Systematic analysis of PPP research in construction journals: from 2009 to 2019
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 7 July 2020
Issue publication date: 20 October 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The aims of this study are to conduct a systematic review of public–private partnership (PPP) studies published from 2009 to 2019, to compare the results with Ke et al. (2009) who reviewed the PPP literature published from 1998 to 2008, and to trace the evolution of the PPP knowledge in the past two decades. This study also presents the possible directions that the PPP research may go towards in the future, arguably.
Design/methodology/approach
This study carried out a top journal-based search to identify the quality PPP articles published from 2009 to 2019. A total of 12 top-tier construction journals were systematically searched in the database of web of science (WOS), from which 279 PPP articles were identified for review.
Findings
The number of the identified articles, the titles of the journals, institutions, the most cited papers, and prevalent research methods were analyzed and compared. The existing PPP studies in construction journals were classified into seven streams. Through analysis of the PPP research status and gaps, five future research directions were revealed.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the current body of knowledge by revealing the research trend of PPP from 2009 to 2019. It presents the change of PPP development trend in the past decade through comparison with Ke et al. (2009). It also reveals the major research streams and points out the directions that the PPP research may go towards in the future. Moreover, this study is helpful to the practice as well. It can enhance the practitioners' understanding of the PPP development in the past decade. In addition, it identified the research institutions contributing the most in the area of PPP, which may serve as valuable reference for practitioners to locate the best institutions for consultancy or collaboration.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province of China (grant numbers 2018JJ2542).Conflict of interest: There is reported no potential conflict of interest by the author in this paper.
Citation
Zhang, Y.-C., Luo, W.-Z., Shan, M., Pan, D.-W. and Mu, W.-J. (2020), "Systematic analysis of PPP research in construction journals: from 2009 to 2019", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 27 No. 10, pp. 3309-3339. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-03-2020-0178
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited