Interorganizational stakeholder engagement process dynamics: evidence from China-Pakistan Mainline-1

Stakeholder engagement is widely recognized as critical to the success of complex infrastructure projects, yet empirical research examining how engagement unfolds in multinational interorganizational settings remains limited. This study investigates the dynamics of stakeholder engagement in such projects by examining how challenges and facilitating mechanisms shape engagement processes over time. We conceptualize an interorganizational project as a temporary collaboration among legally independent organizations working toward a shared objective, and a multinational interorganizational project as one that involves organizations across national boundaries. Using a qualitative case study of the China–Pakistan Mainline-1 (ML-1) railway upgradation project, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, archival documents, and newspaper articles. The ML-1 project provides a valuable empirical context because it involves collaboration between organizations from a developed country (China) and a developing country (Pakistan), operating within distinct institutional, technological, and cultural environments. Although the study is limited by the absence of Chinese interview participants, triangulation with archival documents and other data sources provides credible insights into stakeholder engagement dynamics. The findings identify four key activities that structure the stakeholder engagement process: appointing stakeholders, collaborating between foreign and local organizations, communicating among stakeholders, and engaging with regulatory authorities. Across these activities, stakeholder engagement evolves through an ongoing interplay between challenges and facilitators, generating cycles of disruption and resolution that shape project dynamics. By conceptualizing stakeholder engagement as a process rather than a static managerial task, this study extends stakeholder theory and contributes to the literature on interorganizational projects. The study introduces a process-oriented framework that explains how tensions between challenges and facilitators influence engagement outcomes. The framework offers practical insights for managing stakeholder relationships in complex multinational infrastructure projects, particularly those involving collaborations between developed and developing countries.