THEORY/CONCEPTUAL AMS Review https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-024-00284-8 approaches have proven to be highly useful in achieving this (Tadajewski, 2006). The subjective experientiality of value perceptions was captured by Holbrook and Corfman (1985) in their early definition of consumer value as an “interac- tive relativistic preference experience … characterizing a subject’s experience with some object. The object may be any thing or event” (p. 40; Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982). Another early definition by Woodruff (1997) delineates cus- tomer value as the “customer’s perceived preference for and evaluation of those product attributes, attribute perfor- mances, and consequences arising from use that facilitate (or block) achieving the customer’s goals and purposes in use situations” (p.142), thus factoring in subjectivity through the customer/consumer goals. Related conceptualizations of customer/consumer perceived value (CPV) (Holbrook, Introduction Amid tightening competition, B2C companies serve ever more discerning, demanding, and individualistic consum- ers. Hence, business success today requires increasing sophistication in comprehending consumers’ subjective, multifaceted value perceptions. Interpretive/constructive Laura J. Forsman laura.forsman@helsinki.fi 1 School of Marketing & Communications, University of Vaasa, Vaasa FI-65101, Finland 2 Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland Abstract Marketers need to understand consumers in both theory and practice to create offerings that are valuable to them. Hence, the marketing discipline has conceptualized consumers’ subjectively perceived value in various ways, using multiple paradigms. Nevertheless, its constituents remain unclear. We argue that this is because the ontological and epistemo- logical premises are both vague and narrow. Consequently, consumers’ value perceptions are still difficult to study or manage. With the aim of making a conceptual leap, our paper is the first to apply a critical realist (CR) approach to the phenomenon. CR’s stratified ontology and subjectivist/pluralist epistemology reconcile the positivist and interpretivist/ constructionist paradigms, allowing the simultaneous existence of external socio-natural and internal subjective realities. Using these premises, we examine, from a marketer’s perspective, how consumers perceive value, which is a subjective, phenomenological, and socially constructed act embedded in the natural world. Our CR theorizing deploys Bhaskar’s (2010) RRREIC schema and includes a review of the extant subjective value conceptualizations (consumer perceived value, value-in-use, value-in-experience) and retroduction of the key mechanisms generating the phenomenon: meaning- making and sensory perception. Finally, we propose a novel conceptualization for Emergent Consumer Perceived Value formation (ECPV) as an open system. As its integral component, we introduce the concept of Sensory Value Affordance, explaining how consumers transform physical properties into subjective meanings. These conceptual tools cater especially to B2C managers and account for both the phenomenological and sociocultural as well as the corporeal and perceptual. Finally, we present broader implications for value research, the field of marketing, and society. Keywords  Value theory · Customer perceived value · Critical realism · Emergence · Open system · Meaning-making · Sensory perception · Goals · Sensory value affordance Received: 23 May 2023 / Accepted: 24 June 2024 © The Author(s) 2024 Sensing physical properties for subjective meanings: Putting Emergent Consumer Perceived Value (ECPV) into the marketers’ toolbox Laura J. Forsman1,2  · Harri Luomala1 1 3 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9178-4482 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9708-994X http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s13162-024-00284-8&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2024-8-13 AMS Review 1999; Woodruff, 1997; Zeithaml, 1988) were later fol- lowed by value-in-use (ViU) (Grönroos, 2008; Vargo & Lusch, 2008) and value-in-experience (ViE) (Helkkula et al., 2012a) in the service marketing literature, emphasizing the unique phenomenology of customer/consumer value. Despite the advantages of embracing the interpretive and social constructionist paradigms after breaking away from the dominance of the objectivist perspective (Zeithaml et al., 2020), the resulting philosophical multiplicity has obscured the conceptual understanding of consumers’ value perceptions. A scientific paradigm states the philosophical assump- tions of the nature of reality (ontology) and the nature of knowledge of reality (epistemology) it follows. At present, the extant subjective value conceptualizations are deemed ambiguous and to lack clear constituents (Gallarza et al., 2011; Medberg & Grönroos, 2020; Zauner et al., 2015), which we attribute to ontological and epistemological issues. Additionally, for marketers a solely experience- focused approach remains too detached from consumers’ social and physical realities, knowledge of which is crucial for designing profitable offerings. These deficiencies ham- per the generation of new theoretical insights into consum- ers’ value perceptions. Ultimately, they hinder the purpose of marketing: to create value for customers/consumers (AMA, 2017; Babin & James, 2010; Easton, 2002). Thus, we seek to provide ontological and epistemological clarity for the study of subjective consumer value percep- tion formation from the marketer’s point of view. To do so, we adopt a critical realist (CR) approach, which has not yet been deployed in conceptualizing this phenomenon. CR’s ontological and epistemological assumptions allow the existence of external reality without denying the existence of individuals’ subjective worlds (Gorski, 2013; Lawani, 2021), thereby reconciling the positivist and interpretivist/ social constructionist paradigms. Specifically, we deploy its lens to assess the ontological and epistemological assump- tions (Sorrell, 2018) of existing subjective value concep- tualizations and to develop a novel theoretically grounded mid-range formulation for the phenomenon. The proposed Emergent Consumer Perceived Value (ECPV) concep- tualizes consumer perceived value formation as an open system. It resolves the ontological and epistemological ten- sions between the inherently subjective (phenomenological) worlds of consumers and the broad, generalized approach (constructed and objectivist) toward them taken by market- ers. The literature currently lacks this kind of harmonizing CR conceptualization tailored for B2C marketers. Addi- tionally, our approach is the first to operationalize physical properties as proxies for consumers’ subjective meanings. Our paper also contributes to the development of more con- cise value theories with adequate stakeholder specificity. It is structured as follows. First, we showcase how the critical realist approach grants ontological and epistemolog- ical precision to marketers in conceptualizing consumers’ subjective value perceptions. Next, we conduct a CR- informed review (Okoli, 2015) of the extant subjective value conceptualizations in the literature. Then, following the interdisciplinary CR approach (Bhaskar, 2010; Danermark & Morgan, 2023), we pair concepts from extant subjective consumer value theories (goal-orientation, means-end struc- ture, and terminal values) with theories concerning human meaning-making and sensory perception (perception-action cycle, life goals, affordance, Gestalt concepts from experi- mental phenomenology). As a result, we provide a holis- tic conceptualization for ECPV, describing its constituents, their functional relations, and its emergent nature. Addition- ally, we introduce the concept of Sensory Value Affordance as the previously missing link between the physical proper- ties of the objective world and the value perceptions within the mind of the consumer. Finally, we discuss theimplica- tions of our conceptual propositions. Critical realism and emergence as sense- making tools for grasping consumers’ value perceptions Critical realism as a reconciling philosophy of science Although they often remain implicit, scientific paradigms and philosophies form the foundations for marketing the- ory development (Arndt, 1985; Easton, 2002; Johnson & Duberley, 2003). Critical realism is a recent scientific philosophical approach developed to tackle the seemingly unreconcilable tensions between positivism and interpre- tivism/constructivism (Fletcher, 2017; Lawani, 2021; Min- gers, 2015). Its purpose is to find explanations for complex phenomena by framing and describing them through the intertwined physical and social mechanisms that cause them. Thanks to this promise, CR has become increasingly influential in marketing and management research, along- side other social and applied disciplines (Armstrong, 2019; Easton, 2002, 2010; Hu, 2018; Mingers, 2015; Ryan et al., 2012; Schoppek, 2021; Vanharanta & Wong, 2022; Waite, 2022; Wynn & Williams, 2012). CR builds on both positivism and interpretivism/con- structivism and posits the simultaneous existence of natural and social external realities. CR thus assumes that social reality exists collectively in the minds of people. However, this reality always takes place independently—and thus outside—of any particular human mind and is qualitatively different to “a simple aggregation of individual persons” 1 3 AMS Review (Gorski, 2013, p. 662). This means that social actors have subjective information and knowledge in a given context, while also having to deal with “independent structures that constrain and facilitate these actors to carry out certain activities in that context” (Lawani, 2021, p. 321, see also Smith & Elger, 2014). The social structures comprise both material entities and artifacts as well as human persons and their agencies and intentions (Gorski, 2013). Hence, a key premise of CR is that human social real- ity is emergent with ontological stratification (Easton, 2010; Gorski, 2013). Stratified ontology points to nested levels of reality, i.e., an “actual level” where the investigated events, phenomena, or outcomes occur, a “real level” comprising the generative mechanisms and structures (both physi- cal and social) causing the emergence of the phenomenon at hand, and an “empirical level” referring to empirically experienced and observed accounts of the phenomenon (Easton, 2010; Fletcher, 2017; Lawani, 2021). Hence, the CR philosophy of science recognizes that different domains, (e.g., biological, cognitive, psychological, social, cultural, phenomenological, etc.) all compose reality, and that none of them—nor their causes on any one level—can be reduced to another level (Wikgren, 2005). In CR’s view of reality as an open system (Bhaskar, 2010), causality does not stem from a constant regular relationship between events in the natural world; instead, it derives from various “generative mechanisms,” i.e., powers and liabilities of objects, rela- tions, and structures, both natural and social (Bhaskar, 1998; Gorski, 2013; Hoddy, 2019). According to Bhaskar (1989), science should identify and describe those hidden (or not readily observed) struc- tures or elements, and their forces/capacities—the gen- erative mechanisms—that ultimately produce effects. Yet, simultaneously, critical realists aim to avoid the challenges of interpretive approaches, such as pure phenomenology, that tend to ignore the existence of real social structures and systems (Easton, 2010; Gorski, 2013; Smith & Elger, 2014). According to CR, integrating these hidden elements into scientific explanations is vital, because regardless of whether individuals are conscious of social structures and systems, they nonetheless condition their goals and affor- dances, and thus behavior (Archer, 1995; Smith & Elger, 2014; Wikgren, 2005). Finally, CR also considers that both physical entities of the natural world as well as an individ- ual’s ideas and knowledge (Peters et al., 2013) participate in the formation of social entities (social structures, sys- tems, and concepts). In this regard, CR differs also from social constructivism, which views reality as a thoroughly social construct (Smith & Elger, 2014) maintained foremost through language (Gorski, 2013; Harré & Bhaskar, 2001). Taken together, these postulates result in CR’s “eclectic realist/interpretivist epistemology” (Easton, 2010, p. 119), also characterized as a relativistic (Isaksen, 2016; Peters et al., 2013; Sorell, 2018; Wikgren, 2005) or pluralist (Syed et al., 2009) epistemology. Renouncing positivism, CR does make use of interpretivist methods, with some scholars even defining its epistemology as interpretivist (Bogna, 2020; Bygstad et al., 2016; Hoddy, 2019). These philosophical foundations are highly relevant for disciplines dealing with people as unique social beings in physical surroundings, such as marketing. In these settings, the phenomenon and its related physical properties are observable, but the cognitive and social mechanisms at play cannot be seen and thus necessitate theory and abstraction (Danermark et al., 2002; Wikgren, 2005). From a marketer’s perspective, this is also the case with consumers’ value per- ceptions, which they base on both abstract phenomenologi- cal and socially constructed aspects as well as perceptually detected physical inputs. Deploying critical realism in conceptualizing consumers’ value perceptions To design better offerings, companies and marketers need to grasp how consumers’ holistic value perceptions are formed, exemplifying the kind of cross-functional chal- lenges and research-practice gaps that CR can address (Syed et al., 2009). As a philosophy of science, CR seeks to deploy scientific theories without falling for the logical empiri- cist fallacy that reality can be captured perfectly by them (Bhaskar, 1998; Tadajewski, 2008). The aim is to produce analytical explanations of the causal/generative mechanism at play in the studied phenomenon as opposed to positiv- ist statements of causality or thick empirical descriptions of instances (Fletcher, 2017). This leads to CR’s requirement of carefully describing the ontology and epistemology used in theorizing. Hence, CR scholars need to be mindful of the more than one level and domain of reality (stratification of ontology) and avoid the limitations of a single way of know- ing based on preferred theories, methodologies, and implicit assumptions (pluralist and/or interpretivist epistemology). These philosophical requirements are crucial for con- ceptualizing consumer value perception formation for two reasons. First, theorizing it adequately encompasses vari- ous levels of reality. Hence, its effective describing necessi- tates both deploying rationally justified theories and leaving room for interpretivist grasping of meanings. Second, this phenomenon involves various stakeholders (e.g., consum- ers, marketers, scholars) with distinct perspectives, inter- ests, and ways of knowing (Danermark & Morgan, 2023). Thus, we posit that an approach following CR ontology and epistemology coupled with recognition of the bound- ary conditions (the subject, the observer, and the ontologi- cal placement and timing of the phenomenon) can tackle 1 3 AMS Review that consumers apply to form subjective value perceptions. Thus, when consumers “meaning-make” they conjure up subjective interpretations of an entity (situation/object/per- son/physical property) to understand and make evaluations of them in the context at hand. The generated meanings are both intrasubjectively idiosyncratic (i.e., phenomenologi- cal) and intersubjectively (i.e., socially) constructed. These meanings have to be understood, and for this reason a criti- cal realist study always involves an interpretative or herme- neutic element (Easton, 2010; Mingers & Standing, 2017). However, CR specifically provides an ontological grounding for the interpretivist way of knowing by attach- ing it to the context and the identified mechanism at play in meaning formation (Smith & Elger, 2014; Syed et al., 2009). Hence, in terms of theory development, there is a significant difference between the critical realist and inter- pretative approaches. Whereas CR accepts the possibility of knowing reality through causal analysis in a given context (Lawani, 2021), the interpretative approach rejects this idea and focuses instead on uncovering constructions produced by social actors (Easton, 2010; Smith & Elger, 2014). This distinction justifies CR’s postulation of generative mecha- nisms as the second important aspect in our explanatory the- orizing. Mechanisms reside at the deepest “real level” of the stratified ontologies and refer to the ways in which objects/ entities/structures act and cause the emergence of events/ phenomena on the “actual level,” with a process of interpre- tation intervening between the two domains (Easton, 2010). The concept of mechanism crystallizes the idea of criti- cal realism as a scientific philosophy. Mechanisms do not predict a phenomenon (like positivism) or expound it (like interpretivism), but explain frequently occurring, relevant causal patterns generating it (Elster, 1998; Wikgren, 2005). Also avoiding the pitfalls of positivism, CR thus recognizes that the foci of study are not on singular measurable ele- ments or dimensions, but on causal analysis of factors and relationships that make things occur or emerge (Danermark et al., 2002; Wynn & Williams, 2012). Importantly, CR is interested specifically in those mechanisms that are con- sidered “at least relatively enduring, and as such are given far more explanatory weight than within a construction- ist ontology and epistemology” (Wikgren, 2005; see also Mingers & Standing, 2017). Accordingly, we consider the identification and elucidation of generative mechanisms a central tenet in explanative conceptualizing of consumers’ subjective, multifaceted value perception formation. Thirdly, as critical realists acknowledge that the reality of the natural world equals that of the social world (Elder- Vass, 2010; Wikgren, 2005), they posit the necessity of natural objects (among other kinds) having powers and susceptibilities in a CR account of a phenomenon (Easton, 2010). Thus, we consider that physical properties reside in the ambiguities facing extant subjective value perception conceptualizations. Furthermore, CR’s interdisciplinary approach also provides means for unprecedented breadth and depth in identifying the constituents of this complex phenomenon. In the development of our new CR-informed theory for consumers’ subjective value perception formation, we adhere to Bhaskar’s (2010, p. 4; cf. Isaksen, 2016) RRREIC schema for explanatory analysis. Table 1 describes its steps and presents a breakdown of its deployment in the current study. A central tenet in CR is retroduction (literally “mov- ing backwards”) as its logic of making inferences (Bhaskar, 2010; Easton, 2010; Isaksen, 2016; Lawani, 2021; Sayer, 1992; Wynn & Williams, 2012). It implies connecting the capacities of underlying mechanisms, i.e., structural com- ponents and their relationships (“real” level), to the emerg- ing event/phenomenon in question (“actual” level) (Hoddy, 2019; Wynn & Williams, 2012). RRREIC has often been deployed in a condensed form (Danermark et al., 2002; Hu, 2018; Steffansen, 2016; Waite, 2022). We choose to apply the schema in its total- ity but adjust it in line with the conceptual nature of our study. Firstly, our steps R1, R2, and R3 are intertwined and iterative, which is typical (Armstrong, 2019; Easton, 2010, p. 124; Hu, 2018; Lawani, 2020; Sayer, 2013, p. 24). As retroduction lacks clear specification (Fletcher, 2017; Isak- sen, 2016; Waite, 2022), and in the absence of empirical data, we rely on past literature in our theorizing. Secondly, we consider the CR-informed theory-contending review (Okoli, 2015) as our step of Elimination. It also feeds the next step (Identification) by providing a synthesis of both the strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed extant con- ceptualizations of subjective value perception. Our explanatory analysis commences with a critical real- ist resolution (R1) of consumers’ subjective value percep- tion formation. Here, we postulate three key aspects in the phenomenon in the light of the subjective value literature and Easton’s (2010) synthetized CR views for marketing. Simultaneously, we conduct the redescription (R2) and ret- rodiction/retroduction (R3) of the three aspects. Firstly, Easton (2010) emphasizes the role of meanings: “Critical realism acknowledges that social phenomena are intrinsically meaningful, and hence that meaning is not only externally descriptive of them but constitutive of them (though of course there are usually material constituents too)” (Easton, 2010, p. 122). Many scholars studying sub- jective value perceptions have also identified meanings as a relevant aspect (Akaka et al., 2014, 2015; Anker et al., 2015; Ballantyne & Varey, 2006; Edvardsson et al., 2011; Helkkula et al., 2012a; Overby et al., 2005; Macdonald et al., 2011, 2016; Peñaloza & Venkatesh, 2006). Hence, we argue that meaning-making is a generative mechanism 1 3 AMS Review RRREIC step Procedure Outcomes Section R1 Resolution of the complex event or phenomenon into its components Postulating the key aspects involved in the phenomenon of consumers’ subjec- tive value perception formation/emer- gence derived from the preliminary reading of the literature on CPV and ViU/ViE conceptualizations and CR literature, Easton (2010) in particular (1) Meanings, (2) genera- tive mechanisms, (3) sensory perception Deploying critical realism in conceptual- izing consumers’ value perceptions R2 Redescription of these components in an (optimally) explanatory significant way Stipulating the generative mechanisms as constituents of consumers’ sub- jective value perception formation/ emergence, with the specific generative mechanisms of meaning-making and sensory perception as necessary in the phenomenon (1) Generative mechanisms of (2) meaning-making and (3) sensory perception, both directed by goals and forming individually emerg- ing meanings R3 Retrodiction, i.e., tracing of the compo- nent causes to antecedently existing events or conditions & Retroduction, i.e., identify- ing possible mechanisms E Elimination of alternative com- peting explana- tory antecedents Reviewing the extant conceptualiza- tions in the subjective value literature according to CR-informed theory- contending review (Okoli, 2015): philosophical paradigm, structural character (concepts and their rela- tions), theoretical components acting as explanatory mechanisms, handling of meaning-making and sensory percep- tion as key elements, applied ontol- ogy and epistemology and boundary conditions Identification of strengths: (1) phenomenology within service marketing, and (2) goal-orien- tation, (3) means-end structure, and (4) terminal values from CPV tradition / weaknesses: (1) ontological and epistemological ambiguity, (2) unclear boundary conditions, (3) vague delinea- tions of the aspect of individu- ally emerging meanings, and (4) oversight of the aspect of sensory perception Subjective value conceptu- alizations, their paradigms, and explicative potential for marketers I Identification of the caus- ally efficacious or generative antecedents Formulating the premises for ECPV through immanent critique, judgmental rationalism, and interdisciplinary cross- examination of constitutive elements/ concepts Theoretically grounded and defined entities/concepts form- ing the identified generative mechanisms of meaning-making and sensory perception for ECPV conceptualization: phenomenol- ogy of perception, perception- action cycle (cognitive science), affordance (ecological psychol- ogy), life goals (Schwartz’s system of basic values), models of value (means-end theory), Gestalt concepts (experimental phenomenology) Premises for the Emergent Customer Perceived Value conceptu- alization C Iterative Correc- tion of earlier findings in the light of an (albeit temporarily) completed expla- nation or analysis Synthesizing the conceptualization for ECPV A holistic explanation of the phenomenon of ECPV providing novel breadth and depth through its CR approach, including the concept of sensory value affordance Conceptu- alizing emergent consumer perceived value Table 1  Breakdown of the RRREIC schema (Bhaskar, 2010) deployed in the current study 1 3 AMS Review constructed individually “made” meanings that consumers create for themselves using their sensory perception. Here, we relate meaning-making to Bhaskar’s (1998) view that the reasons motivating an actor’s intentional behavior serve as generative mechanisms (Wynn & Wil- liams, 2012). Consequently, we stipulate that these moti- vational reasons are goals, and thus meaning-making is essentially anchored to them. Hence, we posit that a con- sumer’s idiosyncratic meanings forming subjective value perceptions emerge onto the “actual level” as the result of phenomenological and socially constructed meaning-mak- ing on the “real level,” where meaning-making is depen- dent on subjective goals motivating intentional behaviors. We thus delineate individually emerging meanings to be dependent on the consumer’s goals in a given social and physical context, essentially forming the subjective value perceptions. With this, we distinguish them from the general term “meaning,” which is now used in the consumer value literature without defining the points of reference that deter- mine the actual significance and role of “meanings” within a consumer’s subjective value perception (see last column in Table 2). The other generative mechanism necessary for the for- mation of consumer’s subjective value perception is human sensory perception. It performs the interpretation of physi- cal properties residing on the “empirical level” into subjec- tive, phenomenologically and socially constructed meanings occurring on the “actual level.” Thus, we propose that these two interrelated mechanisms cause the consumer’s subjec- tive value perception to emerge on the “actual level.” In this dynamic process, the sensory perception mechanism both feeds and is affected by the meaning-making mechanism. To conclude, in our steps R2 and R3, we have redescribed, traced, and identified the key components involved in con- sumer’s subjective value perception formation according to CR views on their plausible necessity (Sayer, 1992) and the natural world—on the “empirical level”—and play a role in the emergence of consumers’ subjective, phenom- enological, and socially informed value perceptions on the “actual level.” Deploying retrodiction/retroduction, we fur- ther argue that the workings of the human senses comprise the mechanism by which the observable physical proper- ties of consumers’ surroundings cause the emergence of a subjective value perception. Thus far, however, the role of this “hidden” mechanism has not been acknowledged in the study of the phenomenon. However, sensing properties of the physical natural reality is a crucial part of how consum- ers form conceptual value perceptions. Consequently, we propose that sensory perception is a necessary generative mechanism in conceptualizing consumers’ subjective value perception formation. Adhering to both phenomenology and ecological psychology, we define sensory perception as an active process grounded both in the body and mind, whereby the perceivers seek information about their sur- roundings guided by their goals through their sensory sys- tems/modalities (Amazeen & Amazeen, 2017; Fuster, 1997; Gibson, 2015/1979; Koenderink, 2010; Wilson, 2012), most traditionally vision, hearing, olfaction, gustation, and touch (Colman, 2015). Figure  1 shows how CR’s stratified ontology lays the multiperspective foundations for conceptualizing consum- ers’ subjective value perception formation. Firstly, the generative mechanisms (goal-based meaning-making and sensory perception) represent its underlying, structuring constituents on the “real level.” They cause the emergence of an individual’s subjective value perception on the “actual level.” Finally, those observable physical objects, properties, and structures of the human environment that are empiri- cally experienced reside on the “empirical level.” Hence, a subjective value perception on the “actual level” emerges through the interpretations facilitated by the generative mechanisms. It consists of phenomenologically and socially Fig. 1  Deploying the critical realist approach to conceptual- ize consumers’ subjective value perception formation. Based on Fig. 1 in Hoddy (2019: 113) 1 3 AMS Review Co nc ep tu al iz at io n Li te ra tu re Co nc ep tu al iz in g ar tic le s Ph ilo so ph ic al p ar ad ig m D efi ni tio n of co nc ep tu al iz at io n St ru ct ur al ch ar ac te r & ex pl an at or y th eo rie s an d m ec ha ni sm (s ) Bo un da ry c on di - tio n W H O Bo un da ry c on di tio n W H ER E Bo un da ry c on di tio n W H EN Ro le o f s en so ry pe rc ep tio n Ro le o f m ea ni ng s D im en sio na l c on ce pt ua liz a- tio ns o f C PV CP V H ol br oo k an d H irs ch m an (1 98 2) , S he th et a l. (1 99 1) , H ol br oo k (1 99 9) , Sw ee ne y an d So ut ar (2 00 1) Po sit iv ist A n in te ra ct iv e re la tiv ist ic pr ef er en ce e xp er ie nc e (H ol br oo k, 1 99 9) Po sit iv ist d im en - sio ns (o fte n bu nd le d in to c at eg or ie s) | no th eo re tic al ly d efi ne d m ec ha ni sm s M ar ke te rs a s ob se rv er s o f C PV ph en om en on / c us to m er s a s pe rfo rm er s O bj ec tiv ist e xt er na l w or ld w he re c us to m er s re sid e O ut co m e- or ie nt ed an d sta tic Pa rt of th e “e xp er ie n- tia l a nd h ed on ic ” (H ol - br oo k & H irs ch m an , 19 82 ) Pa rt of th e “e xp er i- en tia l a nd sy m bo lic ” (H ol br oo k & H irs ch m an , 1 98 2) H ie ra rc hi ca l m ea ns -e nd co nc ep tu al iz at io ns o f C PV / Vi U CP V, S D L Ze ith am l ( 19 88 ), W oo dr uff (1 99 7) , O ve rb y et a l. (2 00 5) , M ac do n- al d et a l. (2 01 6) Re al ist Pe rc ei ve d pr ef er en ce fo r a nd e va lu at io n of th os e pr od uc t a ttr ib ut es , at tri bu te p er fo rm an ce s, an d co ns eq ue nc es a ris in g fro m u se th at fa ci lit at e (o r b lo ck ) a ch ie vi ng th e cu sto m er ’s go al s a nd pu rp os es in u se si tu at io ns (W oo dr uff , 1 99 7) In te rre la te d po sit iv - ist d im en sio ns o n th re e hi er ar ch ie s | m ea ns -e nd c ha in th eo ry , c on su m er go al s, an d m ea ni ng - m ak in g de pe nd en t on c ul tu ra l c on te xt de fin ed im pl ic itl y as m ec ha ni sm s M ar ke te rs a s ob se rv er s o f C PV ph en om en on / co ns um er s a s g oa l- or ie nt ed b ei ng s O bj ec tiv ist e xt er na l w or ld w he re c on su m er s re sid e as b ei ng s w ith su bj ec tiv e go al s O ut co m e- or ie nt ed an d sta tic (Z ei th am l, 19 88 ) / a ct iv ity (c om pa ris on ) a nd ou tc om e- or ie nt ed (W oo dr uff , 1 99 7) A bs en t W ha t a p ro du ct / se rv ic e at tri bu te , c on - se qu en ce , o r d es ire d en d- sta te sy m bo liz es to a c on su m er (O ve rb y et a l., 2 00 5) Va lu e- in -u se SD L Va rg o an d Lu sc h (2 00 4, 20 08 , 20 11 , 2 01 7) , Va rg o et a l. (2 00 8) , G um - m er us (2 01 3) , A ka ka e t a l. (2 01 4, 2 01 5) So ci al c on str uc tio ni st/ cr iti ca l re al ist Va lu e cr ea tio n pr oc es s: va lu e co -c re at io n an d de te rm in at io n by th e cu s- to m er / va lu e ou tc om es : su bj ec tiv e an d re su lt of se ns e- m ak in g (G um - m er us , 2 01 3) Pr oc es s a nd ou tc om e, w he re th e ou tc om e is of p he no m en o- lo gi ca l n at ur e | n o th eo re tic al ly d efi ne d m ec ha ni sm s Va lu e ec os ys te m an d al l i ts pa rti ci - pa nt s, in cl . m ar ke t- er s / c us to m er s, sc ho la rs a s t he ob se rv er s Co -c on str uc te d w or ld w he re a ll ec os ys te m sta ke ho ld er s r es id e as be in gs w ith th ei r o w n ep ist em ol og y Bo th d yn am ic (v al ue co -c re at io n) a nd sta tic (v al ue o ut - co m es ) ( G um m er us , 20 13 ) A bs en t Pa rt of v al ue c o- cr ea tio n: sh ar ed o r ov er la pp in g (e .g ., sy m bo lic ) m ea ni ng s of v al ue fo r p ar tic ul ar re so ur ce s … u til ita ria n or h ed on ic o r b ot h … b as ed o n pa st ex pe rie nc es (A ka ka e t al ., 20 14 ) Va lu e- in -u se SL G rö nr oo s ( 20 08 , 20 11 ), G rö nr oo s an d Vo im a (2 01 3) , G rö nr oo s an d G um m er us (2 01 4) , M ed be rg an d G rö nr oo s (2 02 0) In te rp re tiv e (p he no m en ol og ic al / so ci al c on str uc tio ni st) Si tu at io n in w hi ch v al ue em er ge s f or o r i s c re at ed by th e cu sto m er in a te m po ra lly fl uc tu at in g, ac cu m ul at in g ex pe ri- en ce p ro ce ss d ur in g us e (re so ur ce /o ut co m e in te gr at io n) (G rö nr oo s & Vo im a, 2 01 3) Pr oc es s a nd o ut - co m e, w he re b ot h ar e of p he no m en o- lo gi ca l n at ur e | n o th eo re tic al ly d efi ne d m ec ha ni sm s Cu sto m er s a s ph en om en ol og ic al be in gs , m ar ke te rs as th ei r o bs er ve rs Cu sto m er s’ Li fe w or ld s w he re th ey li ve ac co rd in g to th ei r o w n on to lo gy a nd e pi ste m ol - og y an d m ar ke te rs ob se rv in g ac co rd in g to th ei r o w n so ci al co ns tru ct io ni st on to lo gy an d ep ist em ol og y Te m po ra l, ac cu - m ul at es o ve r t im e th ro ug h ex pe rie nc es du rin g us ag e (G rö nr oo s & V oi m a, 20 13 ) / d yn am ic a nd lo ng itu di na l, pr oc es - su al (M ed be rg & G rö nr oo s, 20 20 ) A bs en t Pr es en t, no t d efi ne d Va lu e- in -e xp er ie nc e SD L H el kk ul a an d K el le he r ( 20 10 ); H el kk ul a et a l. (2 01 2a , b ) In te rp re tiv e (p he no m en ol og ic al ) A n in di vi du al ly in tra su bj ec tiv e, so ci al ly in te rs ub je ct iv e, c on te xt - an d sit ua tio n- sp ec ifi c ph en om en on th at is b ot h liv ed a nd im ag in ar y, co ns tru ct ed b as ed o n pr ev io us , c ur re nt , a nd im ag in ar y fu tu re e xp er i- en ce s. It is te m po ra l a nd em er ge s f ro m in di vi du al ly de te rm in ed so ci al c on te xt s (H el kk ul a et a l., 2 01 2a ). A ph en om en o- lo gi ca l e xp er ie nc e | p ra ct ic es (t he or y of p ra ct ic e) d efi ne d as a n ex pl an at or y th eo ry , i .e ., “p ar t o f ex pe rie nc e” (H el k- ku la e t a l., 2 01 2b ) Cu sto m er s a s ph en om en ol og ic al be in gs , m ar ke te rs as th ei r o bs er ve rs Cu sto m er s’ Li fe w or ld s, es pe ci al ly th e so ci al co nt ex t, w he re th ey liv e ac co rd in g to th ei r ow n on to lo gy a nd ep ist em ol og y Te m po ra l, ba se d on pr ev io us , c ur re nt , an d im ag in ar y fu tu re ex pe rie nc es A bs en t M ea ni ng e m er ge s fro m in di vi du al s’ ev er yd ay li ve d ex pe ri- en ce s a nd is p rio rit iz ed in so m e fo rm b y th os e in di vi du al s. (H el kk ul a et a l., 2 01 2a ) Ta bl e 2  CR -in fo rm ed re vi ew o f s ub je ct iv e va lu e co nc ep tu al iz at io ns in c us to m er /c on su m er m ar ke tin g lit er at ur e 1 3 AMS Review Co nc ep tu al iz at io n Li te ra tu re Co nc ep tu al iz in g ar tic le s Ph ilo so ph ic al p ar ad ig m D efi ni tio n of co nc ep tu al iz at io n St ru ct ur al ch ar ac te r & ex pl an at or y th eo rie s an d m ec ha ni sm (s ) Bo un da ry c on di - tio n W H O Bo un da ry c on di tio n W H ER E Bo un da ry c on di tio n W H EN Ro le o f s en so ry pe rc ep tio n Ro le o f m ea ni ng s Va lu e fo rm at io n re su lti ng in to V iU CD L H ei no ne n et a l. (2 01 0, 2 01 3) , H ei no ne n an d St ra nd vi k (2 01 5) In te rp re tiv e Cu sto m er s’ em er gi ng be ha vi or al a nd m en ta l pr oc es se s o f i nt er pr et in g, ex pe rie nc in g, a nd in te - gr at in g off er in gs in th ei r ev er yd ay li ve s/b us in es se s, w ith e ith er p os iti ve o r ne ga tiv e ou tc om es . (H ei no ne n & S tra nd vi k, 20 15 ) Pr oc es s a nd o ut - co m e, w he re b ot h ar e of p he no m en o- lo gi ca l n at ur e | n o th eo re tic al ly d efi ne d m ec ha ni sm s Cu sto m er s a s ph en om en ol og ic al be in gs / he lic op te r pe rs pe ct iv e on c us - to m er s d ep lo ye d by th ei r o bs er ve rs Cu sto m er s’ su bj ec tiv e ec os ys te m s w he re th ey liv e ac co rd in g to th ei r ow n on to lo gy a nd ep ist em ol og y Lo ng itu di na l, dy na m ic , s itu at io na l ex pe rie nc e, b as ed o n co ns um er ’s ac cu m u- la te d ex pe rie nc es in he r l ife (H ei no ne n et a l., 2 01 3) / bo th ou tc om e- a nd pr oc es s- or ie nt ed , ex te nd in g ov er ti m e, cu sto m er -s pe ci fic an d so ci al ly c on - str uc te d (H ei no ne n & S tra nd vi k, 2 01 5) A bs en t A bs en t Em er ge nt C on su m er P er - ce iv ed V al ue fo rm at io n EC PV Cu rre nt p ap er Cr iti ca l r ea lis t: str at ifi ed o nt ol - og y an d su bj ec tiv ist /p lu ra lis t ep ist em ol og y EC PV e m er ge s c au se d by in te rtw in ed g en er at iv e m ec ha ni sm s o f m ea ni ng - m ak in g an d se ns or y pe r- ce pt io n, w hi ch fa ci lit at e th e co m pa ris on a n in di - vi du al m ak es b et w ee n ad ho c ap pe ar an ce s ( re nd er ed by th e ph ys ic al p ro pe rti es sh e pi ck s i n he r p hy sic al su rro un di ng s a s s en so ry va lu e aff or da nc es ) a nd th e di ag no sti c G es ta lts in h er a pr io ri m od el s o f v al ue de pe nd en t o n he r g oa ls an d th e co nt ex t a t h an d EC PV fo rm at io n is an o pe n- sy ste m p he - no m en on w ith a n em er ge nt o ut co m e oc cu rri ng th ro ug h tw o in te rtw in ed ge ne ra tiv e m ec ha - ni sm s o f m ea ni ng - m ak in g an d se ns or y pe rc ep tio n Co ns um er s as g oa l- or ie nt ed , s oc ia l, an d ph en om en o- lo gi ca l b ei ng s / m ar ke te rs a s ob se rv er s o f E CP V ph en om en on A str at ifi ed re al ity , m ar ke te rs a nd c on su m - er s s ha rin g ob je ct iv ist ph ys ic al su rro un di ng s / co ns um er s l iv e ac co rd - in g to th ei r o w n ep ist em ol og y in th ei r Li fe w or ld s e m be dd ed in th e na tu ra l w or ld , a nd m ar ke te rs o bs er ve th em ac co rd in g to th ei r o w n ep ist em ol og y Si m ul ta ne ou sly lo ng itu di na l a nd te m po ra l, de pe nd en t on c on su m er ’s pr ev i- ou s l ife e xp er ie nc es as w el l a s t he a d ho c so ci oc ul tu ra l an d sp at io -te m po ra l co nt ex t a t h an d Th e m ec ha ni sm o f se ns or y pe rc ep tio n as a n in di vi du al ’s ac t of in te rp re tin g ph ys i- ca l p ro pe rti es in to ap pe ar an ce s t ha t a re pa rt of th e in di vi du al ly em er gi ng m ea ni ng s, w hi ch a re c on tin ge nt on h er su bj ec tiv e go al s, in cl ud in g lif e go al s, in th e gi ve n ph ys ic al a nd so ci al co nt ex t. A lso , i tse lf in flu en ce s m ea ni ng - m ak in g. / Co ns tit ue nt of th e EC PV , c on sis t- in g of th e co nc ep ts of se ns or y va lu e aff or - da nc e, a pp ea ra nc e, a nd m od el s o f v al ue – a nd th ei r r el at io ns hi ps . Th e m ec ha ni sm o f m ea ni ng -m ak in g as an in di vi du al ’s ac t o f in te rp re tin g en tit ie s (s itu at io n/ ob je ct / pe rs on /p hy sic al p ro p- er ty ) i n he r U m w el t (p he no m en ol og ic al , so ci al ly c on str uc te d, an d sp at io te m po ra l) in to in di vi du al ly em er gi ng m ea ni ng s th at fo rm th e pe r- ce iv ed v al ue , w hi ch ar e co nt in ge nt o n he r s ub je ct iv e go al s, in cl ud in g lif e go al s, in th e gi ve n ph ys ic al an d so ci al c on te xt . A lso , i tse lf in flu en ce s se ns or y pe rc ep tio n. / C on sti tu en t o f t he EC PV , c on sis tin g of th e co nc ep ts of li fe go al s, co nt ex t-d ep en - de nt g oa ls, a nd m od el s of v al ue – a nd th ei r re la tio ns hi ps . Ta bl e 2  (c on tin ue d) 1 3 AMS Review identify their ontological and epistemological assumptions and analyze their boundary conditions (Busse et al., 2017; Whetten, 1989), referring to who perceives value, who observes the phenomenon of value perception formation, where the phenomenon takes place, and when the phenom- enon happens. Regarding the boundary condition of “who,” we make a distinction between the one who perceives the value and the one who observes this, in line with how the conceptualization assumes these two key stakeholders. The summary of the review is presented in Table 2. Finally, we also organize the conceptualizations according to their onto- logical and epistemological positions in Fig. 2. Dimensional and hierarchical conceptualizations of CPV The early research on subjectively experienced value was positivist. The first conceptual development was a shift from a unidimensional construct with rational/cognitive compo- nents to a multidimensional characterization (Zeithaml et al., 2020). It resulted in conceptualizations simply determining different dimensions for customer perceived value (CPV) (Gallarza et al., 2011; Holbrook, 1999; Sánchez-Fernández & Iniesta-Bonillo, 2007; Zauner et al., 2015; Zeithaml et al., 2020). They focused on revealing the emotional and social dimensions of CPV, which until then had generally been ignored. During this period, the mechanisms producing the subjective value outcomes on the different dimensions were not theorized. Holbrook’s typology (1999) is one of the most promi- nent examples, consisting of eight value dimensions: effi- ciency, excellence (quality), play, aesthetics, esteem, status, ethics, and spirituality. Sweeney and Soutar (2001) devel- oped a four-dimensional scale of the CPV construct as a general model for various purchase situations, comprised of a functional value dimension of quality and price, and significance as possible causal structures (Bhaskar, 1998; Lawani, 2021; Easton, 2010). Thus, we have stipulated that meaning-making and sensory perception are the genera- tive mechanisms in the emergence of consumer’s subjec- tive value perception. We will provide a further retroductive unpacking of the dynamics of meaning-making and sensory perception in the “Identification” step of our explanatory analysis in the section “Premises for the Emergent Cus- tomer Perceived Value conceptualization.” However, before that, we conduct the preceding step of “Elimination” in the following literature review. Subjective value conceptualizations, their paradigms, and explicative potential for marketers Marketing scholars representing different backgrounds have developed several conceptualizations for understanding con- sumers’/customers’ subjective value perceptions. Drawing from CR, we examine their potential for providing explana- tions for the phenomenon, which is vital for marketers. This establishes our step of “Elimination” within the RRREIC schema. Here, we apply immanent critique (Bhaskar, 2010; Isaksen, 2016, 2018) for assessing the internal coherence and explanatory adequacy of the conceptualizations. For this purpose, we conduct a CR-informed theory-con- tending literature review, which Okoli (2015) defines as the- ory-mining for extending and adapting extant theory. This involves finding answers to the questions: (1) What is the structural character of the conceptualizations, i.e., how do they define the relations between the key concepts? (2) Do they propose the existence of theoretical components acting as generative mechanism(s)? (3) How well can they deal with the notions of meaning-making and sensory percep- tion identified as key elements in the phenomenon? We also Fig. 2  The ontological and episte- mological positions of subjec- tive value conceptualizations. Based on Fig. 8.1 in Johnson and Duberley (2000: 180) 1 3 AMS Review et al., 2010, 2013; Heinonen & Strandvik, 2015). These scholars use the concepts of value-in-use (ViU) and value- in-experience (ViE) to study subjective value perceptions. Among them, SL and CDL together with SDL’s ViE schol- ars emphasize the phenomenological nature of ViU/ViE (Grönroos, 2011; Heinonen et al., 2013; Helkkula & Kelle- her, 2010; Helkkula et al., 2012a, b; Medberg & Grönroos, 2020). ViU posits that the customer is the ultimate arbiter of value, which emerges in her experience of using the firm’s offering, be it a service or a manufactured good. Hence, ViU is experientially, uniquely, and contextually perceived and determined by the customers (Grönroos, 2011; Grönroos & Gummerus, 2014; Vargo & Lusch, 2008). Within SDL, this notion of subjectively determined value has since its early days evolved into an axiom: “value is always uniquely and phenomenologically determined by the beneficiary” (Vargo & Lusch, 2017, p. 47), applying equally to all actors in a value ecosystem. Yet, SDL’s approach to customer value is not purely phenomenological. Zeithaml et al. (2020) described it as social constructionist and in fact Vargo et al. (2023) have deployed critical realism by acknowledging a stratified ontology of nested realities and the emergent nature of value in business ecosystems. In contrast, adhering strictly to interpretivism, the CDL literature underscores the customer’s subjective perspec- tive and the ViE conceptualization of SDL the phenome- nological Lifeworld perspective. These scholars recognize the individual customer’s accumulated experience within value formation and acknowledge the multi-contextual and dynamic nature of value that is embedded in her life and ecosystems (Heinonen et al., 2013; Heinonen & Strandvik, 2015; Helkkula et al., 2012a). Despite service marketing’s success in establishing the subjectivity of value perceptions, critique of the abstract nature of their conceptualizations endures (Hartwig & Jacob, 2021; Medberg & Grönroos, 2020). Recent studies have set out to reveal the constituents of ViU. For example, Bruns and Jacob (2016) deployed means-end thinking to generate an empirically based ViU framework for a weight loss/fit- ness app, consisting of six dimensions and 24 standardized value aspects. Leroi-Werelds (2019) updated Holbrook’s value typology by incorporating theoretical contributions from SDL and SL with certain advancements in marketing into it, proposing altogether 14 positive and 10 negative value types. Medberg and Grönroos (2020) identified seven SL/ViU dimensions in retail banking, which they found to resemble the previously defined service quality dimensions. Reminiscent of the early CPV conceptualizations, with a high number of dimensions and a positivist stance, these approaches suffer from similar theoretical and practical dif- ficulties (Gallarza et al., 2011; MacKenzie, 2003; Zauner et al., 2015). Hence, in the SDL and SL literatures, value the emotional and social value dimensions. In their semi- nal paper, Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) also enumerated the “sensory” component as part of the “experiential and hedonic” aspect. However, adhering to the philosophical paradigm of objectivism/positivism (Zeithaml et al., 2020), these dimen- sional models lack thorough consideration of subjective meanings embedded in value perceptions. Hence, their boundary conditions assume marketers (who observe) observing the phenomenon of CPV performed by consum- ers (who) in an objective external world (where). These premises lead scholars to capturing consumers’ value expe- riences “objectively” and placing them into the dimensional frameworks as a static outcome (when). Within the CPV literature, the individually defined mean- ings were better grasped by hierarchical conceptualizations based on the hierarchical means-end chain theory (Gutman, 1982; Woodruff, 1997; Zeithaml, 1988). They acknowledge that CPV is stored in memory at several levels and is con- tingent on a person’s goals and socially constructed terminal values. Woodruff (1997) also theorized that a priori learnings and memories act as mental yardsticks in its formation. A social-constructionist culture-based iteration of the means- end model by Overby et al. (2005) considered meanings as a property of consumer value arising from culture as a shared context. They define meanings as “what a product/service attribute, consequence, or desired end-state symbolizes to a consumer” (Overby et al., 2005, p. 147–148), although they do not explicitly position meanings into their model. From the CR perspective, the means-end chain depending on consumer’s goals and values, and the meaning-making processes that depend on (socio)cultural context are the theoretically defined mechanisms that hierarchical CPV conceptualizations build on. However, the role of sensory perception has been essentially ignored in this literature. With the hierarchical conceptualizations, the focus of subjective CPV research shifted from the objectivist epistemology of outwardly imposed dimensions toward explaining consumers’ (who) internal goal-oriented mean- ing-making for the phenomenon-observing marketers (who observe). Still, the boundary conditions of an objectivist external world (where) and a temporally static (when) out- come prevailed. ViU and ViE conceptualizations The most recent research on customer-oriented perspec- tive of value originates from the service marketing litera- ture: service-dominant logic (SDL) (Macdonald et al., 2011, 2016; Vargo & Lusch, 2004, 2008, 2017), service logic (SL) (Grönroos, 2008, 2011; Grönroos & Voima, 2013), and cus- tomer dominant logic (CDL) (Anker et al., 2015; Heinonen 1 3 AMS Review (who & where) and stages of emergence (when), i.e., through subjectivist epistemologies (Vargo et al., 2023). As SDL’s focus has shifted to developing a macro perspective—view- ing markets as complex adaptive systems and value as dynamically cocreated by all actors of an ecosystem—the need for studying marketing phenomena, such as subjec- tive value perceptions, at different levels of aggregation and emergence has become clearer (Vargo et al., 2023). Hence, whereas SDL’s original paradigm concerning the concep- tualization of ViU was social constructionist (Zeithaml et al., 2020) its current paradigm concerning value ecosystems can be deemed to represent critical realism. As far as bound- ary conditions are concerned, this also essentially means that the ontological and epistemological differences among the ecosystem actors (consumers, firms, service providers, institutional stakeholders) need to be considered in theory development, as they impose constraints on the cross-con- text applicability of theories and thus their generalizability (Busse et al., 2017). Hence, for defining meaningful conceptualizations for customers’/consumers’ subjective value perceptions, dis- tinct boundary conditions of who, who observes, where, and when are required at the micro level of the individual (Webster & Lusch, 2013). This has been the quest of ViU within SL, ViE within SDL, and “ViU formation” within CDL, adhering to the interpretive philosophical paradigm and positing customers as phenomenological beings (who) in their Lifeworlds (where). Yet, a closer look at the bound- ary conditions of who observes and where the phenomenon takes place reveals differences. The one who observes the phenomenon of ViU within SL is clearly the provider, i.e., the marketer. As its where, SL places customers in their own epistemological Lifeworlds (Grönroos & Voima, 2013). However, the ontology and epistemology of ViU within SL are those of the provider, as fundamentally the provider’s social constructionist (Zeithaml et al., 2020) plane is where this conceptualization locates the phenomenon it studies. Hence, ViU within SL deploys two epistemologies: the stated phenomenology of the consumer’s Lifeworld and the implicit social constructionist viewpoint (Zeithaml et al., 2020) of the “provider” (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2015; Helkkula et al., 2012a). In turn, CDL and ViE in SDL have adopted the most inter- pretative paradigm and characterize ViU/ViE in the most phenomenological terms. One distinction between them can be traced to who is the observer of the phenomenon. In the ViE conceptualization, it is a marketer interpreting the cus- tomer within her Lifeworld (where), implying an eye-to-eye observational view. ViU formation within CDL suggests a more macro-level perspective, studying “how customers embed service in their processes” (Heinonen & Strand- vik, 2015, p. 472) and “how customers in their ecosystems dimensions are identified from what essentially is a provid- er’s perspective—resulting in outcomes lacking explanatory strength if viewed from a customer’s/consumer’s subjective perspective (Gummerus, 2013; Heinonen et al., 2013). Also, although many in-depth considerations of subjec- tive meanings are embedded in ViU and SDL (Akaka et al., 2014, 2015; Anker et al., 2015; Ballantyne & Varey, 2006; Edvardsson et al., 2011; Macdonald et al., 2011, 2016; Peñaloza & Venkatesh, 2006), only a few value conceptu- alizations account for them. Furthermore, those that do so fall short of describing their goal-related reference points that would explain the individualistic emergence of mean- ings. Indeed, some scholars have presented the criticism that despite the expressed phenomenological characteriza- tion of the ViU concept, the SDL and SL literatures still perpetuate the provider-orientation in their conceptual han- dling (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2015). Hence, they have yet to define the constituents and dynamics capturing individu- ally emerging meanings for ViU. In contrast, the CDL and SDL’s ViE scholars consider the subjective consumer value concept in the most phenomeno- logical terms in their conceptualizations of “value forma- tion” (Heinonen et al., 2013) and “value as an experience” (ViE) (Helkkula et al., 2012a). They adhere to the interpre- tive approach emphasizing the hermeneutic spiral. Although the conceptualization of ViU within CDL does not consider the role of meanings, the authors conceptualizing ViE within SDL do. They state that “meaning emerges from individu- als’ everyday lived experiences and is prioritized in some form by those individuals” (Helkkula et al., 2012a, p. 61). Nevertheless, their conceptualization does not encompass any point of reference according to which this subjective prioritization—or meaning-making itself—occurs. Instead, the authors highlight the use of interpretive methods in the operationalization of subjective meanings experienced in social contexts. Helkkula et al. (2012b, p. 563) postulate that co-creation practices “are part of the experience of value.” Hence, from a CR perspective, practices can be seen as a theo- retically defined generative mechanism identified for ViE. Still, neither CDL nor SDL’s ViE scholars aim for a formal delineation of the constituents in their conceptualizations. Furthermore, no conceptualization of phenomenological value in service marketing has included or considered sen- sory perception. In terms of paradigms and boundary conditions, the ViU and ViE conceptualizations within the different service mar- keting approaches (SDL, SL, and CDL) differ. SDL cur- rently distinctly defines an academic helicopter perspective (who observe) of the objectivist external world (where) in which all actors (who) in an ecosystem (where) are equally the ones perceiving value from their own vantage points 1 3 AMS Review into phenomenology as the fundamental customer-centric approach in defining value caused a paradigmatic shift. It spurred the currently dominating ViU and ViE conceptu- alizations that embrace interpretivism’s subjectivist study of the structures of experience as opposed to positivism’s objectivist CPV models. However, our review also identi- fies deficiencies in the specification of ontological and epis- temological assumptions and boundary conditions. In fact, the philosophical perspective deployed is seldom mentioned in the conceptualizing articles (for exceptions, see Helkkula and Kelleher (2010); Helkkula et al. (2012a). Overall, the philosophical ambiguities in the field have hindered the development of explanatory conceptualizations with mana- gerially relevant constituents for subjective consumer value. Thus, especially for managers, a critical realist approach provides ontological, epistemological, and conceptual clar- ity for understanding the formation of consumers’ subjective, phenomenological, and socially constructed value percep- tions, embedded in the natural world. Figure  2 positions the CR approach vis-à-vis others and explicates its strati- fied ontology and subjectivist epistemology. Differing from extant conceptualizations of consumers’ subjective value perceptions, the stratified ontology allows the simultane- ous existence of things both outside and inside the subject’s mind. The ECPV conceptualization grounded on it thus yields marketers an “outsider’s view” of consumers’ sub- jective experience. Its subjectivist epistemology allows the simultaneous existence of the consumer’s phenomenologi- cal Lifeworld guiding her perception and “ways of know- ing,” and interpretative, yet theory-infused and structured “ways of knowing” for marketers. Ultimately, it enables the development of new tools of thinking for marketers. Premises for the emergent customer perceived value conceptualization Adhering to CR, we state that emergence of consumer perceived value is generated through an interplay of two contingent mechanisms and their inter-related components (Bhaskar, 2010; Danermark et al., 2002; Sayer, 1992). Next, we will theoretically ground, dissect, and define the iden- tified generative mechanisms—meaning-making and sen- sory perception (the Identification step). This unpacking provides the ontological groundings (Syed et al., 2009) for understanding how the “real level” mechanisms generate the existence of the CPV on the “actual level.” In CR terms, the emergence of (E)CPV is a result of the interactive, causal influences of these enduring generative mechanisms. We thus term the critical realist account of the CPV concept Emergent Consumer Perceived Value (ECPV). engage different types of providers” (Heinonen & Strand- vik, 2015, p. 472). Thus, within CDL’s “ViU formation,” the boundary conditions are the customer’s ecosystem (where) from a helicopter perspective (who observes). Nevertheless, the phenomenological ontology of these two conceptualizations assumes that reality for each cus- tomer/consumer/individual is the output of her idiosyn- cratic cognitive processes. In fact, this inherent unbounded individuality of realities with regards to ontology explains why these approaches have not been capable of identify- ing general constituents for a conceptualization of subjec- tively experienced consumer value. Instead, ViE scholars see the narrative and projective methodologies as the main means of getting a hold of the phenomenon (Helkkula et al., 2012a). In contrast, however, ViU formation’s philo- sophically ambitious perspective stresses its uncontrollable idiosyncrasy, leaving little conceptual (or even method- ological) room for acquiring further understanding of the phenomenon. The boundary condition of when within subjective value conceptualizations in service marketing also reflects their philosophical approaches. In a critical realist manner, SDL accounts for a dynamic ViU with its notion of co-creation, but a static ViU in its approach to evaluating value outcomes. Interpretative ViU within SL and CDL and ViE within SDL consider the phenomenon as both a temporal and longitudi- nal experience/process, which is dependent on the historical (i.e., hermeneutical) events in an individual’s past as well as current and imaginary future experiences. Our review highlights how all extant subjective value conceptualizations enhance understanding of the topic from a CR-informed managerial perspective. The early dimensional conceptualizations of CPV are the ones which acknowledge the sensory dimension. The hierarchical con- ceptualizations conceive of means-end and (life) goals as effectively ascribing subjective meanings that shape the formation of value perception. The service marketing lit- erature laudably commits to the interpretive, phenomeno- logical approach, although failing to specify the constituents of the phenomenon. Indeed, none of the approaches offer a comprehensive explanatory model for this multifaceted phenomenon, leaving managers without a clear understand- ing of its key mechanisms and the various nested levels of reality essential for harnessing knowledge in their market- ing practices. Ontological and epistemological positions of subjective value conceptualizations Our theory-contending review allows us to map subjective value conceptualizations on the basis of their ontological and epistemological positions (see Fig.  2). SDL’s insight 1 3 AMS Review Continuing to align with judgmental rationalism, we then bring forth new theories that in an interdisciplinary form provide new explanatory depth and comprehensiveness for our conceptualization of ECPV: theories of goal-oriented perception in cognitive sciences (perception-action cycle), ecological psychology (affordance), and terminal values as life goals (Schwartz’s system of basic values). Furthermore, to theorize on the role of sensory perception in subjectively perceived value formation, we insert new ideas from the field of experimental phenomenology into our explanation of ECPV. Specifically, the Gestalt concepts brought in from experimental phenomenology aid in explaining the mecha- nism of sensory perception and how individuals translate physical properties into subjective appearances, thus align- ing with Bhaskar’s (2009) notion of providing novel explan- atory power. Subjective goals as initiators of perception and anchors of meaning: Mechanism of meaning- making According to phenomenology, the manifestation of expe- riences in an individual’s consciousness occurs through grasping phenomena directly in subjective meanings “as an intentional process, actively guided by human intention” (Laverty, 2003, p. 23, see also Polkinghorne, 1983). This also applies to the phenomenology of perception (Merleau- Ponty, 1962), which posits that instead of reacting to a stimulus, the act of perceiving with one’s senses is a phe- nomenological, proactive, intentional action, guided by the goals of the agent in question (Fuster, 1997, 2003, 2004; Koenderink, 2010; von Uexküll, 1926). This goal-orientation of meanings and sensory percep- tion is captured in the concept of “perception-action cycle” (Fuster, 1997, 2004; Sun et al., 2001), according to which individuals process sensory inputs from their surroundings to detect information that is meaningful to their subjec- tive goals. Individuals utilize these inputs in taking action toward those goals, leading to changes in their environment, generating new sensory signals, producing their next action, and so forth (Koenderink, 2010). This impredicativity of the subjective perception-action cycle was captured in the term “Umwelt” by the biologist and ethologist von Uexküll (von Uexküll & Kriszal, 1934). Umwelt—“subjective uni- verse”—refers to the individual’s unified experience of her surroundings (Hachen, 2021; Merleau-Ponty, 1962; von Uexküll & Kriszal, 1934) within her phenomenological and socially constructed Lifeworld (Gadamer, 1993; Laverty, 2003; Schütz & Luckmann, 1973). A Lifeworld in turn consists of both the Umwelt and the individual’s intrinsic experiences, and subjective conceptual entities/structures, including her objectives and goals. Thus, explained through The mechanisms of meaning-making and sensory per- ception are essentially about consumers interpreting entities (situation/object/person/concept/physical property) encoun- tered in their social context and physical surroundings to con- jure subjectively relevant meanings that form their ECPV. These individually emerging meanings enable a consumer to grasp the significance of an entity in relation to her subjective and context-dependent goals. Hence, meaning-making and sensory perception operate as mechanisms of interpretation in the generation of ECPV (cf. Schoppek, 2021). In the iden- tification step of our theorizing, we unpack the mechanisms into their constituents and their interrelations (Danermark et al., 2002; Mingers & Standing, 2017; Wynn & Williams, 2012). This entails a description and causal analysis of the factors and their relationships (Bhaskar, 2010; Danermark et al., 2002) that underlie a consumer’s tendency/capacity of interpreting goal- and context-dependent meanings from her physical surroundings through her goal- and context-depen- dent sensory perception, thus causing the emergence of her ECPV. To conceptualize the constituents and their interrelations forming this open-system phenomenon (Bhaskar, 2010), we adhere to CR’s pluralist/relativist epistemology and judgmental rationalism. The latter states that for explana- tory purposes, rational grounds exist for preferring certain theories and explanations over others (Bhaskar, 1975, 2007; Isaksen, 2016; Sorell, 2018). This greater explanatory power is “defined as having greater (but not final) epistemic credibility because it can explain more significant phe- nomena and has a greater ability to integrate knowledge” (Isaksen, 2016, p. 245), thus providing relative depth and comprehensiveness to an explication. The former gives CR the capacity for interdisciplinarity, which is a prerequisite for greater explanatory power (Bhaskar, 2009, 2010; Daner- mark & Morgan, 2023; Isaksen, 2016). As per these CR groundings, the theories chosen for our novel conceptual- ization thus “can either (a) identify and/or describe and/or explain a deeper level of reality; and/or (b) achieve a new order of epistemic (explanatory and/or taxonomic) integra- tion, or at least show grounded promise of being able to do so” Bhaskar (2009, p. 82). According to CR’s immanent critique (Isaksen, 2018), on the basis of epistemic grounds theory development is always rooted in some history from which its premises will depart (Bhaskar, 2010; Isaksen, 2016). Hence, we use this principle to develop new theory on the terms provided by the prior conceptualizations (CPV/ViU/ViE). Thus, in our rational theory choice (Isaksen, 2016) we depart from the theories of phenomenology, more specifically related to per- ception and its goal-orientation, and theories deployed in the tradition of hierarchical CPV conceptualizations, namely goal-orientation, the means-end theory, and terminal values. 1 3 AMS Review taking action either toward achieving a goal or avoiding a hindrance in achieving one. Perception as appearances and affordances: Mechanism of sensory perception In renouncing positivism, CR aligns with phenomenology in its view of individuals having their own experience and perception of reality but recognizes their contingency on the social and natural realities in which they are embedded. In this regard, the individual’s phenomenological and socially constructed perception of reality is contingent on her indi- vidual sensory perception of natural reality, and vice versa. While the foci of phenomenologist studies have primarily been on philosophical, sociological, and cultural aspects, the philosophy’s early research on the inseparability of body and mind (Albertazzi, 2015; Smith, 1988) also influenced scholars studying human perception (Smith, 2003) and its interaction with physical surroundings, ultimately catalyz- ing the Gestalt movement (Albertazzi et al., 2010b; Smith, 1988; Wagemans, 2015). The legacy of the Gestalt theo- rists is carried forward today by the field of experimental phenomenology (Albertazzi, 2012, 2015; Albertazzi, 2021; Albertazzi et al., 2010b; Hachen, 2021; Koenderink, 2010; Lappin, 2013; Wagemans et al., 2012), which studies the qualitative structures of immediate visual awareness (Koen- derink, 2015) and the intrinsic associative mechanisms of perceptual experience (Albertazzi, 2015). This work establishes premises for the role and mechanism of sen- sory perception in the generation of individually emerging meanings. Hence, experimental phenomenologists treat visual appearances (i.e., visual sensory percepts) as the primary, elementary level of meaning in the phenomenological sense (Albertazzi et al., 2010a). Accordingly, Albertazzi et al. (2010b) offer an account of the components at play in the act of visual sensory perception. They state that perception is “the presentation of a unitary occurring event [entity] of which the perceiver’s subjective structure is a non-indepen- dent part” (Albertazzi et al., 2010b, p. 7). “Presentation” refers to visual appearances taking place in a person’s sub- jective awareness (Albertazzi, 2021) in the form of Gestalts (Wagemans et al., 2012). In essence, they are subjective psychic presentations/appearances of space-time dynam- ics (Albertazzi, 2015), such as colors, tones, configurations, scenes, sources of light, movements, and shape transforma- tions (Albertazzi, 2021). These appearance Gestalts are not constructed from pure sensory data, but are already phe- nomenic material in themselves (Albertazzi, 2015). “Non- independent subjective structure” means that perceptual appearances are always dependent on the perceiver, her subjective Umwelt, and the context of other intentional both phenomenology’s views of perception and cognitive science’s perception-action cycle, an individual’s sensory perception presents her with opportunities and threats according to her goals in the given spatiotemporal and sociocultural environment, preparing her for taking action toward or away from these goals. Hence, meaning-mak- ing and sensory perception are interrelated and inherently goal-driven. Consequently, understanding an individual’s meaning-making and perception formation requires the understanding of her subjective goals, be they by nature materialist-functional, social, or both. Schwartz’s (2006) system of ten basic values represents different types of life goals or motivations: self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, security, con- formity, tradition, benevolence, and universalism. Empiri- cal research validates their universality, meaning that they are recognized and structured similarly across societies and cultures (Schwartz, 2006). In essence, terminal values are transsituational, “fundamental, stable human goal struc- tures” (Manfredo et al., 2017, p. 773, see also Schwartz, 2006). The adoption and prioritization of these life goals drive people’s actions (Manfredo et al., 2017; Rokeach, 1968; Schwartz, 2012), thus making them the underlying anchors of the perception-action cycle that imparts meaning to perceptions. In an empirical study, Babin et al. (2019) showed that the achievement of terminal values is a valid end state of the perceived shopping value construct in con- sumer-retail interaction experiences. This further substanti- ates that an individual’s terminal values as her life goals are in fact the anchoring meanings that she uses as a consumer when she perceives something as valuable. Thus, life goals and Schwartz’s system for them are a key concept for ECPV in two ways. First, they are the fundamental, transsituational, socially constructed goals providing the meaning in which human beings’/consumers’ value judgments are anchored. Second, they grant marketers a common categorization and terminology for describing life goals that are highly abstract and often unconscious in nature. Hence, we define the mechanism of meaning-making as an individual’s act of interpreting entities (situation/object/ person/physical property) in her Umwelt (phenomenologi- cal, socially constructed, and spatiotemporal) into indi- vidually emerging meanings that form the perceived value, which are contingent on her subjective goals, including life goals, in the given physical and social context. Among the goals, the enduring life goals constitute the underlying foun- dation for the other, context-specific goals. Thus, Schwartz’s life goals have elevated explanatory power over other kinds of goals. The necessary relationship between an individual’s goals and her Umwelt is explained by the phenomenology of perception and the perception-action cycle. The result of the meaning-making is ECPV, which guides the person in 1 3 AMS Review into subjective individually emerging meanings in relation to their goal pursuit. We assert that the theory of the emerging field of experi- mental phenomenology provides novel explanatory depth in unpacking the act of sensory perception within the study of subjective value perception. In CR’s terms (Bhaskar, 2009, p. 73), it is capable of detailing and explaining this genera- tive mechanism down to a level that other theories cannot, as far as we know, or at least shows “grounded promise of being able to do so” (Bhaskar, 2009, p. 82). Furthermore, we posit that affordance plays a key role in this mechanism. Based on these theories, we define the mechanism of sen- sory perception as an individual’s act of interpreting physi- cal properties into appearances that are part of individually emerging meanings, which are contingent on her subjective goals, including life goals, in the given physical and social context. In this operation, it is through affordances that the physical properties in an individual’s physical surroundings get translated into appearance Gestalts (their phenomenic interpretations) in her spatiotemporal and sociocultural Umwelt. Conceptualizing emergent consumer perceived value In the previous section, we dissected and holistically ana- lyzed the two generative mechanisms of ECPV formation. Next, we conceptualize Emergent Consumer Perceived Value by describing how the mechanisms and their compo- nents intermesh in generating this emergent, open-system phenomenon. In our analysis, this is the concluding step of iterative Correction, which synthesizes our conceptualiza- tion through “epistemic integration of the knowledges of different mechanisms” (Bhaskar, 2010, p. 5). It explicates consumers’ imperatively goal-oriented, phenomenological, sociocultural, historic, and spatiotemporal value perception formation, where meaning and consequent perceived value essentially emerge from one’s opportunities and hindrances in achieving one’s goals in a given context. Hence, we posit that consumers actively seek informa- tive—i.e., individually meaningful—sensory cues in their surroundings about possibilities in pursuing their subjective goals. We term these spatiotemporal cues Sensory Value Affordances and define them as subjectively selected physi- cal properties functioning as proxies for intrinsic percep- tual appearances matching the diagnostic Gestalts, induced by the subjective goals of the individual. They are of phe- nomenic nature, because the perceiving consumer selects them as idiosyncratically meaningful cues in diagnosing subjective value, and hence they belong to the perceiver’s Umwelt. Notably also, although they are heuristic devices modalities in progress, such as a judgment (Albertazzi, 2015). In our specific case, thus, this contextual intentional modality is that of forming a value judgment—a subjective perception of value. Appearances/presentations occur constantly one after another in consciousness, whereas representations are consolidated schematized presentations stored in memory (Koenderink et al., 2010). They have the form of schematic Gestalts, referring here to coherent and meaningful, subjec- tive spatiotemporal patterns human beings deposit in their minds about, e.g., significant objects, important places, or familiar faces (Lappin, 2013). Thus, perceptual conscious- ness is a product of the integration of the current situation and knowledge about prior situations (Lappin, 2013). Con- sequently, experimental phenomenology studies the dynam- ics of sensory perception by examining the perceiver’s ad hoc appearance Gestalts (presentations) and their correla- tions to the physical properties/structures of objects and surroundings, affected by her a priori schematic Gestalts (representations) (Koenderink, 2010). In essence, thus, experimental phenomenology conceives sensory perception as an individual’s means and capacity for making causal ascriptions—interpretations—between immediate appear- ances of physical properties and the dispositional, “hidden” powers and propensities individuals have learned to associ- ate with them (Mausfeld, 2010), such as a ball being able to roll downhill. Supporting the goal-orientation of sensory perception, Gibson (2015/1979) considered sensory perception simul- taneously involving the co-perception of the self and the detection of information specifying functionally meaning- ful properties—affordances—of the surroundings for the observer. Informed by Gestalt theories, “affordance” refers to the translation of the objective and physical proper- ties of the world into subjectively evaluated possibilities, threats, benefits, and sacrifices, such as any horizontal, flat, extended, and rigid support for sitting down (Gibson, 2015/1979). Hence, affordance is an empirical cue of pos- sibility or threat in an individual’s Umwelt, which gets translated into a meaningful spatiotemporal, subjective appearance in her specific quest of achieving her goals. In the act of perceiving, an individual compares a detected spa- tiotemporal affordance, interpreted in the form of an appear- ance, to her preexisting schematic and diagnostic Gestalts, which are representations of preferences/ideals she has stored in her mind in relation to her subjective goals, such as “what a fast car looks like” and “what a delicious yogurt tastes like.” Fundamentally, explained through both experi- mental phenomenology and the concept of affordance, sensory perception is the mechanism through which indi- viduals interpret physical properties in their surroundings 1 3 AMS Review the offerings; and (4) subjective diagnostic Gestalts of all of them, against which appearances are compared in the act of ECPV formation. CR’s subjectivist/pluralist epistemology provides the “multifocal lens” of our ECPV conceptualization, where the consumer’s phenomenological and socially constructed Lifeworld necessarily guides her perception and ways of knowing about the world, while rational theory choices syn- thesized into the framework guide the marketer’s interdis- ciplinary ways of knowing about the consumer’s subjective perceptions of value. The proposed conceptualization of Emergent Consumer Perceived Value formation is depicted in Fig.  3. As goals exist only on the subjective and internal-to-mind ontologi- cal level, the interrelations capable of explaining ECPV axi- omatically take place on the interpretative plane, i.e., the “subjective Lifeworld of the perceiver.” Hence, we postulate that perceptual appearances and diagnostic Gestalts are the primary objects of consciousness, i.e., the most elementary “units of qualitative experience” human beings have about the exterior-to-mind world. As the physical properties gen- erating appearances belong to the external-to-mind world, a link to it needs to be maintained. For this, we adhere to CR’s stratified ontology, where it is accepted that things exist simultaneously and overlappingly both outside and within a subject’s mind. Hence, the conceptualization of ECPV formation con- sists of stratified ontologies, where the black dotted line distinguishes the natural plane and “objective physical (Koc, 2002), they are not mere mental shortcuts or “rules of thumb,” but instead serve as specific sensory percepts that individuals utilize as meaningful information in their mental act of forming a value judgment, without which such judg- ments would not exist. An example is the smoothness sensed by the tongue in evaluating an ice cream for the desired attribute of creami- ness (Chen & Eaton, 2012). Similarly, a disposable spoon that comes with a mini tub of ice cream is either a visual and tactile sensory value affordance for indulgence on-the-go, or a plastic inconvenience that must be discarded, depend- ing on one’s goals. Finally, consumers detect sensory value affordances, such as imagery on packaging, also in deter- mining if an offering advances the pursuit of their life goals. In choosing ice cream, this could be hedonism, but it could also be a joyous moment with loved ones (benevolence) or a teenager’s rebellious display of enjoying ice cream for lunch in defiance of her parents (self-direction). In essence, within the act of interpretation, the consumer compares the appearance rendered by a sensory value affor- dance against the diagnostic Gestalts in her subjective “sys- tem of cognitive categories and their associations” (Grunert & Beckmann, 1999, p. 371) of preferred ideals and refer- ence experiences of relevant goal achievement in a given context. With reference to the means-end theory, we delin- eate these models of value to consist of four associatively interlinked elements: (1) personal terminal values (life goals); (2) subjectively preferred consequences of engag- ing with an offering; (3) subjectively preferred attributes of Fig. 3  Conceptualization of emer- gent consumer perceived value (ECPV) formation 1 3 AMS Review and “no added sugar” on the packaging of a quark product and would thus opt for quark instead of yogurt. Hence, as a person’s terminal values can be considered her fundamental life goals, which remain fairly constant, we introduce them into our conceptualization of ECPV as the key motivators for people’s actions, functioning as the ultimate mediators of subjective meanings. Schwartz’s system of life goals pro- vides our framework with a generalization of relevant sub- jective meanings onto which individuals’ subjective models of value are anchored. To conclude, a consumer’s emergent perception of value is formed through a comparison she makes between the ad hoc appearances rendered by the physical properties she detects in her surroundings as sensory value affordances, and the diagnostic Gestalts in her a priori models of value, which depend on her life goals and the situational goals at hand. This comparison is at the heart of the act of interpreta- tion through which a consumer translates sensory percepts into meanings and subsequent perceptions of value, based on her models of value and the context at hand. The models of value comprise associative conceptual categories, inter- linking the individual’s terminal values (life goals) with her subjectively preferred/ideal consequences of engaging with an offering, the offering’s preferred/ideal attributes for her, and the diagnostic Gestalts she has learned to associate with each of these conceptual categories in her model. Thus, the CR-informed ECPV deploys a holistic, epistemologically interdisciplinary approach, accounting for the mechanism of meaning-making and sensory perception as the inter- twined modes of interpretation resulting in individually emerging meanings constituting the consumer’s subjective value perceptions. The aforementioned constituents are the building blocks, i.e., the what, within our novel theoretical conceptualiza- tion (Fig. 3). How they jointly function in forming the out- come was described in text and indicated with arrows in Fig. 3. The two-way arrows in the conceptualization refer to the dynamic nature of the relations between the conceptual components in the framework. That is, none of the elements are fixed, meaning that all elements are capable of affecting each other dynamically as the result of lived experiences and learning. Hence, the two-way arrows represent the emergent nature of ECPV. All in all, Fig. 3 depicts the phenomenon of ECPV formation as an open system where the Lifeworld (interpretative plane) of the perceiver is embedded in the objective physical world (natural plane). The “empirical domain” is thus everything outside the Lifeworld plane. The “actual domain” encompasses the individual’s perception of value. It consists of the phenomenological and socially constructed individually emerging meanings, generated as an outcome of the interplay of the mechanisms of mean- ing-making and sensory perception in the “real domain.” world” with physical properties from the perceiver’s sub- jective Lifeworld. The Lifeworld is further divided into two spheres. The entirely internal-to-mind constituents of ECVP are depicted within the oval sphere, including the (life) goals and models of value an individual carries in her mind and the ad hoc appearances she generates in the moment and act of perception. Outside this sphere of the self, but within one’s Lifeworld and interior-of-the-mind, resides the Umwelt, i.e., the middle sphere where the subjectively selected sensory value affordances are positioned. They belong to the Umwelt due to their phenomenic and socially constructed meaning to the perceiver but are outside the self-ontology because of their semi-conceptual, partly nou- menal character. Emergent Consumer Perceived Value is generated through a heuristic comparison within the perceiver’s Life- world: she compares sensory value affordances detected in a physical property and emitted to her consciousness as appearances to the diagnostic Gestalts within her model of value activated in the given context. This comparison is what essentially occurs in the act of interpretation, facili- tated by the two intertwined generative mechanisms of meaning-making and sensory perception. This comparative interpretation results in the emergence of phenomenologi- cal and socially constructed (individually emerging) mean- ings, which constitute the perception of value. Hence, the outcome of the comparison determines the meanings, and consequent result of the individual’s value judgment, i.e., her perception of value: “Does this entity I am evaluating advance (or hinder) me in achieving my goals?” For example, the dominant red color of a yogurt packag- ing is picked up as a sensory value affordance by a hun- gry shopper with a craving for a high-energy snack who prioritizes hedonic value. “Red + yogurt” renders for her an appearance of a sweet treat that matches her diagnostic Gestalt within her model of value in the context of a super- market and the goal of acquiring hedonic energy. Hence, she perceives the offering as having high value to herself. A sensory value affordance can also positively correlate with a diagnostic Gestalt of negative value, such as the foul odor of spoiled milk. The model of value applied in a situation depends on both the perceiver’s life goals and her situational goals in the given context. The life goals infuse her perception with enduring meaning and value, and situ- ational goals with more Umwelt-specific meaning and value dependent on, for example, time, place, company, homeo- stasis, arousal, and mood. Let’s say a person with the terminal value of “achieve- ment” is committed to achieving her ideal slim body image. In the same situation, hungry in the supermarket’s dairy section, she would probably detect the sensory value affor- dances of light blue color and the texts “high in protein” 1 3 AMS Review consumer’s previous life experiences as well as the ad hoc sociocultural and spatiotemporal context at hand, making the phenomenon timewise simultaneously longitudinal and temporal (when). It is these clearly defined perspectives of the subject, the observer, and the contextual and temporal factors that constitute the boundaries of generalizability for the proposed theoretical model to ensure that it accurately reflects reality for the given purpose. Application of the conceptualization: Improving the ECPV of processed food products To illustrate the usefulness of the proposed model of ECPV, we apply it to a real-world problem in the context of pro- cessed food products. Industrial food products are manufac- tured using various food processing technologies; some are similar to those used in home cooking, but on a larger scale, while others are novel and significantly different (Meijer et al., 2021). Generally, consumers are unaware of the tech- nologies used in food production and tend to be suspicious of food processing technologies due to concerns over poten- tial safety risks, lack of naturalness, and wider implications for the environment, workforce, and society (Meijer et al., 2021). Naturalness in food products often refers to elements that are familiar (vs. unknown) and have kinship with nature (vs. man-made), such as traditional processing methods (vs. novel) (Etale & Siegrist, 2021), organic farming (vs. con- ventional), natural ingredients (vs. artificial), and minimal processing (vs. extensive) (Román et al., 2017). Hence, the emergence of the meaning of “naturalness” in a particular instance of a food product is dependent on the associations to the aforementioned elements within the model of value that consumer(s) have constructed for themselves of the various experiences with food offerings during their lives. Thus, from a phenomenologically visceral point of view, both safety and naturalness issues relate to the fact that foods are ingested, and thus always present both potential imme- diate physical threats (e.g., toxins, sharp objects, spoilage) and benefits (e.g., energy, healthy nutrients) for the indi- vidual. Then again, from a sociocultural point of view, the issues some people have with food processing technologies relating to the environment, workforce, and society concern their subjective terminal values (life goals). Hence, like all animals, people try to foresee the multiple meanings of consuming foods and food products in relation to their goal achievement; previous experiences and knowledge play a crucial role in this, and sensory value affordances signal the desired and non-desired attributes, consequences, and opportunities in achieving both situational goals (including visceral) and life goals (terminal values). The components and the relations of the mechanisms are depicted in the circles within it. ECPV is a good example of an adaptive system and an emergent marketing phenomenon (Vargo et al., 2023). ECPV formation is a process where a new whole, i.e., an individual’s subjective perception of value, emerges from the complex interaction of the constituent elements, whose properties alone may not entirely explain the properties of the whole. In other words, dynamic ad hoc interactions may always play a role in the process in unpredicted ways, which cannot exhaustively be accounted for in a model. Hence, the phenomenon has a relational and context- dependent nature. This means that the same individual’s emergent value perception of the same offering in the same assortment might differ according to circumstances. It could change due to, e.g., the prioritization of her life goals in a given situation (buying food for a Tuesday vs. Saturday night), her situational goals (picking a wine bottle alone vs. in the company of others), or her homeostasis (buying food when very hungry vs. not at all). In other words, the value perception emerges as the result of an interaction between the constituent elements, where both the elements and the context can influence each other. Thus, it is fairly easy for consumers to recognize if an offering has subjective value for them at the very moment when they experience it, but it is more difficult to contemplate in advance because the exact circumstances of the engagement with the offering might have a profound effect on the outcome of the act of ECPV formation. Consumers, of course have and can apply any of their numerous models of value in the different value judgment situations they face, as well as learn from their experiences and adapt their models of value based on their myriad interactions with offerings. It is this openness to outside influences and the capability of self-organizing processes in the “system” of ECPV formation that makes the phenomenon ontologically emergent. Consequently, it is aligned with the views of Vargo et al. (2023) regarding onto- logical emergence in that the ECPV formation phenomenon acts on and interacts with the other constituent elements of the system from which it emerged. The aim of our theory development is to provide novel explanatory tools for marketers in understanding consum- ers’ subjective value perception formation. Hence, it is “why” the conceptualization exists, justifying the chosen philosophical paradigm of critical realism with a stratified ontology and subjectivist/pluralist epistemology. Conse- quently, the boundary conditions of who, who observes, where, and when also fall into place. We assume consumers to be phenomenological and social beings (who) living in their Lifeworlds embedded in the natural world (where) and marketers to be observers (who observe) of the phenomenon of ECPV formation. This phenomenon is dependent on the 1 3 AMS Review the information they receive” (p. 107). As these authors also note, despite their technical names, many industrial food processing methods resemble traditional home cook- ing methods, such as high-pressure processing (HPP) or refined technical smoke or fractionated liquid smoke meth- ods (Meijer et al., 2022). Thus, they could be intuitively understood by many consumers with previous personal experiences of using pressure or smoke in food preparation and because of their empirical nature. Empirically, “pres- sure” is conceived through sensory perception based on its effect on physical properties (changing their form/Gestalt), and “smoke” through its physical properties detected as Gestalts both visually (smoke cloud) and olfactorily (smell of smoke). Hence marketers could present the processing methods derived from familiar cooking methods to consum- ers on food packaging labels with the help of visual sym- bols based on verified sensory value affordances identified through research. This would enable the creation of posi- tive associations between industrial processing methods and valued attributes of food safety and familiarity. Illustrative examples of such symbols depicting sensory value affor- dances of pressure and smoke are presented in Fig. 4. According to Meijer et al. (2021), only a few food labels currently establish a direct link between the processing technique used and an associated beneficial consequence, like “no artificial preservatives added” in the case of some HPP processed guacamoles. Hence, food manufacturers can design products and packaging with enhanced per- ceived value in the eyes of their target consumers through understanding what kind of sensory value affordances they associate with different processing technologies and their positive consequences for the product. Acknowledging the emergence of the phenomenon, however, they need to account for the target group’s life goals, and the hierarchi- cal associations between their goals, their preferred conse- quences and attributes, and their diagnostic Gestalts within the target group’s model(s) of value. As research has shown, the technological processing that food products undergo is one of the factors consum- ers use in attributing meanings related to the products’ familiarity, visceral safety, and environmental and societal impacts. However, people/consumers are heterogenous, and individually emerging meanings can be traced back to con- sumers’ life goals and models of value. For example, con- sumers concerned with sustainability have scored higher in studies measuring