As part of his research, professor Tuunanen and colleagues study how value co-creation and value co-destruction are manifested in an information systems artifact. They apply a qualitative research approach to study one specific information systems artifact: geocaching.

Their analytical framework is based on the concept of contradiction (structural tension) and how it can be applied to study the information systems artifact users’ value co-creation and value co-destruction behavior.

Based on interpretive content analysis of online discussion forum data, they identify the following contradictory poles of value co-creation and value co-destruction: closed system vs. open system; hedonic behavior vs. social norms; and autonomy vs. interdependence. Their findings show that value co-creation and value co-destruction occur in information systems artifacts, and they recognize six manifestations of such in geocachers’ behavior.

Finally, they propose that information systems research adopts the concepts of value co-creation and value co-destruction when studying user behavior, the relationship between these concepts and the information systems artifact, and how to apply them in information systems artifact design.