Abstract

Co-creation is always considered an outcome of positive behaviors. Conversely, co-destruction is mostly treated as a negative outcome of negative or destructive behaviors. However, there are instances that negative or destructive behaviors paradoxically create value. Conducting nine interviews and analysing ten extensive threads, my findings suggest that under circumstances, there are more angles to destructive behaviors rather than being merely destructive! Exploring Dota 2 players’ motifs for trash talking that is a negative behavior, I identified four types of value in trash talking. First trash talking for the pleasure of winning, second trash talking for entertainment and fun, third trash talking for gameplay self-perception enhancement and feeling better about oneself and fourth trash talking for social bonding and friendship ties. These findings contribute to the co-creation and trash talking literatures challenging the predominant ideologies that co-creation is always stemmed in positive behaviors and that trash talking is always a negative behavior.