The Dual-Role Customer Journey: Conceptualizing and Managing Prosumer Pathways
(A2026-134062)

AUTHORS

Jiahui Wu, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester; Hongwei He, Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester; Sumin Kim, Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester; Anders Gustafsson, BI Norwegian Business School

ABSTRACT

The digital transformation and the rise of platform economies increasingly empower consumers to actively design and manage their own journeys. In the sharing economy, this empowerment is most visible in users’ fluid participation across consumer and resource provider roles, giving rise to dual-role customer journeys. Existing journey models, however, assume a single-role customer and offer limited insights into how dual-role journeys unfold in decentralized settings. Drawing on Role Theory, this research conceptualizes the dual-role customer journey and theorizes three journey management patterns: overlapping, alternating, and segmenting. The conceptual model further identifies platform- and individual-level antecedents that shape these patterns and explains their behavioral outcomes, including role norm compliance, cross-role learning, and sustained engagement, supported by corresponding propositions. We conclude by outlining the theoretical and managerial implications of the model.