Transparency in Buyer‐Determined Auctions: Should Quality be Private or Public?

We study buyer‐determined procurement auctions where both price and non‐price characteristics of bidders matter for being awarded a contract. Although, in scoring auctions bidders perfectly know how price and non‐price attributes determine the awarding of the contract, this remains uncertain in buyer‐determined auctions where the buyer is free to choose once all bids have been submitted. We analyze the impact of information bidders have with respect to the buyer's awarding decision. As we show theoretically whether it is in the buyer's interest to conceal the impact of non‐price characteristics depends on how important the quality aspects of the procured good are to the buyer: The more important quality aspects are, the more interesting concealment becomes. In a counterfactual analysis using data from a large European procurement platform, we analyze the reduction of non‐price information available to the bidders. Confirming our hypothesis, for auction categories where bidders’ non‐price characteristics strongly influence buyers’ decisions concealment of non‐price information leads to an increase in buyers’ surplus of up to 15% due to higher competitive pressure and lower bids. Conversely, for categories where bidders’ non‐price characteristics are of little importance concealment of non‐price information leads to a decrease in buyers’ surplus of up to 6%.     

A Comparison of Arbitration Procedures for Risk‐Averse Disputants*

We propose an arbitration model framework that generalizes many previous quantitative models of final offer arbitration, conventional arbitration, and some proposed alternatives to them. Our model allows the two disputants to be risk averse and assumes that the issue(s) in dispute can be summarized by a single quantifiable value. We compare the performance of the different arbitration procedures by analyzing the gap between the disputants' equilibrium offers and the width of the contract zone that these offers imply. Our results suggest that final offer arbitration should give results superior to those of conventional arbitration.     

The role of health care ADR (alternative dispute resolution) in reducing legal fees

An increasingly complex health care system undergoing rapid changes is an ideal set-up for frequent conflicts among the numerous participants. While conflict is inevitable, the manner in which it is handled can markedly affect the outcome of the dispute and the future relationship of the parties, as well as the emotional and financial cost of the dispute. This article presents an overview of the principles and processes of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and describes how these processes are currently being used to resolve health care disputes.     

Improving Scientists'Judgments of Risk

Scientists disagree in their risk analyses because they use intuitive judgments to generalize results from the laboratory to circumstances not yet studied. If this assertion is correct, techniques intended to reduce intuitive judgments and increase analytical cognition should reduce scientific dispute. The results of a test case involving allegedly high risk and sharp dispute among scientists are described.     

Designing Service Level Contracts for Supply Chain Coordination

Supply contracts are used to coordinate the activities of the supply chain partners. In many industries, service level‐based supply contracts are commonly used. Under such a contract, a company agrees to achieve a certain service level and to pay a financial penalty if it misses it. The service level used in our study refers to the fraction of a manufacturer's demand filled by the supplier. We analyze two types of service level‐based supply contracts that are designed by a manufacturer and offered to a supplier. The first type of contract is a flat penalty contract, under which the supplier pays a fixed penalty to the manufacturer in each period in which the contract service level is not achieved. The second type of contract is a unit penalty contract, under which a penalty is due for each unit delivered fewer than specified by the parameters of the contract. We show how the supplier responds to the contracts and how the contract parameters can be chosen, such that the supply chain is coordinated. We also derive structural results about optimal values of the contract parameters, provide numerical results, and connect our service level measures to traditional service level measures. The results of our analyses can be used by decision makers to design optimal service level contracts and to provide them with a solid foundation for contract negotiations.     

直销渠道开通的情形下制造商与电商平台合约选择的研究

理论界认为代售合约具有明显的消除双重边际效应的作用,许多制造商和电商平台选择签订代售合约,但是也有制造商和电商平台选择了批发合约。本文以在线销售系统为背景,研究了直销渠道开通的情形下制造商和电商平台合约的选择。通过研究发现,制造商和电商平台并不是总偏好批发合约或代售合约,并且存在一个帕累托改进区域;虽然制造商在电商平台上有网络销售渠道,但是制造商会保留原有的直销渠道;对于电商平台来说,收益分配系数并不是越大越好;代售合约虽然能够消除双重边际效应,但在代售合约下,整个在线销售系统的效率并不总是最高的。另外,随着直销渠道的效率增加,制造商会先降低批发价格,然后再增加批发价格;与以往的研究结论不同,代售合约下电商平台的市场销售价格并不总是最小的。以上的结论其实都是批发合约下的直销渠道和代售合约下的电商平台在缓解双重边际效应方面的不同作用带来的。     

The Comparison of Two Vertical Outsourcing Structures under Push and Pull Contracts

In a three‐tier supply chain comprising an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), a contract manufacturer (CM), and a supplier, there exist two typical outsourcing structures: control and delegation. Under the control structure, the OEM contracts with the CM and the supplier respectively. Under the delegation structure, the OEM contracts with the CM only and the CM subcontracts with the supplier. We compare the two outsourcing structures under a push contract (whereby orders are placed before demand is realized) and a pull contract (whereby orders are placed after demand is realized). For all combinations of outsourcing structures and contracts, we derive the corresponding equilibrium wholesale prices, order quantities, and capacities. We find that the equilibrium production quantity is higher under control than under delegation for the push contract whereas the reverse holds for the pull contract. Both the OEM and the CM prefer control over delegation under the push contract. However, under the pull contract, the OEM prefers control over delegation whereas the CM and the supplier prefer delegation over control. We also show that for a given outsourcing structure, the OEM prefers the pull contract over the push contract. In extending our settings to a general two‐wholesale‐price (TWP) contract, we find that when wholesale prices are endogenized decision variables, the TWP contract under our setting degenerates to either a push or a pull contract.     

零售商的资金约束对协调契约的影响分析

在零售商促销下,探讨了零售商的资金约束对使用收益共享契约和回购契约协调供应链的影响。分析了零售商拥有不同运营资金下供应链的契约协调问题,研究表明：在运营资金相对充裕下,收益共享契约不仅能协调供应链,且能实现渠道收益的任意分配,但回购契约不能实现渠道收益的任意分配,除非运营资金非常充裕;在运营资金不足下,收益共享契约仍有可能协调供应链,但回购契约不能协调供应链。讨论了资金的时间价值对两个契约协调供应链的影响,结果表明：在回购契约下,资金利率越大,具有资金约束零售商的供应链被协调的可能性越大,但资金利率对收益共享契约没有影响。最后提供了数值分析。研究中得到一些管理启示,可为资金约束供应链的协调管理提供理论借鉴。     

需求具有价格敏感性的供应链的利益共享合约

利益共享合约是促使供应链协作的一种重要手段。本文建立了具有价格敏感性的最终消费需求的利益共享合约模型。在考虑最终销售价格为内生变量的条件下,借助于报童模型,分别分析在此合约下销售商和供应商的决策行为,并给出销售商的最优决策的计算公式以及该合约参数Φ的取值范围。最后给出实例分析,验证在利益共享合约下的供应链能达到协作状态。     

A delay-in-payment contract for Pareto improvement of a supply chain with stochastic demand

We consider a supply chain consisting of a single supplier and a single retailer with stochastic customer demand, which is operated over an infinite horizon. We propose a delay-in-payment contract to coordinate the supply chain. With this contract, the supplier allows the retailer to pay partial order cost at the ordering epoch, and to pay the remaining portion after a permissible number of periods. The system is formulated as a stochastic dynamic programming problem. It is shown that there exists a base-stock policy to be optimal. Compared with the traditional wholesale-price contract, the delay-in-payment contract with appropriate parameters can achieve a Pareto improvement (i.e., the performances of both the supplier and the retailer using the delay-in-payment contract are better than those using the wholesale-price contract). Numerical studies are performed to investigate both the effectiveness of the Pareto improvement, and the impact of the major parameters of the delay-in-payment contract on the system performance.     

模糊需求下考虑公平关切的收益共享契约与协调

针对供应链收益分配过程中零售商往往表现出公平关切行为,研究了模糊需求环境下两级供应链的收益共享契约与协调问题。在给出模糊市场需求环境下的收益共享契约基本模型的基础上,构建了考虑零售商公平关切的收益共享契约模型,并通过模型推导及数值实验分析了零售商公平关切对收益共享契约协调供应链的影响。研究结果表明,模糊需求下考虑零售商公平关切的收益共享契约仍然可以实现供应链协调,然而零售商的公平关切行为对收益共享契约的协调策略会产生影响。本文的研究成果可为供应链成员优化收益共享契约提供参考价值。     

Knowledge modelling for contract disputes and change control

The construction industry involves many participants with different perspectives and requirements. Contracts can provide significant value, and yet ineffective contract management frequently leads to disputes. In practice, contracts are hardly reviewed, and contract management is limited. This study aims to investigate how firms can improve their internal processes relating to knowledge management (KM) through effective contract management to aid construction practitioners in managing contract disputes and changes. Using a questionnaire survey and a workshop involving experienced industry practitioners and researchers, the findings reveal that project- and individual-level implementation of KM processes is stronger than at the organizational level, and also there are substantial human resources (HR) practices that support contractual KM. Workshop participants believe efficient and effective KM can minimise losses from contract changes and disputes. A construction contract management process framework, a 19-step benchmarking model for contract management and a construction planning checklist for contractors are proposed.     

生产商规模不经济的双渠道供应链协调策略选择

供应链协调是提高供应链整体利润、改善供应链各方利益的根本手段.旨在探讨生产商具有生产规模不经济特性的双渠道供应链协调策略.给出了集中决策下双渠道供应链的市场价格与整体利润,以及分散决策下批发价契约与收益共享契约的设计方法.提出了协调度的概念,即契约使供应链协调的程度.证明了批发价契约的协调度小于1,不能实现供应链的协调;而收益共享契约的协调度等于1,但相对于批发价契约,收益共享契约不能同时改善零售商和生产商的利润,导致收益共享契约不可实施.为找到双渠道供应链可实施的协调策略,提出了带固定补偿的收益共享契约的设计方法和用纳什讨价还价协商模型确定固定补偿的方法.结果表明,该契约的协调度等于1,并且相对于批发价契约能同时改善零售商和生产商的利润.另外,研究还表明:生产不经济的弹性系数与销售价格成正比、与供应链的整体利润成反比,并且不同渠道间的竞争越激烈,双渠道供应链的销售价格和需求反而越高,双渠道供应链的总利润也越高,并且,带固定补偿的收益共享契约同样可以协调线性成本下的双渠道供应链.最后用算例验证了本文结论的正确性和有效性.     

销售商的努力影响需求变化的供应链的合约

本文首先重新考察报童模型,认识设计使供应链达到合作的合约的内在机制。在此基础上,提出一个设计供应链合约的一般模型,然后利用此模型分析在销售商的努力影响需求变化的情形下使供应链达到合作的合约的设计框架,同时提出一个在销售商的努力影响需求变化的情形下使供应链达到合作的合约。     

考虑信息不对称的电子市场动态契约设计

近年来,伴随着互联网技术的快速发展以及电子商务在广大消费者中的日益普及,以淘宝网、eBay等为代表的电子市场的销售规模和交易金额都实现了跳跃式的增长。但是,在买卖双方交易数量快速增加的同时,提供交易平台的电子市场所有者始终缺乏有效的收费模式来实现自身的利润最大化,这一窘境已经得到产业界和学术界越来越多的关注。当前,各类电子市场大多采用的收费模式是以每个卖家前一期的销售历史来预测该卖家下一期的销售数量,并以此作为基准来动态更新电子市场对于该卖家下一期的收费标准。这种收费方法暗含的假设是相邻周期间产品销量为强正相关,但忽略了产品销量因季节性、流行性、替代产品威胁等各类因素影响而导致的更加复杂的中长期变化趋势。针对这一问题,本文为电子市场所有者提供了一类新的个性化动态契约机制。这种契约机制假设相邻周期的产品销量服从联合正态分布,在每个周期开始前,卖家能够充分考虑到各类因素的影响,从而对于下一期销量做出比电子市场所有者更准确的条件预期。但是,卖家对于相邻周期销量间的相关系数的观测属于私有信息,为了诱导卖家披露这一私有信息,电子市场所有者在每周期开始前需要根据该卖家上一周期的实际销售数量向卖家提供一系列契约（a menu of contracts）供卖家选择。本文构建了这种个性化动态契约的参数优化问题。求解结果揭示了一个简单的决策准则,即最优的契约参数可以表示为关于上述相关系数的failure rate的函数。通过一组数值试验,本文将这种契约与其他三类契约进行了对比,验证了这种契约能够充分地利用卖家的私有信息来提升电子市场所有者的利润。本文所述的契约机制在互联网环境下具有较强的可操作性,因此可以为电子市场所有者提供直接的管理参考和决策依据。     

Mixed contracts for the newsvendor problem with real options and discrete demand

In this paper we consider the newsvendor model with real options under discrete demand. We consider a mixed contract where the retailer can order a combination of q units subject to the conditions in a classical newsvendor contract and Q real options on the same items. We provide a closed form solution to this mixed contract when the demand is discrete and study some of its properties. In particular we demonstrate that a mixed contract may be superior to a real option contract when a manufacturer has a bound on how much variance she is willing to accept.     

信息不对称下委托代理契约纳什实施性研究

针对代理人逆向选择导致委托人无法将契约与代理人类型状态直接关联的矛盾,研究了信息不对称下委托代理契约的纳什实施性问题。通过建立信号空间上的纳什均衡与有效配置的映射关系,将委托人契约与代理人状态联系起来,并以完全信息下委托人的最优契约和逆向选择下的次优契约为例,研究分析委托人契约纳什实施的性质,当且仅当委托契约满足激励相容约束时,才具备纳什实施的惟一性,该结果为实务契约设计逼近激励可行契约提供了新的途径。     

Motivating Retail Marketing Effort: Optimal Contract Design

We study a distribution channel where a manufacturer relies on a sales agent for selling the product, and for investing in the most appropriate marketing effort. The agent's effort is hard to monitor. In addition, the cost of effort is the agent's private information. These impose challenges to the manufacturer in its endeavor to influence the agent's marketing effort provisions and to allocate profit between the two parties. We propose two contract forms. The franchise fee contract is a two‐part price schedule specifying a variable wholesale price and a fixed franchise fee. The retail price maintenance contract links the allowed retail price that the agent charges customers with total payment to the manufacturer and sales level. Under information asymmetry, for implementing either contract form, the manufacturer needs to offer a menu of contracts, hoping to invoke the “revelation principle” when the agent picks a certain contract from that menu. We show that the two contract forms perform differently, and each party's preference toward a particular contract form is linked with the total reservation profit level and/or the sales agent's cost type. We provide managerial guidelines for the manufacturer in selecting a better contract form under different conditions.     

The Impact of Contracts and Competition on Upstream Innovation in a Supply Chain

We consider a supply chain with an upstream supplier who invests in innovation and a downstream manufacturer who sells to consumers. We study the impact of supply chain contracts with endogenous upstream innovation, focusing on three different contract scenarios: (i) a wholesale price contract, (ii) a quality‐dependent wholesale price contract, and (iii) a revenue‐sharing contract. We confirm that the revenue‐sharing contract can coordinate supply chain decisions including the innovation investment, whereas the other two contracts may result in underinvestment in innovation. However, the downstream manufacturer does not always prefer the revenue‐sharing contract; the manufacturer's profit can be higher with a quality‐dependent wholesale price contract than with a revenue‐sharing contract, specifically when the upstream supplier's innovation cost is low. We then extend our model to incorporate upstream competition between suppliers. By inviting upstream competition, with the wholesale price contract, the manufacturer can increase his profit substantially. Furthermore, under upstream competition, the revenue‐sharing contract coordinates the supply chain, and results in an optimal contract form for the manufacturer when suppliers are symmetric. We also analyze the case of complementary components suppliers, and show that most of our results are robust.     

VMI模式下考虑促销努力的销量回扣契约模型研究

本文在促销努力影响市场需求,单周期季节性产品销售环境下,分析了集中式供应链和供应商管理库存(VMI)供应链中的供应商供货量和零售商促销努力水平的决策问题。在无契约VMI供应链中引入滞销产品补贴的销量回扣契约,讨论了零售商参与合作的条件,结论表明该契约能够提高VMI供应链的绩效并改善其收益;而VMI供应链中的成员采用改进的销量回扣契约进行协调时,有可能实现集中式供应链的最优收益。最后,通过算例验证了引入滞销产品补贴的销量回扣契约能增加供应商供货量和零售商促销努力水平,大幅度地提升VMI供应链的总收益。