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Exploring the Sources of Contractors’ Competitive Advantage on International HSR Construction Projects

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Abstract

This paper aims to identify the sources of competitive advantage for contractors on international high-speed railway (HSR) construction projects, to help them understand these sources, and to provide an integrated way of orienting their competitive position by measuring these driving variables. Based on an in-depth literature review and case analysis, 24 initial variables were identified. Following the pilot study, experience mining was merged into knowledge management. Structural questionnaires, including 23 final variables, were then distributed to professionals from academia and industry. A total of 202 valid responses were received. Mean score ranking and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to reveal the relative important variables and the underlying groupings, respectively. In the last section, a case study with five international contractors was conducted to show the method for assessing their comprehensive competitiveness. According to mean score ranking, the variable “construction safety” was the most important, with a mean value of 4.25. Following an exploratory factor analysis, six underlying factors from the SCA dimension (including management ability, strategic capital, and social influence) and the TCA dimension (including technical skills, operational performance, and financing ability) were identified as significant underlying sources of competitive advantage for contractors on international HSR projects. This study provides an in-depth understanding of sources of competitive advantage for contractors on international HSR projects, and it helps them in precisely orienting their competitive position.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the respondents from both industry and academia who completed the survey questionnaires. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions in enhancing this paper.

Funding

This research study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC-71372199 and NSFC-71771052).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Construction and Real Estate, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, 210096, Nanjing, China

    Na Zhang, Xiaopeng Deng & Tengyuan Chang

  2. School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia

    Xianbo Zhao

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  1. Na Zhang
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Correspondence to Xiaopeng Deng.

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Zhang, N., Deng, X., Zhao, X. et al. Exploring the Sources of Contractors’ Competitive Advantage on International HSR Construction Projects. Int J Civ Eng 17, 1115–1129 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40999-018-0373-1

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