Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the ontological and semantic
foundations of consumer-dominant value creation to clarify the extent to which the call for a distinct
consumer-dominant logic (CDL) is justified. This paper discusses consumer-driven value creation
(value-in-use) across three different marketing logics: product-dominant logic (PDL), service-dominant
logic (SDL) and CDL. PDL conceptualises value as created by firms and delivered to consumers through
products. SDL frames consumer value as a function of direct provider-consumer interaction, or
consumer-driven chains of action indirectly facilitated by the provider. Recently, the research focus has
been turning to consumer-dominant value creation. While there is agreement on the significance of this
phenomenon, there is disagreement over whether consumer-dominant value creation is an extension of
SDL or calls for a distinct CDL.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper, which is informed by five cases of
consumer dominance. The cases are used to clarify rather than verify the analysis of the ontological and
semantic underpinnings of consumer-dominant value creation.
Findings – The ontological and semantic analysis demonstrates that PDL and SDL have insufficient
explanatory power to accommodate substantial aspects of consumer-dominant value creation. By
implication, this supports the call for a distinct CDL.
Originality/value – This paper contributes to the ongoing theoretical debate over the explanatory
power of SDL by demonstrating that SDL is unable to accommodate important ontological and
semantic aspects of consumer-driven value creation.
Keywords Service-dominant logic, Consumer-dominant logic, Consumer v