Governance for Principal–Principal Relationship in Infrastructure Public–Private Partnerships: A Case Study in China
Publication: Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 38, Issue 3
Abstract
This study is aimed at analyzing how governance structure and mechanisms can support the cooperative principal–principal relationship between the public and private sectors in infrastructure public–private partnership (PPP) projects. This topic is important because PPP projects are prevalent in developing countries such as China, and the two sectors can face inherent conflicts when they come into the principal–principal relationship. To address this aim, we employed an in-depth qualitative case study of Beijing Metro Line 4—a typical and successful PPP project in China. Based upon retrospective primary and secondary data, we identified and analyzed effective governance mechanisms at institutional, corporate, and project levels. These mechanisms enable both sectors to balance power and protect mutual benefits against the adverse effects of principal–principal conflicts. This study contributes to the literature by revealing the link between governance and principal–principal relationships in Chinese infrastructure PPPs and illustrating how different levels of governance mechanisms together foster the cooperative relationship between public and private parties.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge all interviewees for their time and efforts. This study is supported and funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 72101220), as well as the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 20720210067).
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Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 38 • Issue 3 • May 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 20, 2021
Accepted: Nov 30, 2021
Published online: Feb 3, 2022
Published in print: May 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jul 3, 2022
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