Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on the analysis of the pertinent publications on the theme.

Findings – Three main interest areas can be found in the literature: tendering procedures, evaluation methods and evaluation criteria. Social implications – Contract authorities have several tools in order to pre-qualify and select bidders and negotiate with them: they can choose the instruments which best fit to their market

Originality/value – The paper provides a complete overview on PPP tendering procedures both used by practitioners and proposed by scholar and offers suggestions for further research on this issue.

This research set out to find a means by which effectiveness of PPPs could be increased and to develop a model that would assist PPP practitioners with this task in the future. Through a literature review, the Irish PPP process was mapped, the changes encountered in the introduction of PPP were investigated and a conceptual model – based on a traditional process model - was proposed. The model was tested by examining the outcomes of two projects and assessing the effect of participant attitudes on these outcomes. The projects were analysed in terms of Risk, Value and Innovation, and three propositions were offered:

• there were differences in project outcomes;

• there were differences in the attitudes of the project participants;

• the attitudes influenced the outcomes.

Using a combination of research methods, the data were gathered and analysed. The first two propositions were proven for Risk and Value but not for Innovation. In addressing the third proposition, a pattern matching exercise was undertaken and a number of findings were reached. These findings were further tested to establish their validity, credibility and reliability.

The results showed that specific elements of participant attitudes were found to affect some of the project outcomes and that these had a significant effect on the overall success of the project. The findings showed that PPP conducted as outlined by the conceptual model would not maximise effectiveness. The model was revised so that it commenced with analysis of the desired outcomes and proceeded by working back through the PPP process to define the inputs necessary for success. Using this information, the model was refined, making it ready for use by future PPP practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach – The research methodology adopted was the SLEEPT approach. The identified features are examined from source material of various projects within the stated nations. A Delphic approach of confirmation by national collaborators from each country is utilised. Confirming and disaffirming features are examined utilising exogenous cultural drivers.

Findings – The conclusion of this research identifies cross-cultural features of six different cultures presented as a “cultural compass” which will inform the development of future private finance initiative (PFI)/public private partnership (PPP) projects. The impact of this research will have implications for the appreciation of cultural similarities and differences of national “construction cultures” for effective project delivery of future PFI/PPP projects.

Originality/value – This paper offers an approach that can be generalised for adoption by nations considering the introduction of PFI as a procurement process.