Exploring Governance Mechanisms in Megaprojects: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review

Megaproject governance defines the organizational goals and outlines the mechanisms necessary for their realization. This paper systematically explores megaproject governance studies using a mixed-method approach, aiming to develop a holistic framework for analyzing governance mechanisms within the megaproject landscape. The PRISMA road map is used in this study to conduct a systematic literature review. A bibliometric analysis is conducted on the research documents that are found in the "Web of Science Core Collection" and "Scopus" databases for the time interval of 1995 to the present. Based on the PRISMA protocol, the study reviewed 1,300 titles and abstracts and examined 78 full articles. The results indicate that the scholarship on megaproject governance has predominately increased over the past decade and will continue to be a significant research area in the megaproject research domain. The study's primary theoretical contribution is the development of a comprehensive governance mechanism framework, comprising a total of 13 mechanisms grouped into contractual and relational mechanisms. As the scholarly interest in megaproject governance continues to grow, this study emphasizes the essential need for further exploration and sets the stage for future research directions.