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Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 44310

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shaojian Qu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School Management Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Interests: supply chain management; group decision-making; portfolio management; robust optimization; game theory and decision theory; methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Qingguo Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management, Qufu Normal University, Rizhao 276826, China
Interests: sustainable supply chain operations management; operational research theory and application
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ying Ji

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Interests: data analysis and data mining, big data technology and application, supply chain management, robust optimization, decision and game
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Congjun Rao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: group decision-making; decision and game; big data technology and application; supply chain management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, with the awareness of environmental protection gradually taking root, the WCED put forward the concept of sustainable development in 1987. Its main idea is development; starting with protecting the environment and ensuring the sustainability of resources, and then carrying out economic and social development. Since this concept was introduced, sustainable development has spread in many industries. In the 1990s, scholars began to study sustainable supply chain management in order to pay attention to environmental protection and contribute to social development in the process of supply chain management.

Due to the complex and changing global trade environment and the intensification of economic and trade conflicts, enterprises have become more cautious about economic development. Therefore, more and more enterprises are paying increasing attention to the construction and investment of the supply chain for sustainable development and obtaining important benefits to ensure supply, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and control risks by improving the competitiveness of the supply chain. Enterprises are also integrating sustainability into enterprise strategy and operation management; combining it with ensuring safety, quality, and internal control; exploring the innovation and reform of enterprise operation and management and the reform of industry development with supply chain innovation and reform; and building an ecosystem composed of customers, enterprises, and suppliers. At present, a safe, stable, and sustainable supply chain not only has become positioned as the core competitiveness of enterprise development but has also gradually evolved into the key to the sustainable development of the industrial chain.

The topics to be discussed will include identifying management factors for sustainable supply chain development in order to promote innovative development of sustainable supply chain systems, such as carbon footprint and emissions, waste, air pollution, big data, cost management, agricultural supply chain, and supply-chain finance.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Supply chain management based on big data;
  • Research on supply chain decisions under disturbance;
  • Research on the supply chain from the perspective of game theory;
  • Supply chain management in uncertain environments;
  • Research on supply chain development under the influence of policy;
  • Research on green supply chain under low carbon economy;
  • Logistics and environmental protection in the supply chain.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References:

  1. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), (1987). Our Common Future, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  2. Dhahri, S.,& Omri, A. (2018). Entrepreneurship contribution to the three pillars of sustainable development: What does the evidence really say?, World Development, 106, 64-77.
  3. Soundararajan, V., & Brown, J. A. (2016). Voluntary governance mechanisms in global supply chains: Beyond CSR to a stakeholder utility perspective, Journal of Business Ethics, 134 (1), 83-102.
  4. Hart, S. L., & Milstein, M. B. (2003). Creating sustainable value, Academy of Management Perspectives, 17 (2), 56-67.
  5. Yin, J., Qian, L., & Singhapakdi, A. (2018). Sharing sustainability: How values and ethics matter in consumers’ adoption of the public bicycle-sharing scheme, Journal of Business Ethics, 149 (2), 313-32.

Prof. Dr. Shaojian Qu
Prof. Dr. Qingguo Bai
Prof. Dr. Ying Ji
Prof. Dr. Congjun Rao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental protection
  • game
  • supply chain
  • green development
  • ecological compensation
  • uncertainty
  • sustainable growth

Published Papers (17 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 155 KiB  
Editorial
Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization
by Shaojian Qu and Ying Ji
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3844; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15043844 - 20 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1266
Abstract
Due to the complex and changing global trade environment and the intensification of economic and trade conflicts, enterprises have become more cautious about economic development [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

26 pages, 1170 KiB  
Article
Optimal Pricing Strategy of New Products and Remanufactured Products Considering Consumers’ Switching Purchase Behavior
by Hao Li, Qing Xiao and Ting Peng
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5246; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15065246 - 15 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1638
Abstract
Due to income constraints, increased awareness of environmental protection and preference for new products, consumers generate switching purchases between new and remanufactured products, which often lead to a “cannibalization effect” in the market, and make sellers fall into a vicious circle of price [...] Read more.
Due to income constraints, increased awareness of environmental protection and preference for new products, consumers generate switching purchases between new and remanufactured products, which often lead to a “cannibalization effect” in the market, and make sellers fall into a vicious circle of price reduction. Considering consumers’ switching purchase behavior, this study examines the pricing problem of new products and remanufactured products in the competitive market environment. Based on two-period duopoly asymmetric price game models, there has been less research on the effectiveness of the price matching strategy and the traditional dynamic pricing strategy, which is the issue that this paper is dedicated to discussing. This study analyzes the equilibrium profits and their influencing factors under the dynamic pricing and price matching strategies of sellers, and discusses the simplified solution of the model. The results show that consumer learning costs, initial consumers and product differences can affect the sellers’ pricing decisions. Consumers’ learning costs of products reduces the equilibrium profit of the manufacturer and increases that of the remanufacturer. Initial consumers are not always advantageous for sellers’ profitability. Product differences affect the determination of the seller’s equilibrium strategy. In the optimal strategy, the remanufacturer should insist on price matching, while the manufacturer should choose dynamic pricing or price matching according to the product differences. This study provides sellers with insights to choose appropriate and custom pricing strategies to maximize profit as well as prevent the majority of consumers switching purchase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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22 pages, 874 KiB  
Article
Decision-Making of Cross-Border E-Commerce Platform Supply Chains Considering Information Sharing and Free Shipping
by Libin Guo and Yuxiao Shang
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3350; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15043350 - 11 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2086
Abstract
For cross-border e-commerce companies with high shipping costs, the existing retailer and the new entrant retailer on the platform are usually concerned with information sharing and free shipping due to the uncertainty of market demand. For this, by establishing a Stackelberg game model [...] Read more.
For cross-border e-commerce companies with high shipping costs, the existing retailer and the new entrant retailer on the platform are usually concerned with information sharing and free shipping due to the uncertainty of market demand. For this, by establishing a Stackelberg game model between two competing retailers, we analyze the strategy of retailers and explore the business strategies of the cross-border e-commerce platform. The study shows that regarding information-sharing strategies, retailer A’s willingness to share information is positively related to initial market potential and negatively related to market competition intensity. Moreover, retailer B is willing to spend higher information costs to purchase information when the necessity of the product is more elevated. As for a free shipping strategy, if the existing retailer offers free shipping, the new entrant retailer should also offer free shipping service to consumers when the initial market potential is larger. Conversely, when the initial market potential is smaller, the retailer’s willingness to offer free shipping decreases when the intensity of competition in the market increases. When the market tends to be perfectly competitive, the new entrant retailer will not choose a free shipping strategy, and the platform is most profitable when information sharing and free shipping occur simultaneously. However, when the carrier charges a higher shipping fee to customers, the existing retailer is more profitable when the new entrant does not offer free shipping. Therefore, in order to achieve a win-win situation for all parties, the platform needs to develop appropriate operational strategies to influence the decisions of retailers and carriers. Some numerical experiments are made to test the validity of the model and the effect of the parameters involved in the model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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17 pages, 4879 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Trade Promotions in Case of Negative Demand Disruption in E-Commerce
by Saeide Bigdellou, Shirin Aslani and Mohammad Modarres
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2320; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15032320 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1478
Abstract
In this research, we examine the impact of a negative demand disruption on trade promotions strategy, where suppliers offer discounted prices to online supply chain retailers. To analyze the various factors that affect trade promotion strategies, we develop a Stackelberg game model to [...] Read more.
In this research, we examine the impact of a negative demand disruption on trade promotions strategy, where suppliers offer discounted prices to online supply chain retailers. To analyze the various factors that affect trade promotion strategies, we develop a Stackelberg game model to determine the optimal pricing for both manufacturers and retailers, as well as the optimal order quantity of the retailers. Our findings indicate that through an appropriate sustainable trade promotion policy, the profit of the supply chain’s members can be increased in different scenarios, including various product disposal costs and the time of product delivery. In addition to the trade promotion policies, we consider a new strategy where the manufacturer assists the retailer by paying some part of the delivery cost. Then, we compare these strategies to determine which approach leads to the highest profit for the manufacturer, retailer, and integrated supply chain under the different intensities of negative demand disruption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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23 pages, 2777 KiB  
Article
The Robust Emergency Medical Facilities Location-Allocation Models under Uncertain Environment: A Hybrid Approach
by Fang Xu, Mengfan Yan, Lun Wang and Shaojian Qu
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 624; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15010624 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2034
Abstract
In emergency medical facilities location, the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system plays an obvious role in the rational allocation of medical resources and improving the use efficiency of medical resources. However, few studies have investigated the operational mechanism of hierarchical medical systems in [...] Read more.
In emergency medical facilities location, the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system plays an obvious role in the rational allocation of medical resources and improving the use efficiency of medical resources. However, few studies have investigated the operational mechanism of hierarchical medical systems in uncertain environments. To address this research gap, this paper proposes a hybrid approach for emergency medical facilities’ location-allocation. In the first stage, in order to concentrate on the utilization of medical resources, we choose alternative facility points from the whole facilities through the entropy weight method (EWM). In the second stage, uncertainty sets are used to describe the uncertain number of patients at emergency medical points more accurately. We propose a robust model to configure large base hospitals based on the robust optimization method. Furthermore, the proposed robust models are applied to the emergency management of Huanggang City under COVID-19. The results show that the optimal emergency medical facility location-allocation scheme meets the actual treatment needs. Simultaneously, the disturbance ratio and uncertainty level have a significant impact on the configuration scheme. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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22 pages, 2253 KiB  
Article
Nonlinear Diffusion Evolution Model of Unethical Behavior among Green Food Enterprise
by Qi Yang, Yuejuan Hou, Haoran Wei, Tingqiang Chen and Jining Wang
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16158; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142316158 - 03 Dec 2022
Viewed by 977
Abstract
Under the background of low-carbon economy, the unethical behavior of green food enterprises has aggravated the uncertainty and frequency of green food safety problems and even triggered a contagion of unethical behavior among green food enterprises. In view of this, considering the characteristics [...] Read more.
Under the background of low-carbon economy, the unethical behavior of green food enterprises has aggravated the uncertainty and frequency of green food safety problems and even triggered a contagion of unethical behavior among green food enterprises. In view of this, considering the characteristics of organizational behavior, external environmental intervention and social networks, we construct an infectious disease model of the nonlinear spread of unethical behavior in green food enterprises and simulated the mechanism and evolution characteristics of the spread of unethical behavior among them. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) Single adjustment of the level of enterprise moral clarity, damage degree of unethical behavior, and enterprise influence can only reduce the diffusion probability of unethical behavior to a certain extent. (2) Enterprise ethical climate plays a crucial role in the diffusion of unethical behavior among green food enterprises and exerts a “strengthening effect” on other organizational behavior and external environmental intervention factors. (3) The strength of external supervision and strength of punishment exert a “suppression effect” on the diffusion of unethical behavior among green food enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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17 pages, 2889 KiB  
Article
Robust Counterpart Models for Fresh Agricultural Product Routing Planning Considering Carbon Emissions and Uncertainty
by Feng Yang, Zhong Wu, Xiaoyan Teng and Shaojian Qu
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 14992; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142214992 - 13 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1215
Abstract
Cold chain transportation guarantees the quality of fresh agricultural products in people’s lives, but it comes with huge environmental costs. In order to improve transportation efficiency and reduce environmental impact, it is crucial to quantify the routing planning problem under the impact of [...] Read more.
Cold chain transportation guarantees the quality of fresh agricultural products in people’s lives, but it comes with huge environmental costs. In order to improve transportation efficiency and reduce environmental impact, it is crucial to quantify the routing planning problem under the impact of carbon emissions. Considering fixed costs, transportation costs, and carbon emission costs, we propose a mixed integer linear programming model with the aim of minimizing costs. However, in real conditions, uncertainty poses a great challenge to the rationality of routing planning. The uncertainty is described through robust optimization theory and several robust counterpart models are proposed. We take the actual transportation enterprises as the research object and verify the validity of the model by constructing a Benders decomposition algorithm. The results reveal that the increase in uncertainty parameter volatility forces enterprises to increase uncontrollable transportation costs and reduce logistics service levels. An increase in the level of security parameters could undermine the downward trend and reduce 1.4% of service level losses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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26 pages, 3429 KiB  
Article
A Credit Risk Contagion Intensity Model of Supply Chain Enterprises under Different Credit Modes
by Yuhao Wang, Jiaxian Shen, Jinnan Pan and Tingqiang Chen
Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13518; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142013518 - 19 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1600
Abstract
The rapid development of theoretical and practical innovations in corporate finance driven by supply chain finance has exacerbated the complexity of credit default risk contagion among supply chain enterprises. Financial risks in the supply chain greatly hinder its sustainable development; thus, strengthening financial [...] Read more.
The rapid development of theoretical and practical innovations in corporate finance driven by supply chain finance has exacerbated the complexity of credit default risk contagion among supply chain enterprises. Financial risks in the supply chain greatly hinder its sustainable development; thus, strengthening financial risk management is necessary to ensure the sustainability of the supply chain. Based on the single-channel and dual-channel credit financing models of retailers in the supply chain, the purpose of this paper was to construct a model of the intensity of credit default risk contagion among supply chain enterprises under different credit financing models, and investigate the influencing factors of credit risk contagion among supply chain enterprises and its mechanism of action through a computational simulation system. The results were as follows: (1) there was a positive relationship between the production cost of suppliers and the contagion intensity of the supply chain credit default risk, and the contagion effect of the supply chain credit default risk increased significantly when both retailers defaulted on trade credit to suppliers; (2) the market retail price of the product was negatively related to the contagion intensity of the supply chain credit default risk, and the contagion intensity of the supply chain credit default risk increased significantly when both retailers defaulted on trade credit to the supplier; (3) the intensity of credit default risk contagion in the supply chain was positively correlated with both the commercial bank risk-free rate and the trade credit rate, and retailers’ repayment priority on trade credit debt was negatively correlated with suppliers’ wholesale prices and positively correlated with retailers’ order volumes, with retailers’ repayment priority positively affecting retailers’ bank credit rates and negatively affecting suppliers’ bank credit rates; and (4) retailers’ repayment priority on trade credit debt was negatively correlated with the intensity of supply chain credit default risk contagion, and the lower the retailer’s bank credit limit, the higher the trade credit limit, and the stronger the credit default contagion effect in the supply chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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26 pages, 2271 KiB  
Article
Data-Driven Robust Data Envelopment Analysis for Evaluating the Carbon Emissions Efficiency of Provinces in China
by Shaojian Qu, Yuting Xu, Ying Ji, Can Feng, Jinpeng Wei and Shan Jiang
Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13318; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142013318 - 17 Oct 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1580
Abstract
To combat global warming, China proposed the “dual carbon” policy in 2020. In this context, it becomes crucial to improve carbon emissions efficiency. Currently, some scholars have utilized data envelopment analysis (DEA) to study carbon emissions efficiency. However, uncertainty about climate and government [...] Read more.
To combat global warming, China proposed the “dual carbon” policy in 2020. In this context, it becomes crucial to improve carbon emissions efficiency. Currently, some scholars have utilized data envelopment analysis (DEA) to study carbon emissions efficiency. However, uncertainty about climate and government economic policy is ignored. This paper establishes a robust DEA model to reduce uncertainty and improve robustness. First, robust optimization theory is combined with DEA to establish the robust DEA model. Second, considering three uncertainty sets (box set, ellipsoid set, and polyhedron set), a robust DEA model for different situations is considered. Finally, to address the problem of over-conservatism in robust optimization, this paper applies the data-driven robust DEA model to further analyze the carbon emissions efficiency of China. The results of the data-driven robust DEA model suggest that the government should focus on coordinated regional development, promote the transformation and upgrading of the energy structure, innovate in green technology, and advocate for people to live a green and low-carbon lifestyle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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21 pages, 1863 KiB  
Article
Data-Driven Robust DEA Models for Measuring Operational Efficiency of Endowment Insurance System of Different Provinces in China
by Shaojian Qu, Can Feng, Shan Jiang, Jinpeng Wei and Yuting Xu
Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9954; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14169954 - 11 Aug 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1473
Abstract
China is facing an increasingly serious aging problem, which puts forward higher requirements for the smoothness of the endowment insurance system. Accurate evaluation of the efficiency of the system can help the government to find problems and improve the system. Some scholars have [...] Read more.
China is facing an increasingly serious aging problem, which puts forward higher requirements for the smoothness of the endowment insurance system. Accurate evaluation of the efficiency of the system can help the government to find problems and improve the system. Some scholars have used data envelopment analysis (DEA) method to measure the efficiency of endowment insurance system. However, according to the literature, the impact of government policy adjustment and economic shocks on output of the data was ignored. In this study, a robust optimization method is applied to deal with uncertainty. Robust DEA models proposed in this paper are based on three kinds of uncertainty sets. A data-driven robust optimization method is also applied to resolve the over-conservative problem. Compared with the robust DEA method, based on analysis it is found that the data-driven robust DEA method is more flexible and reliable for efficiency estimating strategies. The results of data-driven robust DEA models illustrate that the government should increase its support for the endowment insurance system, especially for the underdeveloped regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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21 pages, 2978 KiB  
Article
The Pricing Mechanism Analysis of China’s Natural Gas Supply Chain under the “Dual Carbon” Target Based on the Perspective of Game Theory
by Cheng Che, Xin Geng, Huixian Zheng, Yi Chen and Xiaoguang Zhang
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9510; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14159510 - 03 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1792
Abstract
China is currently the world’s largest energy consumer and carbon emitter. In order to reduce the harm of carbon dioxide to the global ecological environment, the use of natural gas instead of coal is a realistic choice for China to achieve the “dual [...] Read more.
China is currently the world’s largest energy consumer and carbon emitter. In order to reduce the harm of carbon dioxide to the global ecological environment, the use of natural gas instead of coal is a realistic choice for China to achieve the “dual carbon” goal. Opportunities also bring new challenges, and the price of natural gas is an important method of promoting the upstream and downstream industrial chains of natural gas, so it is of great practical significance to study the price of natural gas. This paper builds a three-level supply chain model consisting of suppliers in the natural gas market, city gas companies and consumers in the market and uses the Stackelberg game to study the decision-making models of different subjects under their own dominance and centralized decision-making; it also considers the pricing mechanism and profit situation of stakeholders in the natural gas market under the low-carbon preference of consumers and the level of corporate carbon emission reduction. The research results show that when considering consumers’ low-carbon preferences, the sales prices of various stakeholders in the market have increased, which is beneficial for all entities in the natural gas industry chain. At the same time, with the low-carbon transformation of energy companies, the production method drives the price of raw materials to rise in the process of low-carbon innovation, which, in turn, makes the price of various stakeholders in the natural gas market and the level of carbon emission reduction per unit show a positive relationship; in order to maximize the overall profit of the supply chain, the natural gas market should adopt a centralized decision-making method to further promote the reform of China’s natural gas marketization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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36 pages, 497 KiB  
Article
Procurement Strategies and Auction Mechanism for Heterogeneous Service Providers in a Service Supply Chain
by Jifeng Cao and Cheng Ma
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9201; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14159201 - 27 Jul 2022
Viewed by 1232
Abstract
This paper examines competition between two heterogeneous service providers (SPs) in a service procurement market. We investigate a service supply chain consisting of one service integrator (SI), and two SPs who compete the SI’s order with their own reservation profits. To select the [...] Read more.
This paper examines competition between two heterogeneous service providers (SPs) in a service procurement market. We investigate a service supply chain consisting of one service integrator (SI), and two SPs who compete the SI’s order with their own reservation profits. To select the favorable SP and centralize the total system, we propose an auction mechanism in symmetric and asymmetric information scenarios and find that channel coordination can be achieved by means of an efficient auction mechanism, hence, Pareto improvement conditions can be clearly illustrated. In addition, we characterize the effects of information asymmetry on optimal decisions and derive some important managerial insights into the value of information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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18 pages, 1837 KiB  
Article
Impact of Information Asymmetry on the Operation of Green Closed-Loop Supply Chain under Government Regulation
by Jianteng Xu, Peng Wang and Qi Xu
Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7999; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14137999 - 30 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1845
Abstract
Recycling subsidy and carbon tax policies are ways to achieve energy and environmental sustainability. The implementation of these policies has changed the operating environment of traditional closed-loop supply chains, while the privacy of relevant information increases the difficulty of decision-making. Under the background, [...] Read more.
Recycling subsidy and carbon tax policies are ways to achieve energy and environmental sustainability. The implementation of these policies has changed the operating environment of traditional closed-loop supply chains, while the privacy of relevant information increases the difficulty of decision-making. Under the background, this paper considers the green closed-loop supply chain (GCLSC) under the hybrid policy of recycling subsidy and carbon tax where the manufacturer is in charge of recycling and the retailer invests in green marketing. Taking green marketing cost coefficient as the retailer’s private information, this paper explores the influence of information asymmetry on optimal decisions and performance of the GCLSC. By constructing game models of information symmetry and asymmetry, the optimal decisions, economic and environmental performance, and social welfare are provided. Combined with numerical analysis, the influence of uncertainty of the manufacturer’s estimation, subsidies and carbon tax on the GCLSC is proposed. The results indicate that the uncertainty in the manufacturer’s estimation can improve the social welfare under certain conditions, but it cannot reduce carbon emissions. Recycling subsidy and carbon tax policies oppositely affect the manufacturer’s optimal decisions and carbon emissions. Information asymmetry is beneficial to the retailer. However, less uncertainty in estimation is not always better for the manufacturer. The manufacturer needs to proactively adopt strategies to stimulate the retailer’s information sharing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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29 pages, 393 KiB  
Article
Analysis of M/M/1/N Stochastic Queueing—Inventory System with Discretionary Priority Service and Retrial Facility
by K. Jeganathan, S. Vidhya, R. Hemavathy, N. Anbazhagan, Gyanendra Prasad Joshi, Chanku Kang and Changho Seo
Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6370; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14106370 - 23 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1529
Abstract
In this paper, we analyze a queueing–inventory system with two classes of customers, high priority (HP) and low priority (LP), under the discretionary priority discipline. The LP customers are served in two stages: preliminary service in stage-I and main service in stage-II. In [...] Read more.
In this paper, we analyze a queueing–inventory system with two classes of customers, high priority (HP) and low priority (LP), under the discretionary priority discipline. The LP customers are served in two stages: preliminary service in stage-I and main service in stage-II. In contrast, HP customers require only the main service. Whenever the inventory level is less than the threshold level during the stage-I service of an LP customer, an arriving HP customer is allowed to interrupt the service of an LP customer by adopting the mixed-priority discipline. Otherwise, non-preemptive priority discipline is used in both stages. The interrupted LP customer moves to orbit and retries for the service whenever the server is free. The waiting hall of finite capacity is afforded for the HP customer only. The orbital search is provided for LP customers in orbit. The inventory is replenished following the (s,Q) ordering policy, with the lifetimes of the items being exponentially distributed. An expression for the stability condition is determined explicitly, and system performance measures are evaluated. Numerical examples are formulated for different sets of input values of the parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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17 pages, 752 KiB  
Article
Research on the Relationship between Digital Transformation and Performance of SMEs
by Xiaoyan Teng, Zhong Wu and Feng Yang
Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6012; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14106012 - 16 May 2022
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 16837
Abstract
Objective: Through an empirical analysis of the performance of SMEs undergoing digital transformation, this study attempts to identify the influencing factors that determine their sustainable development to provide reference for academic researchers and industrial decision makers. Method: This study first uses an interview [...] Read more.
Objective: Through an empirical analysis of the performance of SMEs undergoing digital transformation, this study attempts to identify the influencing factors that determine their sustainable development to provide reference for academic researchers and industrial decision makers. Method: This study first uses an interview method to investigate the impact of SMEs’ three main resources on digital transformation: digital technology, employee digital skills, and digital transformation strategy. Second, we assess the impact of digital transformation on financial performance. Using the structural equation model, 335 valid questionnaires were recovered through the questionnaire method, and the key factors were identified using SPSS and SPSSAU tools. Results: In the Chinese context, digital transformation affects SME performance, and the three resources mentioned above are positively correlated with SMEs’ digital transformation. Digital transformation is positively correlated with performance, and it is the mediator of the impact of digital transformation strategies on performance. Conclusion: For SMEs, focusing on investing in digital technologies, employee digital skills, and digital transformation strategies are three key factors that are beneficial for digital transformation, thus helping to improve performance and maintain their sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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21 pages, 2619 KiB  
Article
Decisions on Pricing, Sustainability Effort, and Carbon Cap under Wholesale Price and Cost-Sharing Contracts
by Doo-Ho Lee and Jong-Chul Yoon
Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4863; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14084863 - 18 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1906
Abstract
Rapid economic growth and industrialization have brought material abundance and convenience, but also social and environmental problems such as global warming, climate change, and ozone depletion. For this reason, the public and governments have continued to make efforts to reduce carbon oxide emissions [...] Read more.
Rapid economic growth and industrialization have brought material abundance and convenience, but also social and environmental problems such as global warming, climate change, and ozone depletion. For this reason, the public and governments have continued to make efforts to reduce carbon oxide emissions worldwide over the past few decades. To achieve this mission, cap-and-trade regulations have been introduced as one of the most effective market-based mechanisms to control carbon emissions. Accordingly, sustainability efforts, including the development of green products and innovating manufacturing technologies, are being made by companies in supply chains to reduce their carbon emissions. In the context of sustainability innovations and carbon emission constraints, this article investigates pricing decisions, the degree of sustainability efforts, and carbon caps under two different supply chain contracts—in this case, wholesale price contract and cost-sharing contract. This article establishes a Stackelberg game model under each of the supply chain contract types and presents the equilibrium decisions made by players of the game. Major findings of this article reveal that (i) the performance of the supply chain is considerably affected by the presence of a carbon cap; (ii) the higher the carbon cap set by a government is, the more sustainability innovation efforts the supply chain makes; and (iii) the supply chain can improve its profitability and its sustainability under a cost-sharing contract. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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19 pages, 1960 KiB  
Article
Measurement of China’s Building Energy Consumption from the Perspective of a Comprehensive Modified Life Cycle Assessment Statistics Method
by Qiurui Liu, Juntian Huang, Ting Ni and Lin Chen
Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4587; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14084587 - 12 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1473
Abstract
This paper proposes a new life cycle assessment (LCA) statistics method to calculate the energy consumption of Chinese buildings from the perspective of LCA under the sustainable supply chain system. We divide the life cycle of buildings into the materialization stage, the construction [...] Read more.
This paper proposes a new life cycle assessment (LCA) statistics method to calculate the energy consumption of Chinese buildings from the perspective of LCA under the sustainable supply chain system. We divide the life cycle of buildings into the materialization stage, the construction stage, and the operation stage. Based on the new LCA statistics method, we obtain the following findings. First, the growth of total building energy consumption has slowed down since 2014, and its share of the Chinese total energy consumption levels off, remaining at about 40%. In 2018, the stages of materialization, construction, and operation account for about 34.02%, 4.65%, and 61.33% in total building energy consumption, respectively. Second, the materialization and operation stages are the main sources of energy consumption in the whole supply chain. Energy consumption in the materialization stage has been declining year by year since 2014, due to the impact of energy-saving policy. Moreover, we find that energy consumption in the operation and construction stages has been increasing year by year. Finally, in the life cycle of Chinese buildings, energy consumption in the operation stage plays a dominant role. This paper puts forward some managerial suggestions to relevant departments and provides some measures to optimize energy consumption in the Chinese building industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Optimization)
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