The impact of innovation training on successful outcomes in public–private partnerships

ABSTRACT

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly seen as a way of innovating the production and management of public services. However, the question of what drives innovation in partnerships has so far received only limited attention. Drawing on network governance and collaborative innovation literature, this article presents the findings from a survey among 260 Danish PPPs. The study shows that while innovation training has a significant effect on achieving innovation in PPPs, factors such as trust and institutional support only affect some innovation types. The findings demonstrate the importance of individual innovation skills and a differentiated understanding of innovation outcomes in PPPs.

KEYWORDS:

• Public–private partnerships
• innovation
• collaborative innovation
• network governance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Overall, the survey was sent to 260 PPIs, but due to non-responders and missing responses, not all PPIs are represented in the final sample used for this study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Danish Council for Public-Private Partnerships and the OPALL project through funding from the European Social Fund and Growth Forum for the Capital Region of Denmark.

Notes on contributors

Lena Brogaard

Lena Brogaard is a PhD Fellow at the Department of Social Sciences and Business at Roskilde University, Denmark. She is interested in the organization, management, and outcome of cross-sector collaboration. Her current research focuses on innovation, value creation, and outcome antecedents in public–private partnerships, mainly within healthcare and social services.