a shift for the customers too, requiring them to embody you can glean so much information and that’s where a new role identity—that of the student—and participate you step forward. That’s why it’s tough on till and it’s more actively to co-create the journey. [why] I’ve had staff members that couldn’t be more In summary, marrying competing logics involved an onboard with it [the product concept], but just can’t interplay between sensegiving and sensemaking. While deliver. servers sought ways to blend an expert-centric logic with one that ensured customers would embark upon an educa- Whereas previous research suggests that sensegiving is pri- tion-oriented journey, customers had to take a somewhat marily top-down or unidirectional (Press & Arnould, 2011), subservient position to re-learn about coffee. This shift in passages such as Paige’s above reveal a more adaptive pro- customer practices and roles was also aided by the script cess consistent with mainstream pedagogical philosophies. negotiation practices initiated by servers. Through these Furthermore, we note recent clarifications that co-creation is practices, servers could identify the appropriate sensegiving not the same as co-production and therefore does not always mechanisms that would empower consumers to embrace the require active participation by all involved (Vargo & Lusch, journey that had been devised for them. 2016, p. 8). Just as many teachers embrace the concept of “child-centered education” but would be wary of allowing Script negotiation Script negotiation emerged from and students to determine the curriculum, staff at Specialty Co. complemented the practice of marrying competing logics: want new customers to have a positive experience, but do as staff and customers alike engaged in the reflexivity neces - not assume that the customers themselves are best posi- sary to adopt a new role, they recognized the need to engage tioned to determine how they should drink their coffee. in mutual sensegiving through the collection and provision Donny’s comment in Web Appendix D (“Triggers”) echoes of cues that would result in the construction and activation a common parental strategy to distract children as a means of a somewhat personalized journey. Specialty Co. had a of coaxing them into a new behavior. standardized server script as part of their welcoming of As Paige recounts, while customers were making sense customers to the store as described in the following ethno- of the new servicescape, staff were gathering clues related graphic note: to the customers’ experience and expectations. Whereas novice and unsuccessful servers simply stuck with the basic (8/6/2012): Paige welcomes customers and asks, “Is training script which outlined Specialty Co.’s point of dif- this your first time in the store?” Since it is, Paige ference, more successful servers used the service script as explains how Specialty Co. is different from other a starting point and adapted it for each customer they dealt shops, preferring to focus on the unique flavor of with (see passages from Donny and Brandt, Table 1). To do individual coffee lots that change with seasonal avail - so, they attempted to “read” the customer and build a con- ability. She then runs through the categories and offer - nection between the store’s concept and shared frames that ings on the board, looking at the customer the entire could co-create a new schema (Moreau et al., 2001). In so 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science doing, servers and customers reached “understandings that saw as more nuanced and complex flavors. To get regulars are close enough … in ways that allow coordinated action” to rethink these default preferences, David would counter (Maitlis & Christianson, 2014, pp. 66–67). reluctance with a stern facial expression or a gentle prompt Although servers strived to bring the owners’ concept such as “no, c’mon” that would signal his educator status and attendant service ideals to fruition, they found that, to and the need for a customer to return to student mode. produce a successful outcome, education had to be anchored As the journey took shape and began to extend, we also to a customer-held frame to enable what Rosa and Spanjol saw more engaged customers seek out stickiness by adopt- (2005, p. 201) call “analogical transference,” which is “the ing a stance that represents a role identity high on skill ori- borrowing of structure and meaning from source domains entation (Martineau & Arsel, 2017) by appraising the extent of experience to assist in the interpretation of novel infor- of their knowledge. This was reflected in the commonly mation.” One cue was country of origin, with servers often observed practice of asking servers not to tell them which picking up on an antipodean accent or reference that inspired coffee they were being served. For example: them to adapt the script to relate Specialty Co.‘s coffee to the types served in Australia. Other cues included reference Mel: I have an Excel sheet [laughs]. The rule for to a preferred roast (e.g., dark, French or Italian) or prepara- myself is that I’m going to taste [the coffee] first. So, I tion style, allowing the server to quickly suggest compara- would tell David, ‘Don’t tell me what it is, I’m going tive options. For example, Vladimir would often anchor to taste it.’ After I taste it, I write it down, and then his conversation in a stronger-to-lighter continuum as he I’ll go back to see the flavor notes that they suggest described the order of the coffees on the menu. Brandt, who and where it is from. The idea is that I want to see found figuring out how to connect to customers “exhilarat - over time whether I can taste the provenance. I think ing,” “challenging” and “intellectually engaging,” would at the end of the one year I tasted 98 estates and 20 experiment with new ways to explain the café’s ideology. countries. For example, drawing on previous experience in wine ser- vice, he would use the concept of terroir as a metaphor to This passage illustrates Mel’s desire to find out what she explain the significance of “single origin” coffees. Others may not know; she voluntarily participates (Dong & Sivaku- employed more everyday analogies: Geoffrey’s favorite mar, 2017) in the role of learner and creates a game that tests was that of cake mix. He would explain that just as chang- her skill and then engages with servers to suggest changes ing ingredients and processes when making a cake would in taste descriptors. A sign of further journey stickiness was change the flavor, so was it with coffee. These script adapta - customers’ use of technical, “in-group” terms when speak- tions functioned as simple sensegiving devices and enabled ing with servers (and signaling to like-minded other custom- co-creation to occur, as consumers were offered a personally ers), such as “dialing in” (baristas’ code for setting the daily relevant starting point to a journey. recipe in terms of grind, weight, and water, for each roast); Despite some initial skepticism, a common observation “potato characteristics” (an undesired flaw common in the was that consumers gave servers the benefit of the doubt, otherwise sought-after Rwandan coffee) or when discussing and subsequently expressed surprise at how their experi- David’s most recent blog posts. It was not uncommon for ence with the coffee had conformed with the server’s pre - loyalists to extend their educational journey further, either diction. Tentatively, these more open customers would by seeking out like-minded cafés elsewhere when travelling begin to increase their engagement with servers, providing or by bringing their knowledge into their own home, trig- insights into their changing preferences, and affirming that gering further engagement with staff. For example: sensemaking had occurred by, for example, remarking that specialty coffee offered parallels to wine or tea. It was not Richard: I got introduced to [Specialty Co.] and unusual for previously uncertain consumers to thank serv- started to think more about it and since then I now ers as they exited the café and acknowledge that they were have a weekly delivery from [brand name]. So, they “won over.” Importantly, roles and scripts were dynamic, send me every week a bag of beans which they roasted even for more experienced regulars. The ethnographic note on a Thursday, I get sent it on the Friday and that will in Table 1 contains one such example, in which David was last for the week and then we get a new one and the introducing further stickiness into the journeys of regulars provenance of the beans that it’s come from and how by asking them to reconsider Brazilian coffee. Brazilian it’s been prepared, is all itemized. It’s fascinating; you coffee is typically regarded as the preferred industry stan - start to appreciate the differences and if you’ve got a dard and thus suffers from a kind of reverse snobbery (e.g., reasonable source of fresh coffee that is different every emically referred to with derision as “trad”) from more week it gives you a great opportunity to understand experienced customers who had transitioned to what they the differences from geography but also from the way 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science that the beans are prepared, whether they’re washed or Extending the journey: Evangelizing, expanding unwashed or whether they’re pulped or not pulped, all collective knowledge, and impression management that sort of stuff. Extended journeys were characterized by two significant Richard’s passage reflects his role as a continuous learner changes. First, consumer roles shifted from student to peer, who strives to acquire more knowledge. He then deploys with further shifts in power relations between them and this understanding when engaging with servers at Specialty the staff. Second, extended journeys saw consumers enter Co. to signal that he shares the same schema and desires a community of practice, or group of like-minded others more knowledge—not only about what is currently on offer, (customers and staff) focused on upskilling in an area of but also more esoteric information, such as how each of the personal passion (Wenger et al., 2002). Therefore, these three available preparation methods might impact flavor. extended consumer journeys are characterized by a high This further reinforces the dynamic nature of role relations degree of personalization and co-creation (cf. Schau & within journeys, as customers like Mel and Richard (and the Akaka, 2021). Journey extension involved three co-creation first author, referred to in the Brazilian coffee field note; see practices: evangelizing, expanding collective knowledge, “New mental models” in Web Appendix D) switch among and impression management. student, nascent expert and, as we explain below, peer roles. Evangelizing, whereby “members act as altruistic emis- Furthermore, servers similarly shift their role-driven prac- saries and ambassadors of good will” (Schau et al., 2009, tices, reflecting changes in power relations as journeys take p. 34), is a practice that co-creates value for the commu- shape and become more complex or stickier over time. nities that consumers are part of. Importantly, in this case, In summary, marrying competing logics and script nego- evangelizing meant consumers championing the educa- tiation created the reflexivity necessary for staff to develop tional approach to other consumers. This occurred both in a role identity that would enable journey activation (Akaka Tripadvisor passages defending Specialty Co.’s approach & Schau, 2019). To embrace the educator role, staff needed and pushing back against other reviewers, as well as in to consider their expertise in the context of customers’ sen- face-to-face interactions. Emma’s passage in Table 1 pro- semaking needs. In so doing, they deployed sensegiving vides an example of this, whereby the now more educated mechanisms that contained superordinate shared meanings customers would seek greater knowledge on technical pro- that were also personalized, enabling consumers to embrace duction issues from servers or owners of other cafés that Specialty Co.‘s logic. Whereas Rosa and Spanjol (2005) sold single-origin coffee. Consumers such as Emma draw identify that initial sensemaking comes from complex on deeper levels of knowledge to apply legitimacy litmus stories, we find that co-created journeys start with simple tests to judge the sincerity of seemingly like-minded oth- sensegiving devices that subsequently provide the basis for ers, while Anna deployed the knowledge she gained from greater complexity to emerge. Critically, we also identify the Specialty Co. to engage with the emerging specialist coffee multivocal nature of these interactions as customers deepen scene in her home country: their engagement in their journey (within and outside the confines of Specialty Co.) and begin to offer personalized Anna: When I go home [Russia] I look for such shops. narrative devices to staff, who then can use this for a new If they sort of look remotely like [Specialty Co.], I iteration of sensemaking. want to know to what extent they are similar to what As shown in Fig. 1, consumers who had made sense of they are doing here. If I go to a shop where I’ve felt Specialty Co.’s offer then engaged in two types of journeys: that they are really excited about what they’re doing, (1) one that was primarily smooth, which involved oper- then I’ll ask them, ‘Oh, have you heard about this?’ in ating within the parameters of Specialty Co.’s offer (i.e., a way to sort of try to influence them. they understood that coffee was diverse, knew their pref - erences, and therefore entered into a predictable journey Tripadvisor reviewers provide examples like Anna’s, in each encounter) or (2) one that was extended in unique explaining how Specialty Co. expanded their knowledge ways where consumers’ identity was increasingly connected of coffee and inspired them to learn even more, while also to further exploration of coffee (and, in some cases, similar shaping their category expectations and standards (see Web emerging categories such as craft beer). Appendix B, “Modified category-related behaviors”). The internalization of Specialty Co.’s concept led evangelists to deploy their newly found knowledge when visiting other specialist coffee shops. Customers such as Emma noted how they would drop cues into conversations with servers about their city of origin or mention Specialty Co. as an expression 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science of status and a signal to those in the know to prove their cof- For Mel and others, the development of expertise led to a fee credentials. They would also ask more penetrating ques- sustained journey that resulted in a further updating of their tions at other cafés, offer technically sophisticated responses schema while simultaneously developing new expectations and make thoughtful suggestions of coffees and preparation of the staff. The passages in Table 1 (Maude) and from methods, expecting servers to engage them as peers. Anna and Mel indicate that role relationships shifted from A peer identity also emerged through the practice of student–educator to peer-to-peer, resulting in an expectation expanding collective knowledge. This is exemplified by Mel, that servers would respond in kind. This expectation is also who integrated Specialty Co.’s approach within her profes- reflective of customers’ own embrace of a craft, rather than sional studies on product origin and traceability to discuss commercial, logic (Dolbec et al., 2022). Other evidence of with David the veracity of sustainability and ethical claims the shift in relations and resulting expectations came when made by the independent coffee sector. In turn, this line of we noticed that some customers reported decreasing their questioning led David to update his own knowledge, explor- patronage of the café when Specialty Co. focused on new ing topics such as the impact of growing coffee on wild - business opportunities. The owners’ absence from the store life, the sustainability of the expansion of coffee farming, as they worked on developing their new venture, coupled and how to authenticate claims of origin. Mel also drew on with the loss of three early staff, meant that the remaining her cultural background (Chinese-Malay) to engage servers (and usually less experienced) servers focused more on about tasting notes. Her experience revealed the culturally managing a smooth customer journey than on further devel- situated nature of flavor profiles and led the Specialty Co. oping expertise. As Al describes: staff to use an expanded range of descriptors, which eventu - ally evolved into a new way of writing tasting notes to be Al: Those old staff members that seemed to have more accessible. quite an in-depth knowledge and would talk to me about coffee aren’t there anymore. … I don’t really Mel: I remember being excited about tasting Jackfruit think I’ve learned much in the last six to eight months. in Ethiopian natural types. I think there were times There’s just a lot younger staff members there at the that I tasted [another flavor type] in the Javanese one moment. I think that I definitely experience a kind of as well. Never tasted that in coffee before. [I: Did you one-size-fits-all service in the sense of “yeah, this one tell those guys?] Yes … people relate to taste based is a really good one, you’ll like it,” but not being told on what they have tasted before. So, they would write why. Whereas in the past it would have been like my something along the line of stone fruits. Then I said palate would have been better understood. Now I’m Jackfruit, because in some fruits you have the taste not expecting a coffee shop to remember every single of sour, in some fruit you have the taste of sweetness. coffee every single person has, but there was definitely Then you have the aroma as well. For me Jackfruit more of a ‘we know that this guy likes this and there- has all the different spectrums of flavors. That’s kind fore he might be interested in trying something com- of fun. But also sort of having this awareness that we pletely different down the end of the spectrum because might be tasting the same thing, but we’re describing we’re trying to enhance his relationship to coffee.’ I it differently. don’t experience that anymore. As an example of customer-initiated co-creation, Mel’s Al’s decrease in patronage is a reminder that, contrary culturally generated insights shaped changes to Specialty to expectations, the engagement that can initially lead Co.’s store design and script behaviors. First, servers used to extended journeys can also lead to a diminishment of Mel’s insights to engage other customers, both in script commitment. form and with an expanded set of descriptors on the menu Finally, impression management was a means by which board. Mel’s insights also were used by other customers, peers signaled their identity. This took many forms and many of whom were familiar with South-East Asian flavors, included assessing customers for their potential as com- to expand their own sensory repertoire. Second, the real- munity members and welcoming and engaging with new, ization that tasting notes were culturally situated led David seemingly like-minded customers (see Ian and Mikha- to reconsider the value of notes altogether. In a subsequent lia’s passages in Table 1). Other examples of this practice blog post he announced that Specialty Co. had moved to involved using expert language as described earlier, com- much simpler notes focusing on dominant flavors, as overly menting on David’s recent blog posts, watching and dis- complicated notes often made customers feel incompetent cussing coffee-related events including competitions, and when they could not perceive subtle flavors. engaging with complex ideas such as those covered in David and Glen’s blog posts on the science of coffee. For example: 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Charles: Just everything about the coffee industry, all and sensemaking dynamics, involving shifts in roles, power the things that go into coffee and what can affect cof - relations, and practices. fee—so obviously some of it is pressure, grind size, all In doing so, we also challenge and extend previous work that type of stuff. Water. I could probably recite quite in customer education. A successful educational journey a lot of Glen’s talk - not necessarily understanding it is enacted when service context, roles and practices align. all - at least the first time I heard it, when he was test - Whereas education has been regarded as a one-way activity ing this, that and the other, and parts per million. But that is largely done to customers (Bell et al., 2017) and that as he’s refined that talk, it’s not necessarily dumbed relies on the authority of skilled providers (Ocejo, 2017), we down, but it’s more relative to the normal people as find that it is co-created, dynamic, and potentially empower - opposed to scientists. So now when I go to places, I ing. The longitudinal nature of our study reveals the com- have my Beanhunter app and I go and find coffee or I plex and tension-ridden nature of educational consumer say to David and Paige ‘I’m off to so-and-so, is there journeys. We capture the challenges involved in sensebreak- anything good?’ ing, sensegiving and sensemaking that occur as staff and customers unlearn old roles and adopt new ones, grapple As well as deepening one’s engagement in the category with new concepts that expand category boundaries, and, like Charles describes, other actions often involved defend- where desired, begin to explore new pathways that expand ing the café, with regulars submitting Tripadvisor reviews identities and shape the evolution of expectations and com- to counter criticisms and signal to like-minded others that mercial practices. As a result, we identify managerial impli- Specialty Co. was worthy of visiting (see the passage on cations arising from the need to cede control to consumers “Distinction” in Web Appendix C). Finally, regulars would as part of the journey process (Akaka & Schau, 2019) that try and enhance their status by sharing bags of externally can be transferred to other contexts in which education, or sourced beans with Specialty Co. In one case, the first other knowledge-based innovations, may offer new sources author provided David with a Robusta-Arabica (two species of value for consumers and marketers. of coffee) blend used by a Singaporean barista as a path - way to shift locals away from more bitter (Robusta) coffee Consumer journeys as practiced sensemaking towards a lighter (Arabica) roast. Specialty Co. had a policy of acknowledging status by serving the best of such shared In extending research on sensemaking in marketing, we beans as a special “guest coffee” on the menu board. In make several contributions to our understanding of con- these cases, the coffee was credited to the customer, provid - sumer journeys. Although previous research has explored ing them with enhanced status among community members. sensemaking in the marketing context, the focus has been The very best of these were immortalized in a display work on how a single individual engages in sensemaking, rather developed by David and placed in the seating area at the than on how sensemaking occurs through and enables co- entrance of the café (see Web Appendix F). creation (see Press & Arnould 2011 for an exception). For example, Rosa and Spanjol (2005) focus on the power of storytelling as a sensemaking device and how the content Discussion of stories shifts over time. Reflecting the logic of dominant design in innovation, these authors show how sensemaking This study focuses on educational consumer journeys, stories move from complex to simple over time, as category adopting a sensemaking perspective to explore how provid- stakeholders (journalists and marketers) come to a con- ers and customers co-create meaning. We find that journey sensus on the nature of the innovation. In contrast, we find creation and extension consist of dynamic and ongoing that sensemaking stories in co-created journeys are more cycles of sensebreaking, sensegiving and sensemaking. dynamic, shifting between simple and complex depend- Although previous work highlights the importance of ing on the alignment of context, participants and practices schemas in knowledge innovation or category expansion over time. Expressed differently, whereas sensemaking is (Rosa et al., 1999; Rosa & Spanjol, 2005; Sujan & Bett- defined as a socio-cognitive construct, we show that it is man, 1989), prominence is given to the communication also embedded in and emerges through material and social practices of producers, with consumers fulfilling a mainly practices deployed by individuals throughout the journey passive role. In contrast, we show that consumer journeys (Akaka & Schau, 2019). are co-created, and identify the meaning-making practices Whereas previous research suggests consumers are that are used by all parties to enable meaning enactment. receivers of information in the form of top-down sensegiv- Specifically, we unpack a set of sensebreaking, sensegiving ing (Rosa & Spanjol, 2005), we identify seven practices that underpin shifting information asymmetries, power 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science relations, and identities of staff and consumers. As a result, on the effectiveness of staff and servicescape sensebreaking meaning-making practices involve an iterative cycle of and sensegiving practices. sensebreaking, sensegiving, and sensemaking as each party Research on other value-generating constructs, such engages in the reflexivity essential to journey creation and as community, play, and skill have noted the journey-like extension (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Schau & Akaka, 2021). nature of value creation (Muñiz & O’Guinn, 2001; Sere- This process is often far from smooth and entails iteration, gina & Weijo, 2017; Woermann & Rokka, 2015). In each particularly on behalf of servers, to craft simple stories or case, for value to be experienced, identity roles must be scripts that enable co-creation, adapt them to fit each con - embodied, often through, sustained effort, learning, and sumer, and where desired, add greater complexity to help disappointment (Siebert et al., 2020). Although these stud- consumers expand their journeys. It also requires reflexivity ies often focus on the subjective experience of embodying regarding role identity and power relations, as servers must each form of value, their findings indicate the practices that shift roles from educator to peer as journeys extend. Even at can be used to enact such journeys and, critically, to sustain this stage, stickiness must be introduced to re-trigger sense- them. In the context of cosplay, for example, Seregina and breaking and further schema accommodation, and must Weijo (2017) identify how play-based journeys deteriorate, be done respectfully yet forcefully, as with the example of moving from identity-driven consumption to decreased David trying to overcome customer bias towards Brazilian engagement or even exit. In that study, peer-like consumers coffee. Therefore, our contribution lies in extending sense - felt alienated from their play as the effort required to better making to account for co-creation in consumer journeys, each cosplay performance increased. In such cases, our find - and in unpacking the dynamic nature of an expanded set ings suggest that journeys might need to be extended in dif- of meaning-making practices over the length of extended ferent directions, possibly through embodying an educator encounters while also accounting for shorter, one-off ser - (rather than peer) role and engaging with novices. Similarly, vice interactions. marketers of extreme sports could introduce new sources of Consumer journeys involve different sets of relations— stickiness that could temporally misalign practices to trigger staff–customer, staff–staff, and customer–customer as well the mastery of new skills and extend journeys with users as the relation of all to the servicescape. In examining the (Woermann & Rokka, 2015). multivocal nature of journey co-creation and extension, we find that customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) plays an Customer education as a co-created journey important role in the sensemaking process. Although we emphasize CCIs in journey extension primarily through This study goes beyond viewing customer education as mere communities of practice, we believe that CCIs have a role information provision and instead reveals its potentially to play in the other parts of the journey. For example, Tri- critical role in consumer journeys, particularly when exist- padvisor reviews are a customer-generated form of sense- ing category schemas are being meaningfully disrupted. We giving that alerts potential customers to the need for schema find that both providers and customers benefit from adopt - accommodation. Furthermore, we observed how direct and ing an educational orientation. By assuming new roles to indirect interactions, including simple vocal expressions of co-create journeys, participants add meaning and innova- confusion, surprise, joy and anger, played a sensemaking tion to established categories, upskill customers seeking role. For example, whispered comments of “it’s unusual” or new experiences, and create greater engagement, not only “not like a normal coffee shop” were common in the store as between customers and providers but also within commu- customers lined up to order. These help not only to confirm nities of like-minded customers. These powerful outcomes that sensebreaking is occurring and that it is a shared experi- are achieved through a blend of deliberate changes to the ence, but also potentially reflect customers’ initial engage - servicescape as well as co-creative practices—an iterative ment in schema accommodation. Indeed, commonly heard approach involving sensebreaking, sensegiving and sense- claims affirming different flavors and desirable, if surpris - making—which eventually lead to changes to server and ing, outcomes may help reduce anxiety among other cus- customer role identities. tomers and help ease them into a new journey. Furthermore, Whereas existing research defines customer education in engagements with staff and subsequent discussions among terms of one-way information transfer (Bell et al., 2017), friends that coffee is for example “just like wine,” help with we find that seeking to engage and empower customers the journey co-creation process, and often trigger further through education involves role embodiment, co-creation, explorations between customers that lead to further journey and evolving power relations and expectations over time. extension. Future research should explore these different We contribute to scholarly understanding of both customer types of CCIs on journey cocreation, including their impact education and consumer journeys, showing the arc of how such journeys are designed and managed, as well as how 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science shifts in engagement impact on the veracity of touchpoints of staff reflexivity, which we have shown is necessary to and interactions (Becker & Jaakkola, 2020). We show that trigger meaningful educational journeys with customers. As customer education involves engaging in practices that seen in the case of Specialty Co., providers can maintain an prompt new role adoption that are necessary to enact a jour- expert-driven logic by extending the performative aspects ney (Akaka & Schau, 2019; Schau & Akaka, 2021). Impor- of craft to include working with the material customers pro- tantly, the implementation of customer education strategies vide. The result is a more personalized approach that cre- relies on meaning co-creation, entailing careful attention to ates the potential for longer consumer journeys with a larger alignment across servicescape design, server role, and cus- number of customers. tomer knowledge to enable the development of the shared Our findings also have implications for training and reward schema necessary for educational journeys to take place. In structures. Specialty Co. deliberately moved away from a adopting the perspective of a journey, we show how educa- model focused on hiring part-time staff (such as students). tion involves sensemaking devices such as stories (Rosa et While employing transient employees is common in the UK al., 1999) allowing the consumer to place themselves in the where service is seen as a temporary role mainly for young journey being offered (van Laer et al., 2014). Thus, although people, the case of Specialty Co. highlights the benefit of we identify that some aspects of education are consciously hiring staff whose values are consistent with the organiza - designed, satisfying consumer journeys emerge over time tion’s identity and image. It is worth noting that Specialty through interactions among participants, practices and Co. also had a longer probation period (six rather than the context. three-month standard), paid above the industry average, There are many educational contexts in which atypical and encouraged and supported staff to invest in their own schemas or scripts are deployed which can also benefit from knowledge and skill. Owner David often made it clear that the perspective we offer here. For example, studies of spe - the desire was to combine the potential of single-origin cof- cialist firms in the artisanal economy report staff frustration fee with the service ethos and consistency of larger chains, with unresponsive or disbelieving customers (Ocejo, 2017). leading to a recruitment brief that ignored previous sector Staff typically react by either falling back on typical schemas experience in favor of a focus on hospitality. (e.g., offering a full range of products) or engaging in subter - Our findings suggest that for marketers seeking to engage fuge to impose a “better” solution on the customer (Ocejo, in educational journeys, an apprenticeship-like approach 2017). In either case, information has been provided, but where newer employees can emulate and get feedback from no journey has been initiated, leaving customers skeptical, more experienced staff is essential. Therefore, developing ignorant, or frustrated, while the specialist firm struggles to educators in such service settings also requires sharing best legitimize its offering. Research on craft specialists identi - practice to make tacit knowledge more explicit. Relatedly, fies the importance of practice expansion to enhance mar - retention of more experienced staff appeared to be vital ket dynamism and value creation (Dolbec et al., 2022), but to retain longstanding customers who could experience a represents such practices as largely performative, whereby reduction in satisfaction without the consistent educational skilled artisans display their skills to entrance like-minded challenges. Sabbaticals or short-term placements in like- customers. In this study, we emphasize the ways in which minded companies, which are used in industries such as fine meaning-based journeys must be crafted through practices wine and film production, could be deployed to increase to enable staff and customers to embody the roles necessary retention. for education and co-creation to occur. Although we focused on a category disruptor and stra- tegic specialist, our findings have implications for a wider Managerial implications set of firms. Starbucks, for example, has sought to leverage its purchasing power and stave off competitive threats by Creating value through educational journeys Our findings expanding its offerings to include a range of single-origin indicate that value can be created in established categories coffees in what it terms “reserve” cafés. Although the empha - through educational journeys. We show that an educational sis is on targeting more knowledgeable customers prepared approach can be vital to firms engaged in a so-called artisanal to pay a premium for better coffee (Dolbec et al., 2022), this economy, where an emphasis on craft, origin, and diversity approach could be combined with an educational focus that may also require the adoption of an alternative market logic reinforces the brand’s historic emphasis on skilled baristas, (Dolbec et al., 2022). For example, Ocejo (2017) shows and on creating brand loyalty through extended journeys, how, in craft-focused service businesses in sectors domi- while enhancing its authenticity and status. Although a nated by generalist chains focused on smooth journeys, large chain’s business model does not allow for the level staff struggle to educate customers about new possibilities. of personalization of Specialty Co., established general- Considering our findings, this might be indicative of lack ists could still benefit from offering educational events and 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science establishing collaborations with high profile insiders such as specific points in the “sticky” educational journey (Siebert David, similar to the championing of like-minded brands by et al., 2020), with provider-driven practices triggering jour- larger specialists such as BrewDog (a Scottish craft brewery neys and interactive practices sustaining them over time. with international branches) and Shinola Detroit (founded as a watch maker and now purveyor of a range of goods As noted earlier, we emphasize the shift as customers move manufactured with a “craft ethos”). from extracting primarily functional value to identity-based Customer education also occurs within a supportive ser- value as their engagement in the category deepens (Schau & vicescape. Research suggests that servicescapes can enable Akaka, 2021; Siebert et al., 2020). As they extend the jour- participation in activities and absorption of knowledge ney, consumers begin engaging in practices that enhance (Pine & Gilmore, 1999). Specialty Co. was designed to their knowledge of coffee, often through grooming (shar - deliberately break sense by stopping consumers from auto- ing knowledge of taste, like-minded cafés, blogs, other matically slipping into the dominant category script. How- brands) and customizing (Schau et al., 2009), such as when ever, it was also designed to highlight skilled performances Mel adapted tasting notes to her own cultural context and of servers and to provide enough cues that could be used by shared it with others. Practices such as badging (Schau et consumers to make sense of the journey. Seemingly small al., 2009) (e.g., selling coffees discovered by customers design decisions, such as the choice of a professional but as guest products) enable social affirmation of consumers’ non-branded uniform resembling the cultural codes of table status and highlight creative ways in which managers can service at high-end restaurants, the strategic placement of leverage customers’ personal education to enhance not only awards, coffee information (e.g., a flavor wheel), and vari - customers’ experience but benefit the organization. This is ous equipment used to make drinks enabled consumers to well illustrated by practices such as evangelizing, which quickly recognize the need for schema accommodation help increase community resources while further develop- and subsequently piece together a new mental model that ing brand reputation. would help them embody the appropriate role. If the aim is to break with pre-existing schemas focused on smooth Educational journeys as cultural innovation Finally, educa- journeys, managers would be well advised to design their tional journeys represent a form of cultural innovation that servicescape with clarity of purpose, including significant can lead to market disruption in saturated categories. Cul- use of strategic absences, as well as placement of cues to tural innovation has been offered as an alternative form of encourage the cognitive processing that is central to sense- value creation for challenger brands and draws on sociolog- making for educational journeys. ical insights to reframe categories in ways that add deeper The extended immersion with the service detailed in meaning for consumers (Holt, 2020). However, to date, cul- this study leads us to conclude that in many settings, par- tural strategies have focused primarily on mythic storytell- ticularly those with sensory and/or emotional elements, ser- ing at the brand level, rather than focusing on disrupting vicescapes need to be designed for pleasurable or joyous the consumer experience. Educational journeys, such as the experiences that drive consumer journeys forward. In the ones explored here and reflected elsewhere in the growing case of Specialty Co., we noted customers’ delight when artisanal economy, provide the mechanism by which cul- discussing flavor notes within groups or discovering that tural innovations can be activated. espressos were naturally sweet, for example. These “aha!” moments had an important role to play not only in the initial Educational journeys, particularly stickier consumer jour- engagement, but also in discovering the long-term benefits neys, require work. However, not all consumer work is and enjoyment of education. alike, with a growing stream of research identifying the value that can emerge from meaningful, self-actualizing Building and leveraging peer communities This study work (Campbell, 2005). This suggests new ways that cat- shows that consumer journeys can be extended through egory value can be created by marketers. Disrupters could communities of practice (Wenger et al., 2002), thus increas- create educational journeys that provide the basis for con- ing loyalty. Education is central to many brand-community sumers to reassert sovereignty in their consumption and strategies, often as a means of deepening engagement with connect with like-minded others in communities of prac- the brand by enabling consumers to build and extend skills tice. These journeys are also more likely to foster innova- with like-minded peers (Schau et al., 2009). We emphasize tion and challenge category assumptions, as illustrated by that aside from the benefit of extending their knowledge, the challenging of culturally specific flavor norms described consumers also acquire the cultural capital necessary for above. For market Goliaths, small-scale disruptors like Spe- community membership and enhanced status. Furthermore, cialty Co. represent a vanguard of a potential future main- we find that certain community practices are more present at stream shift in consumer expectations, thus providing larger 1 3 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science generalists an opportunity to differentiate and enhance their underpinning each learning style, as well as the triggers that journeys by adding stickiness through educational events, enable the shift between them as journeys develop, would special ranges, sub-brands, or partnerships. provide further insights into journey management. Our study focused on the co-creation of journeys over time. We did not focus on the more micro aspects of the Conclusion journey, as evident in research on different engagement lev - els within communities (Martineau & Arsel, 2017). How Our research reveals that customer education involves staff capabilities are nurtured to manage multiple journey engaging in meaning-making practices and embodying spe- types, and how customers could be moved to more involved cific roles that enact journeys. Instead of simply providing journeys should be addressed in future studies. For exam- information to customers or targeting a small set of innova- ple, what are the signs that someone is ready to shift from tors, this study suggests that education can be made to appeal a functionally oriented customer journey to a deeper con- to a broader public, expand value for firms and consumers, sumer journey? Could servers gain value from using prac- and revive markets. Future research into the applicability tices associated with small-scale innovations that could of these findings in other category contexts and in relation trigger just enough stickiness to change the direction of to journeys framed by different value-creating mechanisms the journey without frustrating or excluding those content (such as play, spirituality, deceleration and so on) should with their present smooth journey? Finally, we have iden- be conducted to expand knowledge of journey co-creation. tified how extended journeys may potentially regress. The Furthermore, while we have focused on a strategic special- actions providers can take to recover regressed journeys ist, we believe more generalist providers can also offer edu - also deserves further research. cational elements to their offering, even if it is in the form of mass-customized stickiness or empowering touchpoints Declarations provided by stores, staff, and artificial intelligence. Future Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of research is therefore needed on the schema management interest. practices (and their supportive policies) that enable general- ists to add some educational stickiness to otherwise smooth Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons journeys. Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, Future research could also examine some of the mental as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the processes underpinning the sensemaking practices identi- source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate fied herein. For example, openness to change could help if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this account for different consumer reactions to sensebreaking article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not and sensegiving (Rodas et al., 2021). Openness to change included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended also requires cognitive flexibility or the “mental character - use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted istic that facilitates restructuring, adapting, or appropriately use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright updating mental processes and strategies” (Buechner et al., holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/. 2022, p. 267), which we have demonstrated is necessary for combining and receiving different information to enable the co-creation of new scripts and to activate journeys. 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Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 2024

Keywords: Consumer journeys; Customer education; Co-creation; Sensemaking; Practice theory

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