International comparison and insights on sustainable competitiveness of water industry management models: evidences from France and China

The sustainability of water industry management model is one of the essential means to achieve sustainable utilization of water resources. Based on existing research on the sustainability of water industry, this study explores the factors affecting the sustainable competitiveness of water industry management model. It constructs a more complete sustainable competitiveness evaluation indicator system. Evidences taken from France and China were selected as the references for the study, and the principal component analysis was used to evaluate the overall sustainable competitiveness and main component dimensions. It is found through this study that the overall competitiveness indicator in the sustainable water industry management model and the sub-dimensional competitiveness indicators in resource support, development base, and environmental impact of water industry of France are better than those of China. China is more competitive in social inclusion, technological innovation, and sustainability of water industry. Based on the research results, this study provides insights into solving the existing issues in the sustainable development of China's water industry to support how China can adjust its water industry management model to improve its sustainable competitiveness.