P2P Marketplaces and Retailing in the Presence of Consumers' Valuation Uncertainty

Can peer‐to‐peer (P2P) marketplaces benefit traditional supply chains when consumers may experience valuation risk? P2P marketplaces can mitigate consumers' risk by allowing them to trade mismatched goods; yet, they also impose a threat to retailers and their suppliers as they compete over consumers. Further, do profit‐maximizing marketplaces always extract the entire consumer surplus from the online trades? Our two‐period model highlights the effects introduced by P2P marketplaces while accounting for the platform's pricing decisions. We prove that with low product unit cost, the P2P marketplace sets its transaction fee to the market clearing price, thereby extracting all of the seller surplus. In this range of product unit cost, the supply chain partners are worse off due to the emergence of a P2P marketplace. However, when the unit cost is high, the platform sets its transaction fee to be less than the market clearing price, intentionally leaving money on the table, as a mechanism to stimulate first period demand for new goods in expectation for some of them to be traded later, in the second period, via the marketplace. It is not until the surplus left with the sellers is sufficiently high that the supply chain partners manage to extract some of this surplus, ultimately making them better off due to a P2P marketplace. We further analyze the impact of a P2P marketplace on consumer surplus and social welfare. In addition, we consider model variants accounting for a frictionless platform and consumer strategic waiting.     

Interorganizational Governance Value Creation: Coordinating for Information Visibility and Flexibility in Supply Chains*

More thoroughly understanding how interorganizational governance value can be created by information technology and other governance mechanisms is critical for supply chain management. Based primarily on transaction‐cost economics and supplemented by the resource‐based view, this study investigates how interorganizational governance (i.e., relational governance and virtual integration) can create value (i.e., information visibility and supply chain flexibility) in the supply chain context. The findings show that both relational governance and virtual integration benefit information visibility. Those results also support both direct and indirect (via information visibility) effects of relational governance on supply chain flexibility. Although failing to affect supply chain flexibility directly, virtual integration can still improve supply chain flexibility with its ability to enhance information visibility. Thus, interorganizational governance mechanisms emphasizing both control and collaboration can influence the gain from collaboration‐specific capabilities, leading to the competitive advantage of a supply chain. The results of the study suggest that firms can gain greater supply chain flexibility within existing interfirm relationships by enhancing information visibility through virtual integration and relational governance.     

Repurposing Materials and Waste through Online Exchanges: Overcoming the Last Hurdle

Online material and waste exchanges (OMWEs) provide online channels to repurpose by‐products, unused materials and waste from industrial and commercial facilities. Unfortunately, OMWE's also have challenges. First, sellers may have access to other disposal options and, as a result, may not fully commit to the exchange. Second, buyers can face high uncertainty about the product exchanged and the transaction being undertaken. Overcoming these challenges is the “last hurdle” to making OMWEs successful. This study investigates the factors that reduce the buyers' uncertainty and increase the sellers' commitment to the OMWE. We analyze novel transaction‐level data from an online exchange (MNExchange.org) combined with other archival public records on county‐level repurposing and disposal statistics. First, we find that regional repurposing policies and alternatives have a complementary effect on sellers' commitment toward OMWEs, resulting in increased OMWE exchanges. However, regional disposal policies and alternatives have a substitution effect on sellers' commitment, resulting in reduced exchange success. Further, greater product and transaction information reduce the buyer's uncertainty and increase exchange success. Finally, the analysis shows that users' (buyers and sellers) heavily rely on their prior experience with OMWEs. Specifically, higher familiarity between the buyer–seller pair and familiarity with the OMWE system leads to higher likelihood of exchange success. This study lays the foundation for understanding OMWEs and has important implications for developing policies and operations to increase online transactions of by‐products, materials and wastes.     

Contract Pricing in Consumer Credit Markets

We analyze subprime consumer lending and the role played by down payment requirements in screening high‐risk borrowers and limiting defaults. To do this, we develop an empirical model of the demand for financed purchases that incorporates both adverse selection and repayment incentives. We estimate the model using detailed transaction‐level data on subprime auto loans. We show how different elements of loan contracts affect the quality of the borrower pool and subsequent loan performance. We also evaluate the returns to credit scoring that allows sellers to customize financing terms to individual applicants. Our approach shows how standard econometric tools for analyzing demand and supply under imperfect competition extend to settings in which firms care about the identity of their customers and their postpurchase behavior.     

Sustained Monopolistic Business Relationships: An Interdisciplinarity Case

Business‐to‐business relationships within sustained monopolies, such as those within UK defence procurement, have received scant attention by management researchers. This is unusual because under these market circumstances there appear to be few incentives to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes despite their strategic policy importance. This paper argues that an understanding of the monopolistic environment using a transaction cost economics theoretical framework and supply‐chain management, relationship marketing and transaction cost economics concepts provides an innovative, interdisciplinarity approach to solving this problem as well as testing aspects of these disciplines empirically in a novel area. This paper describes the results from a substantial research project to test this hypothesis in the UK defence procurement situation. It reveals a number of key dynamics within the sustained monopolistic relationships surveyed and suggests considerable potential for further research.     

Assessing Markups,Service Quality,and Product Attributes in Music CDs' Internet Retailing

We investigate trade‐offs among markups, service quality, and product attributes across customer, Internet retailer, and wholesaler echelons. Research has documented the reality of retail price dispersion, but little is known about how retail markups, in particular, are related to service quality and product attributes. For example, do Internet retailers deliver superior service in return for high markups? Do product characteristics affect the relationship between service and markups for retailers? To examine these issues, we first developed a model of Internet retail profitability that separates revenues and costs related to sales from other profit sources. This framework allowed us to position our work alongside the extant literature about Internet retailing. Moreover, it led us to synthesize service quality dimensions found in Internet retailing studies. We subsequently developed a critical‐event study based on the profit model and the synthesis of service quality dimensions to delineate service aspects that retailers should emphasize to address buyers' utility. Finally, we collected data from Internet purchases across retailers to isolate markup‐service quality trade‐offs along our delineated service aspects. We find that high markups are associated with superior performance across service quality dimensions. Furthermore, this trade‐off becomes more acutely defined when products with variable popularity are transacted.     

三维交易模式下企业协同低碳减排研究

低碳经济下企业的运作模式已由传统的资源-产品二维交易演化为资源-产品-碳排放权的三维交易模式，因此对三维交易模式下企业协同减排的研究变的越来越重要。本文利用Stackelberg博弈理论探讨了销售商驱动情景下低碳再制造闭环供应链分散决策模型、集中决策模型、合作减排模型的运作规律，分析研究了低碳产品市场和废旧产品市场中低碳产品销售价、交易价格、低碳废旧产品回收价格等重要变量和节点企业期望效用及整个链条期望效用的变化规律。并通过数值算例与灵敏度分析，分别对三种博弈关系下低碳产品的碳排放量、消费者的敏感系数、碳交易价格的变动带来的销售商和制造商的期望效用及销售价、批发价带来的影响进行了分析。研究显示：与非低碳化相比，低碳化下制造商和销售商的期望效用均提高；风险规避程度、碳排放交易价格、碳排放量及消费者对低碳产品的敏感系数的提高均降低了期望效用，同时市场占有率随之减少。研究验证了低碳再制造闭环供应链模型的有效性及实用性，彰显了模型的经济与管理启示。     

供应链治理机制与供应链绩效之间的相互作用关系——基于信息共享的中介效应和信息技术水平的调节效应

本文构建起了供应链治理机制与供应链绩效之间的相互作用关系理论模型，并进而对信息共享在其中所起的中介效应及信息技术水平在其中所起着的调节效应进行剖析。以380份来自于供应链相关岗位的中高层管理人员及技术人员的问卷作为样本，利用结构方程模型对社会控制、正式控制、信息技术水平、信息共享及供应链绩效之间的相关关系进行实证研究。研究结果表明：（1）社会控制对信息共享及供应链绩效均产生正向影响，信息共享对供应链绩效也产生正向影响；而正式控制则对信息共享产生显著的负向作用关系，且其对供应链绩效的作用关系并不显著；（2）信息共享在社会控制和供应链绩效之间的作用关系中起着部分中介的作用，但其在正式控制-供应链绩效间的中介作用则并不显著；（3）信息技术水平对于社会控制-信息共享和正式控制-信息共享间的关系具有调节效应。     

基于评价者过滤的个性化信任模型

信任问题是困扰C2C电子商务发展的重要瓶颈。在传统模型基础上,本文进一步引入5梯度的连续性评分标度、交易次数、多维评分、惩罚因子四项因素,研究两种商品交易历史对卖家信任的影响。为满足个性化选择,创建了评价者过滤机制,在此基础上构建可满足用户需要、防范信用欺诈的个性化信任模型,通过仿真实验验证模型的有效性。     

Decision Making and Cognition in Multi‐Echelon Supply Chains: An Experimental Study

Supply chain performance often depends on the individual decisions of channel members. Even when individuals have access to relevant information, order variation tends to increase when moving up the supply chain, a phenomenon known as the bullwhip effect. While prior research has investigated several structural/environmental factors which can mitigate the bullwhip effect, the underlying behavioral factors contributing to it are an open question. Using a production and distribution decision‐making simulation representing a four‐stage serial supply chain, we find that the cognitive profile of decision makers contributes to the bullwhip effect. We found that the specific decision tendency to underweight the supply line is linked to an individual's level of cognitive reflection. Furthermore, performance differs for entire supply chains and for specific echelons, and holds under standard mitigation efforts. The findings have implications for supply chain design, education, and industry.     

Reverse Auctions with Multiple Reinforcement Learning Agents*

Reverse auctions in business‐to‐business (B2B) exchanges provide numerous benefits to participants. Arguably the most notable benefit is that of lowered prices driven by increased competition in such auctions. The competition between sellers in reverse auctions has been analyzed using a game‐theoretic framework and equilibria have been established for several scenarios. One finding of note is that, in a setting in which sellers can meet total demand with the highest‐bidding seller being able to sell only a fraction of the total capacity, the sellers resort to a mixed‐strategy equilibrium. Although price randomization in industrial bidding is an accepted norm, one might argue that in reality managers do not utilize advanced game theory calculations in placing bids. More likely, managers adopt simple learning strategies. In this situation, it remains an open question as to whether the bid prices converge to the theoretical equilibrium over time. To address this question, we model reverse‐auction bidding behavior by artificial agents as both two‐player and n‐player games in a simulation environment. The agents begin the game with a minimal understanding of the environment but over time analyze wins and losses for use in determining future bids. To test for convergence, the agents explore the price space and exploit prices where profits are higher, given varying cost and capacity scenarios. In the two‐player case, the agents do indeed converge toward the theoretical equilibrium. The n‐player case provides results that reinforce our understanding of the theoretical equilibria. These results are promising enough to further consider the use of artificial learning mechanisms in reverse auctions and other electronic market transactions, especially as more sophisticated mechanisms are developed to tackle real‐life complexities. We also develop the analytical results when one agent does not behave strategically while the other agent does and show that our simulations for this environment also result in convergence toward the theoretical equilibrium. Because the nature of the best response in the new setting is very different (pure strategy as opposed to mixed), it indicates the robustness of the devised algorithm. The use of artificial agents can also overcome the limitations in rationality demonstrated by human managers. The results thus have interesting implications for designing artificial agents in automating bid responses for large numbers of bids where human intervention might not always be possible.     

产品责任、企业社会责任偏好与供应链中的质量-数量协调

在产品质量和产品数量（订货量）内生化的情形下，同时实现其质量和数量的协调将成为供应链管理的一个重要问题。进一步，在产品低质量对消费者造成伤害的情形下，制造商将面临着产品责任（表征制造商对消费者产品伤害的补偿），从而导致"产品责任如何影响供应链中的质量-数量协调"这一问题。最后，如果核心企业具有对消费者的企业社会责任（CSR）偏好，则这种CSR偏好又如何影响供应链中的质量-数量协调？针对这三个问题，首先，利用批发价合同构建了一个由上游制造商和下游零售商组成的两级供应链运作博弈模型；其次考察了制造商产品责任、CSR偏好程度和质量改进效率对其产品质量决策、批发价合同和相应的供应链节点企业利润的影响；最后，研究了供应链质量-数量协调问题。结果表明：（1）产品责任不影响产品质量、订货量、供应链节点企业经济利润和消费者剩余，但制造商批发价随产品责任的增加而增加；（2）随着CSR偏好程度的增加，产品质量、订货量、零售商经济利润、供应链系统经济利润和消费者剩余随之增加，而制造商经济利润随之减小；（3）质量改进效率的提高，有利于产品质量、订货量、零售商经济利润、供应链系统经济利润和消费者剩余的增加；（4）一个由数量折扣契约和质量改进成本分担契约共同构成的协调机制，可以有效的实现供应链系统的协调，其中，产品责任将促使数量折扣契约中产品批发价的增加和质量改进成本分担比例的减小，而CSR偏好程度的增加将促使数量折扣契约中产品批发价的减小，但不影响质量改进成本分担比例。     

基于新产消合一考虑链间竞争的供应链价值最大化研究

在原有的单一供应链价值创造研究的基础上,通过考虑供应链间的竞争关系,完整研究了供应链价值最大化问题。首先基于新产消合一理念应用Cournot博弈构建了考虑两条供应链间竞争的供应链价值最大化模型,然后就供应链创造的整体价值及其与企业联盟对消费者利益的关注程度、消费者对企业联盟利益的关注程度之间的关系、企业联盟价值、消费者价值等问题进行了讨论,获得了一些有益的结论,最后通过数值分析对主要结论的有效性进行了验证。本文研究对于新产消合一理念下全面揭示供应链价值的提升更具有一般性意义。     

基于F2F的生鲜农产品C2B众筹预售定价

合理的产品定价是生鲜类农业众筹项目成功的关键。本文运用交易成本理论、供应链管理理论及互联网思维构建了生产者组织化联合和消费者社群化聚合、O2O场景产销对接模型和产品阶梯定价策略。研究表明,与传统开放式多级分销模式相比,生鲜农产品通过农场直达家庭的众筹预售在促进产销衔接、降低物流成本、保障质量安全方面优势明显,可让消费者获得更多顾客让渡价值并在阶梯价格吸引下“滚雪球”式地为生产者聚集批量订单进行定制化按需生产,进而实现生产者与消费者的帕累托改进。     

A Study of Online Auction Sellers’ Intention to Switch Platform: The Case of Yahoo!Kimo Versus Ruten_eBay*

The study of consumers’ switching from one service provider to another has a long tradition in economics, information systems, and marketing. The emergence of electronic commerce presents new challenges in understanding consumers’ switching intentions in the context of e‐commerce in general and online auctions in particular. With the abundance of literature on online auctions, there is a surprising lack of research on auction sellers’ intentions to switch from one online auction platform to another. Using the competition between Yahoo!Kimo and Ruten_eBay, two leading auction platforms in Taiwan, as the backdrop, we developed a research model and collected empirical data based on this real case to study what factors influence auction sellers to switch to a competing service provider. We find that the higher the procedural switching costs, financial switching costs, relational switching costs, site design quality, or interaction quality, the lower the intention of an auction seller to switch to a competing auction service provider. A higher perceived transaction fee, however, leads to a higher switching intention.     

Impacts of Power Structure on Supply Chains with Uncertain Demand

In this study, we use a game‐theory‐based framework to model power in a supply chain with random and price‐dependent demand and examine how power structure and demand models (expected demand and demand shock) affect supply chain members' performance. We demonstrate that whether a firm benefits from its power depends on the expected demand model but not on demand shock model. A firm benefits from its power only for linear but not for constant elasticity expected demand. The impact of power structure on supply chain efficiency depends on the models of both expected demand and demand shock. With additive shock, supply chain efficiency is highest (lowest) when neither firm dominates for linear (constant elasticity) expected demand. With multiplicative shock, the supply chain efficiency is highest with a power retailer (manufacturer) for linear (constant elasticity) expected demand. The manufacturer always benefits from a reduction in demand uncertainty. However, the retailer loses (benefits) from demand uncertainty reduction for linear (constant elasticity) expected demand. With a power retailer, the retail price is always on the higher end for linear expected demand, and the customer service level is the lowest for constant elasticity expected demand. Consequently, consumers do not necessarily benefit from a power retailer.     

Electronic Intermediary Functional Roles and Profitability

Internet start‐ups and traditional firms expanding existing offerings and services through the Net have seen both success and failure. For such business model pursuits, electronic intermediation possesses the ability to cultivate new marketplaces and restructure supply chains. The economic literature identifies four distinct intermediary roles, specifically: (i) information and (ii) logistics management, (iii) transaction securitization, as well as (iv) insurance/market‐making and liquidity management. Research notes that electronic intermediaries, while possessing clear advantages in their ability to manage information, face greater challenges in allowing parties to benefit from the facilitation of more complex coordination activities, namely transaction securitization in addition to insurance/market‐making and liquidity management. In an effort to better understand pursuit of functional intermediary roles, our analysis of data collected on 182 electronic intermediaries explores relationships between intermediation roles and profitability. Business models relying solely upon the provision of information management are likely to realize lower levels of profitability. Alternately, the intermediary roles of logistics management as well as insurance/market‐making and liquidity management realize higher levels of profitability. Moreover, when comparing commodity‐ and service‐based intermediaries, the provision of logistics management on the part of commodity‐based firms sees higher levels of profitability, with insurance and liquidity provisions associated with greater profitability for both commodity‐ and service‐based firms. Finally, when contrasting traditional firms expanding operations in digital markets with Internet pure‐plays, we find transaction securitization functions increase the likelihood of realizing greater profitability for non‐Internet pure‐plays.     

e‐Integration in the Supply Chain: Barriers and Performance*

Current opinion holds that Internet‐based supply chain integration with upstream suppliers and downstream customers (called “e‐integration” in this paper) is superior to traditional ways of doing business. This proposition remains untested, however, and similarly we know little about what are the upstream, internal, and downstream barriers to implementing e‐integration. This paper empirically addressed these questions using data from a large single nation study, and found (1) a positive link between e‐integration and performance, and (2) that internal barriers impeded e‐integration more than either upstream supplier barriers or downstream customer barriers. Findings from this study contribute to our theoretical understanding of implementing change in contemporary supply chains, and have important implications for manufacturers interested in improving their supply chain's performance using the Internet.     

考虑公平偏好的零售商主导型供应链均衡决策研究

考虑由具有批发定价权的零售商和生产规模不经济的制造商组成的零售商主导型供应链，构建仅制造商具有公平偏好、仅零售商具有公平偏好，以及双方同时具有公平偏好等三种情形下的Stackelberg博弈模型，探究上下游企业的公平偏好对供应链各成员企业的均衡决策与效用的影响。研究发现：（1）与无公平偏好时的最优产量相比，供应链成员（仅制造商、仅零售商和双方同时）具有公平偏好时制造商将会增加最优产量，提升供应链的运作效率，而且满足特定条件时批发价格契约可以实现供应链的协调。（2）双方同时具有公平偏好对供应链各成员企业的最优决策与效用的影响最为显著。（3）供应链各成员企业的最优决策与效用分别同上下游企业的公平偏好系数之间可能都不是简单的线性关系，具体还与消费者的价格敏感性和制造商的生产成本等因素密切相关。数值分析结果也证实了上述结论。     

Exploring the Impact of Delivery Performance on Customer Transaction Volume and Unit Price: Evidence from an Assembly Manufacturing Supply Chain

This study examines the effect of delivery performance on customer transactions. We propose that different delivery performance dimensions (on‐time delivery rate, early delivery inaccuracy, late delivery inaccuracy, and delivery speed) have varying impacts on future customer transaction quantities and unit prices. We further explore the effect of customer types on the proposed relationships. Trade customers (resellers) and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers generally have different operational needs for deliveries and therefore may value these metrics differently. Using instrumental variable regression, we analyze a proprietary transaction‐level dataset. The information was compiled by a Fortune 500 manufacturer from its Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control product supply chain, consisting of the manufacturer and its customers. The results indicate that measures of delivery performance affect customer transaction quantity and unit price differently. Furthermore, these impacts can differ significantly between trade customers and OEM customers. These findings provide fine‐grained insights about tuning delivery capabilities to increase sales volume or boost price.