Samina Gill

Experiential industries face a growing disconnect: while service-dominant logic (SDL) establishes value as co-created through resource integration (Vargo & Lusch, 2004, 2016), an increasing share of consumers, particularly younger cohorts, seek durable, transformational outcomes as the return on investment in premium experiences (Anderson & Ostrom, 2015; Zimbatu & Russell-Bennett, 2025). We introduce the CORE model (Content, Outlet, Relation, Effect) as a mid-range theory of value actualization. While SDL, TSR, and CCT each address components of transformation, none specifies the institutionalized, relational micro-foundations through which narrative-based co-creation becomes durable value actualization. CORE introduces a previously unarticulated causal sequence linking narrative scaffolding, access orchestration, and participatory institutionalization to measurable transformation. We define value actualization as the institutionalized realization of experiential potential into durable identity, behavioral, or community change. We propose that Relation mediates the Content–Effect link, while Outlet configuration—the platform-mediated orchestration of access—moderates this mediation. This mechanism is under-specified in, but complementary to, TSR and consumer culture theory (CCT; Arnould & Thompson, 2005). We differentiate CORE from competing frameworks and outline a multi-method research agenda.

We provide the first multi-dimensional causal evaluation of Brazil's Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) housing program using interrupted time series analysis, synthetic control methods, and state-level difference-indifferences. Using Central Bank administrative data (2006-2023) and Ministry of Cities program records, we test four pre-registered hypotheses regarding credit expansion, social targeting, institutional sustainability, and counter-cyclical stabilization. Our event-study analysis shows MCMV increased housing credit by 969.3 billion reais (95% CI: 793.2-1,145.4) with no pre-intervention trends, representing system-wide expansion rather than substitution effects. However, targeting analysis reveals regressive outcomes: Track 1 (poorest families) received 39.4% of units versus 60% target (Kakwani progressivity index = 0.12, below 0.25 benchmark). During the 2014-2016 recession, MCMV lending elasticity to unemployment was-0.34 versus-0.89 for private markets (difference = 0.55, p<0.01), demonstrating counter-cyclical buffering. Institutional sustainability metrics show manageable fiscal exposure (0.78% GDP) with default rates (3.8% Track 1, 2.1% Track 2/3) below international benchmarks. State-level heterogeneity analysis reveals stronger program effects in low pre-program mortgage penetration states (β=0.23, p<0.05), consistent with credit constraint mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate that preferential interest rates generate volume expansion but require complementary institutional design to achieve equity objectives.