Exploratory Sequential Mixed Method Research to Investigate Factors Affecting the Reputation of PFI/PF2 Projects in the UK

Abstract

The UK Government introduced the private finance initiative (PFI) as a measure to work closely with the private sector in the provision of public projects. Despite its popularity in the 1990s, it presently faces strong criticisms for failing to deliver value for money. This chapter details the practicality of using an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design to investigate the factors that affect the reputation of PFI projects in the UK. In this chapter, the processes involved in document selection for grounded theory (GT) (qualitative) and the conduct of the GT in the qualitative strand were outlined. Similarly, it detailed the process for eliciting quantitative data through a questionnaire survey. The chapter highlighted the joint display of the results of the qualitative and quantitative phases. Subsequently, both sets of results were then used to develop a theoretical framework of factors that affect PFI/PF2 projects’ reputation in the UK.