Locomotive model for international competitive advantages paths of high-speed railway contractors

The high-speed railway (HSR) sector has been projected to experience exponential growth in the near future, and many HSR projects are being or will be implemented under international contracts. However, the huge international market also gives rise to fierce international competition. This study aims to explore the formation paths of international competitive advantages (ICAs) for HSR contractors. Through a comprehensive literature review, this paper firstly identified the 10 categories of 21 factors at the three covering levels (industry, firm, and project levels) that affect the ICAs of HSR contractors. The factors, categories, hypothetical paths model, and the preliminary questionnaire were refined and verified by the pilot study. Then the proposed paths model was verified through the methods of the partial least squares structural equation modeling and postsurvey interviews. The result validated the 10 significant ICAs paths (named the locomotive model), which could be further classified into two groups: the economic performance-oriented paths and the international reputation oriented paths. Moreover, the result showed the fundamental roles of the industrial triangle engine to the ICAs. This paper contributes to the competitive advantage theory in the field of international HSRs by proposing a verified locomotive model, which is important for the HSR practitioners to recognize in forming paths of ICAs and further developing their competitive strategic plans.