Special Purpose Entities in Megaprojects: empty boxes or real companies?

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 SPE nor a clear understanding of what it does. This paper presents an extensive literature review, which considers three domains: legal, financial and project management. Four outcomes are presented: the definition of SPEs, the typology of existing SPEs, a comparison of existing SPEs and a description of SPE uses in megaprojects.