Theorizing Public-Private Partnership Success

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dc.contributor.author	Hodge, Graeme
dc.contributor.author	Greve, Carsten
dc.date.accessioned	2011-12-13
dc.date.accessioned	2012-11-20T10:56:26Z
dc.date.available	2012-11-20T10:56:26Z
dc.date.issued	2012-11-20
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8573
dc.description.abstract	One of the paradoxes of the past few decades has been the continuity and even growth of infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) despite the loud voices of critics and harsh judgments of some academics. Indeed, there is little doubt about the success of PPPs judging on the basis of increasing global interest, the frequency of use in countries such as the United Kingdom or Australia, or by the spectacular delivery of timely new infrastructure. There has been considerable work undertaken to date on the multiple meanings of PPP more generally, on the multiple disciplinary languages spoken by commentators and on the evaluation challenges faced by those interested in assessing PPPs as projects or activities. There has been less work undertaken, however, on the meanings given to how PPP has been judged as ‘successful’ by implementing governments. Indeed, the criteria on which governments might judge PPP as a success story seems to be inherently ambiguous and as politically oriented as it is oriented towards more traditional utilitarian policy goals concerned with project delivery or efficiency. In view of the continuity of PPPs post-GFC, the very nature of ‘PPP success’ needs serious rethinking. This paper explores the notion of ‘success’ for PPP and argues that short of embarrassing and large scale corruption or widespread incompetence, PPP and PPP projects are inevitably judged as ‘successful’ in government. This is not only because the PPP concept itself is so wonderfully amorphous and ambiguous, but because each strand of PPP has multiple goals. Infrastructure PPPs for example, have fifteen or so different goals. The criteria for success are therefore multi-faceted and themselves incorporate the very goals of government itself. It is inevitable that PPPs are seen by government to help create public value as well as private value. The paper uses theories of policy success and evaluation studies to assess how ‘success’ is interpreted. The paper concludes that many of the claims for PPP success and failure are therefore, to an extent, self defining exercises.	en_US
dc.format.extent	23	en_US
dc.language	eng	en_US
dc.title	Theorizing Public-Private Partnership Success	en_US
dc.type	cp	en_US
dc.accessionstatus	modt12nov20 lbjl	en_US
dc.contributor.corporation	Copenhagen Business School. CBS	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Business and Politics	en_US
dc.contributor.departmentshort	DBP	en_US
dc.contributor.departmentuk	Department of Business and Politics	en_US
dc.contributor.departmentukshort	DBP	en_US
dc.description.notes	Paper presented at the Public Management Research Conference at Syracuse University 2-4 June 2011, Syracuse, NY, USA.	en_US
dc.publisher.city	Frederiksberg	en_US
dc.publisher.year	2011	en_US
dc.title.subtitle	A Market-Based Alternative to Government?	en_US