Developing a Model for Customer Retention Through Value Co-creation in Service Projects: A Study of Relationships and Interactions Between Iranian Firms and Their Clients

Customer retention is considered one of the firms' main concerns. Clients can leave a certain firm or brand without committing to it and select the most preferred one from various alternatives. Therefore, it is essential to implement a strategy to retain customers, notably by value co-creation. In this study, we used the mixed-method design. In the qualitative section, we interviewed the targeted sampling of 15 marketing and sales managers and their clients in the services field. The analysis of this section was performed by Nvivo12. In the quantitative section, we surveyed 384 managers of service firms using a simple random sampling questionnaire. This section tested the developed model using the structural equation model and SmartPLS3 software. In this research, the inputs required by the firm and the client for value co-creation were identified. Testing the hypotheses revealed that client satisfaction and non-monetary values for the firm positively impacted customer retention.