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Engaging citizens in collective co-production: Insights from the Turnà a N’Domà (back to the future) project

Mauro Cavallone (Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy)
Rocco Palumbo (Department of Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy)

The TQM Journal

ISSN: 1754-2731

Article publication date: 18 September 2019

Issue publication date: 27 September 2019

292

Abstract

Purpose

Citizen engagement and public service co-production have been identified as essential ingredients of the recipe for public services’ quality improvement. However, the process of citizens’ involvement has rarely been investigated in the scientific literature. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on this issue, examining the expectations and perspectives of people involved in an ongoing process of collective public service co-production implemented in Val Brembilla, a small-sized municipality located in North-Western Italy.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed research strategy was designed. First, seven focus groups involving both citizens and entrepreneurs participating in public service co-production were established. Second, a semi-structured survey was administered to 463 co-producers (including both citizens and entrepreneurs), in order to elicit their perceptions and expectations.

Findings

An institutional trigger, namely, the decision of the municipality’s board to purchase the Kuwait Expo 2015 pavilion, initiated the process of public service co-production. Although citizens did not fully agree with the decision to buy the pavilion, due to its negative implications on the municipality’s finances, they were found to be willing to participate in public value co-creation. The opportunity to promote territorial identity through public value co-creation represented the main driver for citizens and entrepreneurs’ involvement.

Practical implications

Collective public service co-production is a sustainable and effective way to enhance the provision of public services. Several barriers are thought to prevent citizens’ engagement in collective public service co-production. First, people expect to be engaged from the initial steps of the process; second, the distinguishing role of territorial identity in influencing citizens’ behaviors and expectations should be recognized and properly addressed to avoid shortcomings in citizens’ engagement.

Originality/value

This paper investigates an ongoing collective public service co-production experience; moreover, it highlights the role of public service co-production in enhancing the public sector entities’ ability to recognize the evolving needs of the community.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the research team of the University of Bergamo, which participated in this study; in particular, the authors are indebted to Francesca Magno for the support in data collection and classification. Finally, the authors acknowledge the contribution of the major of Val Brembilla, Eng. Damiano Zambelli, who made possible this research.

Citation

Cavallone, M. and Palumbo, R. (2019), "Engaging citizens in collective co-production: Insights from the Turnà a N’Domà (back to the future) project", The TQM Journal, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 722-739. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-02-2019-0040

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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