Managing project resilience in mega infrastructure projects: mechanisms and pathways

Purpose This study aims to explore the key facilitators influencing the resilience of mega infrastructure projects and proposes and validates a model of project resilience that integrates relationship management, resource management, process management, reactive and proactive resilience, anticipated outcomes and performance enhancement. It empirically validates this mechanism and identifies the critical resilience pathways, providing robust evidence to address the challenges of resilience management in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Using exploratory factor analysis, reliability testing and structural equation modeling, the key facilitators that promote effective project resilience management were identified, and the proposed theoretical model was subsequently validated. Findings Data analysis identified three key project resilience facilitators: relationship management, process management and resource management. The study confirms the positive impact of process management and resource management on project resilience, proposing an optimized resilience management path. It emphasizes enhancing proactive resilience through strengthened process management to more effectively address risks and improve project performance. Originality/value This study develops an effective resilience management pathway that links process management, proactive resilience management and performance enhancement. It clarifies how these latent variables can be translated into practical management actions – such as enhancing dynamic monitoring, optimizing emergency mechanisms and strengthening process control – to build proactive resilience in the earlier time of mega infrastructure project management.