Influencing Factors of Channel Collaboration in Multi-channel Supply Chain: A Contextual Ambidexterity-Based Analysis from the Perspective of Traditional Retailer

Abstract

In multi-channel supply chain (SC), the traditional retailer can get service returns through collaboration with the direct sales channel of the manufacturer. It is very meaningful to identify the influencing factors of the channel collaboration and disclose their impacts. This paper firstly considers the cross-channel behavior of consumers, which stimulates the traditional retailer to improve its service level, and in turn exerts a spillover effect on the demand for the direct sales channel. Hence, a Stackelberg game model was set up between the manufacturer and the retailer to explore the spillover effect on pricing and service decisions. The results show that the spillover effect promotes the retailer's service level, lowers the manufacturer's wholesale price, and increases the profits of both sides. Next, an empirical model was built based on contextual ambidexterity, which covers multiple variables and mediators. The model was applied to examine the correlations of channel collaboration and collaboration performance with cross-channel behavior and other key factors. The empirical analysis was based on the data collected from 221 traditional retailers in multi-channel SCs across China. Through the analysis, it is confirmed that the collaboration performance is greatly promoted by the cross-channel behavior (on the level of environmental adaptation), as well as channel complementation and trust (on the level of task alignment), and the promoting effects are mediated by the three dimensions of channel collaboration, namely, special investment, information sharing and joint action. The research findings provide new insights into the channel collaboration between the traditional retailer and the manufacturer in multi-channel SC, and offer new empirical evidence to studies on contextual ambidexterity and channel behavior.

New Product Presale Strategies considering Consumers’ Loss Aversion in the E-Commerce Supply Chain

“…Assuming that the amount of the commission charged by the e-commerce platform per unit of the new product is τ, then the total commission charged by the e-commerce platform is τ(Q + n 1 ). Suppose that the level of sales services provided by the e-commerce platform is e (which is the decision variable), and similar to the hypotheses made in literature [1,14], let the cost function be C(e) � ce 2 /2, where c(c > 0) is the service cost parameter, which specifically refers to all the costs needed per unit to improve the level of services (including advertising and marketing services, customer services, payment services, agency operations, and after-sales services, etc. ).…”

“…According to the theory provided in the literature [33] and others, given the platform service level e, the supplier's optimal quantity of new products and maximum expected profit are as follows: Below is how the optimal service level of the e-commerce platform is calculated. With π 1 O denoted as the expected profit function of the platform, there is…”

“…With the rapid development of Internet information technology, commodity trading is being integrated more with e-commerce. More and more consumers choose to shop via online platforms such as Tmall, Pinduoduo, and JD, and thus, the "e-commerce supply chain" based on Internet information technology has emerged [1]. e e-commerce supply chain is a combination of supply chain management and e-commerce and a new development model of supply chain [2].…”

“…Zhao et al [10] discussed how consumers' channel loyalty, product complementarity, and market structure affect the pricing decisions in online and offline supply chains. Wang et al [1] studied the multiagent e-commerce supply chain decision model by taking product substitution and complementarity into account. For the E-closed-loop supply chain composed of a single manufacturer and a single network platform, Wang et al [11] studied the optimal decision-making problem of the supply chain system led by the network platform.…”