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Explaining the expansion performance in technological capability of participants in megaprojects: A configurational approach

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  • Jin, Zhizhou
  • Zeng, Saixing
  • Chen, Hongquan
  • Shi, Jonathan Jingsheng

Abstract

Megaprojects are considered to be platforms providing participants with potential opportunities for technological innovation and capability development, but it is unclear which participants can benefit more from them and how. Taking the expansion performance in technological capability as the specific objective, this paper seeks to investigate what combination of antecedent conditions can enable participants in megaprojects to achieve high performance. Applying fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to the sample of main participating companies in the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge project, we find that megaprojects do not automatically lead to a significant expansion in technological capability of participants, and no single condition is sufficient in isolation or absolutely necessary for high performance. We uncover three pathways to high expansion performance, among which the conditions show relationships of complementarity and substitutability. This study enhances the theoretical understanding of the process of megaprojects promoting participants’ growth, and offers new insights into the complex causality of performance differences in capability development.

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  • Jin, Zhizhou & Zeng, Saixing & Chen, Hongquan & Shi, Jonathan Jingsheng, 2022. "Explaining the expansion performance in technological capability of participants in megaprojects: A configurational approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:181:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522002736
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121747
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