Carter B. Casady and David Baxter
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has left nations around the world scrambling to procure emergency healthcare capacity, services and equipment. To meet this unprecedented…
Abstract
Purpose
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has left nations around the world scrambling to procure emergency healthcare capacity, services and equipment. To meet this unprecedented demand on global healthcare systems, governments are increasingly looking to partner with the private sector via public-private partnerships (PPPs). However, the protracted procedures of traditional PPP procurements are not suitable for times of crisis. This is where unsolicited proposals (USPs) may play a pivotal role.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the relevance of USPs for the current pandemic, this Viewpoint paper describes both the advantages and challenges of USPs, discusses the emergence of several PPPs to combat COVID-19 as well as some of the ad hoc processes governing current USP consideration, highlights an example of streamlined USP solicitation from Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation and articulates a pragmatic and practical approach for encouraging and procuring healthcare USPs.
Findings
This Viewpoint paper concludes that USPs could play a crucial role in the COVID-19 pandemic as boundary spanners between public agencies and the private sector in the PPP procurement process.
Social implications
Deploying proactive and strategic healthcare PPPs at speed and scale through digital USP platforms may help mitigate the pandemic’s long-term effects. Digital USP platforms may also serve as crucial tools for effective crisis communication, decision-making and partnership.
Originality/value
Using the digital USP platforms proposed in this paper, infrastructure organizations can develop and maintain effective partnerships with other sector organizations prior to and during crises like COVID-19.
Details
Keywords
Cong Wang, Henry Liu, Michael C.P. Sing and Jin Wu
Pre-construction of a project comprises stages that are pivotal for the procurement performance. It is defined as the duration from the project's initiation to construction…
Abstract
Purpose
Pre-construction of a project comprises stages that are pivotal for the procurement performance. It is defined as the duration from the project's initiation to construction. However, Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) have been subjected to a long pre-construction, thereby leading to an inefficient development process. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to pay attention to the influencing factors elongating the pre-construction duration.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on data of 5,677 PPP projects between 2009 and 2021 in China, the authors adopt the Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) model in duration analysis to empirically analyze the following underlying dynamics determining the duration of PPP pre-construction stages: (1) policy uncertainty; (2) corruption; and (3) procurement method selection. To observe the influencing paths more specifically, the authors divided the pre-construction duration into the pre-tendering period and tendering period and regressed them separately.
Findings
The results indicate that the pre-construction duration is significantly prolonged with increased policy uncertainty and corruption degree as well as the use of tendering methods. Meanwhile, the above factors have a greater impact on the pre-tendering period than the tendering period.
Originality/value
The contribution of this study is twofold: (1) theoretically, this paper provides new evidence on the impact of PPP policy uncertainty, corruption and procurement method selection on the pre-construction duration. It complements empirical studies on the factors elongating the time efficiency of PPPs projects. (2) In practice, it provides a specific path for the government to improve the time efficiency of PPPs.
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Sandra C. Buttigieg, Vincent Cassar and Judy W. Scully
The following case study aims to explore management's, health professionals' and patients' experiences on the extent to which there is visibility of management support in…
Abstract
Purpose
The following case study aims to explore management's, health professionals' and patients' experiences on the extent to which there is visibility of management support in achieving effective interdisciplinary team working, which is explicitly declared in the mission statement of a 60-bed acute rehabilitative geriatric hospital in Malta.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the above-mentioned key stakeholders.
Findings
Three main distinct yet interdependent themes emerged as a result of thematic analysis: “managing a team-friendly hospital”, “interdisciplinary team components”, and “interdisciplinary team processes”. The findings show that visibility of management support and its alignment with the process and content levels of interdisciplinary teamwork are key to integrated care for acute rehabilitative geriatric patients.
Research limitations/implications
The emerging phenomena may not be reproducible in a different context; although many of the emerging themes could be comfortably matched with the existing literature.
Practical implications
The implications are geared towards raising the consciousness and conscientiousness of good practice in interdisciplinary teamwork in hospitals, as well as in emphasizing organizational and management support as crucial factors for team-based organizations.
Social implications
Interdisciplinary teamwork in acute rehabilitative geriatrics provides optimal quality and integrated health care delivery with the aim that the older persons are successfully discharged back to the community.
Originality/value
The authors draw on solid theoretical frameworks – the complexity theory, team effectiveness model and the social identity theory – to support their major finding, namely the alignment of organizational and management support with intra-team factors at the process and content level.