“I Know I Am Not Supposed to, but I Just Want Them to Feel Cozy”: Dissonance Between the Co‐Production Myth and Persistence of the Care Paradigm in Public Service Encounters

ABSTRACT Co‐production, which is spreading to countless organisations, predicts that involving service users more directly in decision‐making and service provision will have beneficial outcomes. However, integrating co‐production logics into daily practices, especially in care services, presents challenges. This study examines how co‐production efforts clash with frontline workers' self‐perceptions associated with entrenched paradigms of care. It uses an ethnographic approach to identify three forms of cognitive dissonance between the idealised co‐production myth and the enduring care paradigm. The findings contribute to an understanding of the socio‐cultural dynamics that influence the persistence and limitations of co‐production in public services.