When Trains Fly: Market Response to High-speed Rail Service Operations between Taiwan and Japan

Abstract

This paper explores the Consumer Logistics of high-speed rail (HSR) comparing Taiwan's western corridor with Japan's eastern corridor, under a variety of scenarios concerning the services offered and the possible competing transport modes in the corridors. Consumer logistics theory essentially reconceptualizes the business distribution literature related to logistics into the context of the consumer market. The resultant consumer logistics functions pertinently transmit consumer deliberation related to transportation decisions. In this article, a structural equation model (SEM) is proposed to measure the impact of mediating variables in the consumer logistics on the different markets response with HSR service. The empirical study verified that the Consumer Logistics is influenced by the introduction of mediating variables, such as corporate reliability and passenger complaints, into the HSR service industry. Comparing and contrasting the Taiwan High Speed Rail and Japan's shinkansen (known as ”bullet train”) project, this research provides an evidential basis with the understanding of multiple regional sites of HSR service for intercity business travel so that the management team can deploy an effective marketing strategy, achieve continuous quality improvement, and efficiently manage customer relationships to ensure passengers' future commitment and confidence in the HSR systems.