Managing stakeholder opportunism in public-private partnership (PPP) housing projects

Stakeholder opportunistic behaviour has been reported as one of the reasons for failure in public-private partnership (PPP) housing projects. This study aimed at managing stakeholder opportunistic behaviours in PPP housing projects in Abuja, Nigeria with view to devise strategies for addressing the menace towards successful application of PPP in housing. Purposeful sampling technique was used to select the study sample from the total population. A total of 93 questionnaires were administered, out of these, 61 were duly completed and used for the study. The study adopted the ranking model and mean rating in analysing the data. Conflict of interest and lack of trust were the major determinants of opportunism manifesting in deliberate underbidding by private sectors and delays in disbursement of approved project funds. Strategic behaviours can effectively be prevented and mitigated by developing trust among stakeholder and use of contract structure. The study suggests structuring of contracts such that opportunism is avoided or reduced to acceptable level, building of trust among stakeholders and building an environment with adequate incentives to penalise collusion attempts as strategies for preventing and mitigating opportunism in PPP housing projects.