Knotting Integration Into Project Organization Special Purpose Vehicles
Abstract
Special purpose vehicles (SPVs) are a form of project organization created for public–private partnership (PPP) projects. SPVs are complex organizational arrangements, relating actors from different institutionally regulative, normative, and cognitive contexts. We abductively analyze interviews with 36 practitioners experienced in managing SPVs using Gioia analysis. We find that SPV design is focused on systems integration, framed by transactional interpretations of contracts. This undercuts the interorganizational integration necessary for SPV design to work more effectively. We find that social and interorganizational integration remain largely overlooked, which is a key reason for PPP infrastructure project failure.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Public-Private Partnership Projects
Construction Project Management and Performance
Public Policy and Administration Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Project Management Journal
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 529–552
- Publication date
- 3 February 2026
- Language
- EN