Overstimulation in the service environment: The emergence of co-created obsession

This paper introduces the concept of 'co-created obsession' to capture consumer's intense engagement within a consumption community and interactions within a service system. Such intense engagement may lead to overstimulation and subsequent reduction in the benefits that consumers derive from engagement in these platforms, and potential disengagement. Drawing on behavioural psychology, sociology, and service literature, we define co-created obsession and propose a conceptual framework that helps explain how co-created obsession may develop and occur.