MANAGING ACROSS MULTIPLE BOUNDARIES: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF PFI PROCUREMENT PROCESSES

ABSTRACT. Successive UK governments have increasingly used Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment vehicles as the principal method for procuring public sector capital projects and delivering associated services. To date there has been limited in-depth empirical investigations into managerial processes associated with PFI. This paper explores how arrangements across multiple boundaries (private and public sector, product and service provisions and extended supply network life-cycle) profoundly challenge extant models for inter-organisational relationships and governance structures. This paper reports preliminary findings from an exploratory case study of a British PFI hospital highlighting two specific issues: governance structures and impact of time. The paper concludes by highlighting a number of key research agendas related to managing supply across multiple boundaries