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Knowledge Transfer of China’s HSR Standards “Going Global” Based on System Dynamics

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Abstract

Under “The Belt and Road” initiative, the international recognition of China’s high-speed railway (hereafter, HSR) standards is gradually improving along with China’s HSR “going global.” However, the “going global” process of China’s HSR standards still faces obstacles. Therefore, how to promote the “going global” of China’s HSR standards has become an important research topic. “Going global” of China’s HSR standards is essentially a process of knowledge transfer related to HSR standards. In this study, knowledge transfer theory was used to identify factors related to the knowledge transfer of China’s HSR standards “going global.” Furthermore, a causal loop diagram and stock-and-flow diagram were designed using the System Dynamics (hereafter, SD) method. Variable equations were constructed to quantitatively describe the dynamic relationship between the relevant factors. Subsequently, we used VENSIM software to verify the validity of the constructed SD model and conducted a simulation analysis on this SD model. Finally, conclusions were drawn on the influence of different factors on the knowledge transfer performance of China’s HSR standards “going global.” Among them, knowledge transfer capacity of China’s HSR enterprises, accepting willingness and absorptive capacity of HSR importing countries, the trust between two parties, and China’s manufacturing GVC status index all have a positive impact on the knowledge transfer performance of China’s HSR standards “going global.” The recessive, complexity, and specificity of HSR standards, the cultural distance and institutional distance between China’s HSR enterprises and HSR importing countries, and the competitor pressure faced by China’s HSR enterprises all have a negative impact on the knowledge transfer performance of China’s HSR standards “going global.” And the corresponding suggestions were put forward to promote the sustainable export of China’s HSR standards.

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Data available from the authors upon request.

Notes

  1. The national standard information public service platform. Available online: http://std.samr.gov.cn/gb/gbQuery (accessed on 11 January 2021) (In Chinese)

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Funding

This research was supported by Chinese National Social Science Fund Project “Knowledge Transfer Mechanism, Path and Countermeasures Research of China’s High-Speed Railway Standards ‘Going Global’ from the Perspective of Global Value Chain”, grant number 17BGL012.

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  1. College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China

    Shui-Ying Jin & Hong Chai

  2. School of Economics and Management, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China

    Chien-Chiang Lee

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All authors contributed to the study. Conceptualization, overall design, and model building of the study were performed by Shui-Ying Jin. Literature collection, software analysis, and the first draft of the manuscript were completed by Hong Chai. Suggestions, revision, corresponding author, and improvement of the paper were performed by Chien-Chiang Lee. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Jin, SY., Chai, H. & Lee, CC. Knowledge Transfer of China’s HSR Standards “Going Global” Based on System Dynamics. J Knowl Econ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01368-9

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