​This theory directly addresses the critical flaw in CX by introducing the "Core Value" as the indispensable keystone for a truly human-centric understanding of Customer Experience – in this case, human-centric means considering the human factors. This value isn't a single metric, but a complex interplay of foundational human qualities: Trust, Morality/Ethics, Intent, and Relational Strength. These compete with each other and have different importance to us at different moments. It is the real value to us as humans, as family members, neighbours, and citizens. It is the sense of right and wrong and the factors beyond our economic roles as consumers. It recognises that we are more than consumers, we are people.

We fail to include our humanity in our calculations and then wonder why they are wrong.

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• The Core Value as a Foundational Element: The Core Value underpins many aspects of human experience and interaction. While its most profound implications for broader economics and societal transformation are discussed in the Conclusion, its foundational role is evident in:

  • Personal Relationships: Trust is the bedrock of any healthy relationship. Without it, interactions are fraught with suspicion, communication breaks down, and relationships falter. Morality dictates our ethical boundaries, intent shapes our actions towards others, and relational strength determines the resilience and depth of our connections.

 

It is also worth remembering that trust comes at different levels: I may trust you with my shopping but not my data, or as my employer. Of course, my Core Value may be less active at the moment than my desire for deliveries, so I may forget about exploited workers as I tuck into my zero-effort Thai Dinner for One. I won’t buy from you if you pollute, exploit children, or worse.

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• Social Cohesion and Community: In communities, trust enables cooperation, collective action, and civic engagement. Morality guides shared norms and laws, intent fosters mutual support, and strong relational ties build resilient social fabrics.

• Historical Impact: Throughout history, the presence or absence of trust, shared morality, clear intent, and strong relational bonds has profoundly shaped outcomes, leading to periods of peace and prosperity or conflict and societal collapse. Major historical movements, from civil rights to environmental protection, are often driven by a collective sense of moral imperative and a desire for stronger, more equitable relationships within society.

• Beyond Customer Service – General Consumer Behaviour: Even outside direct customer service, these values influence purchasing decisions. Consumers increasingly choose brands that align with their ethical values (morality), demonstrate transparent intentions, and build a sense of community or belonging (relational strength). A lack of trust can lead to widespread boycotts or negative public discourse, regardless of product quality.

• Everyday Interactions: From lending a neighbour a tool (trust) to navigating traffic (implicit trust in other drivers' intent and adherence to rules), our daily lives are permeated by these fundamental human values.

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This means that while the specific language of "Core Value" may seem new, the underlying concepts are deeply ingrained in human experience and are universally understood drivers of behaviour, making their application to CX not an overstatement, but a necessary and overdue recognition of reality. The new thing is that we are finally talking about the role they play.

• 🔐 Trust: The confidence in the honesty, reliability, and good intentions of a brand. It is multi-layered, encompasses reliability, usefulness, affect, as well as things that we sometimes can’t put into words and willingness to rely on, built through consistent positive experiences and ethical conduct into a relationship.

• ⚖️ Morality/Ethics: The alignment of a company's values and actions with its customers' ethical principles. This includes honesty, fairness, integrity, compassion, respect, and loyalty, and extends to areas like ethical consumption and data governance.

• 🎯 Intent: Understanding the deeper motivations and purposes behind a customer's actions throughout their journey, beyond simple transactional goals. It's about discerning if the customer believes the company acts in their best interest.

• 🤝 Relational Strength: The depth, resilience, and continuity of the customer-company relationship, encompassing the overall health and bond beyond individual transactions.

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These elements are profoundly interconnected. Ethical practices build trust, trust fosters loyalty, and loyalty influences long-term intent. Ignoring them leaves organisations with a superficial view of their relational capital. They are also subjective but relative 

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The Core Value in Behavioural Economics, Broader Economics, and Baudrillard's Four Values

👁️ At a Glance: The Core Value extends beyond CX, impacting behavioural economics by influencing transaction costs, consumer ethics, market dynamics, and long-term value. It enriches Baudrillard's concepts of Symbolic and Sign Value, emphasising authentic connection over hyperreal simulations.

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The principles of the Core Value are not confined to customer experience or organisational behaviour; they extend directly to behavioural economics and, by extension, to broader economic theory and practice. Behavioural economics studies the psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural, and social factors influencing the economic decisions of individuals and institutions, and how those decisions often deviate from those predicted by classical economic theory. The Core Value provides a crucial framework for understanding these deviations:

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• Trust and Transaction Costs: In traditional economics, transactions are often assumed to occur in a vacuum of perfect information and rational self-interest. However, the presence or absence of Trust fundamentally alters economic interactions. High trust reduces the need for extensive contracts, legal oversight, and monitoring, thereby lowering transaction costs and increasing market efficiency. Conversely, low trust increases these costs, leading to less efficient markets and reduced willingness to engage in complex transactions. This aligns with Oliver Williamson's Transaction Cost Economics, where trust acts as a mechanism to reduce opportunism.

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• Morality/Ethics and Consumer/Investor Behaviour: Economic decisions are not purely driven by utility maximisation. Morality and Ethics play a significant role. Consumers increasingly make purchasing decisions based on a company's ethical practices (e.g., fair trade, environmental sustainability, labour practices), even if it means paying a premium. This is evident in the growth of ethical consumption and socially responsible investing, where moral alignment with a brand or industry drives economic flows. Companies with strong ethical reputations can command higher prices and build more resilient customer bases, demonstrating a direct economic benefit from perceived morality.

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• Intent and Market Dynamics: The perceived Intent of economic actors influences market dynamics. If consumers believe a company's intent is genuinely to serve their needs (rather than merely extract maximum profit), it fosters loyalty and repeat business. This perception of genuine intent can mitigate the impact of price increases or minor service failures, as customers are more forgiving when they trust the underlying motivation. This relates to concepts like fairness in pricing and the endowment effect (Dan Ariely), where perceived intent can amplify or diminish the value of a good or service.

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• Relational Strength and Long-term Value: Strong customer and employee Relational Strength translates into long-term economic value. Loyal customers have higher Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), are less price-sensitive, and act as advocates, reducing marketing and acquisition costs. Similarly, engaged employees (strong internal relational strength) are more productive, innovative, and less likely to leave, reducing recruitment and training costs. These "soft" relationship aspects directly impact a firm's financial health and competitive advantage, going beyond short-term transactional gains.

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• Connection to Baudrillard's Four Values: The Core Value provides a critical lens through which to understand the nuances of Jean Baudrillard's four types of value: Use Value, Exchange Value, Symbolic Value, and Sign Value. While traditional economics often focuses on Use and Exchange Value (the practical utility and market price of a product), the Core Value primarily illuminates and amplifies Symbolic Value and Sign Value, which are increasingly dominant in postmodern consumer societies.​

  • Sign Value: This value is about social distinction, status, and an object's position within a system of other objects, often disconnected from its practical use. The Core Value can significantly influence the sign value. A brand known for its high Core Value (e.g., ethical sourcing, transparent operations, strong community engagement) can confer a different kind of social status or identity upon its consumers. Consuming such a brand might signify not just wealth, but also a commitment to certain values, a sense of belonging to a particular community, or an alignment with a moral stance. This moves beyond purely material display to a more nuanced form of social signalling, where the brand's perceived Morality and Intent contribute to its desirability as a sign. The Core Value adds a layer of authenticity to the "sign," grounding its social meaning in perceived human qualities rather than purely superficial markers.

  • Beyond the Hyperreal and Seduction: Baudrillard's concepts of the "hyperreal" (where simulations become more real than reality) and "seduction" (the allure that defies rational control) also resonate with the Core Value. In a world saturated with simulated experiences, the Core Value emphasises the pursuit of authenticity and genuine connection. Brands that authentically embody Trust and clear Intent can cut through the hyperreal, offering a more "real" experience that seduces customers not through superficial allure or manipulated signs, but through a deeper, more resonant sense of integrity and relationship. This moves beyond predictable satisfaction to a more profound desire for the brand, driven by the intangible qualities of the Core Value that foster true engagement and a sense of shared purpose, leading to a "seduction" based on genuine connection rather than fleeting illusion.

• Symbolic Value: This value is deeply personal and relational, derived from meaning, ritual, and non-quantifiable aspects that defy simple economic calculation. The Core Value directly underpins this. A brand that embodies Trust, Morality, good Intent, and strong Relational Strength creates profound symbolic value for its customers. It's not just a product or service; it's a trusted entity, an ethical choice, a partner with whom one has a meaningful relationship. This symbolic value transcends mere utility or price, fostering a deeper, more personal connection and sense of belonging. It's about what the brand means to the individual and their identity, resonating with their internal values.

 

By integrating the Core Value, behavioural economics can offer more nuanced and accurate models of human economic decision-making, moving beyond the limitations of purely rational actor models. Since behavioural economics is a key branch of modern economic thought, the applicability of the Core Value within this field inherently means it applies to economics more broadly, particularly in understanding market failures, consumer behaviour, labour economics, and the true drivers of long-term economic prosperity and stability.

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The Indisputable Reality and Influence of the Core Value

It is inherently difficult to argue convincingly that the Core Value (Trust, Morality, Intent, and Relational Strength) does not exist or does not influence outcomes in business. These are not merely abstract concepts, but fundamental and pervasive elements of human interaction that are universally understood and constantly shape our perceptions and decisions.

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• Universal Human Experience: Every individual instinctively navigates trust, morality, perceived intent, and the strength of relationships in their daily lives. From choosing a friend to selecting a product, these values are implicitly or explicitly weighed. To argue they don't exist in business is to deny a fundamental aspect of human behaviour that applies to all forms of exchange, whether personal or commercial. A small child instinctively recognises anger or happiness in others; similarly, customers intuit a brand's trustworthiness or sincere intent through countless micro-interactions.

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• Observable Behaviours and Tangible Manifestations: While the Core Value elements are not physical objects, their presence or absence is demonstrably evident in observable behaviours and quantifiable outcomes. A customer who trusts a brand will exhibit higher loyalty, make repeat purchases, offer positive referrals, and show greater forgiveness for minor service failures. Conversely, a lack of trust or a perception of unethical intent will lead to disengagement, complaints, negative word-of-mouth, and ultimately, churn. These are not subjective interpretations but direct, measurable impacts on business performance.

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• Historical and Societal Evidence: The rise and fall of businesses, industries, and even entire societies have often been rooted in the presence or absence of these elements. Trust, or its erosion, forms the bedrock of economic systems. The "Denmark Example" (discussed in Section 9) provides compelling, real-world evidence of how a high-trust society directly translates into significant national wealth and efficiency. To suggest these values have no influence is to disregard centuries of human social and economic history.

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• Direct Financial Link: As will be detailed in Section 9, the influence of the Core Value is directly quantifiable in financial terms. The costs of customer friction (e.g., increased operational effort, churn, reputational damage) are directly tied to deficits in trust, morality, intent, and relational strength. Conversely, investing in and cultivating these values leads to measurable financial benefits such as increased Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), reduced Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and higher customer advocacy. The problem lies not in the absence of these values but in the lack of robust frameworks to measure and integrate them into conventional business models.

 

Therefore, any argument against the existence or influence of the Core Value would inherently contend with fundamental human psychology, observable business realities, and established economic and sociological principles. The true challenge for organisations is not to debate their existence, but to effectively recognise, integrate, and leverage these indispensable dimensions of value.

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