Abstract:

Companies have recently included their customers in service production and delivery processes and recognize them as part of value creation activities and a source of business. At this point, many studies in service research have focused on the concept of customer participation. Marinas are relevant to service businesses operating in the marine tourism industry. In this sector, where competition is rapidly increasing, marina enterprises strive to exhibit higher service performance by benefiting from customers' thoughts, knowledge and skills. This study aimed to guide future studies on customer participation in the context of marina services. First, extant literature was systematically reviewed, and the precursors and results of the customer participation mentioned in the current literature were revealed. Later, considering the literature review findings and expert opinions, a conceptual framework is presented for studies that will address customer participation from the customer perspective (yacht owner or yacht users) in the marina industry. In the theoretical framework, the concepts that can be examined as the antecedents of customer participation have been gathered under three groups: "customer-related", "company-related" and "industry-specific". The outcomes of the participation are similar to those in the current literature as the results of service processes.. This study is a pioneering study to understand the roles, behaviours and participation trends of customers in the marine tourism industry and to guide businesses in determining marketing strategies.

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