Digital capability and organisational resilience as drivers of project performance: a structural equation modelling approach

Amid global digital transformation and the advancement of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan for the Construction Industry, the “digital paradox” in the engineering field is prominent, making it crucial to clarify the relationship between digital capability and project performance. This study integrates the resource-based view and dynamic capability theory, proposing the “environment-shaping and adaptation” dual perspective. Focusing on the engineering management context, it suggests the influence mechanism of digital capability on project performance, with a focus on the mediating role of organisational resilience. Digital capability is divided into three dimensions (intelligence, connectivity, analytical capability) and organisational resilience into three elements (robustness, agility, integrity), forming a theoretical model of “digital capability-organisational resilience-project performance” with 10 research hypotheses. Questionnaire data were collected via scientific sampling: SPSS 27.0 for reliability, validity, and common method bias tests; AMOS 26.0 for structural equation modelling (including confirmatory factor analysis) and Bootstrap mediation effect tests; and robustness analysis to ensure result reliability. Its originality is reflected in: first verifying the three-dimensional precise matching mediating mechanism between digital capability and organisational resilience in the engineering scenario; interpreting the industry-specificity of the digital paradox through the dual-perspective theory; and extending the research on the relationship between digital capability and performance to the segmented field of engineering management. It provides theoretical and practical support for enterprises to enhance risk resistance and performance through digital transformation.