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Governance of public—private partnerships: lessons learnt from an Australian case?

Judy Johnston, Associate Professor, School of Management, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Australia

Siegfried P. Gudergan

School of Marketing, UTS

Large infrastructure public—private partnerships (PPPs) in Australia have revealed significant governance problems. The aim of this research is to examine the technical-rational and social contractual issues of PPPs within the broad context of risk, and accordingly propose a governance framework. The research builds on international PPP literature to develop an analytical conceptualization. It uses document review and interviews to construct a case study of a Cross City Tunnel (CCT) toll-way in Sydney, which became operational in August 2005 and failed in December 2006. The research indicates that failure within this so-called PPP largely occurred within the technical-rational governance system due to unforeseen risks. This led to a breakdown in the social contract, through political risk. A governance system that enhances risk assessment and diminishes the likelihood of negative political behaviours is required.

Points for practitioners

To develop a more considered risk assessment process within the technical-rational environment, negotiation and contractual processes need deeper analysis to identify factors that could affect PPP success or failure. This would involve taking the potential impacts of identified technical-rational and social risk factors through to a logical conclusion for the project and the partners. Furthermore, this research confirms that a basic system of PPP governance needs to encompass behavioural rules, which could include appropriate sanctions and penalties within the contract. Breach of rules could involve mediation but improved PPP governance may be better achieved through an independent, oversight authority.

Key Words: governance • public—private partnerships (PPPs) • social contract

References

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International Review of Administrative Sciences, Vol. 73, No. 4, 569-582 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0020852307083459


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Johnston, J. Articles by Gudergan, S. P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?