Public-Private Partnership Networks: Exploring Business-Government Relationships in United Kingdom Transportation Projects

Matti Siemiatycki

Economic Geography, 2011, vol. 87, issue 3, 309-334

Abstract: Since the early 1990s, U.K. governmental policy has formally encouraged the delivery of infrastructure through private finance initiatives, a model of public-private partnership in which the design, construction, financing, operation, and maintenance of facilities are bundled into a long-term contract with a single consortium of firms. Drawing on an analysis of governmental records of the firms that participated in every U.K. project between 1987 and 2009, this article traces the extent to which stable partnerships are used to produce private finance transportation initiatives. The findings highlight an important tension between the benefits and drawbacks of repeat collaborations on one-off projects. On the one hand, the extensive use of repeat-partnership relationships lowers transaction costs, encourages innovation, and supports learning from past experiences. On the other hand, deep embeddedness within social networks that encourages frequent repeat collaborations can reduce competition within the industry and contribute to higher delivery costs and lower-quality public services. Through this analysis, the article addresses the key economic geography literatures that are related to project ecologies, embeddedness, and repeat collaborations within networked production processes.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1111/j.1944-8287.2011.01115.x

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