Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter presents a theory-informed, probing analysis of the case study evidence to illuminate how two similarly configured public-private partnerships (PPPs) progressed down very different paths in contracting for public value and yielded divergent outcomes. It describes how the PPPs launched on different footing in three different ways: in their relationships with subcontractors; in their efforts to develop relational mechanisms alongside formal contract structures; and in the partner orientations toward collaboration. The case study analysis illustrates how the two PPPs balanced the formal and relational aspects of their respective contracts as they sought to navigate precarious contracting circumstances and sustain collaboration in their project work. This chapter also scrutinizes the PPP performance and contract revisions over time and how the PPP dynamics (formal and relational) influenced partner decisions to continue or exit the partnership. The case analysis generates testable propositions on key elements driving PPP success (or failure), while giving considerable attention to the contexts in which the PPPs operated, including political, economic, and social factors that shaped the partners’ efforts to achieve their collective goals.</jats:p>