Abstract
Many transparency initiatives, such as open contracting, ethical code of practices, and whistle-blowing have been used to mitigate corruption in public infrastructure projects (PIPs). One such initiative is the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (also known as the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative and widely called CoST). In this paper, we analyse how the CoST approach is used to fight corruption in PIPs and the opportunities and challenges of the initiative. We theorised transparency as a tool for fighting corruption through the lens of Principal-Agent theory and utilised NVivo thematic analysis to analyse data from CoST assurance reports (2016-2021), minutes of CoST Board meetings, and semi-structured interviews (n=25). We identified political, process and implementation antecedents which ensure that CoST features are enacted with varying levels of impact on the fight against corruption. Theoretically, we show how CoST helps to mediate the principal-agent relationship but also identified context where it can paradoxically condition corrupt practices. Our managerial contribution highlights the role of project professionals in enacting transparency to fight corruption and also calls for the governance of anticorruption in infrastructure projects to recognise the vulnerabilities identified.