Why do public-sector clients coproduce? Toward a contingency theory

Abstract

The literature on coproduction in the public sector generally pays as much attention to clients as it does to other types of coproducers, such as citizens or volunteers. But the question of what influences clients to coproduce attracts relatively less attention. This article offers a conceptualization of the factors inducing client coproduction, drawing on evidence from four Australian public-sector case studies. It is argued that clients are not simple utility maximizers but are also motivated by a complex mixture of nonmaterial incentives, of which a contingency theory is proposed.