Managing Coprovision: Using Expectancy Theory to Overcome the Free-Rider Problem*

The production of public services does not depend only on the behavior of public officials. Time, effort, and skills contributed by citizens are often critical to the provision, production, and delivery of public services. Indeed some public services can be produced only when citizens and public officials jointly contribute to their production. This article shows how to design and organize the delivery of public services to promote the kinds of coproduction needed to make public efforts effective and productive. Based on standard expectancy models of employee motivation found in the human resources management literature, it emphasizes the importance of providing citizens with an understanding of what is expected of them if they are to contribute to service production and delivery, the capacity to meet those expectations, and an incentive to do so. Second, it specifies human resource management practices that foster an inclination on the part of public employees to encourage citizens to contribute their attention and efforts to the production and delivery of social services. Last, it outlines the kind of institutional arrangements that are needed to capitalize on the voluntary behavior of citizens.