Business development and bid management's role in winning a public–private partnership infrastructure project

Abstract

This paper focuses on a single real project delivered successfully using principles of public–private partnership (PPP). The case uses detailed accounts from both the winning and losing bidder of an infrastructure project delivered in the UK. The research enquiry focuses specifically on the bidding phase of the project and gains a unique perspective of this phase through primary data that are considered very rare to acquire. Using an inductive approach involving both multiple interviewing and an in-depth reflective workshop, and through drawing upon the marketing literature, the insight gathered from both the winner and loser reveals different marketing strategies used by major commercial contracting organizations as well as contributing to the relatively unexplored area of bid management. The case reveals how both the emerging principles and practices of entrepreneurial marketing can lead to the formation of successful win-strategies for complex PPP projects.