Research on the impact of carbon policy choice on the decision-making of low-carbon e-commerce supply chain under network externalities
In the low-carbon economic environment,small and medium-sized manufacturers(SMM)lack economic strength,have great pressure to achieve carbon emission reduction and low-carbon transformation.To alleviate financial pressure and increase profit margins,SMM choose to rely on e-commerce platforms for online sales.At this time,they do not need to spend more on advertising,logistics and after-sales service,etc.In addition,the e-commerce platform has the characteristics of significant network externalities,so that SMM can quickly expand the consumer market and obtain more profit.Meanwhile,promoting the low-carbon transformation of SMM is also the focus of the government's work.A favorable policy environment can help to promote the sustainable development of SMM.Carbon trading policy and carbon tax policy are common carbon policies,which have been implemented in many countries.So for SMM relying on e-commerce platforms for sales,which carbon policy is more effective,carbon trading policy or carbon tax policy?Enterprises and governments must clarify this issue,which is of great significance to the sustainable development of society and the stable operation of supply chain enterprises.Based on this,this paper considers a low-carbon e-commerce supply chain(LCE-SC)system dominated by an e-commerce platform and subordinated by a manufacturer,incorporates the network externality characteristics of products into the model to explore the"win-win situation"for the government and the LCE-SC optimal carbon policy.Firstly,we describe the model and make a series of reasonable assumptions,build a supply chain decision model under the carbon tax and carbon trading policies,and use the backward induction method to calculate the optimal solutions.Through analysis,we find that changes in carbon tax rates and carbon transaction prices can affect optimal product prices,market demand,and members'profits,but do not affect the service level of the e-commerce platform.Additionally,the impact of carbon trading price on product price,market demand,and members'profits is related to the size of the actual carbon emissions and the carbon quota.Secondly,by comparing the optimal price,market demand,and member profits obtained under the two carbon policies,we find that when discussing which carbon policy is the best,the size relationship between the actual carbon emissions and the carbon quota is an important influencing factor.In addition,we also analyze the impact of the main parameters of the model(such as network externality strength,service level sensitivity coefficient,etc.).Then,we analyze the optimal carbon policy for the government by calculating consumer surplus and social welfare.Finally,through the analysis of numerical examples,we verify and further explore our conclusions obtained.Our conclusions show that:when the actual carbon emissions of the manufacturer exceed the carbon quota,there is a threshold,when the carbon trading price exceeds this threshold,the carbon trading policy will punish the supply chain enterprises more than the carbon tax policy,and the government can achieve greater social welfare and higher profits for supply chain members by implementing a carbon tax policy;if the carbon trading price is less than the threshold,the carbon tax policy will be more punishing.For the government and supply chain members,the carbon trading policy is the best carbon policy.When the actual carbon emission of the manufacturer is less than the carbon quota stipulated by the government,under the carbon trading policy,the supply chain members'profits and social welfare are at a high level,so the carbon trading policy is best for both the government and LCE-SC.Therefore,under the same conditions,the best decision of the government is also the best carbon policy for the LCE-SC.That is to say,when the government implements the best carbon policy according to the actual situation,it can obtain strong support from supply chain enterprises.At the same time,the government should reasonably design carbon quotas based on specific circumstances without affecting the environment and the production and operation of enterprises.Additionally,we find that network externalities are a positive factor in supply chain decision-making.The higher the intensity of network externalities,the greater the utility that consumers can obtain from purchasing products,and the stronger consumers'willingness to purchase,which has a positive effect on product prices,market demand,and profits of supply chain enterprises.Therefore,when making decisions,enterprises should pay attention to the role of network externalities,and make full use of product network externalities to increase the market share and profits.In summary,the choice of carbon policy has important implications for the governments and enterprises.The conclusions of this paper provide a reference guide for the government to implement carbon policy and for e-commerce supply chain members to make the right decisions in the low-carbon context.
万方数据
维普
