991: Navigating Complexity and Novelty: a Stakeholder Governance Framework for PPP Projects (16575)

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects are pivotal in tackling intricate societal challenges by leveraging synergies among diverse stakeholders. Despite their increasing prevalence, a theoretical exploration of the governance mechanisms to manage such partnerships is lacking. This paper develops a stakeholder governance framework for PPPs that proposes that project complexity and novelty define governance mechanism effectiveness. We focus on purpose-driven projects (high-complexity, high-novelty projects aimed at addressing grand challenges) to distill the different governance mechanisms needed to secure the proper value creation and distribution. Specifically, we present a set of propositions that outline how the different lifecycle stages in these PPPs, each representing unique challenges in a context of evolving stakeholder dynamics, demand diverse combinations of formal and informal, contractual and relational governance mechanisms. By theorizing and illustrating these interrelations, our framework contributes to a deeper understanding of stakeholder governance in PPPs, with implications for academics, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in the design, implementation, and management of partnerships tackling societal grand challenges.

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