Abstract: The co-production model positions the public as a central actor in the provision of public services, presenting opportunities to reduce service costs while simultaneously enhancing service quality. However, conventional co-production models dominated by design logic often encounter three practical dilemmas: value conflicts, incentive failures, and ambiguous responsibilities, making it difficult to adapt to the rapidly changing social realities effectively. In this context, social enterprises emerge as novel intermediary organizations that may provide innovative solutions to these dilemmas through their roles in communication, conflict mediation, and resource exchange. Drawing on three case studies of social enterprises “government-led, market-led, and community-led” in City C, this study analyzes the hybrid motivation strategies, tool adaptation strategies, and network-building strategies they employ as intermediaries. Through a progressive process of conflict resolution, participation activation, and responsibility clarification, these strategies facilitate proactive adaptations to mitigate the structural dilemmas of co-production. Overall, the social enterprise perspective enriches the existing co-production theory by expanding the understanding of participating actors and the dynamics of role processes, while also offering new insights and methodologies for the practices of public service production in urban communities.

Key words: urban community, co-production, social enterprise