Identifying and Prioritizing the Competitiveness Evaluation Criteria and Sub-Criteria of International Rail Freight Transport Services

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran
3 M.Sc., Department of Management, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to identify and prioritize the competitiveness evaluation criteria and sub-criteria of international rail freight transport services. The present study is an exploratory-descriptive research and its statistical population consists of managers and experts of international rail freight transportation companies. The research sampling method is snowball and purposive, and the sample size is equal to 10 people. The data collection instrument is a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed using content validity method and its reliability was confirmed using inconsistency rate mechanism. To analyze data, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique was used. The research findings indicate that the competitiveness evaluation criteria of international rail freight transport services include six criteria of accuracy, safety, convenience, reliability, economic efficiency, and speed, each of which has several sub-criteria. In addition, the results of the research show that speed is the most important criterion to evaluate the competitiveness of international rail freight transport services, followed by accuracy and reliability, and network is the most important sub-criteria to evaluate the competitiveness of international rail freight transport services, followed by packing condition and on-time pick-up. The findings of the research help international rail freight transportation companies to evaluate and improve their competitiveness using the identified criteria and sub-criteria.

Keywords

Subjects


- Arencibia, A. I., Feo-Valero, M., García-Menéndez, L., and Román, C. (2015). “Modelling mode choice for freight transport using advanced choice experiments”. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 75, 252-267.
 
- Asteris, M., and Collins, A. (2010). “UK container port investment and competition: Impediments to the market”. Transport Reviews, 30(2), 163-178.
 
- Bergantino, A. S., Bierlaire, M., Catalano, M., Migliore, M., and Amoroso, S. (2013). “Taste heterogeneity and latent preferences in the choice behaviour of freight transport operators”. Transport Policy, 30, 77-91.
 
- Blagojević, A., Vesković, S., Kasalica, S., Gojić, A., and Allamani, A. (2020). “The application of the fuzzy AHP and DEA for measuring the efficiency of freight transport railway undertakings”. Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications, 3(2), 1-23.
 
- Bosso, N., Magelli, M., and Zampieri, N. (2023). “Dynamical effects of the increase of the axle load on European freight railway vehicles”. Applied Sciences, 13(3), 1318.
 
- Bui, T. H. H., Hoang, A. D., and Kim, Y. T. (2019). “An application of full analytic hierarchy process to identify the best use of Dong Ngo closed‐landfill site in Bac Ninh city, Vietnam”. Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy, 38(6), e13273.
 
- Button, K. (2010). “Transport Economics”. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.
 
- Central European Railway Co. (2008). “European Railway Legislation Handbook”. Hamburg: DVV Media Group GmbH Eurail Press. pp. 25–26.
 
- Chengjin, W. (2008). “Railway cargo flow in China since 1950s: spatial configuration and its evolution”. Progress in Geography, 27(1), 46-55.
 
- Ciriaci, D., and Palma, D. (2008). “The role of knowledge‐based supply specialisation for competitiveness: A spatial econometric approach”. Papers in Regional Science, 87(3), 453-475.
 
- Danielis, R., Marcucci, E., and Rotaris, L. (2005). “Logistics managers’ stated preferences for freight service attributes”. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 41(3), 201-215.
 
- Dedík, M., Gašparík, J., Záhumenská, Z., Ľupták, V., and Hřebíček, Z. (2018). “Proposal of the measures to increase the competitiveness of rail freight transport in the EU”. NAŠE MORE: znanstveni časopis za more i pomorstvo, 65(4 Special issue), 202-207.
 
- Devlin, J. F. (2001). “Consumer evaluation and competitive advantage in retail financial services‐A research agenda”. European Journal of Marketing, 35 (5/6), 639–660.
 
- Dolinayova, A., Camaj, J., and Kamaj, J. (2017). “Charging railway infrastructure models and their impact to competitiveness of railway transport”. Transport Problems, 12(1):139-150.
 
- Fam, K. S., Merrilees, B., Richard, J. E., Jozsa, L., Li, Y., and Krisjanous, J. (2011). “In‐store marketing: a strategic perspective”. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 23 (2), 165–176.
 
- French, S., and Xu, D. L. (2005). “Comparison study of multi‐attribute decision analytic software”. Journal of Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis, 13(2‐3), 65-80.
 
- Godlevskaja, O., van Iwaarden, J., and van der Wiele, T. (2011). “Moving from product‐based to service‐based business strategies: Services categorisation schemes for the automotive industry”. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 28(1), 62–94.
 
- Huihui, M., Jiao’e, W., and Fengjun, J. (2008). “Complexity perspectives on transportation network”. Progress in Geography, 27(6), 112-120.
 
- Islam, D. M. Z., and Eidhammer, O. (2016). “Advances in the competitiveness of pan‐E uropean rail freight services: findings from a case study”. RandD Management, 46(4), 761-780.
- Kim, E. M., Park, D. J., Ko, Y. S., Kim, H. S., and Park, H. J. (2009). “The analysis on competitiveness of railroad transport focused on container, cement, steel”. Journal of the Korean Society for Railway, 12(5), 613-622.
 
- Kusonwattana, P., and Liangrokapart, J. (2020, April). “Efficiency enhancement in rail freight service in Thailand using servqual model”. In 2020 IEEE 7th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Applications (ICIEA) (pp. 847-853). IEEE.
 
- Langvinienė, N. (2009b). “Prerequisites for the development of international road transport services”. In Service Business in Lithuania: Research Study. Ed. by L. Bagdonienė (pp. 129–166). Kaunas: Technology.
 
- Langvinienė, N., and Sekliuckienė, J. (2007). “Competitiveness of Lithuanian freight transport service sector in the context of the European Union”. Ekonomika, 80, 22-39.
 
- Liang, S. (2019). “North-to-South Transport Service Modes of Power Coal Based on Bi-level Programming Game Model: A Comparative Study on Inner Mongolia-Jiangxi Railway and Shipping Services”. Journal of Coastal Research, 94(SI), 460-464.
 
- Lin, Y. H., Tsai, K. M., Shiang, W. J., Kuo, T. C., and Tsai, C. H. (2009). “Research on using ANP to establish a performance assessment model for business intelligence systems”. Expert systems with applications, 36(2), 4135-4146.
 
- Lowe, O. (2022). “Freight Rail Usage and Performance - Quality and Methodology Report”. Office of Rail and Road.
 
- Lu, C. S. (2003). “The impact of carrier service attributes on shipper–carrier partnering relationships: a shipper’s perspective”. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 39(5), 399-415.
 
- Macheret, D. A., Valeev, N. A., and Kudryavtseva, A. V. (2018). “Formation of the railway network: Diffusion of epochal innovation and economic growth”. Economic Policy, 1(13), 252-279.
 
- Mačiulis, A., Vasiliauskas, A. V., and Jakubauskas, G. (2009). “The impact of transport on the competitiveness of national economy”. Transport, 24(2), 93-99.
 
- Malyshev, T. (2009). “Looking ahead: Energy, climate change and pro-poor responses”. Foresight, 11(4), 33-50.
 
- Meixell, M. J., and Norbis, M. (2008). “A review of the transportation mode choice and carrier selection literature”. The International Journal of Logistics Management. 19(2), 183–211.
 
- Minoja, M., Zollo, M. and Coda, V. (2010). “Stakeholder cohesion, innovation, and competitive advantage”. Journal of Corporate Governance, 10(4), 395–405.
 
- Olmos, G. H. C. (2012). “Hospitality competitiveness measurement system”. Readings Book, 701.
 
- Park, Y., Choi, J. K., and Zhang, A. (2009). “Evaluating competitiveness of air cargo express services”. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 45(2), 321-334.
 
- Roy, S., and Mitra, S. (2021). “Rail Freight Transport System in Tripura: An Analysis of Performances and Prospects”. In Railway Transportation in South Asia (pp. 103-130). Springer, Cham.
 
- Saaty, T. L. (1980). “The Analytic Hierarchy Process”. McGraw-Hill, New York.
 
- Saaty, T. L. (2008). “Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process”. International journal of services sciences, 1(1), 83-98.
 
- Saranen, J., and Hilmola, O. P. (2007). “Evaluating the competitiveness of railways in timber transports with discrete-event simulation”. World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, 1(4), 445-458.
 
- Scott, M. J., and Antonsson, E. K. (2005). “Compensation and weights for trade-offs in engineering design: beyond the weighted sum”. Journal of Mechanical Design, 127: 1045-1055.
 
- Setamanit, S. O., and Pipatwattana, A. (2015). “Criteria for ocean freight carrier selection: a perspective of Japanese automotive company in Thailand”. ASBBS E-Journal, 11(1), 89-96.
 
- Shinghal, N., and Fowkes, T. (2002). “Freight mode choice and adaptive stated preferences”. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 38(5), 367-378.
 
- Smyk, V. (2010). “Comparison of Different Transportation Modes”. (Unpublished bachelor's thesis). Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, Lappeenranta, South Karelia, Finland.
 
- Stanikūnas, R. (2009). “Competition Policy: Theory and Practice: Monograph”. Vilnius: TEV, p. 308.
 
- Tran, T. T., and Ge, Y. E. (2022). “Study on Factors Impacting on Decision of Choosing Railway to Export Agricultural Products in Vietnam and the Concern about Environmental Element”. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 10(4), 31-51.
 
- Vachnadze, R. (2016). “Prioritization of performance measures using analytic hierarchy process”. International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy Process, 8(3), 490-501.
 
- World Economic Forum. (2014). “The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015”, Geneva: World Economic Forum.
 
Xie, J. (2023). “Comparing the Sustainability of Multimodal Transportation Between China and Europe”. Frontiers in Business, Economics and Management, 7(1), 5-16.
 
- Yang, D., Ong, G. P., and Chin, A. T. H. (2014). “An exploratory study on the effect of trade data aggregation on international freight mode choice”. Maritime Policy and Management, 41(3), 212-223.
 
- Yarashova, V., and Hoshimov, A. (2021). “Comprehensive assessment methodology of the competitiveness of freight transport services”. Transport Problems: An International Scientific Journal, 16(1):187-198.
 
- Yu, K., Wang, Y. J., Moberg, C. R., and Cruthirds, K. W. (2013). “Adopting ro-ro transportation in inland China: A decision criteria survey of shippers, forwarders, and haulers”. International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 16(4), 426-443.
 
- Zeybek, H. (2019). “Service Quality and its Importance for Rail Freight Customers”. International Journal of Transportation Engineering, 7(2), 115-126.
 
- Zhang, L., and Gao, G. (2022, May). “Freight transportation based on automotive technology and railway freight transportation”. In 2nd International Conference on Internet of Things and Smart City (IoTSC 2022) (Vol. 12249, pp. 736-746). SPIE.
 
Zeng, J., Zhang, X., and Jin, K. (2023). “Research on differential pricing and train operation decisions for railway cargo transportation under competitive conditions”. Transportation Research Record, 2677(1), 860-874.
 
Volume 15, Issue 4 - Serial Number 61
Spring 2024
Pages 3973-3988

  • Receive Date 02 December 2022
  • Revise Date 03 April 2023
  • Accept Date 04 April 2023