IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0297484.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pricing decision and channel selection of fresh agricultural products dual-channel supply chain based on blockchain

Author

Listed:
  • Di Wang
  • Xiaoyue Tian
  • Mengchao Guo

Abstract

The application of blockchain can effectively improve the efficiency of fresh agricultural product circulation and consumer trust, but it can also increase investment costs. In this context, this paper introduces parameters such as blockchain unit variable cost, the level of blockchain technology investment, and consumer channel preference in two dual-channel supply chain systems dominated by fresh agricultural product manufacturers: online direct sales and distribution. It compares and analyzes pricing and channel selection strategies in both cases of not using and using blockchain. The research shows that when blockchain is used, manufacturer profits are higher in the direct sales model than in the distribution model. Traditional retailers’ profits are lower in the direct sales model than in the distribution model. Total supply chain profits are higher in the direct sales model than in the distribution model, and they exhibit an inverted "U" shape as the level of blockchain investment increases. In the online direct sales model, if the blockchain technology unit variable cost is within a certain threshold range, manufacturer profits, traditional retailer profits, and total supply chain profits are all higher than when blockchain technology is not used. In the online distribution model, when the blockchain variable cost and blockchain usage level meet certain conditions, manufacturers, traditional retailers, and online distributors all have higher profits when using blockchain technology than when not using it. This study provides theoretical guidance for the practical application of blockchain technology in dual-channel fresh agricultural product supply chains.

Suggested Citation

  • Di Wang & Xiaoyue Tian & Mengchao Guo, 2024. "Pricing decision and channel selection of fresh agricultural products dual-channel supply chain based on blockchain," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(3), pages 1-27, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0297484
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297484
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297484&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0297484?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qian Zheng & Manman Wang & Feng Yang, 2021. "Optimal Channel Strategy for a Fresh Produce E-Commerce Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-24, May.
    2. Yang Yang & Guanxin Yao, 2023. "Fresh keeping decision and coordination of fresh agricultural products supply chain under carbon cap-and-trade," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, April.
    3. He, Bo & Gupta, Varun & Mirchandani, Prakash, 2021. "Online selling through O2O platform or on your own? Strategic implications for local Brick-and-Mortar stores," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    4. Yang, Lei & Tang, Ruihong, 2019. "Comparisons of sales modes for a fresh product supply chain with freshness-keeping effort," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 425-448.
    5. Xu, Xiaoping & Zhang, Mian & He, Ping, 2020. "Coordination of a supply chain with online platform considering delivery time decision," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    6. Zhou, Yong-Wu & Guo, Jinsen & Zhou, Wenhui, 2018. "Pricing/service strategies for a dual-channel supply chain with free riding and service-cost sharing," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 198-210.
    7. Jasur Salikhov & Saidjahon Hayrutdinov & Timur K. Muminov, 2023. "Blockchain-Enabled Sustainable Supply Chain under Information Sharing and Recovery Quality Efforts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhou, Yu & Gao, Xiang & Luo, Suyuan & Xiong, Yu & Ye, Niangyue, 2022. "Anti-Counterfeiting in a retail Platform: A Game-Theoretic approach," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    2. Shujun Yang & Ivan Kai Wai Lai & Huajun Tang, 2022. "Pricing and Contract Coordination of BOPS Supply Chain Considering Product Return Risk," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Du, Zhong & Fan, Zhi-Ping & Sun, Fenghao, 2023. "O2O dual-channel sales: Choices of pricing policy and delivery mode for a restaurant," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    4. Shuai Zhao & Xiaoning Cao, 2024. "Sustainable Suppliers-to-Consumers’ Sales Mode Selection for Perishable Goods Considering the Blockchain-Based Tracking System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-32, April.
    5. Kittaka, Yuta & Matsushima, Noriaki & Saruta, Fuyuki, 2022. "Negative effect of price-matching policy on traditional retailers in a dual-channel supply chain with different content formats," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    6. Zheng, Zhijun & Li, Gang & Cheng, T.C.E & Wu, Feng, 2022. "Offline supplementary service strategies for the online marketplace: Third-party service or marketplace service?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    7. Qian Zheng & Manman Wang & Feng Yang, 2021. "Optimal Channel Strategy for a Fresh Produce E-Commerce Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-24, May.
    8. Tahirov, Nail & Glock, Christoph H., 2022. "Manufacturer encroachment and channel conflicts: A systematic review of the literature," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 302(2), pages 403-426.
    9. Min Li & Lina He & Guangchuan Yang & Zhen Lian, 2022. "Profit-Sharing Contracts for Fresh Agricultural Products Supply Chain Considering Spatio-Temporal Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    10. Yang, Yang & Liu, Jie & Hu, Taizhong, 2023. "Capital allocation and pricing decisions under trade credit with time-sensitive stochastic demand," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Zhou, Chi & Yu, Jing & Qian, Yong, 2024. "Should live-streaming platforms nonexclusively promote brands from traditional retail platforms?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    12. Zhou, Dan & Yan, Tingting & Zhao, Lilong & Guo, Jingjing, 2020. "Performance implications of servitization: Does a Manufacturer's service supply network matter?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 31-42.
    13. Bose, Sarmee & Mukherjee, Shashi Bajaj & Dey, Bikash Koli & Sarkar, Biswajit, 2024. "Continuous increasing consumer service for multi-item dual-channel retail management," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. Zhinan Li & Qinming Liu & Chunming Ye & Ming Dong & Yihan Zheng, 2022. "Achieving Resilience: Resilient Price and Quality Strategies of Fresh Food Dual-Channel Supply Chain Considering the Disruption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-24, May.
    15. Kuang-Sheng Liu & Ming-Hung Lin, 2021. "Performance Assessment on the Application of Artificial Intelligence to Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Construction Material Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-15, November.
    16. Kumar, Patanjal & Baraiya, Rajendra & Das, Debashree & Jakhar, Suresh Kumar & Xu, Lei & Mangla, Sachin Kumar, 2021. "Social responsibility and cost-learning in dyadic supply chain coordination," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    17. Yimei Chang & Jiaqi Yu & Yang Wang & Xiaoling Xie, 2025. "An Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm for Solving a Multi-Temperature Joint Distribution Route Optimization Problem," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-24, February.
    18. Jiahe Chen & Yu-Wei Chang, 2025. "How retailers launch IT-based strategies to win new and loyal customers in O2O commerce," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 35(1), pages 1-27, December.
    19. Li, Jin & Hu, Zening & Shi, Victor & Wang, Qian, 2021. "Manufacturer's encroachment strategy with substitutable green products," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    20. Yan, Nina & Zhang, Yaping & Xu, Xun & Gao, Yongling, 2021. "Online finance with dual channels and bidirectional free-riding effect," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0297484. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.