Why the network coordinator matters: The importance of learning, innovation, and governance structure in coproduction networks

ABSTRACT What drives citizens to coproduce public services? We critically assess the extant literature on organizational learning, innovation, and cross-sector partnerships and situate each within the coproduction frameworks. We theorize a moderated mediation model that reasons organizational learning and external partnerships drive innovation within public service networks, which in turn motivates both user and community coproduction. Networks are coordinated by organizations across nonprofit and public sectors. We argue that the coordinating organization’s governance structure moderates its innovative capacity for the resulting coproduction. We conduct second-stage structural equation modelling analyses by employing Area Agencies on Aging, statutorily empowered to coordinate the U.S. aging service network across sectors. We found that public service networks innovate through the learning processes, that innovation mediates the learning effects to motivate user and community coproduction, and that nonprofit innovations better accelerate user coproduction. Ultimately, citizens coproduce service outcomes when the network coordinator drives changes.