In this sense, companies receive benefits or premium charges from consumers in spite of the fact
that consumers have invested their own abilities, resources, or ‘general intellect’ (Zwick et al.,
2008) in the value co-creation process. The notion of general intellect is derived from Marx’s
theory of labour (see also Zwick et al., 2008: 178), which refers to a set of competencies that are
freely available in all individuals.