The Role of Nonprofit Organizations in the Co-Production of Welfare Services: A Systematic Literature Review

This review studies previous research on the role of nonprofit organizations in the coproduction of welfare services. The need for the review stems from the lack of systematic literature reviews related to nonprofit organizations, co-production, and welfare services. The empirical material is delimited to peer-reviewed research published in international academic journals and analyzed in relation to levels of coproduction, the role of organizations, and nonprofit organizational distinctiveness. Main findings include that research has primarily studied the role of nonprofit organizations in relation to co-production and enabling favorable conditions, and that existing research identifies several potential distinctive contributions made by nonprofit organizations to co-production. Implications include encouraging co management of welfare services, enabling co-production in welfare services beyond public organizations, and exploring how different types of organizations contribute to co-production.