Assessing inter-organizational performance through customer value: a literature review

Purpose – This study aims to systematically review the literature on the use of customer value for the evaluation of inter-organizational performance, with a wide perspective embracing different contexts and settings. Design/methodology/approach – Searching within the Scopus and ISI Web of Science databases, a systematic literature review has been conducted analyzing 41 papers published between 1991 and 2020. Findings – Categorization of customer value and inter-organizational performance measures were developed and the main differences among different settings were discussed. Practical implications – The results presented in this study may be helpful for practitioners and managers who, in the completion of their activities, have to maintain strong and frequent relationships with other organizations. In fact, practitioners and managers interested in enhancing customer value and measuring inter-organizational performance may find an innovative perspective linking the two dimensions. They could find the categorizations presented in this study as a starting point for developing a performance evaluation framework suitable for evaluating their present business relationships. In fact, the categorizations provide a panorama of how scholars have measured until now inter-organizational performance through customer value, and therefore, they could choose the measures more appropriate for their situation. Originality/value – No systematic literature review of the use of customer value for assessing inter-organizational performance has previously been undertaken, especially considering different settings.