From individuals to teams: resilience as a driver of international construction success

Purpose Existing research recognizes the importance of resilience in international construction, yet a critical gap persists regarding the fundamental nature of the individual-to-team resilience link. Theory is divided on whether individual resilience is merely an influential factor or a foundational, necessary condition for the emergence of team resilience. This study aims to resolve this debate by empirically testing not only the multi-level influence of individual and team resilience on project and expatriate performance but also the “must-have” role of individual resilience. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the Broaden-and-Build and Conservation-of-Resources theories, we investigate direct and mediated effects using survey data from 252 project management team members. Furthermore, we examine the “must-have” levels of these resilience constructs employing Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). Findings Results from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) reveal that individual member resilience significantly contributes to team resilience and has a positive impact on both expatriate and project performance, with team resilience mediating the link between individual and project performance. Importantly, NCA results demonstrate that individual member resilience is a necessary condition for achieving higher team resilience. Moreover, while individual factors are necessary for baseline project success, team-level resilience becomes increasingly indispensable for attaining high project performance. Originality/value These findings offer a nuanced understanding of resilience dynamics in demanding project environments. By employing NCA, this study addresses the ongoing debate on the role of individual resilience, providing strong evidence that it is not merely an influential factor but a necessary prerequisite for the emergence of team resilience in the high-stakes context of international construction. This provides actionable insights for building more robust international construction teams by focusing on both individual-level baselines and team-level dynamics.