Nancy Gray

Gray's research is a mixed method investigation of the phenomenon of people who are disequilibrating the command economy through their creative and co-creative actions. To examine what factors motivate and enable the efforts of these individuals she developed and empirically tested a conceptual framework that integrates the work of Russell Belk on the extended self, Eric von Hippel on lead users, and Darren Dahl and C. Page Moreau on constrained consumer creativity. Her research supports the view that an individual’s Creative Propensity Factor (CPF) is the sum of a multiple of internal and external factors that must be considered as a whole. Gray hypothesizes that, beyond utilitarian goals, people are motivated by the sense of meaning and happiness their creative activities provide them. Gray encourages designers and organizations to apply this understanding in building equitable relationships with creating-customers. This effort is warranted considering the potential for creating-customers to contribute to new product innovation, firm profitability, and to simply making the world a better and more interesting place. 

This research stream extends Gray's research into how “brands become us.” This data suggests that the bond between a brand and a consumer forms as a result of collaborative, co-creation activities by all stakeholders. Stakeholders include the designer, manufacturer, marketer, and consumers; and the elements most effective for cementing a strong bond are those of history, design and participation/co-creation. For all brand stakeholders (and designers in particular) this conceptualization underscores the benefit in moving from a process of designing for a consumer to co-creating with consumers (and others) who are now endogenous to brand value.