Service Economics and Media: Media Producer and Media Consumer as Value Creation Partners a Service Theory Approach to Media

In economic terms, media are usually classified as services, yet there has hardly been any systematic application of service theory approaches to media. This is attempted here, taking into account current developments in service theory and research. The service-theoretical view of media differs significantly from the product- and producer-centered view of neoclassicism. This concerns the roles of media producer and media consumer, the modes of interaction between economic actors, the value creation process, and the impact process. Especially in view of the changing media communication structures due to digitalization and the Internet, a service-theoretical analysis of media can open up new or different perspectives, if, for example, media producer and media recipient have to be understood as partners in the value creation process, and transfer has to be replaced by interaction. The potential of a service-centered logic for media economic issues is tested here using the examples of public value and media innovation.