Attributes Of PPP Project Cooperation、Business Model And Operational Performance

Public Private Partnership(PPP)is a collective term that includes elements such as cooperation system,organization construction,facility construction,and business operation.The basic meaning of PPP is a system that the government and private organizations jointly invest in the supply and operation of a public product and establish of a hybrid enterprise.The government and private organizations can carry out corresponding facilities and services.PPP projects have multiple functions such as strengthening the relationship between the government and social capital,drawing on their strengths,sharing risk management,and alleviating government financial pressures.It also meets the needs of private organizations in achieving their strategic goals.The special support provided by PPP is the key measure to promote the supply-side structural reform,and PPP is highly valued by the government,business and researchers.PPP is widely adopted in other countries in the world,including China.However,PPP also encountered many problems in the process of practice.The most prominent is the insufficient customer value creation ability of PPP project operations,resulting in the poor operational performance of PPP projects and the inability to achieve the initial design goals of this system.Existing studies have shown that the operational performance of an enterprise in a market environment depends on the ability of creating customer value in the course of business development,and the latter is affected by the type of business model that the company chooses when conducting business.Therefore,to reveal the operational performance of PPP projects,we need to think about the type of business model chosen in the process of operating related public products to carry out services.The business model selected during the service development process refers to the business model that the PPP project company(that is,Special Purpose Vehicle,SPV for short)formed in accordance with the PPP system and cooperation process chooses to use when it conducts service operations by using relevant public products.It is the product of the PPP project cooperation process and will have an impact on the PPP project’s operational performance.This article proposes: Although PPP is a general term,it is actually a complex process involving multiple links and multiple entities.The results or outcomes of each stage will affect the decision-making behavior and results of each entity in the next stage.Firstly,PPP involves a sort of joint venture agreement between the government and private under the guidance of a specific purpose,that is,a specific institutional arrangement(PPP Institution);Secondly,PPP involves a specific enterprise organization established based on the motivation of cooperation-a specific purpose institution,or SPV;Thirdly,as the products operated by PPP projects are usually public products,it is necessary to plan and design these operating facilities,i.e.PPP project planning and design(PPP Design);Fourthly,after the completion of the PPP facility design,enter the PPP facility construction(PPP Building),including supervision,inspection and acceptance,etc.;Finally,according to the PPP agreement,some PPP project companies also assume the responsibility of service operations(PPP Operation and Maintenance,or O&M)after the completion of the construction.The implementation of the above-mentioned phases one to four stages will lead to the formation of PPP project cooperation attributes,which will have an impact on the choice of business model types in the operation of PPP projects.It is undeniable that although there have been studies on the mechanism of cooperation between PPP project cooperation attributes and business model selection(Villani et al.,2017),the influence of the cooperation attributes of PPP projects on the choice of business model types of PPP projects is undeniable.The combination of PPP project cooperation attributes and business model types,that is,the relevant research on the impact of PPP project configuration characteristics defined in this article on PPP project operational performance has been in a blank stage so far,which has led to theoretical circles and other related parties including governments,financial service institutions,and companies that intend to participate in PPP projects have long remained at a relatively intuitive and superficial level in the identification of the effects of the PPP cooperation system,the interaction mechanism and the design of related management strategies.This article aims at this issue.The core issue is to reveal the influence of PPP project cooperation attributes on the choice and formation of business models,and then explore the effect of PPP project cooperation attributes and PPP project business model types as a whole on operational performance.The research in this article consists of four major sections,namely:(1)Basic theoretical research;(2)Business model from the perspective of the rule system;(3)PPP project cooperation attributes and business model selection,and PPP project business model and operational performance Regression analysis;(4)Double QCA analysis of the effect of PPP project cooperation attributes.In terms of basic theory,this article focuses on the analysis of the cooperation mechanism of PPP projects and the theory of value creation,the connotation,constituent elements,structure and classification of the business model,and related theories on the institutional effect and the structure,function and formation of the business model.The research results are sorted out,especially the types of business models are classified and summarized based on structural characteristics.In terms of PPP project cooperation attributes,this article proposes that the PPP project cooperation mode has three typical characteristics:(1)The resource structure based on partnership,which is the prerequisite for PPP project cooperation;(2)The rules and arrangements for benefit sharing is the cornerstone of PPP project cooperation;(3)The rules and arrangements for risk sharing are the guarantee for the sustainable progress of PPP project cooperation.Regarding the influence mechanism of PPP project cooperation attributes on the choice of business model type,this article proposes: business model is how the company creates value for customers,delivers value and how the company obtains value for itself,etc.,these methods are subject to the corresponding rules support.Based on the two dimensions of value source and value capacity,business model types are divided into four types: market expansion type,monopoly control type,structural innovation type and exclusive profit type.Based on the literature,the cooperation attributes of PPP projects are extracted,including risk attitudes,willingness to innovate,potential market exploration,R&D investment,cooperation resources,business scope planning,pricing strategies,cost accounting criteria,upstream cooperation network selection and equity structure,etc.,which will affect PPP project corporate decision-makers have an impact on the behavior of building business models,which in turn affects the business model structure characteristics of the company’s operations.This article proposes that the type of business model plays an intermediary role in the relationship between PPP project cooperation attributes and operational performance,that is,the PPP project cooperation attributes first affect the business model type of the PPP project operating company,and further affect the operational performance by affecting the structural characteristics of the business model effect.The cooperative attributes of PPP projects and the business model formed by them as a whole will have an impact on the operational performance of PPP projects.This article uses regression analysis(Regression Analysis)and qualitative comparative analysis(Qualitative Comparative Analysis,QCA)to empirically analyze the above relationship.The core steps are:(1)Explore the correlation of different business model types on the economic,social and environmental performance of PPP projects;(2)Explore the PPP project cooperation attribute paths that lead to four types of business model types: market expansion,structural innovation,monopoly control,and exclusive profitability;(3)Explore the PPP project cooperation attributes and business model type configuration characteristics that lead to different performance levels of PPP projects.Finally,this article summarizes the various paths by which the PPP project cooperation attributes affect the business model selection types,and identifies the PPP project cooperation attributes and the business model type as a whole play an important role in the PPP project operational performance,that is,the antecedent configurations that lead to different operational performance of PPP projects.This will provide important theoretical support for deeper theoretical analysis,various levels of countermeasure optimization and even innovation for PPP projects.