Network-RBV for Critical Minerals: How Standards, Permits, and Licensing Shape Midstream Bottlenecks
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sustainability-18-01084.pdf
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889.64 KB
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Author(s)
Kegenbekov, Zhandos
Alipova, Alima
Jackson, Ilya
Date Issued
January 20, 2026
Journal
18
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Citation
Kegenbekov, Z.; Alipova, A.; Jackson, I. Network-RBV for Critical Minerals: How Standards, Permits, and Licensing Shape Midstream Bottlenecks. Sustainability 2026, 18, 1084.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Critical mineral supply chains underpin electric mobility, power electronics, clean hydrogen, and advanced manufacturing. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), the relational view, and dynamic capabilities, we conceptualize advantage not as ownership of ore bodies but as orchestration of multi-tier resource systems: upstream access, midstream processing know-how, standards and permits, and durable inter-organizational ties. In a world of high concentration at key stages (refining, separation, engineered materials), full “decoupling” is economically costly and technologically constraining. We argue for structured cooperation among the United States, European Union, China, and other producers and consumers, combined with selective domestic capability building for bona fide security needs. Methodologically, we conduct a structured conceptual synthesis integrating RBV, relational view, dynamic capabilities, and network-of-network research, combined with a structured comparative policy analysis of U.S./EU/Chinese instruments anchored in official documents. We operationalize the argument via technology–material dependency maps that identify midstream bottlenecks and the policy/standard levers most likely to expand qualified, compliant capacity.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Transportation & Logistics
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Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su18021084
