Understanding Competitive Advantage Formation in the Automotive Industry: A Grounded Theory Study of Lighthouse Firms

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-672-2_21How to use a DOI?

Keywords

competitive advantage; lighthouse firms; grounded theory; Porter’s competitive strategy; automotive industry

Abstract

This study examines competitive advantage formation in automotive industry lighthouse firms by conducting a multi-case analysis of representative listed companies, including CATL, GAC Group, SAIC Motor, and Guizhou Tyre. Based on textual data from annual reports covering the period 2020–2024, a grounded theory approach is employed to conduct three stages of coding: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Through this process, a pathway model of competitive advantage formation in the automotive industry is developed. The findings indicate that cost efficiency, technological and production innovation, brand positioning and market strategy constitute the three core pathways through which lighthouse firms build competitive advantages. Specifically, cost efficiency primarily supports cost leadership, technological and production innovation drives differentiation advantages, and brand positioning and market strategy strengthen focus advantages. In addition, industrial ecosystem collaboration and green and internationalization pathways play important supporting and reinforcing roles in sustaining competitive advantages. Within the theoretical framework of Porter’s competitive strategy, this study systematically reveals the underlying mechanisms through which automotive lighthouse firms form competitive advantages and provide practical insights for manufacturing enterprises in formulating strategic choices under the context of digital transformation and high-quality development.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Jiaxuan Mai
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/12
TI  - Understanding Competitive Advantage Formation in the Automotive Industry: A Grounded Theory Study of Lighthouse Firms
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 3rd International Conference on Applied Economics, Management Science and Social Development (AEMSS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 219
EP  - 233
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-672-2_21
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-672-2_21
ID  - Mai2026
ER  -