Critical Success Factors for Smart City Public–Private Partnerships: A Systematic Literature Review and Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Smart city initiatives require substantial investment in digital infrastructure, intelligent systems, and long-term operational capabilities. However, fiscal constraints and limited institutional capacity often hinder governments from independently delivering large-scale smart city projects. Consequently, Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as an important mechanism for mobilising private-sector financing, expertise, and innovation. Despite their growing adoption, smart city PPP projects continue to face challenges related to governance, regulatory uncertainty, stakeholder coordination, financial viability, and risk management. This study aims to identify and synthesise the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that influence the success of smart city PPP projects. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following the PICOC framework and PRISMA protocol. Twenty-five peer-reviewed studies published between 2021 and 2026 were selected from Scopus and ScienceDirect databases and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings reveal six dominant clusters of CSFs: Governance and Institutional Framework, Procurement and Contracting Processes, Political and Social Environment, Financial and Economic Factors, Stakeholder Capacity, and Technical and Project Characteristics. Among these factors, regulatory certainty, transparent governance, appropriate risk allocation, sustained political commitment, strong private-sector capability, and comprehensive feasibility studies emerged as the most influential determinants of project success. Based on these findings, this study proposes a six-cluster conceptual framework that supports project readiness assessment, policy formulation, and decision-making for smart city PPP initiatives. The proposed framework contributes to the literature by providing an integrated perspective on PPP success factors and practical guidance for governments and private-sector stakeholders implementing smart city infrastructure projects.