Factors influencing the adoption of the internet of things in supply chains

This study investigates the application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in supply chains through evolutionary game theory. In the modeling process, the payoff matrices for the game between the core enterprises and the suppliers and the replicator dynamics equations for these two parties are constructed. The punishment mechanism is introduced to prevent the “free-ride” behavior of core enterprises. As the key technology of the IoT, the radio-frequency identification (RFID) implementation strategies of both parties are analyzed on the basis of the replicator dynamics. Both parties eventually achieve evolutionarily stable strategies by adopting the strategies of other participants. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to validate the effects of the parameters on the selection of RFID technology. Results show that the willingness of core enterprises and suppliers to implement RFID can be strengthened by adjusting relevant parameters. Thus, this study could contribute in generalizing the application of the IoT in supply chains.