Organizing for Smart City Public–Private Partnerships: Evidence From Taiwan
研究通过比较台湾12个智慧城市项目，将公私合作伙伴关系分为国家主导、功能主导、主导型和金融型四种，每种在效果上等效但运作方式不同，为实践者设计治理结构提供参考。
We develop a typology to explain how various forms of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in smart cities can be socially organized across multi-level dynamics. The empirical setting is a qualitative comparison of PPPs from 12 smart city initiatives in Taiwan. We ensure methodological rigor through representative case sampling, multi-source data triangulation, iterative cross-case comparison, and validation via peer debriefing and practitioner feedback. Our findings indicate that smart city PPPs can be categorized based on the role of the central actors in bridging the public and private sectors. There are four forms of PPPs: national, functional, dominant, and financial. Each form is equifinal in effectiveness, yet distinct in its central actors, negotiation power between the public and private sectors, financial performance, public objectives, and applicable conditions. Our analysis offers practitioners a foundation for designing effective governance structures for smart city PPPs.