Abstract
This study examines leadership styles and project dynamics within Kazakhstan’s petrochemical industry, specifically in the context of the “Nurly Zhol” policy and China’s “Belt and Road Initiative.” Using a sequential mixed-methods approach and a “Macro-Meso-Micro” framework, the research analyzes how stakeholders overcame systemic financial, technical, and pandemic-related disruptions encountered throughout the project’s fourteenyear lifecycle. The research adopts data triangulation, including documentary analysis, 12 stakeholder interviews, and a survey of 68 experts, which reveals a “dual-track” governance mechanism. Findings indicate that informal relational governance and political leadership were essential to compensating for limitations in formal engineering and construction contracts. Furthermore, the study highlights the critical role of cross-cultural communication in navigating these complex partnerships in the environment that exists. Ultimately, project success required aligning transactional discipline with facilitative adaptability, offering a new framework for managing institutional complexity in transitional economies and providing practical insights for future international infrastructure development projects and initiatives.