This study examines how leadership and digital capability influence supply chain agility and operational performance within railway supply chains in North America, with a focus on both direct and indirect pathways.

A quantitative research design was employed using survey data collected from 214 organizations operating within railway-centered supply chain networks across Canada, the United States and Mexico. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results indicate that leadership plays a dual role in railway supply chain networks by directly enhancing supply chain agility and indirectly influencing agility through digital capability. Digital capability significantly improves both operational agility and performance within railway supply chain networks, while supply chain agility partially mediates the relationship between digital capability and performance.

The findings suggest that railway organizations should align leadership, digital investments and agile operational processes to improve responsiveness, coordination and operational performance in infrastructure-intensive environments.

This study extends existing literature by integrating leadership into capability-based models and demonstrating its direct and indirect influence on agility and performance in railway supply chains. This study highlights how performance in railway systems depends on the alignment of leadership, digital capability and agility within structurally constrained operational environments.

This study explores how managerial leadership and organizational innovation interact to enhance resilience and risk management in railway supply chains and how these capabilities contribute to sustained competitive advantage. It emphasizes the strategic importance of resilience in railway systems that face operational complexity, regulatory pressures and increasing exposure to systemic risks.

A mixed-methods design was employed, integrating survey data from 186 railway organizations with six case studies involving railway operators, rolling stock manufacturers and supply chain partners across multiple regions. Constructs were measured using validated scales and hypothesized relationships were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Case study interviews were analyzed thematically to provide contextual understanding of leadership practices and innovation strategies.

The results confirm that transformational managerial leadership significantly predicts innovation adoption, which in turn strengthens resilience and risk management capabilities. Resilience emerged as a powerful driver of competitive advantage, reinforcing its role as a strategic capability rather than a reactive response to disruptions. Furthermore, innovation was shown to partially mediate the relationship between leadership and resilience, highlighting its function as the operational channel through which vision translates into capability.

This study contributes to the literature by integrating the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities (DC) framework into the context of railway supply chains. It is among the first to empirically validate the mediating role of innovation between leadership and resilience, offering both theoretical advancements and actionable strategies for building resilient and competitive railway systems.