Cocreation of social value: A tripartite game analysis with Chinese state-owned enterprises as an example

In the context of the digital economy era, it is urgent for Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to engage in social value cocreation activities. The government and consumers’ roles in SOEs’ social value cocreation system cannot be ignored. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the tripartite social value cocreation model involving the government, SOEs, and consumers. In this respect, this study constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model of the government, SOEs, and consumers, and explores the influencing factors and evolutionary mechanism of the system overall. Matlab software is used to analyze the simulation data. The results reveal that the prerequisite for SOEs’ successful social value cocreation is that consumers receive additional social value benefits greater than the level of improvement in social welfare. The allocation coefficient of consumers’ additional social value benefits, the degree of the government's digital empowerment subsidy, and the level of the punishment for SOEs that violate the government's cocreation requirements will accelerate the achievement of equilibrium in the social value cocreation system, without affecting the final equilibrium result. By analyzing the strategic choices and interactive relationships among the government, SOEs, and consumers in social value cocreation in-depth, this study offers suggestions to promote the government, SOEs, and consumers’ participation in social value cocreation. This research contributes to clarifying SOEs’ social value cocreation model and has significant implications for promoting enterprises’ high-quality development.