SWOT analysis of domestic private enterprises in developing infrastructure projects in China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help domestic private enterprises (DPEs) identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in developing infrastructure projects in China. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on extensive literature reviews coupled with brainstorming and interviews methodologies to compile a list of SWOT factors for DPEs in developing infrastructures. To validate the significance of the identified SWOT list, a questionnaire survey is thus carried out. Findings – The paper identifies 16 strengths, 15 weaknesses, 16 opportunities, and 21 threats for DPEs in developing infrastructure projects in China. The opinions of respondents from different sectors are sought and evaluated to obtain the relative significance of these factors. A set of major SWOT hypotheses is then derived using factor analysis. Research limitations/implications – The paper is limited to identifying SWOT factors in common, therefore the next step should be proposing an adjustment framework to support decision marking. Practical implications – These findings should provide a valuable reference not only for DPEs but also for foreign investors who are planning to invest in infrastructure projects in China. Originality/value – The investors in both rounds of infrastructure investments in China in the last two decades have limitations. Foreign investors acting as the major player in the first round usually charge higher and prefer operating projects in more developed regions, while state‐owned enterprises as the principal player in the second round are inefficient in the operation and management, which largely restrained the advantages of public‐private partnership model. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore the potential of DPEs, another potential major player in developing infrastructure projects. To this end, this paper provides valuable information through a comprehensive SWOT analysis to the DPEs.