User co-production of public service delivery: An uncertainty approach

Engaging public service users as co-producers is expected to lead to more efficient services and better outcomes. What has been missing so far, however, is a solid theoretical basis for explaining what compels actors to pursue co-production, or not, and what strategies they adopt in this pursuit. Building on established theories, it is argued that although co-production of public service delivery decreases uncertainty for users, it seems to increase uncertainty for organizations. The main conclusion is that the need of organizations to reduce this uncertainty might diminish the possibilities for users to coproduce. The consequences of this conclusion for future research are discussed in this article.