Research On Fresh Agricultural Products Supply Chain Management Based On Social Preferences

In the 21st century, with rapid development of market economy, the long-term and harmony development of fresh agricultural products supply chain is facing fierce competition. Supply chain members' decisions not only affect the competitiveness of the entire supply chain, but also have a significant impact on people's normal healthy life. However, the existing literatures on fresh agricultural products supply chain are mostly based on "fully-rational" hypothesis. With the development of behavioral economics, a lot of experiments have proved that social preferences influence decision-making and more and more scholars combine behavioral economics with operation management research in their research. Therefore, the methods such as literature research, case study, game model and mathematical simulation are used to analyze supply chain management issues of circulation patterns and coordination based on social preferences.After a comprehensive review on the literature of fresh agricultural products supply chain and social preferences, agricultural products circulation mode of American, Japan and Holland and its related preferences are analyzed specifically, then summarized to successful experiences. On the basis of the analysis of Chinese circulation patterns, "agricultural & super docking" is recognized as a great circulation pattern considering the national conditions and developing trends, which is also suitable for Internet Plus environments.On the basis of the certain circulation pattern, an uncertain demand model considering the characteristics of fresh agricultural products and the degree of participants' altruism is established. Also numerical examples analysis is conducted to study how altruism affects the supply chain under wholesale price contract. Under the condition of the wholesale price without negotiation, only the retailer with smaller altruism will cooperate with supplier, and the supply chain organized by fully-altruistic supplier and self-interested retailer can achieve coordination. Besides, supplier's altruism can help alleviating "double marginalization". Under the negotiated wholesale price, supply chain can also be coordinated when the retailer is fully-altruistic. The altruism lubricants supply chain because participants sacrifice their own profits to maximize or improve utilities, which also improve the profit and utility of overall supply chain.The degree of fair concern and reference dependence factor are introduced to build the function of members' fair utilities, also numerical examples being conducted to study the impacts of fairness on supply chain. However, fairness preference can't achieve supply chain coordination no matter wholesale price is negotiated or not, and the utility of supply chain will decline when participants' fairness increase. When the wholesale price is not negotiated, only the supplier with smaller fairness will participate in cooperation. And the wholesale price may increase even retailer's fairness increase if supplier own high fairness, leading retailer's profit decline. Based on the fact that fairness not always brings more profit, members should control the degree of fair concern and reference dependence factor reasonably to avoid losing its supply chain competitiveness.The results of research and its extending management recommendations adapted to practical examples and future research directions are discussed in the final.