Value representation as changing objects in business relationships

Representation is a key overarching process that drives the four processes: value creation, communication, appropriation and measurement. We contribute to the literature by exploring value representations as layered and changing objects with a degree of common meaning between actors in a business network. We apply two case studies, the first in the automotive crash repair industry and the other in the cloud computing space, to ground our theoretical work on layered representation objects. The cases are organized around three periods to capture the change in representations in a dynamic network context. Our analysis shows that: (1) representations are discrete, (2) they rely on past representations, and (3) they have meaning in preparing for the next. Past representations are no longer visible, but become assumed within the next, so affecting the way resources are combined and activities pursued. For the effectiveness of value processes, representations are not only relevant with respect to the space dimension, i.e. different actors with different value representations, but also in time.