A Stakeholder-Centered Approach to Measure the Market Resiliency in Transportation Projects Using Social Network Analysis

As the market for major transportation projects in North America evolved over the past few decades, major players have taken over a large share of the market, leaving fewer opportunities for small and medium-sized firms. As a result of this business climate, bankruptcy, failure, or withdrawal of major players generates a significant concern. The withdrawal of two seasoned players, Skanska and AECOM, from the US public-private partnership (PPP) market raised the alarm. In light of these events, what effects will the changing structure of the market network have on the US infrastructure market going forward? This study introduced a stakeholder-centered approach to measuring market resiliency for infrastructure projects using social network analysis. Resiliency of a network addresses its capacity to absorb, adapt, or transform in the face of changes and shocks. Building on this concept, the authors quantified market resiliency to characterize the structure of connection of stakeholders such as public agencies, consultants, funders, equity holders, joint ventures, and major contractors. Findings revealed that the PPP market offers more resiliency based on applicable metrics such as node degree distribution, path diversity, network connectivity, and robustness compared to the design-build and design-bid-build markets.