Operational Risk Management of Public–Private Partnership Infrastructure Projects: A Bibliometric Literature Review

Abstract

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are widely applied in the procurement of capital infrastructure, encompassing phases such as financing, design, construction, operation, and transfer. Of these, the operational phase of PPPs is particularly critical to project success given this is when revenues are generated, and costs recouped. However, the revenue stream will be exposed to numerous risks over the relatively long period of infrastructure operation. Management of PPP operational risk is therefore critical. Despite this importance, research dedicated to PPP operational risk management remains limited. Thus, this paper addresses this deficiency by systematically reviewing related studies and proposing an operational risk management framework. A qualitative bibliometric literature review is conducted on 60 papers pertinent to operational risk management, published across 12 peer review journals. Findings reveal that the industry lacks a systematic operational risk factor list, while the impacts of risks are rarely considered when allocating operational risk factors, and moreover that the research on the selection and efficacy of operational risk management strategies remains undeveloped. This study reveals where further efforts in the research of operational risk management of PPP infrastructure projects could be more fruitfully applied.