Research On Pricing Decision And Dynamic Coordination Of Competitive Green Supply Chain Considering Fairness Preferences

In response to the growing global demand for green development,governments have established policies that encourage green development,have consistently sought carbon neutrality goals,and have continuously enhanced environmental education for the general public.It is important for supply chain enterprises to produce green products in order to seize market opportunities,thereby promoting the gradual transition from traditional supply chain management to green supply chain management.The green supply chain management approach is dedicated to achieving a balance between economic,environmental,and social considerations.The introduction of green innovations is a prerequisite for the production of green products,as well as a key factor in achieving economic growth and environmental sustainability.In light of this,increasing green supply chain enterprises are committed to developing green innovation programs to improve the environmental performance of their products and reduce environmental pollution,with green sustainability as a primary strategic objective.In the face of green market challenges,supply chain enterprises should pay attention to competitive factors as well as the social preferences of their members,mainly including fairness concerns and altruistic preferences,while continuously enhancing their green image.This is because the uncertain market demand and fierce competitive environment trigger or exacerbate the fairness tendency of supply chain members,which leads to limited rational behavior and deviations from actual circumstances when making decisions as a result.From the perspective of fairness preference,this research examines the pricing strategy of green supply chains in light of green innovation input and competition among different members by using game theory and case analysis.Considering the transfer of dominant power and the application of blockchain technology as important factors affecting profit distribution,the impact of embedding blockchain technology on green supply chain decision-making when retailers are led is studied.Furthermore,based on the dynamic characteristics of green supply chains,the pricing and coordination of green supply chains are further studied from a dynamic framework,aiming to provide theoretical references for enterprise green practice and sustainable development of green industries.The research contents and results are as follows:(1)The impact of fairness concerns of competing manufacturers on static decision-making by firms is studied.Considering the impact of consumers’green preference,manufacturers’ price competition,and greenness competition on demand,the decision-making models with and without bidirectional fairness concern are constructed,and the equilibrium solutions and profits under different situations are compared and analyzed.The study finds that consumers’green preferences and the degree of competition among manufacturers are beneficial for product greenness,prices,and retailer profits,but detrimental to manufacturers.In addition,manufacturers’vertical fairness concerns negatively affect product greenery and positively affect wholesale and retail prices,whereas horizontal fairness concerns have the opposite effects.In general,both fairness concerns undermine positive developments in supply chain performance.(2)Bidirectional fairness concerns of competing retailers are assessed as they related to supply chain pricing decisions.Drawing on the ideas of the first part model,we consider the vertical fairness concerns of downstream retailers with regard to upstream manufacturers,as well as the horizontal fairness concerns of peers due to fierce market competition.We evaluate the implications of retailers’bidirectional fairness-concern behaviours on the pricing decision of green supply chains as well as the impact of equilibrium solutions and profits difference values.The results indicate that the profits of the manufacturer and retailers increase with the degree to which consumers prioritize environmental protection.Nevertheless,the impact of consumers’ green preferences on the total profits of the supply chain as well as the utilities of retailers depends on a combination of factors.It is highlighted that horizontal fairness concerns of retailers have a greater impact on manufacturers and supply chains than vertical fairness concerns,but horizontal fairness concerns are constrained by vertical fairness concerns when it comes to retailers’utilities.(3)In order to promote the integration and development of green supply chain management with blockchain technology,and based on the rapid growth of large retail enterprises,we investigates the changes in green supply chain decisionmaking in light of the altruistic preference of dominant retailers when embedding blockchain technology.The study demonstrates that retailers’altruistic behavior benefits manufacturers and supply chains,but not for their own development.Regardless of whether blockchain technology is adopted,consumers’ green preferences always affect product greenness,prices,retailer profits and supply chain profits in a positive manner,however,the impact on manufacturers’ profits should be considered thoroughly in light of changes resulting from green innovation input and competition intensity.In this case,it can be seen that the combination of retailers’altruistic behavior and blockchain technology renders it impossible to simplify the impact of consumers’ green preferences on product greenness levels,product prices,and profits.This also illustrates that the introduction of blockchain technology has a significant impact on manufacturers’ green innovation and competitive relationships.Furthermore,when evaluating whether blockchain technology should be adopted,the supply chain decision-making layer must consider not only operating costs,but also the altruistic preferences of its members,in order to develop a scientific and reasonable "win-win" strategy.(4)From the perspective of long-term dynamics,taking into account the supply chain of manufacturers’ green innovation input and retailers’ sales efforts,the factors of retailers’ price competition and fairness concerns are incorporated into the decision-making model,and a two-way cost-sharing contract is designed to coordinate the supply chain,and the effectiveness of the two-way cost-sharing contract is verified by combining the numerical analysis.A comparison of the results under a fairness neutral scenario indicates that the retailer’s fairness concern behavior reduces the manufacturer’s level of green innovation input,the retailer’s level of sales effort,the wholesale price of the product,the greenness of products,and the green goodwill,but the retail price is not affected by the degree of fairness concern.In addition,the introduction of two-way cost-sharing contracts under a framework of fairness concerns can enhance the greenness of products and green goodwill effectively,thus assisting supply chain enterprises in achieving the strategic goal of sustainable green economy development.In response to the contract mechanism,manufacturers’ and supply chain profits have become increasingly sensitive to consumer green preferences and retailers’ fairness concerns.Therefore,supply chain decision-makers need to realize the significance of fairness concerns in the coordination effect of contracts,and create a reasonable sharing ratio to ensure a sustainable and long-term development of green supply chains.