Navigating the landscape of public–private partnership research: a novel review using latent Dirichlet allocation

Purpose - Given the growing significance of contemporary socio-economic and infrastructural conversations of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), this research seeks to provide a general overview of the academic landscape concerning PPP. Design/methodology/approach - To offer a nuanced perspective, the study adopts the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) methodology to meticulously analyse 3,057 journal articles, mapping out the thematic contours within the PPP domain. Findings - The analysis highlights PPP's pivotal role in harmonising public policy goals with private sector agility, notably in areas like disaster-ready sustainable infrastructure and addressing rapid urbanisation challenges. The emphasis within the literature on financial, risk, and performance aspects accentuates the complexities inherent in financing PPP and the critical need for practical evaluation tools. An emerging focus on healthcare within PPP indicates potential for more insightful research, especially amid ongoing global health crises. Originality/value - This study pioneers the application of LDA for an all-encompassing examination of PPP-related academic works, presenting unique theoretical and practical insights into the diverse facets of PPP.