Towards a Public–Private Partnership Investment Model for Real Estate Development: A Systematic Review of Success Factors and Risks Across PPP Sectors

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become an important procurement and investment mechanism for delivering infrastructure and real estate development, particularly in contexts characterized by fiscal constraints, rapid urbanization and increasing demand for integrated urban development. However, investment decision-making frameworks for real estate PPPs remain conceptually fragmented, as existing studies tend to examine success factors and risks separately and often within sector-specific boundaries. This paper aims to establish a conceptual foundation for developing a PPP investment model for real estate development by synthesizing cross-sectoral evidence on PPP success factors and risks. Guided by the PRISMA 2020 protocol, a systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases, covering peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2025. Following the screening process, 176 studies were included for thematic analysis and frequency mapping. The review identified 25 success factors, classified into five themes: institutional, financial, governance, stakeholder and project factors. It also identified 22 risk factors, grouped into seven categories: political, financial, market, construction, legal and regulatory, operational and environmental risks. The findings indicate that institutional and financial factors are the most dominant success themes, while political and financial risks are the most pervasive risk categories across PPP sectors. More importantly, the synthesis demonstrates that success factors do not merely function as project enablers but also operate as risk mitigation mechanisms. Ten success–risk interaction pairs were mapped to explain how specific success factors may reduce or manage corresponding PPP risks. Based on these findings, the paper proposes a preliminary PPP investment framework that integrates success factors, risk management and investment performance considerations. The study contributes theoretically by linking success factor theory, risk allocation logic and value-for-money perspectives; practically by offering decision-support categories for public and private actors; and methodologically by providing a structured foundation for subsequent Delphi validation within the Malaysian real estate PPP context.

public-private partnership; PPP investment model; success factors; risk factors; real estate development; risk mitigation

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