From Co-Production to Value Creation: Understanding Heterogeneous Outcomes in Energy Efficiency Programs

• In Event: The Role of Policy Design and Implementation in Shaping Energy Program Performance

Abstract

Co-production has become a central concept in public administration, gaining renewed interest among scholars and practitioners. Defined as the involvement of both users and public sector professionals in service delivery (Nabatchi et al., 2016), co-production is often studied within the public administration and management (PAM) tradition, where it is treated as an end rather than a means to create value. However, a growing body of literature emphasizes the importance of understanding how public services generate value to enhance individual well-being and societal welfare (Osborne, Radnor, & Nasi, 2013). From a service management perspective, this literature links co-production to public value creation, emphasizing its role in shaping outcomes rather than merely facilitating service delivery (Osborne et al., 2016; Dudau et al., 2023; Loeffler & Bovaird, 2021). While co-production enables value realization, value is not automatically delivered—rather, it depends on how users engage with services. Yet, limited empirical research explores users' behaviors, operationalizes value creation across different dimensions, and examines how and to what extent these dimensions materialize through user actions.

This study addresses these gaps by analyzing service users’ behaviors in energy efficiency rebate programs. In these programs, citizens engage in co-production by applying for rebates and purchasing energy-efficient technologies. However, actual energy savings—manifested as reduced bills and carbon emissions—depend on post-adoption behaviors. While some participants could achieve sustained savings, others could increase energy consumption due to efficiency gains, leading to varied private and public benefits, for example personal and public health gains. Using Fourier analysis and household-level high-frequency smart meter data, this study develops novel measures to detect behavior changes after rebate participation and quantify realized benefits. Preliminary findings reveal heterogeneous outcomes: some participants maintain energy-efficient behaviors and maximize both private and public benefits, others increase energy use to meet previously unmet needs (enhancing well-being but reducing carbon savings), and a subset engages in excessive consumption, minimizing both private and public benefits. We further examine how demographic factors such as income, race/ethnicity and age shape these behavioral trajectories in both the short run and the long run.

Our findings highlight that co-production does not inherently generate public value; rather, value creation depends on sustained behavioral engagement beyond initial participation. This study emphasizes individual behavior as a fundamental unit of value realization in the co-production of public services and reinforces the role of user agency in both co-production and value creation.

Authors

• Daniel Han, Florida State University
  Presenting Author

• Xue Gao, Florida State University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author