Purpose International digital infrastructure projects (IDIPs), including digital-ready and smart infrastructure projects, provide an important foundation for achieving digital sustainability. However, these projects are increasingly exposed to interacting internal and external risk factors that can trigger project disruptions. This study aims to identify risk factors and their interactions in IDIPs and to propose a recipient government-led risk governance framework to mitigate project disruptions and thereby support digital sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Case data mining is employed to establish a triangulated historical case database of 546 real-world IDIP cases and to identify the risk factors underlying project disruptions. A conditional probability-based social network analysis is then used to construct a risk interaction network for IDIPs. Findings The most influential risk factors are government financial difficulties, lack of transparent procurement procedures, and improper project planning. Most risk factors occur during the installation stage of IDIPs, and the key risk initiators are the recipient and the exporter. Digital-ready infrastructure projects experience more risk factors and stronger risk interactions than smart infrastructure projects. Originality/value By moving beyond the static identification of isolated risk factors, this study provides a more empirically grounded basis for understanding and governing risk interactions across the lifecycle of IDIPs for practitioners and researchers.
Wang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.