Closed-loop Supply Chain Value Co-creation Considering Equity Cooperation

Facilitating modernization of industry chains and supply chains requires the supply chain to possess excellent value creation capabilities.The value co-creation theory that emerged in recent years emphasizes the role of consumers in value creation and provides a new perspective for research on supply chain value creation.As environmental problems are becoming increasingly prominent,upstream and downstream companies in the supply chain started to remanufacture products,forming closed-loop supply chains,while value co-creation activities also expanded from traditional manufacturing to remanufacturing.Cooperation between enterprises is the basis for efficient decision-making in the supply chain while representing also an important guarantee for value co-creation between enterprises and consumers.In this context,an important form of cooperation is equity cooperation,which mainly consists of unidirectional shareholding and cross-shareholding between enterprises in the supply chain,and equity cooperation between chain enterprises and entities outside the chain(e.g.,equity crowdfunding).Although the three forms of equity cooperation have unique advantages and have been widely practiced,they still inevitably present specific shortcomings.Therefore,the impact of equity cooperation on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation is uncertain,which requires a comprehensive and systematic study.In light of this,this study incorporates the forms of equity cooperation between on-chain companies represented by unidirectional shareholding and cross-shareholding,and the form of equity cooperation between on-chain companies and off-chain entities taking equity crowdfunding as an example,into a closed-loop supply chain value co-creation system.The influence of the three forms of equity cooperation on the closed-loop supply chain value co-creation is comprehensively analyzed,and eventually,an effective way to enhance the economic value and environmental protection effect of the closed-loop supply chain is proposed.The analyses and findings of this dissertation are described as follows:(1)The basic research on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering equity cooperation.First,the dissertation defines the important concepts of equity cooperation,closed-loop supply chain value co-creation,etc.,and clarifies the connotation of closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering equity cooperation.Then it analyzes the motivations for closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering equity cooperation from the perspectives of enterprises,consumers,and off-chain entities.Finally,through a systematic analysis,the process and realization form of closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering equity cooperation are clarified,with the ultimate goal of providing theoretical support for the following sections.(2)The basic forms and characteristics of closed-loop supply chain value co-creation would be the same under the different ways of equity cooperation,which can be described as follows.On one hand,although the manufacturer paying attention to consumer value will lose its own value,it will increase the value of consumers,the retailer,the remanufacturer,the enterprise alliance,and the closed-loop supply chain,and will foster the environmental protection effect.On the other hand,the manufacturer should create conditions to attract consumers in to induce them to actively participate in value co-creation.So it combines with manufacturers' attention to consumer value to form collaborative and efficient value co-creation.(3)Closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering unidirectional shareholding.The related models of closed-loop supply chain considering the retailer holding shares in the manufacturer and the manufacturer holding shares in the retailer are built by using the Stackelberg game and unconstrained bi-level programming.In models,the relationships between unit costs and shareholding ratios are defined by nonlinear piecewise function,while the impact of two types of unidirectional shareholding on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation is investigated,and compared through numerical analysis and simulation.The study finds that the retailer holding shares in the manufacturer can help determine the upper limit of the manufacturer's attention to consumer value,while the manufacturer holding shares in the retailer can help determine the lower limit of the manufacturer's attention to consumer value.Furthermore,increasing the shareholding ratio of the manufacturer to the retailer will also promote consumer participation in value co-creation.(4)Closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering cross-shareholding.First,based on the aforementioned study,the Stackelberg game models of closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering cross-shareholding with single profit distribution and precise profit distribution are built.Then the influence of cross-shareholding on value co-creation is revealed,and the way to achieve value-adding is proposed.Numerical analysis and simulation are carried out and the optimal cross-shareholding ratios are obtained to achieve the Pareto improvement of the value of the entities of the closed-loop supply chain.In light of this research,the model of closed-loop supply chain considering cross-shareholding with precise profit distribution is built by using Gersgorin Disk Theorem.Eventually,the impact of cross-shareholding on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation under the two types of profit distribution and the change of the optimal cross-shareholding ratios are comprehensively compared.This study ultimately provides a theoretical basis for the application of cross-shareholding with the two types of profit distribution.It shows that although the optimal shareholding ratio of the manufacturer to the retailer has increased that means the increase of manufacturer's control over sales channels,the value of each entity and the environmental protection effect under the precise profit distribution mode are lower than the value of each entity and the environmental protection effect under the single profit distribution mode.This result is counterintuitive.(5)Closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering equity crowdfunding.First,for the closed-loop supply chain value co-creation problem under the influence of equity crowdfunding without the lead investor,the complete information dynamic game and constrained multi-level programming are employed to build the model of closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering equity crowdfunding without the lead investor.Second,the optimal values of the closed-loop supply chain and each entity,environmental protection effect,and the share transfer ratio of the manufacturer are solved,and the impact of equity crowdfunding on the closed-loop supply chain value co-creation is analyzed.On this basis,this dissertation continues to consider the role of equity crowdfunding with the lead investor,further exploring the changes in related results,and briefly analyzing the coexistence of equity crowdfunding and equity cooperation between enterprises on the chain.Hence,the closed-loop supply chain value co-creation mode with "supply chain+multiple entities" is initially formed.The main contributions of this dissertation can be summarized as:(1)The research framework of closed-loop supply chain value co-creation considering the equity cooperation is proposed which enriches and expands supply chain value co-creation research and provides a reference for related research of supply chain value co-creation,pricing considering other behavior of on-chain companies,off-chain entities.(2)As the non-linear piecewise function is used to describe the relationship between unit costs of enterprises and unidirectional shareholding ratios,research results appear to be more comprehensive and accurate,which lays the foundation for further research on the impact of cross-shareholding on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation.(3)The impacts of cross-shareholding on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation are compared under both distribution types of single profit and precise profit.The negative effect of cross-shareholding under precise profit distribution type on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation is found.These results can provide a theoretical basis for the application of the two types of cross-shareholding.(4)The closed-loop supply chain value co-creation models considering equity crowdfunding with and without the lead investor are built,then the impacts of two types of equity crowdfunding on closed-loop supply chain value co-creation are compared,revealing the practicality of equity crowdfunding with the lead investor.On the basis of this,the dissertation further proposes the closed-loop supply chain value co-creation model with "supply chain+multiple subjects" so that the boundary of closed-loop supply chain value co-creation is expanded.