Community and public-private partnership projects in Uganda: community engagement, trust and performance

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide the initial evidence of the relationship between the community and public-private partnership (PPP) projects by focusing on community engagement, trust and performance. Design/methodology/approach This study is cross sectional and correlational and it uses project level data that were collected by means of a questionnaire from a sample of 47 PPP projects in Uganda. Findings Results indicate that trust and community engagement are significantly associated with the performance of PPP projects. Research limitations/implications This study was cross-sectional, and thus monitoring changes in behaviour over time was not possible. The study used a quantitative research approach and this limits respondents from expressing their feelings fully. The study was conducted in Uganda and it is possible that the results of this study can be generalized to developing countries with environments similar to that of Uganda. Practical implications The results are important for PPP projects to understand the role that trust and community engagement play in as far as the performance of PPP projects is concerned. Originality/value Whilst there have been a number of studies on the performance of PPP projects, this study provides initial empirical evidence on the influence of trust and community engagement on the performance of PPP projects using evidence from PPP projects of an African developing economy – Uganda.