A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe

With the planning and progress of the construction of the trans-Eurasian high-speed rail (HSR) network, it becomes an important issue for Chinese contractors to enter the European HSR market. Facing the world’s most competitive contractors and their high technology levels, Chinese contractors will n...

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Main Authors: Yi-Hsin Lin, Biling Shi, Po-Han Chen, Zhao Xu, Huimin Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2019-01-01
Series:Advances in Civil Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/5858094
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spelling doaj-c5ed26b093eb4a55a581cec4416810092020-11-25T00:19:35ZengHindawi LimitedAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80861687-80942019-01-01201910.1155/2019/58580945858094A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in EuropeYi-Hsin Lin0Biling Shi1Po-Han Chen2Zhao Xu3Huimin Liu4Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, 2 Southeast University Rd., Nanjing, Jiangsu 211189, ChinaMaster Student, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, 2 Southeast University Rd., Nanjing, Jiangsu 211189, ChinaProfessor, Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University, 1 Roosevelt Rd., Sec 4, Taipei 10617, TaiwanAssociate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, 2 Southeast University Rd., Nanjing, Jiangsu 211189, ChinaAssociate Professor, School of Management and Engineering, Nanjing University, 5, Ping Cang Lane, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210093, ChinaWith the planning and progress of the construction of the trans-Eurasian high-speed rail (HSR) network, it becomes an important issue for Chinese contractors to enter the European HSR market. Facing the world’s most competitive contractors and their high technology levels, Chinese contractors will need to know their advantages and disadvantages, so as to make necessary improvements. In this study, contractors for HSR are divided into two groups: construction contractors and rail equipment suppliers. In order to evaluate the competitiveness of HSR contractors, a Grey-BPNN model that combines the grey relational analysis and backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is proposed. The Grey-BPNN model is expected to analyze the overall competitiveness of Chinese contractors in the European HSR market and provide informative decision support for them. The study results show the following: (1) in the field of HSR construction, the competitiveness gap between the top-tier Chinese contractors and the most competitive international contractors is small. Chinese contractors’ competitive advantages lie in medium- and low-technology-level projects, with a strong development potential. However, they highly depend on Chinese domestic market and lack in intangible resources, like management ability and market development ability; (2) for rail equipment suppliers, China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) ranks among the top-tier leaders of the international market. CRRC’s greatest competitor in the European HSR market is Siemens, and CRRC is much more competitive than others in the sustainable development capability. However, CRRC needs to increase the quantity of patents and Research and Development (R&D) expenditures in transportation. As a weak transportation patent holder, CRRC has a potential risk of getting intellectual property litigations in the European HSR market.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/5858094
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Yi-Hsin Lin
Biling Shi
Po-Han Chen
Zhao Xu
Huimin Liu
spellingShingle Yi-Hsin Lin
Biling Shi
Po-Han Chen
Zhao Xu
Huimin Liu
A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe
Advances in Civil Engineering
author_facet Yi-Hsin Lin
Biling Shi
Po-Han Chen
Zhao Xu
Huimin Liu
author_sort Yi-Hsin Lin
title A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe
title_short A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe
title_full A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe
title_fullStr A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe
title_full_unstemmed A Grey-BPNN Model for Evaluating the Competitiveness of Chinese Contractors in the High-Speed Rail Market in Europe
title_sort grey-bpnn model for evaluating the competitiveness of chinese contractors in the high-speed rail market in europe
publisher Hindawi Limited
series Advances in Civil Engineering
issn 1687-8086
1687-8094
publishDate 2019-01-01
description With the planning and progress of the construction of the trans-Eurasian high-speed rail (HSR) network, it becomes an important issue for Chinese contractors to enter the European HSR market. Facing the world’s most competitive contractors and their high technology levels, Chinese contractors will need to know their advantages and disadvantages, so as to make necessary improvements. In this study, contractors for HSR are divided into two groups: construction contractors and rail equipment suppliers. In order to evaluate the competitiveness of HSR contractors, a Grey-BPNN model that combines the grey relational analysis and backpropagation neural network (BPNN) is proposed. The Grey-BPNN model is expected to analyze the overall competitiveness of Chinese contractors in the European HSR market and provide informative decision support for them. The study results show the following: (1) in the field of HSR construction, the competitiveness gap between the top-tier Chinese contractors and the most competitive international contractors is small. Chinese contractors’ competitive advantages lie in medium- and low-technology-level projects, with a strong development potential. However, they highly depend on Chinese domestic market and lack in intangible resources, like management ability and market development ability; (2) for rail equipment suppliers, China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) ranks among the top-tier leaders of the international market. CRRC’s greatest competitor in the European HSR market is Siemens, and CRRC is much more competitive than others in the sustainable development capability. However, CRRC needs to increase the quantity of patents and Research and Development (R&D) expenditures in transportation. As a weak transportation patent holder, CRRC has a potential risk of getting intellectual property litigations in the European HSR market.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/5858094
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