A contingency framework on partnership risk
International Journal of Public Sector Management
ISSN: 0951-3558
Article publication date: 6 May 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the specific contingencies of partnership risk in shared equity public-private partnerships (PPPs) with the contingencies of privately held, loose related PPPs.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on instrumental and relational accountability perspectives, the author formulates theoretical propositions on partnership risk.
Findings
The author conclude that loose related PPPs are characterized by high expertise and a higher risk of contract incompleteness by reason of opportunism. Shared ownership PPPs are characterized by lower opportunism but stronger goal ambiguities and role conflicts. These relationships are threatened by political micromanagement, agency capture and bailout problems.
Research limitations/implications
The study offers an analytical frame of propositions and provides avenues for further research on partnership risk.
Practical implications
The author suggest risk mitigation strategies for tight and loose related PPPs.
Originality/value
Identifying crucial contingencies from both an instrumental and a relational perspective, the study makes a contribution to cooperation research in PPPs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Prof. Dr Frank Bannister, Dominik Vogel and Prof. Dr Isabella Proeller for improvements and comments on former versions of this paper. The author would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful insights and suggestions.
Citation
Krause, T. (2014), "A contingency framework on partnership risk", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 317-333. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-09-2013-0128
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited