Critical Success Factors for Sustainable Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Transition Conditions: An Empirical Study in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear Author,
The paper is good, however, it will be better to improve on the following:
- Justify how the choice of 157 respondents is sufficient to make general statement for the study areas.
- What is the same frame in relation to the sampled size? For instance 52.2 % (Freq) was sampled in Republic of Srpska out of _ population?
- The author said (Section 4, second paragraph, line 4) "Information about sample structure were given in Figure 3" however such cannot be found anywhere in the manuscript or the Figure 3 provided.
- The author should also justify the yardstick for selecting the study area (Why) with some background referenced argument.
Best Regards.
Author Response
Dear,
I would like to inform you that we have revised the manuscript in accordance with your comments. Please see the attachment.
Updated Suggestions:
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
Point 1: Justify how the choice of 157 respondents is sufficient to make general statement for the study areas.
Response 1: In section 6.3, after the fourth paragraph, after the comment "how the choice of 157 respondents is sufficient to make a general statement for the study area", the authors supplemented the section with the following statement: „Prior to the procedure of extracting the key success factors in the establishment of PPP in transition conditions, the first step in evaluating the suitability of data for the factor analysis includes data adequacy validation. As a rule, to determine the sample size, it is necessary to use a multiplier of minimum five, which means that the number of observations in the model is at least five times greater than the number of variables. If we take into account that in extracting the key success factors 25 observations have been used in relation to 157 respondents, we may note that a presumption of the number of variables and observations have been satisfied in relation 1:6,28.
Point 2: What is the same frame in relation to the sampled size? For instance 52.2 % (Freq) was sampled in Republic of Srpska out of _ population?
Response 2: The percentage of the sampled population is shown in Table 1. section 6.1
Update: As part of the research, a total of 650 questionnaires were sent to the addresses of public sector institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely: 320 questionnaires were sent to institutions in the Republic of Srpska, 276 to the Federation of BiH and 54 questionnaires to Brčko District institutions. We received 82 answers from the Republic of Srpska, 62 answers were from the Federation of BiH, while 13 answers were received from the Brčko District - in total 157 answers from respondents /representatives of relevant public sector institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Questionnaire and answer frequency with percentage are shown in Table 1. section 6.1 (Sample structure).
Point 3: The author said (Section 4, second paragraph, line 4) "Information about sample structure were given in Figure 3" however such cannot be found anywhere in the manuscript or the Figure 3 provided.
Response 3: In this case, it is a technical error, the above sentence has been corrected and shall read as follows: "Information about sample structure were given in table 2-3".
Point 4: The author should also justify the yardstick for selecting the study area (Why) with some background referenced argument.
Response 4: In Section 3, the authors noted that according to World Bank data from 2014, PPPs in transition economies play a relatively small role in infrastructure investment, averaging between 15 and 20 percent. In order to explain, in more detail, the choice of research area, the authors supplemented section 3, the first paragraph after the third sentence, with the following statements: „Bosnia and Herzegovina is a transitional country where PPP initiatives were launched in the Republic of Srpska in the health sector back in 2000. Although certain activities in this area have been present for 20 years, we can say that so far there have been no significant results, which is illustrated by the fact that there is still no official data on implemented PPP projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Individual projects and cooperation between the public and private sectors in certain infrastructure projects are mainly the result of entrepreneurial initiatives of local leaders and are not recorded and formally recognized as Public-Private Partnerships.“ After the fourth sentence, the same section is supplemented with the following statement: „The absence of systematic solutions in establishing Public-Private Partnerships in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the lack of available literature on this particular subject, helped us as the authors to opt for investigating the key success factors influencing the establishment of a sustainable Public-Private Partnerships in transition conditions.“
Kind regards,
Goran Amović
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The research is very valuable as it gives insight into the development of the PPPs in a specific economy (in transition). The publication is recommended as there is not much literature available (if any) on this specific topic based on selected methodology. This point could be outlined in the paper.
However, establishment of the appropriate regulatory framework, development of national PPP policies and strategies alongside with the clear pipeline of the projects and institutional support (preferably in the form of the PPP Unit) followed by standardization and transparency of the process are well known prerequisites for the successful PPP implementation promoted e.g. by UNECE. Accordingly, it would be beneficial that more detailed literature analysis would be included in this respect (beside Farquharson).
Additionally, implementation of the information on the current point of the situation in Bosnia and Hercegovina on all the key factors for successful PPP implementation at the time of the research would be beneficial in the Introduction in the clear and comprehensive manner (i.e. what is the existing legal framework, is there PPP unit – how it is organised, are there strategies, is there clear pipeline of projects …). Now it is included partially in the analysis.
In terms of the H1, the researched did reveal (maybe more suitable: confirmed?) the key success factors for PPP implementation.
However, in terms of H2 the hypothesis and the result are nor clear. I recommend to explained better what the authors consider “as the model of sustainable PPPs" and analyse more in detailed based on which findings the H2 was confirmed.
Author Response
Dear,
I would like to inform you that we have revised the manuscript in accordance with your comments. Please see the attachment.
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
Point 1: However, establishment of the appropriate regulatory framework, development of national PPP policies and strategies alongside with the clear pipeline of the projects and institutional support (preferably in the form of the PPP Unit) followed by standardization and transparency of the process are well known prerequisites for the successful PPP implementation promoted e.g. by UNECE. Accordingly, it would be beneficial that more detailed literature analysis would be included in this respect (beside Farquharson).
Response 1: According to the recommendations of the Reviewer 2, in section section 1 (Introduction) and section 3 (Review of previous research in this area) the authors have included a more detailed analysis of the literature that includes the authors of original scientific research such as:
- Liu, P.E.D. Love, J. Smith, M. Regan, P.R. Davis, Life cycle critical success factors for public-private partnership infrastructure projects, J. Manag. Eng. 31 (2015)
- M.A. Aziz, A. Elmahdy, Public-Private Partnerships – Analysis of Government Implementation Units, 5th Int. Constr. Spec. Conf. (2015) 1–10.
- Sachs, R. Tiong, S. Qing Wang, Analysis of political risks and opportunities in public private partnerships (PPP) in China and selected Asian countries: Survey results, Chinese Manag. Stud. 1 (2007) 126–148.
- Li, A. Akintoye, P.J. Edwards, C. Hardcastle, Critical success factors for PPP/PFI projects in the UK construction industry, Constr. Manag. Econ. 23 (2005) 459–471.
- Osei-Kyei, A.P.C. Chan, Review of studies on the critical success factors for public-private partnership (PPP) projects from 1990 to 2013, Int. J. Proj. Manag. 33 (2015) 1335–1346.
- Wang, Y. Liu, W. Xiong, J. Song, The moderating role of governance environment on the relationship between risk allocation and private investment in PPP markets: Evidence from developing countries, Int. J. Proj. Manag. 37 (2018) 117–130.
- Percoco, Quality of institutions and private participation in transport infrastructure investment: Evidence from developing countries, Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 70 (2014) 50–58.
- Latifović, “Klasifikacija izvedbenih oblika javno-privatnog partnerstva u teoriji i legislativi u Bosni i Hercegovini”, Zb. Rad. Pravnog Fak. u Tuzli. (2016) 148–174.
- Sharma, Determinants of PPP in infrastructure in developing economies, Transform. Gov. People, Process Policy. 6 (2012) 149–166.
Point 2: Additionally, implementation of the information on the current point of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina on all the key factors for successful PPP implementation at the time of the research would be beneficial in the Introduction in the clear and comprehensive manner (i.e. what is the existing legal framework, is there PPP unit – how it is organized, are there strategies, is there clear pipeline of projects …). Now it is included partially in the analysis.
Response 2: In section 2 (PPP in Bosnia and Herzegovina), the authors clearly and comprehensively clarified the existing legal, regulatory and institutional framework for PPPs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an overview of PPP initiatives, failed PPP projects, implemented projects and planned projects. They also gave a summary of expert opinion of the authors from Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the possibilities for PPPs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Point 3: In terms of the H1, the researched did reveal (maybe more suitable: confirmed?) the key success factors for PPP implementation. However, in terms of H2 the hypothesis and the result are not clear. I recommend to explained better what the authors consider “as the model of sustainable PPPs" and analyse more in detailed based on which findings the H2 was confirmed.
Response 3: This article focuses on the extraction of key success factors in the establishment of PPP in transition conditions. The research results which were processed in discussions and conclusions have confirmed the first hypothesis H1: "It is possible to determine influence factors for successful establishment of PPP in developing PPP markets of transitional economies". We think the terms "model" and “design a model” that we used in the H2, and also through the whole paper, brought a certain confusion and that the focus in our paper should remain on key success factors, because the whole paper and the applied statistical methods are focused on extracting and explaining key success factors. From the above mentioned it is clear that the second hypothesis (H2) in our paper is redundant, it brings a certain confusion, and we as the authors opt to eliminate it from our paper as redundant and unnecessary in explaining the key success factors for sustainable PPP in transition conditions.
Kind regards,
Goran Amović
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
This paper addresses the issue of critical success factors in developing PPP. The approach is an empirical study, based in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper has some value, but there is major flaw that is beyond the scope of a simple revision. There is an extensive literature review on these subjects (please see bibliometrics studies made on PPPs), but the large majority of the body of knowledge is not mentioned (legal professionals and OECD are cited, but scientific research is neglected). This prevents the research of having a clear link between the literature and the design of the methodology.
I would like to encourage the authors to keep their research, but it is critical to develop a proper literature review.
Author Response
Dear,
I would like to inform you that we have revised the manuscript in accordance with your comments. Please see the attachment.
Response to Reviewer 3 Comments
Point 1: This paper addresses the issue of critical success factors in developing PPP. The approach is an empirical study, based in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper has some value, but there is major flaw that is beyond the scope of a simple revision. There is an extensive literature review on these subjects (please see bibliometric studies made on PPPs), but the large majority of the body of knowledge is not mentioned (legal professionals and OECD are cited, but scientific research is neglected). This prevents the research of having a clear link between the literature and the design of the methodology. I would like to encourage the authors to keep their research, but it is critical to develop a proper literature review.
Response 1: According to the recommendations of the Reviewer 3, in section section 1 (Introduction) and section 3 (Review of previous research in this area) the authors have included a more detailed analysis of the literature that includes the authors of original scientific research such as:
- Liu, P.E.D. Love, J. Smith, M. Regan, P.R. Davis, Life cycle critical success factors for public-private partnership infrastructure projects, J. Manag. Eng. 31 (2015)
- M.A. Aziz, A. Elmahdy, Public-Private Partnerships – Analysis of Government Implementation Units, 5th Int. Constr. Spec. Conf. (2015) 1–10.
- Sachs, R. Tiong, S. Qing Wang, Analysis of political risks and opportunities in public private partnerships (PPP) in China and selected Asian countries: Survey results, Chinese Manag. Stud. 1 (2007) 126–148.
- Li, A. Akintoye, P.J. Edwards, C. Hardcastle, Critical success factors for PPP/PFI projects in the UK construction industry, Constr. Manag. Econ. 23 (2005) 459–471.
- Osei-Kyei, A.P.C. Chan, Review of studies on the critical success factors for public-private partnership (PPP) projects from 1990 to 2013, Int. J. Proj. Manag. 33 (2015) 1335–1346.
- Wang, Y. Liu, W. Xiong, J. Song, The moderating role of governance environment on the relationship between risk allocation and private investment in PPP markets: Evidence from developing countries, Int. J. Proj. Manag. 37 (2018) 117–130.
- Percoco, Quality of institutions and private participation in transport infrastructure investment: Evidence from developing countries, Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 70 (2014) 50–58.
- Latifović, “Klasifikacija izvedbenih oblika javno-privatnog partnerstva u teoriji i legislativi u Bosni i Hercegovini”, Zb. Rad. Pravnog Fak. u Tuzli. (2016) 148–174.
- Sharma, Determinants of PPP in infrastructure in developing economies, Transform. Gov. People, Process Policy. 6 (2012) 149–166.
Kind regards,
Goran Amović
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear Author,
Although the revision as not adequately incorporate all my review comments including sampled frame, the paper is okay for publication.
Best Regards.
Author Response
Dear,
I want to thank you for your approval to publish the article. Attached is a corrected version of the manuscript in accordance with the comments of Reviewer 3 and Academic Editor.
Kind regards.
Goran Amović
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
My recommendation remains the same. I do not think the changes made to the paper are sufficient to ensure publication. The manuscript reads as a very introductory text to PPP (using a specific case study) but lacks scientific depth. For example, the 4 key factors of the second part, can be found in any consulting report. Again, I encourage the authors to pursue this line of research, but recommend a careful analysis of existing literature, and position their case study against existing findings.
Author Response
Dear,
I would like to inform you that we have revised the manuscript in accordance with your comments. Please see manuscript in the attachment.
Response to Reviewer 3 Comments
Point 1: My recommendation remains the same. I do not think the changes made to the paper are sufficient to ensure publication. The manuscript reads as a very introductory text to PPP (using a specific case study) but lacks scientific depth. For example, the 4 key factors of the second part, can be found in any consulting report. Again, I encourage the authors to pursue this line of research, but recommend a careful analysis of existing literature, and position their case study against existing findings.
Response 1: According to the recommendations of the Reviewer 3, in Section 1 (Introduction) and Section 3 (Review of previous research in this area), in order to improve the scientific depth of the article, the Authors included a more detailed analysis of the literature that contains original scientific research of the most significant authors such as:
- Liu, P.E.D. Love, J. Smith, M. Regan, P.R. Davis, Life cycle critical success factors for public-private partnership infrastructure projects, J. Manag. Eng. 31 (2015) 04014073. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000307.
- A. Owolabi, L.O. Oyedele, H.A. Alaka, S.O. Ajayi, O.O. Akinade, M. Bilal, Critical Success Factors for Ensuring Bankable Completion Risk in PFI/PPP Megaprojects, J. Manag. Eng. 36 (2020) 04019032. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000717.
- Flyvbjerg, What you should know about megaprojects and why: An overview, Proj. Manag. J. 45 (2014) 6–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmj.21409.
- X.W. Zou, S. Wang, D. Fang, A life-cycle risk management framework for PPP infrastructure projects, J. Financ. Manag. Prop. Constr. 13 (2008) 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1108/13664380810898131.
- M. Abdel Aziz, Successful Delivery of Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development, J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 133 (2007) 918–931. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2007)133:12(918).
- Wang, Y. Wang, X. Wu, J. Li, Exploring the Risk Factors of Infrastructure PPP Projects for Sustainable Delivery: A Social Network Perspective, Sustainability. 12 (2020) 4152. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104152.
- Ke, S.Q. Wang, A.P.C. Chan, Revelation of the Channel Tunnel’s failure to risk allocation in Public-Private Partnership projects | Request PDF, Tumu Gongcheng Xuebao/China Civ. Eng. J. (2008) 97–112. https://doi.org/10.3321/j.issn:1000-131X.2008.12.016.
- P.C. Chan, P.T.I. Lam, D.W.M. Chan, E. Cheung, Y. Ke, Critical Success Factors for PPPs in Infrastructure Developments: Chinese Perspective, J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 136 (2010) 484–494. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000152.
- Zhang, Paving the way for public-private partnerships in infrastructure development, J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 131 (2005) 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:1(71).
Kind regards.
Goran Amović
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
