Does Practice Make Perfect? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Contractual Governance of Ireland's First Public‐Private Partnership

ABSTRACT This paper examines how contractual governance in a public–private partnership evolved over a 16‐year period. It adopts a novel approach by revisiting an earlier analysis of Ireland's first PPP contract for school's infrastructure. We examine contractual governance at two distinct levels: the contract management level (between government and contractor) and the operational level (between school principals and facilities managers). We find that contractual governance between contracting parties has remained transactional but is now characterized by higher levels of trust and cooperation. However, we find that contractual governance has shifted from transactional to relational at the operational level. A number of factors have contributed to the evolution toward increased relational governance. These include the transfer of contract management to a newly established specialized PPP procurement agency, changes in personnel involved in the project, and the adoption of a more devolved approach to facilities management through the introduction of on‐site facilities managers.