The perceived efficacy of public-private partnerships: A study from Canada Michael Opara a,⇑ , Paul Rouse b a College of Business, Texas A & M University, 2600 South Neal Street, Commerce, TX 75428, USA b Department of Accounting and Finance, The University of Auckland Business School, Owen G Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Road, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand article info Article history: Received 3 July 2017 Revised 12 April 2018 Accepted 17 April 2018 Available online xxxx Keywords: Public-private partnerships P3 Institutional theory Value-for-money Traditional infrastructure procurement Interpretive accounting Critical accounting abstract Since the 1990s, Public–Private Partnerships (P3s) have become a widely used public infrastructure financing policy tool. However, there is a vast body of evidence suggesting that they do not consistently deliver superior Value-for-Money (VfM), a central argument for engaging private industry partners. In response to the call by Andon (2012), we inves- tigate the rationale behind governments’ continuing deployment of P3s, focusing on the factors affecting the nature and performance of P3s. We draw on contemporary institu- tional theory to explain the Alberta government’s deployment of P3s as a legitimate infras- tructure delivery mechanism. While the P3 model has been beset by numerous problems, governments persist with P3 deployment. This practice is traced to institutional environ- mental forces that are set in motion to implement, sustain and institutionalize P3s as a ‘take it or no asset’ policy. Furthermore, we identify motivations tied to a new understand- ing of macro (group) and micro (private) interests that enact, sustain and institutionalize ‘preferred’ policy measures cloaked as ‘public interest’. Consistent with the current view of P3s as complex hybrid organizations that confront pluralistic circumstances, we argue that there is an absence of a reflective consideration among the invested local actors in bal- ancing the competing stakeholder interests impacted by P3 policy. Furthermore, we outline the implications for the accounting industry as knowledge carriers in guiding the situated jurisdictional evolution of P3s, especially in recognition of the dual nature of P3s that are presented as objective decision models, but are context-driven and socially constructed as part of P3 policy adoption and implementation. Consequently, given the shifting political dynamics regarding the efficacy – and sustainability – of P3s, whether the end could be near for Alberta’s P3 experiment or a temporary hiatus is an open question that this paper will attempt to address. Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction During the last 25 years, Public–Private Partnerships (P3s) have become a popular method for major infrastructure deliv- ery worldwide (Andon, 2012; Boardman, Siemiatycki, & Vining, 2016; Hodge & Greve, 2017; Opara, Elloumi, Okafor, & Warsame, 2017). With the growing P3 deployment by governments, and the contested financial value of P3s, Andon https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2018.04.004 1045-2354/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: Michael.opara@tamuc.edu (M. Opara). Critical Perspectives on Accounting xxx (2018) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Critical Perspectives on Accounting journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cpa Please cite this article in press as: Opara, M., & Rouse, P. The perceived efficacy of public-private partnerships: A study from Canada. Critical Perspectives on Accounting (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2018.04.004