Public Professionals’ Engagement in Coproduction: The Impact of the Work Environment on Elderly Care Managers’ Perceptions on Collaboration With Client Councils

Abstract

In the context of public service delivery, public professionals nowadays intensively collaborate with citizens. The joint, sometimes mandatorily, efforts of citizens and professionals to provide public services have become known as “coproduction.” Although coproduction directly affects professionals’ work environment, professionals’ attitudes toward coproduction are hardly studied. This article explains variation in professionals’ engagement in coproduction from characteristics of their work environment, specifically their perceived level of autonomy, perceived organizational support for coproduction, and perceived red tape associated with coproduction activities. Survey research was conducted to question managers of Dutch organizations for elderly care about their interaction with client councils, an example of coproduction activities in the domain of health care. The results show that perceived autonomy in coproduction, red tape associated with coproduction, and organizational support affect professionals’ engagement. Organizational support moreover reinforces the effect of work autonomy on professionals’ perception on the importance of coproduction. These findings add to the study of coproduction and can help support public organizations to improve coproduction.