Public–private partnership projects: Towards a model of contractor bidding decision-making

Public–private partnership (PPP) projects (PPPs) are central to the UK Government's procurement of public services. PPPs are competitively tendered but a significant minority of projects attract insufficient bidders, making it difficult to demonstrate transparency and value for money. Based on an empirical study, this paper posits an initial model of how private sector bidders decide whether to bid for contracts; a distinction is drawn between two separate assessments made by potential bidders, the risk of bidding and the risk of the project. The paper concludes that the former assessment is insufficiently understood by practitioners and scholars. A research agenda is suggested.