Purpose: The mega railway infrastructure projects are faced with complex environments and multi-level management challenges. Thus, the mega railway infrastructure project management system not only needs to focus on its composition, but also needs to consider changes and impacts of internal and external environment.Design/methodology/approach: This study attempts to introduce the concept of dissipative structure from the perspective of complexity theory and constructs a positive entropy and negentropy flow index system for mega railway infrastructure project management system in order to analyze the factors of management system more deeply. The Brusselator model is used to construct the structure of the mega railway infrastructure project management system, and the entropy method is used to calculate the positive entropy and negentropy values to verify whether the management system is a dissipative structure.Findings: A plateau railway project in China was used as an example for an empirical study, not only its own characteristics are analyzed, but also the role of constraints and facilitation of the internal and external environment. Based on the research results, several effective suggestions are put forward to improve the stability and work efficiency of mega railway infrastructure project management system.Originality/value: This study demonstrates that mega railway infrastructure project management system has the characteristics of dissipative structure. It can provide theoretical support for the development of mega railway infrastructure project management system from disorderly state to orderly state.

In megaprojects, the collaboration of all stakeholders reflects effective relationship management and is a key to project success. This research explores how collaborative behaviour among stakeholders in megaprojects is formed from a social-psychological perspective to improve the quality of collaboration. Based on the theoretical model of planned behaviour, this study established a conceptual framework for the formation mechanism for collaborative behaviour through a comprehensive literature review. The hypotheses of the model were statistically validated by using data collected from questionnaires of 235 respondents within the Chinese construction industry. The results showed that benefit perception attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control had a positive contribution to the collaborative intention and collaborative behaviour among stakeholders in megaprojects. Risk perception attitudes have a hindering effect on collaborative intention. Megaproject culture moderates the relationship between psychosocial factors and collaborative intention, thereby affecting stakeholders’ choice of collaborative behaviour. Collaborative intention plays a partially or completely mediating role between psychosocial factors and collaborative behaviour. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for increasing the collaborative intentions of stakeholders and facilitating their selection of positive collaborative behaviours in megaprojects.

Purpose: Inter-organizational collaboration is the organizational guarantee and key link to achieve the goals of megaproject management. Project governance has always played an important role in the construction of megaprojects, but the relationship between project governance and organizational collaboration is unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore the role paths of different project governance mechanisms in influencing the collaborative behaviors of stakeholders and collaborative performance and to elucidate the mechanism of project governance on inter-organizational collaboration. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual framework was developed based on a comprehensive literature review, termed the structural equation model (SEM). The hypotheses of the model were tested based on data obtained from a questionnaire survey of 235 experts with experience in megaprojects within the construction industry in China. Findings: The results show that project governance positively contributes to the collaborative behavior of megaproject stakeholders and the collaborative performance of the project team. Collaborative behavior acts as a partial mediator between project governance and the collaborative performance of the megaproject inter-organization alliance. The complexity of the project modulates the relationship between the governance mechanism of the project and the collaborative behavior of the stakeholders, which affects the collaborative performance of the megaproject inter-organization alliance. Originality/value: The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for promoting positive collaborative behavior among stakeholders in megaproject selection and improving the collaborative performance of megaproject inter-organization alliances.

The construction of mega infrastructure projects has the characteristics of repeatability, long duration, and high complexity. Therefore, it is particularly important to implement dynamic decision-making in projects. This study takes data-driven decision-making mechanisms as the entry point and constructs a dynamic decision-making system for mega infrastructure projects consisting of an information collection subsystem, an information processing and transformation subsystem, a human–computer collaborative decision-making subsystem and an evaluation and feedback subsystem. On this basis, we established a system dynamics model of dynamic decision-making for mega infrastructure projects. Vensim PLE 9.3.5 software was used to simulate and analyze the operation law of dynamic decision-making for mega infrastructure projects from a data-driven perspective, and the sensitivity of the application rate of information management technology, the application rate of data analysis methods, the participation rate of experts in decision-making, the historical case information on this project, and the information on similar projects on the effectiveness of program implementation were simulated and analyzed. The results of the study showed that all five key influencing factors have a positive impact on the effectiveness of program implementation. In addition, the application rate of information management technology and the application rate of information analysis methods have a higher sensitivity to the effectiveness of program implementation, the participation rate of experts in decision-making and historical case information on this project have average sensitivity to the effectiveness of program implementation, and information on similar projects has lower sensitivity to the effectiveness of program implementation. This study provides some ideas and suggestions to promote the effective use of information technology and digital technology by each participant in the construction of mega infrastructure projects while improving their dynamic decision-making efficiency, scientificity, and accuracy.

Megaproject construction endeavors and technological innovation activities, led by industry–university–research (IUR) collaboration, demonstrate marked disparities in value orientations, implementing entities, and constituent components. These discrepancies lead to a mismatch between innovation demands and actual activities, as well as insufficient innovation motivation among construction entities, subsequently impacting innovation effectiveness and the commercialization of outcomes and failing to adequately support engineering construction needs. In response to this predicament, the academic community widely acknowledges IUR collaborative innovation as a solution. This research integrates fundamental theoretical analysis with a multi-case study approach and systematically dissects the distinctive features at the micro, meso, and macro levels, grounded in the collaborative innovation practices of IUR in three iconic railway engineering projects in China. Subsequently, it unravels the inherent operational mechanics of the IUR collaborative innovation system within large-scale projects. Specifically, at the micro level, the profound engagement of governments and project owners fosters a solid supportive environment and collaborative platform for IUR collaboration, while past successful cooperation experiences among key innovation entities enhance their technological and knowledge interactions. At the meso level, shared industry cognitions and values, hierarchical organizational structures, flexible institutional designs, and resource allocation strategies based on balancing risks and benefits collectively constitute the supporting system for megaproject collaborative innovation. At the macro level, the tight integration of the innovation chain and industrial chain promotes the formation of an open cooperation ecosystem, ensuring the continuity and systematic nature of innovation activities and accelerating the rapid commercialization and efficient utilization of innovation outcomes. This study not only enriches the theoretical connotations of IUR collaborative innovation in the context of major engineering projects but also provides theoretical foundations for strategy formulation and management practices for major project managers, holding significant value in guiding the innovation management of future major engineering projects.