WEI Guanghe, YANG Chenghu, LI Xiaochao
Blockchain technology effectively addresses trust issues in both product sales and waste recycling processes. However, its implementation increases the overall operational costs of the supply chain. How to balance the benefits and costs of blockchain investment has become a critical management challenge in low-carbon E-commerce closed-loop supply chains (E-CLSCs) under different sales models. To address this issue, this study investigates a low-carbon E-CLSC composed of a single manufacturer, an e-commerce platform, and an online retailer. Based on the manufacturer’s blockchain investment decision and the differences in sales models, the supply chain is categorized into four distinct types. A game-theoretic model is developed to explore the manufacturer’s profit-driven incentives for blockchain adoption and to reveal the underlying mechanisms through which key factors influence the investment decision. The research findings indicate that: 1) An increase in blockchain investment within an appropriate range can enhance the profits of all members as well as the overall system. Meanwhile, while an increase in the sales commission rate (i.e., the degree of price differentiation) within a specific range does not affect the profit growth of e-commerce platforms (or online retailers), it may reduce (or improve) the performance of other members and the overall system. From a waste recycling perspective, increased verification costs improve the effectiveness of waste product recycling when manufacturers delegate the process to e-commerce platforms. 2) When blockchain technology is implemented, manufacturers achieve higher profits under the agency selling model. However, when blockchain investment level, price differentiation, and sales commission rates are relatively low, the reselling model achieves higher profits for both low-carbon technology and e-commerce platforms, while the agency selling model benefits network retailers more, and vice versa. 3) Compared to the absence of blockchain technology, a low level of blockchain investment increases overall system profits across all sales model, but manufacturers earn higher profits in the agency selling model when blockchain investment is relatively low. The increase in low-carbon technology levels and profits for other stakeholders depends on a higher blockchain investment level. 4) Blockchain investment enhances profits for each member and the overall system only when low-carbon technology significantly impacts the demand discount factor or price differentiation, or when low-carbon technology investment costs are relatively low. If the sales commission rate or waste product verification fees are lower, the agency selling model yields higher profits for all members and the overall system.
