Performance information, expectations and satisfaction with public service delivery in the context of co-production initiatives

Public Management Review, pp. 1–22

Abstract

Many studies on public service satisfaction have treated citizen expectations to be exogenous, focusing mainly on how these expectations influence satisfaction. This study examines how performance information shapes predictive and normative expectations in the context of co-production initiatives in Dutch primary education, and in turn examines how updated performance information and expectations jointly determine satisfaction with public services. A survey experiment among 1,307 parents with school-attending children shows that performance expectations are endogenous to prior school performance, but not to co-production initiatives. Our analysis provides evidence that citizens’ expectations strengthen the negative effects of performance decline on satisfaction.

Authors 2

1. Joris van der Voet corresponding Aachen Institute of Public Administration

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Petra van den Bekerom Aachen Institute of Public Administration

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands