Review of Public–Private Partnership Literature from a Project Lifecycle Perspective

TLDR

Public‑private partnership development is a complex, dynamic process spanning identification, preparation, procurement, implementation, transfer, and post‑transfer phases, yet no systematic review has examined the literature from a project‑life‑cycle perspective. This study aims to assess the current research status and identify future research directions regarding PPPs viewed through the lens of the project life cycle. The authors performed a systematic review of papers from seven leading construction‑management journals, categorizing them by life‑cycle phase to highlight key research topics. The review reveals that PPP phases face distinct problems and receive uneven research attention, with the transfer phase—marking contract completion and the start of post‑transfer operations—requiring focused future study, and the identified phase‑problem relationships provide a useful reference for practitioners and researchers.

Abstract

The process of developing a public–private partnership (PPP) is complex and dynamic throughout the project’s life cycle of project identification, preparation, procurement, implementation, transfer, and posttransfer phases. Although interests in reviewing general trends and diverse topics of the PPP literature have increased over the years, there is a lack of a systematic review of the PPP literature from the perspective of project life cycle. The purpose of this study is to analyze the research status and possible future studies from the viewpoint of project life cycle. The review is conducted by searching related papers from seven leading construction management journals, then classifying them into distinct phases to facilitate further discussion on significant research topics. The findings show that different PPP phases encounter different problems, attracting uneven attention from researchers. Specifically, the transfer phase, which is the end of PPP contract life cycle and the starting point of posttransfer operation, requires systematic research in the future. The outcomes of this study reveal the relationship between important project problems and corresponding PPP phases, which may serve as valuable reference for PPP participants to develop effective project management strategies, and for PPP researchers to better understand PPP research with specific focus on varied PPP phases.