Special Purpose Entities in Megaprojects: Empty Boxes or Real Companies?. Issue 2 (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sainati, Tristano; Brookes, Naomi; Locatelli, Giorgio
• Is Part Of: Project management journal. Volume 48:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 55
• Page End: 73
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) -- Public Private Partnership (PPP) -- project finance -- megaprojects -- governance; Project management -- Periodicals; 658.40405
• DOI: 10.1177/875697281704800205
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 8756-9728

Abstract

Megaprojects involve organizations called "Special Purpose Entities" (SPEs) also known as "special purpose vehicles." Despite their relevance, particularly for governance, SPEs are under-investigated. In the project management literature, there is neither a widely accepted definition of SPEs nor a clear understanding of what it does. This article presents an extensive literature review, which considers three domains: legal, financial, and project management. Four outcomes are presented: the definition of SPE, the typology of existing SPEs, comparisons of existing SPEs, and descriptions of SPE uses in megaprojects.