Public-private partnerships from a business management perspective - risks and opportunities for SMEs in Europe

This paper concerns project financing initiatives from a general perspective with a particular focus on small and medium enterprises, emphasising the importance of operational management for special purpose vehicles. In fact, this study, mainly from a theoretical point of view, focuses on business management as a strategic and operative flywheel for the successful functioning of project financing initiatives. In this way, small and medium enterprises can play an important role, even in public-private partnerships; although small and medium enterprises are usually not involved in public-private partnerships, they can be competitive in a different sense with respect to large enterprises simply by having more intense involvement in the management of special purpose vehicles. A focus on the role of small and medium enterprises in public-private partnerships in Europe, which are analysed through content analysis, shows evidence of significant opportunities, not only as subcontractors but also as attractors of innovative financing solutions.