ABSTRACT
Globally, public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become prominent policy instruments. PPPs exist when there is a “sustainable cooperation between public and private actors in which joint products and/or services are developed and in which risks, costs and profits are shared” (Klijn & Teisman 2003, 138). Within PPPs, private parties are involved in the decision-making process and are said to contribute more intensively than in more traditional client–supplier or principal–agent partnerships. In theory, this results in a bundling of expertise, knowledge and interests, and the sharing of risks and responsibilities, which in turn produces better and more efficient results and value (Ghobadian, Gallear, O’Regan, & Viney, 2004; Hodge & Greve 2010). Value encompasses better and more efficient policy outcomes, and can take on different shapes, such as more timely delivery, higher cost-efficiency, risk-sharing opportunities, synergetic and/or integrated development, and the introduction of new product and services (Ghobadian, et al., 2004; Huxham, 2000).
