Conceptualizing a win–win scenario in public–private partnerships: evidence from a systematic literature review

Purpose Achieving the win–win goal in public–private partnership (PPP) has gained much research interest in recent times. These studies have addressed the achievement of win–win from various perspectives. An integration of the constructs from these various perspectives improves approach to attaining win–win throughout the entire project delivery. This study, therefore, becomes the first systematic review to analyse PPP studies towards identifying win–win constructs and then integrates findings into a conceptual model. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a four-staged systematic review method. This includes concept development, papers retrieval, selection of relevant papers and qualitative analysis. Thematic analysis was used at the qualitative analysis stage for the identification and categorization of constructs and finally, systems thinking was adopted in integrating the findings into a conceptual mode Findings The achievement of win–win between government and private investors is of much desire hence a more conscious approach towards it is ideal. A total of 40 constructs were identified and were later categorised into six components. Some constructs identified include optimal assessment and fair allocation of project risks, reasonable concessions period, flexible contracting, equal and active participation and co-ordination of public and private actors and strategic negotiation. Originality/value This paper provides an improved definition of win–win scenario in PPP infrastructure project delivery. Furthermore, the novel approach of integrating win–win constructs into a systemic conceptual model is very relevant to PPP body of knowledge and practice. The study concludes with plausible research directions to further improve the achievement of win–win in PPP.