Decision-making Of Technology License And Strategies Of Maintenance Charging Considering Warranty Service

With the deepening of economic globalization and the promotion of technological revolution,warranty service presents new characteristics.On the one hand,professional third-party maintenance service enterprises rise and become an important component of the maintenance service supply chain.On the other hand,high-tech products require high-tech maintenance.Therefore,third-party maintenance service provider(MSP)has become a potential choice for brand owner(BO)to outsource maintenance,and technology licensing determines enterprises’ ability to repair special products.It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the technology license strategy in warranty service from the viewpoint of supply chain.By five different maintenance service supply chains with technology owned by three different enterprises,this paper analyzes how technology owners use the technology,how BO chooses maintenance payment contract,and how the risk-averse enterprises make the most suitable decisions.The detailed contents and conclusions are as follows:Firstly,for supply chains where BO masters technology,according to whether MSP or original equipment manufacturer(OEM)is authorized,it can be divided into three-level supply chain in which MSP is responsible for maintenance and two-level supply chain in which OEM is responsible for production and maintenance.Each type of supply chain is divided into four models based on different licensing fees and maintenance payment methods.By solving and analyzing these models,the results show that the the degree of risk aversion of BO is the most important factor affecting the payment strategy.BO is always inclined to fixed fee method in the aspect of licensing fee.These conclusions provide suggestions for BO’s license and maintenance strategies.Secondly,for supply chains where OEM masters technology,according to whether OEM authorizes MSP or retains technology itself,it can be divided into three-level supply chain in which MSP is responsible for maintenance and two-level supply chain in which OEM is responsible for production and maintenance.These supply chain is divided into six models based on different licensing fees and maintenance payment methods.By solving and analyzing these models,the results show that BO’s payment strategy in the three-level supply chain is affected by the licensing fee strategy,but BO’s payment strategy in the two-level supply chain will never change.The income of licensing fee and the degree of OEM’s risk aversion are important factors to licensing fee decision-making.These conclusions reveal the key impacts of the licensing strategy and payment strategy.Thirdly,for supply chains where MSP masters technology,it can be divided into four models based on whether MSP has R&D capability or not and different payment methods,the models focus on the impact of R&D capability on the maintenance service supply chain.The results show that market potential of production is a consideration for BO besides BO’s risk aversion.The conclusions prove the effectiveness of R&D behavior in improving MSP’s expected utility,and provide suggestions for MSP’s R&D strategy.