Down the drain: The dynamic interplay of governance adjustments addressing setbacks in large public-private projects
Fang,F. van der Valk,Wendy Vos,Bart Akkermans,Henk
Fang,F.
van der Valk,Wendy
Vos,Bart
Akkermans,Henk
Abstract
Large government projects involving public–private collaborations inherently suffer from setbacks such as delays, cost overruns, or failure to meet contracted performance. Such setbacks may effectively be addressed through adjustments to contractual and relational governance; yet to date, the dynamics of governance adjustments and their interplay in addressing setbacks is not well understood. This research presents a dynamic theory of how parties can effectively address project setbacks through adjustments to contractual and relational governance. The dynamic theory was generated using longitudinal case data from two large public–private projects in the Netherlands that faced comparable project setbacks but deployed opposing governance adjustments, leading to drastically different project outcomes (i.e., collapse vs. recovery). This theory was then elaborated through two more cases and evidence from the literature. A system dynamics simulation model was then built that reproduces the different governance adjustments and outcomes observed in the four projects and serves to extend theory building. The refined theory not only shows under what conditions adjustments to contractual or relational governance are most effective, but also that governance adjustment interplay may trigger unintended side effects. As such, the theory explains why the careful balancing of governance adjustments is critical to project outcomes.
Description
Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Operations Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for Supply Chain Management, Inc.
Date
2024-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
interorganizational governance, interorganizational projects, longitudinal case research, public–private collaboration, system dynamics simulation, utilities
Citation
Fang, F, van der Valk, W, Vos, B & Akkermans, H 2024, 'Down the drain: The dynamic interplay of governance adjustments addressing setbacks in large public-private projects', Journal of Operations Management, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 80-106. https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1277