Project Sustainability and Public-Private Partnership: The Role of Government Relation Orientation and Project Governance

In China, the government is not only responsible for the supply of local public facilities and services, but also the maker of public-private-partnership (PPP) policies and systems, and has a greater voice in PPP projects. The attitude and behavior of the government are essential to the sustainable development of PPP projects. This research focuses on the deep-seated connotation of the external attitude and behavior of the government, that is, the impact mechanism and path of the government’s relation orientation on project sustainability. First, enrich the connotation of the government’s relation orientation, project sustainability, and project governance, and improve the measurement scale. Then, construct a structural equation model, collect data through questionnaires, and explore the path of the government’s relation orientation on project sustainability. The research results show that: (1) different relation orientations have different effects on project governance and project sustainability, among which instrumental relation orientation and rent-seeking relation orientation will directly affect project sustainability; (2) relationship governance and contract governance play different mediating roles. The research results provide new ideas and perspectives for improving project governance mechanisms and project sustainability in the practice of PPP projects in China.