Resumo

During the last decades, it is possible to observe a variety of attempts to make sense of the transitions of contemporary capitalism, through discussions about changes related to post-Fordism, post-industrialism, and network society (BAUMAN, 2001; BOLTANSKI, CHIAPELLO, 2002; CASTELLS, 2009). The term prosumption, for example, already presented the process of shuffling the frontiers that separated the producer from the consumer in the 1980s (GABRIEL, LANG, 2008).

Thus, the idea of unlocking the "productive potential of the consuming public" (ARVIDSSON, 2013) seems to be a vital strategy. It is interesting that individuals participate actively, but it becomes even more attractive the interaction and participation in groups. That said, the purpose of this paper is to discuss how consumers are creating value for organizations on the assumption that borders are blurred between production and consumption. Empirical data were collected during qualitative research in a trend scouting company located in London.

Entanglements between work and consumption - For Ritzer (2014), the prosumer has always been seen as a “primitive” process that has occurred at various times in history. Likewise, Vargo and Lusch (2004) will also state that the consumer, in some way, is always involved in the production of value. The prosumer - It is possible to state that, during the First Wave, most people consumed what was produced by them, not being producers or consumers in the usual sense of the word. They could be called prosumers.

In this study, we conducted a qualitative research, as it is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world and allows the use of a variety of empirical materials (MORGAN; SMIRCICH, 1980; DENZIN; LINCOLN, 2000; FLICK, 2009). With a qualitative approach, this research works with the universe of meanings, motives, aspirations, beliefs, values and attitudes of those involved (MINAYO et al., 2009). Qualitative semi-structured interviews were made with people who collaborated as spotters, employees and customers of the company.

The research reveals that the spotters do not show resistance and also do not feel controlled or exploited when contributing to the TW:IN platform. Classic categories of management analysis that seek to analyze power, control, resistance within organizations and with vast production are not enough to explain this current phenomenon, because, as the study reveals, spotters feel that they are updated throughout the production process / consumption of trends, when interacting and participating in the TW:IN Community. It is a “spotter-prosumidor-você S/A”.

Among the different definitions of co-creation, we identified the existence of a “spotter S/A”, that is, a spotter that sees its participation in the collaboration network and in the activities proposed by the company – for example, working in the seminar's spotter's hub trends - as an investment in yourself. The reward, more than points raised on the site, is the possibility of meeting spotters from other regions, having contact with employees who work at the company and adding on LinkedIn this activity.

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