The Profit‐Maximizing Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in a Bilateral Monopoly

We analyze a stylized distribution channel (bilateral monopoly) model where an upstream manufacturer sells output to a downstream retailer. In a two‐stage linear demand game setting, we show that a two‐part contract, consisting of a wholesale price and corporate social responsibility (CSR) component, can be utilized by the manufacturer to fully coordinate and control its retailer. Thus, a CSR contract can be used in place of the traditional two‐part tariff scheme (wholesale price and fixed franchise fee) to optimally coordinate the marketing channel. Our model provides a novel theoretical profit‐maximizing rationale for the strategic use of CSR. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

考虑强势零售商压价和投资行为的供应链协调

中国流通产业的零供矛盾日益凸显,针对强势零售商的压价问题构建博弈模型并分析其对供应链协调的影响。在由单制造商和单零售商构成的二级供应链中,考虑零售商在主导产品零售价格的同时,通过增加广告投入或提高服务水平等市场投资措施刺激产品需求,探讨当零售商运用其较强的议价能力对制造商提出的批发价进行强制压价时,双方如何通过合作博弈寻找最佳策略。发现在一定的条件下,强势零售商的压价行为不仅可以提升品牌商誉,更能帮助实现供应链协调。     

Corporate social responsibility: The implications of cost improvement and promotion effort

We investigate the interaction of these two strategic decisions when corporate social responsibility (CSR) is incorporated into supply chain partners' decisions. Our results show that, with a noncooperative CSR scenario, the upstream manufacturer is more aggressive in investing in innovation to reduce production costs, which strategically lowers the wholesale price to retailers, and the downstream retailer is also less reluctant to engage in more promotion efforts to induce demand in comparison with a cooperative CSR scenario. Furthermore, the customer's sensitivity to promotion effort may hurt the CSR level of each party.     

多渠道环境下产品分销及协调策略

文中构建了由一个制造商与一个零售商组成的双渠道供应链模型,提出了三种不同条件下的决策模型。研究了双渠道环境下产品分销及协调结构中的利益分享。研究发现品牌差异化并不是协调渠道冲突的主导分销策略。制造商采用协调结构并进行利益分享可以最大化整个供应链的利益,同时对于每个渠道成员都是双赢的。     

Data-driven manufacturer-retailer collaboration under competition

This research employs game theoretic models to investigate how and when data-driven collaborations between manufacturers and retailers are beneficial. In the models, two symmetric retailers each offer two products from two different manufacturers. Each manufacturer may choose to collaborate with one or both retailers through data-driven initiatives in providing retail value to the consumers. The results show that the main incentive behind these collaborations arise from the efficient allocation of resources. Surprisingly, greater brand differentiation reduces profit margins and the incentive to collaborate. We also find that market leaders can endogenously arise through data-driven collaborations.     

A model of vertical integration and investment in generation capacity in electricity markets: The case of the bidding game

The aim of this work is to assess the impact of (partial) vertical integration between generators and retailers on generation capacity choice and its subsequent welfare consequences. We present a framework in which final demand is perfectly inelastic and stochastic. Nevertheless, wholesale demand is elastic because of the existence of outside opportunities (mainly international transmission capacity). The model is a three-stage game. Neither transmission nor retail costs are taken into account.

In the first stage of the game, generators choose capacity only knowing distribution of demand and thus maximizing their expected profit. The second stage of the game represents the competition for market share between retailers in a market where consumers have switching costs. The former face unknown demand and maximize their utility based on two factors: the expected profit and a risk element. Finally, generators submit bid functions to the system operator given known demand and maximizing their profit during the last stage of the game. Retailers and generators interact in the wholesale market, which is cleared by the system operator whose function is to match supply (represented by the bids of the generators) and demand through a system of single price auctions. The wholesale market is the only means to buy and sell energy; there are no bilateral contracts between firms, except if they are vertically integrated.

We compare fully disintegrated and partially vertically integrated structures using a comparative statics approach. In this paper, the analysis will focus on the last stage of the game: the bidding game. We find that partial vertical integration between generators and retailers tends to lower wholesale prices but not unambiguously. Depending on which firm (vertically integrated or disintegrated generator) has installed the higher capacity and depending on level of demand, prices can stay unchanged or even rise.     

考虑企业社会责任的工业园区废弃物定价策略

考虑制造商承担企业社会责任,构建了工业园区内两个制造商和政府之间的三阶段博弈模型,研究了工业园区废弃物的均衡定价决策。通过模型仿真分析了企业社会责任水平和共生系数对制造商定价、利润和社会福利的影响,并比较了不同废弃物处理情形下制造商的利润。     

考虑决策时间顺序的自有品牌渠道策略研究

研究在零售商引入自有品牌的条件下,供应链渠道各成员的定价和广告决策问题。运用Stackelberg博弈模型分析不同的广告和定价决策顺序下,供应链最优决策组合以及决策顺序的改变对利润的影响。研究结果表明:在引入自有品牌的条件下,制造商对定价和广告决策顺序的改变会影响零售商引入自有品牌后的利润,尤其是当交叉弹性较高时,制造商在引入自有品牌前后改变决策顺序可以实现制造商和零售商利润的增加。     

不对称信息的供应链激励机制研究

研究由单个制造商和单个零售商组成二级供应链,基于市场需求是线性的,且受价格与销售努力的影响。首先,研究在对称信息下,集中模式和分散模式两种情况下的供应链,求出制造商和零售商使得利润达到最优时的最优批发价及销售价;其次,研究了在信息不对称情况下,制造商的机制设计问题,得到了制造商激励批发价的表达式以及零售商的最优零售价的公式;最后利用实例仿真对模型进行分析,结果表明该激励机制对整个供应链的收益有改善作用。     

基于信息共享的供应链定价策略及利润增值研究

基于单一制造商和单一零售商构成的供应链系统,在非线性市场需求的前提下,应用博弈理论对供应链系统的定价策略进行了分析,分别得出信息共享时的博弈均衡解和信息不共享时的博弈均衡解;进一步分析了信息共享程度的大小与批发价、零售价以及双方利润之间的关系,得出信息共享程度越高,制造商和零售商的利润越大,信息共享实现了帕累托改进。最后,通过实例对结论进行了验证。     

基于零售商服务偏差风险的双渠道供应链

文中建立了由一个制造商和一个零售商组成的两阶段双渠道供应链价格和产量决策模型,模型中零售商服务在计划期内具有发生偏差的风险。通常,由零售商服务偏差引起的相对于原定生产计划的改变可能会产生供应链系统偏差成本,进而导致供应链系统利润的变化。文中讨论了在分散决策情形下,当零售商服务存在偏差时,如何调整价格和产量以保证利润的最大化,构建制造商作为领导者,零售商作为跟随者的斯坦伯格博弈模型。研究结果显示最佳生产量在分散决策情况下存在一定的鲁棒性,只有当零售商服务偏差达到某个临界值时,制造商才需要调整生产量策略,否则只需要调整价格策略即可达到利润最大化。     

基于博弈的逆向供应链定价及利益分配研究

应用博弈理论,研究基于单一制造商和两个零售商构成的逆向供应链系统,给出了该逆向供应链中成员企业合作与不合作时废旧产品回收的定价策略和相应整个供应链系统及各成员企业的收益情况,提出了Shapley值法来研究供应链合作时的利益分配问题。     

The Coordination and Preference of Supply Chain Contracts Based on Time-Sensitivity Promotional Mechanism

To encourage retailers to submit orders as soon as possible, manufacturers usually launch a time-sensitivity promotional mechanism that the earlier you order, the cheaper the wholesale price will be in advance of the selling season. This paper aims to investigate if the mechanism can improve supply chain performance. A dyadic decentralized supply chain system comprising a single manufacturer and a single retailer is viewed as a research framework. Initially, a benchmark model is proposed to provide a criterion-referenced for coordinating the supply chain in a non-standard distribution environment. Second, a time-sensitive wholesale price contract is constructed to confirm that the mechanism can coordinate the supply chain. However, the retailer accepts the entire forecast risk under the contract. An improved contract called a time-sensitive revenue-sharing contract is constructed based on the notion that the manufacturer shares partial forecast risk. The results show that participants can arbitrarily divide the optimal supply chain’s expected profit between the constructed price contracts; however, two differences exist between the contracts, that is, participants have contract preferences. Finally, a numerical analysis and a few management insights are given.     

Direct Marketing in Oligopoly

We consider a game in which symmetric manufacturers decide whether to set up sites (e.g., web sites) where consumers can buy their products directly. Following this decision, the manufacturers choose quantities to sell to the retailers, and then the manufacturers with direct‐sales sites and retailers choose quantities to sell to the consumers. We show that since an increase in the number of retailers may drive the direct‐selling manufacturers from the retail market, it may raise the retailers’ profit and reduce social welfare. Finally, we discuss two cases: an oligopolistic wholesale market and a market with price competition and differentiated products.     

基于遗传算法的逆向供应链Stackelberg主从定价策略分析

定价策略是逆向供应链中的一个重要环节。本文基于一个制造商是领导者而一个零售商为跟随者的主从定价策略,建立了求解Stackelberg主从对策的利润优化模型。并运用遗传算法求解该模型。     

考虑社会责任的异质有限理性制造商产量博弈均衡复杂动力学分析

通过考虑消费者剩余,企业利润中引入承担社会责任参数,建立了具有异质性有限理性的古诺寡头博弈竞争模型,分析利润相关参数对系统博弈均衡稳定性的影响,并进行了数值模拟。研究表明单方有限理性系统比双方有限理性系统稳定。产品成本超过一定阈值应避免产量竞争,可以通过承担社会责任,提升产品价格来增加利润,但当企业承担社会责任增加时,系统稳定性降低。此时降低调整产量的速度,观察竞争对手产量调整速度,避免系统进入混沌状态,失去最优产量优势。     

Decision analysis and coordination of dual supply chain with retailer's offline return service and online reviews

Based on the centralized and decentralized decision-making cases, this study constructs a dual-channel supply chain game model that considers offline return service and online reviews, and explores the pricing decisions and benefits of supply chains under the dual influence of return service level and online reviews. The impact of return rate, return service level and perceived quality of online reviews on optimal supply chain decisions and profits are further analyzed. Finally, considering the phenomenon of double marginalization in the supply chain, this study coordinates the supply chain based on the benefit-sharing contract coordination model to achieve Pareto improvement. The research shows that: The manufacturer's optimal wholesale price, the optimal online selling price and the retailer's optimal offline price are positively correlated with the perceived quality of online reviews and the level of return service. Compared with the return service level, the perceived quality of online reviews has a greater impact on the overall profit of the supply chain. Under the dual influence of the perceived quality of online reviews and the level of return service, the supply chain profit in the centralized model is better than that in the decentralized model. The coordination model can effectively coordinate the supply chain. Moreover, when the sharing ratio of manufacturers is obviously lower than that of retailers, the coordination effect is better at this time.     

信息共享下绿色供应链价格协调问题研究

在信息共享前提下建立了绿色供应链中制造商、零售商的博弈模型,分别讨论了非合作博弈与合作博弈下的利润模型,制定了该绿色供应链在合作博弈下的内部价格协调机制,以及给出了价格协调参数的两种求解方法。最后,验证了信息共享下该绿色供应链的制造商与零售商进行合作时,不仅能极大的提高消费者对该绿色产品的需求,而且按照对联盟的贡献协调内部价格时,该供应链系统的稳定性与整体效率都得到提高。     

闭环供应链回收渠道的选择——以价格为决策变量的博弈分析

基于单一制造商和单一零售商构成的闭环供应链系统，以产品批发价和回收转移价格为制造商的决策变量，市场回收价为回收方的决策变量，对不同回收模型进行了博弈分析，得到闭环供应链成员的最优定价策略和最终利润，并进一步对不同回收成本下制造商的最优选择进行了分析。     

Two-period supply chain coordination strategies with ambidextrous sustainable innovations

This study considers a manufacturer with ambidextrous sustainable innovation capability selling products in environmentally conscious market through an independent retailer in a two-period game setting. We design a two-period game theoretic and dyadic supply chain (SC) model considering exploitative and exploratory nature of environmental innovations. We study five different contract types, namely, wholesale price contract, vertical Nash game structure, cost sharing contract, revenue sharing contract and two-part tariff contract. We demonstrate the impact of market sensitivity towards sustainable innovation and cost parameters on optimal level of decision parameters. The equilibrium results reveal that a suitably designed two-part tariff contract can be used to achieve coordination in a fragmented SC. The equilibrium results assist managers to optimise the SC based on the two-period contract model. The results obtained in this study can help the decision-makers to take decisions on investment in the ambidextrous sustainable innovation under different types of contract structures.