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The Strategic Adoption of Platform Schemes and Its Impacts on Traditional Distributors: A Case Study of Gree

Author

Listed:
  • Houru Hu

    (College of Civil Aviation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Mingxia Li

    (School of Economics and Management, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066000, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Sifan Xiao

    (School of Economics and Management, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066000, China)

  • Zhichao Zhang

    (College of Economics and Management, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China)

Abstract

This article is motivated by the challenge of the increasing power of e-commerce compared to traditional commerce. An online retail platform can provide both agency selling and reselling schemes, while the supplier can adopt one scheme or both. For a case study of Gree, we formulate four cases based on the channel structures to investigate the adoption strategies of platform schemes and their impacts on a traditional distributor, Jinghai. Firstly, we discuss the impacts of the slotting fee, the revenue-sharing proportion earned by the supplier, and the market competition intensity on the profits and decisions of members. A more intense market and a higher revenue-sharing proportion for the supplier will lead to a lower price in the traditional distribution channel. Secondly, we study how a supplier should employ the platform schemes with a traditional distributor. Particularly, the extremely low extra market demand driven by the online platform and the sufficiently low market intensity may not lead to a motivation for suppliers to adopt the agency scheme. Finally, Gree’s introduction of an agency scheme does not always spell disaster for traditional distributors, and it may not be such a bad thing for Jinghai to agree to Gree adding the online reselling scheme.

Suggested Citation

  • Houru Hu & Mingxia Li & Sifan Xiao & Zhichao Zhang, 2025. "The Strategic Adoption of Platform Schemes and Its Impacts on Traditional Distributors: A Case Study of Gree," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-28, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jmathe:v:13:y:2025:i:10:p:1591-:d:1654251
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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