Research On The Influence Mechanisms Between Trust And Contractual Governance In Public Private Partnership Projects

Stepping into the dramatic phase of economic growth transformation and comprehensive reform in depth,PPPs in China has transformed from a market-oriented financing tool to an institutional revolution in the provisions of infrastructure and public services.Since the new round of PPPs launched in 2014,it is on the way from "high speed" promotion to "high quality" development.However,owing to the imperfect institutional framework,immature market environment and limited institution capacity in PPP promotion,ensuing problems are emerging in the pilot PPP projects of China.Specifically,both government and private entity have attached heavier importance on finance rationale,construction tasks,short-term benefits and implementation speed in PPP projects.This tendency has brought adverse impacts on the sustainable development of PPPs and the delivering quality and efficiency of public services.With the extending fields of PPP applications and the continuous operation of PPP projects in the future,an important agenda is arising——whether government and private entity can improve the project sustainability and promote the sustainable development of PPPs based on contractual spirit,mutual trust and long-term cooperation or not.Although PPP research in China is in full swing,there is still a lack of study on the influence mechanisms between trust and contractual governance in PPP projects systematically with focus on the sustainable performance of PPPs(SPP)by PPP governance.Therefore,based on an in-depth understanding of hybrid organization and long-term contract in PPP projects,this study aims to investigate the influence mechanisms between trust and contractual governance in PPP projects and its joint roles in contributing to SPP systematically and comprehensively in a holistic view.The details of the research steps and contents of this study are as follows:(1)Establishment the theoretical model of the influence mechanisms between trust and contractual governance in PPP projects.By summarizing principal-agent theory,transaction cost theory,incomplete contract,relational contracting and public governance theory,the theoretical bases for analyzing the cooperative governance between government and private entity are presented comprehensively.Moreover,a systematic analysis of the three-tier connotation of PPPs and the complex system of PPP projects are conducted,with defining the conception and the boundary of trust,contractual governance and SPP respectively.Then,a 5Pbased conceptual framework is displayed innovatively,with further analysis of the specificness of PPP project and the complexity of PPP governance.Finally,by combining the above theoretical foundations and theoretical analyses,the theoretical model of the influence mechanisms between trust and contractual governance with relevant hypotheses in PPP projects are concluded with sufficient evidences.(2)Explanation of the variables in the theoretical model with corresponding measurement indicators.According to the aforementioned research model,the concepts of trust,contract control,environmental uncertainty and project complexity are defined clearly by means of literature research and summarized-interpret reasoning law,with clarifying the content and measurement of PPP characteristics.The specific measurement index is proposed by referencing expert advices and mature scales in the relevant fields.Moreover,based on the conceptual framework of SPP,the measurement index system of SPP is established through the systematic literature review of PPP literature collected from Wo S and CNKI.(3)Questionnaire surveying,data quality assessment and measurement validation for the theoretical model.Based on the aforementioned research model and construct measurements,two related questionnaires are formed for data collection in advance.The returned data is evaluated through descriptive statistics analysis,validity analysis and reliability analysis by using SPSS23.0 comprehensively.Furthermore,confirmatory factor analysis is used to test the rationality and reliability of the measurement model of trust,contract control and SPP in PPP projects respectively.(4)Empirical analyses of the trust's influence on contractual governance in PPP projects.Without consideration of SPP,trust is set as an independent variable,contractual controls(outcome control,behavior control and social control)are set as dependent variables and the transactional attributes of PPPs(e.g.,environment uncertainty,project complexity and project investment,etc.)are set as the moderators for empirical analysis.Furthermore,by using hierarchical regression analysis with SPSS23.0,the relevant theoretical hypotheses are tested one by one with thorough analyses and discussions.(5)Empirical analysis of the joint role of trust and contractual governance on SPP.With consideration of SPP,four different structural equation models are constructed regarding the mediating effect of contractual control and the moderating effects of environment uncertainty,project complexity and type of private sector.By using AMOS23.0 for structural equation modelling,the four models are validated one by one with thorough analyses and discussions.(6)Strategy analyses of the influence mechanisms between trust and contractual governance in PPP projects.Based on the aforementioned empirical results,four interactive mechanisms between trust and contractual governance in PPP projects are condensed systematically.Furthermore,according to the status quo and development trend of PPPs in China,four governance strategies are proposed regarding personnel training,project information,institution framework and international cooperation for promoting sustainable development of PPPs in China.To sum up,the main results of this study are as follows:(1)it validate the measurement model of SPP with identified critical factors in PPP projects;(2)it confirms that PPP contract is close to relationship-oriented contract based on hybrid organization and long-term contract;(3)By considering the two research questions of cooperative governance in PPP projects completely,it illustrates the complement roles,influencing factors and paths between trust and contractual governance in PPP scenario with targeted governance strategies.In a word,this study presents an in-depth understanding of the governance of PPPs by integrating the perspectives of public management and project management,providing theoretical foundations and practical guidelines for enhancing the sustainability in PPP projects and promoting the sustainable development of PPPs with hybrid governance and relational contracting.