Abstract

The public sector is increasingly collaborating with the private sector in the development of large-scale public infrastructure projects. However, the difficulties arising due to working across organizational boundaries are often detrimental to project performance. This article argues that boundary-spanning activities can enhance the quality of collaboration and subsequently the performance of projects. Boundary spanners utilize relational governance mechanisms and undertake conscious endeavors for building interorganizational relationships by engaging in activities, such as coordination and communication with the stakeholders. The data for this study are composed of 158 survey responses from lead public managers involved in Dutch national public infrastructure projects. The data are analyzed using structural equation modeling. The study demonstrates that the quality of collaboration has a significant impact on the performance of the project during the implementation phase. Further, we find that the different boundary-spanning activities are interconnected and that they have a significant positive relationship on project performance, with a mediating effect of collaboration. The study concludes that, and shows how boundary spanners are vital to the collaborative processes through which public infrastructure projects are implemented.

摘要

公共部门越来越多地与私营部门合作开发大型公共基础设施项目。然而，由于跨组织边界工作而产生的困难通常不利于项目绩效。本文认为，跨界活动可以提高协作质量，进而提高项目绩效。边界扳手利用关系治理机制，通过参与与利益相关者的协调和沟通等活动，有意识地努力建立组织间关系。本研究的数据由参与荷兰国家公共基础设施项目的主要公共管理人员的 158 份调查回复组成。使用结构方程模型分析数据。研究表明，协作的质量对项目在实施阶段的绩效有重大影响。此外，我们发现不同的跨界活动相互关联，并且它们对项目绩效具有显着的正相关关系，并具有协作的中介作用。该研究得出结论，并展示了边界跨越者如何对实施公共基础设施项目的协作过程至关重要。