Financing decisions and operational risk mitigation in digitalized live-streaming e-commerce logistics

With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, live-streaming e-commerce has accelerated the structural evolution of logistics supply chains (LSCs), where operational security and financial stability have become critical to sustainable value creation. Under financial constraints, inefficiencies in logistics turnover may increase capital occupation and expose supply chain members to operational and financial risks. Digital transformation (DT), by enhancing logistics transparency and process coordination, provides new mechanisms to improve both financing efficiency and operational security. This study constructs a logistics supply chain consisting of one supplier and one financially constrained live-streaming e-commerce enterprise (LEE). Stackelberg game models are developed under a traditional financing model (TFM) and a digital financing model (DFM), depending on whether the LEE undertakes digital transformation. We examine how DT influences financing decisions, operational strategies, and the stability of supply chain performance. The results show that: (1) optimal pricing, live-streaming effort levels, degrees of DT, and profits of supply chain members decrease with higher cost coefficients, though at a diminishing rate; (2) when the DT cost coefficient is relatively high, supply chain profits are greater under the TFM, whereas in most parameter regions LEEs achieve higher returns under the DFM; and (3) when the DT cost coefficient is low, digital financing effectively alleviates capital constraints by improving logistics turnover efficiency and reducing capital occupation, thereby strengthening operational stability. These findings indicate that digital transformation not only enhances financing outcomes but also contributes to supply chain security by mitigating operational vulnerabilities in live-streaming e-commerce logistics systems.