Antecedents to Moving Forward: Impact of Multiple Stakeholder Relationship Networks on Operational Resilience in Cross-Border Critical Infrastructure Systems

Amid high uncertainties and frequent disruptions, cross-border critical infrastructure systems (CBCIS) encounter significant operational challenges. Resilient CBCIS are essential for maintaining operational safety and withstanding shocks. As complex sociotechnical systems, CBCIS rely on the interactions between multiple stakeholders, and complex relationships are crucial for enhancing resilience. This study explores the role of stakeholders and the effect of their interactions on operational resilience (OR), aiming to deepen the understanding of how stakeholder relationships affect the ability of CBCIS to withstand disruptions. Based on survey data collected from personnel involved in cross-border critical infrastructure projects in China, we adopted a mixed-methods approach, combining social network analysis (SNA) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), to clarify stakeholder roles, relationships, and multiple pathways for OR enhancement in CBCIS. According to the results of SNA, the special purpose vehicle (SPV), the operation unit, and the Chinese government are the most influential stakeholders, and coordination was identified as the dominant type of interaction among stakeholders in the disruption management of CBCIS. The findings of fsQCA show that the combination of stakeholder relationships can enhance the OR of CBCIS, particularly by improving decision synchronization among key stakeholders in the system, and can increase the efficiency of information exchange and command transmission. This paper enhances the understanding of stakeholder roles and interactions in CBCIS, establishes a literature foundation for studying the antecedents of OR from a stakeholder perspective, and offers multiple pathways to strengthen CBCIS resilience. Additionally, it provides valuable recommendations for managers to better cope with disruptions and enhance the OR of CBCIS.