Stepping into the kitchen: lay clients as co-producers of a professional service

Abstract

This study examines the implications for service organizations and their staff of clients’ involvement as co-producers of a professional service. Two female infertility clinics were analysed, one using micro-surgery (MS) and the other in-vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques. These differed on the dimension of patients’ involvement in the delivery of treatment. In the MS clinic patients were ‘passive’ recipients of treatment, whereas in the IVF clinic patients were required to partake as co-producers in the delivery of the medical service. Thus, reflected here are two different forms of client–provider interface, which the results show to have different implications. Bringing the clients, as co-producers, ‘into the kitchen’ where service is prepared (IVF) was found to involve issues associated with the lay client–professional provider work interactions, like perceptions of performance, functional work behaviour (conflicts, poor co-ordination, etc.), lower work/service satisfaction of staff and clients, and coping with service uncertainty. These and other implications for front-line service are examined and discussed.

Keywords:

• Service Organization
• Service Management
• Service Processes
• Service Outcomes
• Client Involvement
• In-VITRO Fertilization
• Micro-SURGERY
• Professional Medical Work