Research On The Pricing And Financing Decisions Of Capital Constrained Low-Carbon Supply Chain

Nowadays,resource consumption and carbon emissions are making irreversible damage to our ecology,which hinders the sustainable development of the world economy.To decrease the adverse effects of carbon emissions and resource consumption on the environment,numerous national governments have been actively exploring low-carbon and sustainable development paths.Meanwhile,under the actions of both governments and markets,an increasing number of manufacturing enterprises have begun to consider carbon reduction investment in supply chain operation management,striving to realize the simultaneous development of environmental benefits and economic benefits.However,in a supply chain system,lower-level members(e.g.,small and medium-sized retailers)often face financial constraints,which not only affect enterprise business management but also lower the operational efficiency of the system.Therefore,this research focuses on a capital-constrained supply chain system.Under the assumptions that the manufacturers invest the carbon reduction and the consumers have low-carbon preference,the impact of different financing modes on pricing,market demand and the profits of each member and the whole system is investigated.This provides suggestions for enterprise production and carbon reduction investment decisions,and also helps to achieve sustainable development of the supply chain system.Based on the above-mentioned research background of the capital-constrained low-carbon supply chain,the existing research results are analyzed and summarized in this paper,and the deficiencies in the current research of pricing and financing decisions of capital-constrained low-carbon supply chains are identified.Then,by using game theory,numerical examples and case studies,the optimal pricing and financing decision-making of a capital-constrained low-carbon supply chain is then studied.Specifically,this research investigates the optimal pricing and financing decisions of a low-carbon supply chain from the perspectives of different financing modes(i.e.,internal and external financing modes)and competitive environments of the capital-constrained retailer.Furthermore,taking a new energy vehicle supply chain as an example,a systematic analysis of this empirical supply chain is conducted in this paper to verify the correctness of the mathematical models and conclusions,and provides some management suggestions for the supply chain members’ decisions.This study not only expands the theoretical research on the operation management of capital-constrained low-carbon supply chains,but also has important theoretical and practical significance for improving the financing efficiency of the system and promoting the coordinated development of the system’s economy and environment.First,the theoretical basis of capital-constrained low-carbon supply chains is introduced,and the relevant concepts of low-carbon supply chains,capital-constrained low-carbon supply chains and the financing of low-carbon supply chains are defined.The influencing factors,financing needs and financing modes of low-carbon supply chain pricing are analyzed in detail.Furthermore,the pricing and financing decisions of low-carbon supply chains in a competitive environment are analyzed.The overall framework of this study is designed based on the decision-making process under different financing modes.Second,from the perspective of internal financing modes,under the assumption of manufacturer leadership and risk neutrality of each member,low-carbon supply chain pricing and financing decision models are constructed using Stackelberg game theory under different internal financing modes(i.e.,manufacturer financing,manufacturer investment and mixed financing of manufacturer financing and manufacturer investment).This research compares the equilibrium results of different pricing and financing decision models,and explores the impact of key parameters(i.e.,consumers’ low-carbon preference,financing rate and investment reporting rate)on the pricing,product demand,carbon reduction investment level and profits of the capital-constrained low-carbon supply chain.The relationship between the investment return rate and the preference of capital-constrained retailers to manufacturer investment or internal mixed financing mode is analyzed,and the reference of optimal selection of financing mode of capital-constrained retailers can be provided.Third,from the perspective of external financing modes(i.e.,bank loan,equity financing,and mixed financing of bank loan and equity financing),using game theory,the pricing and financing decision models for a capital-constrained low-carbon supply chain under different external financing modes are constructed separately.The equilibrium results of different pricing and financing decision models are compared and discussed.Moreover,this paper explores the impact of consumers’ low-carbon preference,bank loan rate,equity financing ratio and equity dividend ratio on pricing,product demand,carbon reduction investment level and profits of the system.The relationship between equity financing ratio,bank interest rate and financing model selection preference of capital-constrained retailers are summarized,and reference for capital-constrained retailers to choose external financing models is provided.Fourth,taking the competitive behavior between two retailers into consideration,a capital-constrained low-carbon supply chain system composed of a manufacturer and two retailers is studied in this work and the Stackelberg game models are constructed.Three financing modes are discussed in this paper,that is,the manufacturer providing financing to both retailers simultaneously,the manufacturer only providing financing to a single retailer and forming a supply chain alliance with it,and a single retailer returns to the competitive market using mixed financing.Furthermore,this paper also reveals the changes in pricing,market demand,carbon reduction investment level and members’ profits with competition intensity,financing interest rate,revenue sharing rate,and equity dividend ratio under different financing scenarios.The impact of competition intensity on supply chain participants and overall profit is analyzed,and the conditions for a manufacturer and a capital-constrained retailer to form a supply chain alliance is obtained by designing a revenue sharing contract,which can provide guidance for the financing model selection of capital-constrained retailers in a competitive environment.Finally,this paper takes a new energy vehicle supply chain composed of a new energy vehicle manufacturer and two capital-constrained retailers as a case for empirical research.Relevant data are obtained through the channels such as field research,official website information disclosure,etc.Then the carbon reduction situation of the manufacturer and the financing situation of retailers are analyzed.The theoretical models of internal financing,external financing,and competitive environment in the supply chain are constructed separately.By using the backward recursive method,the theoretical models are solved and the equilibrium results are obtained,which verifies the effectiveness of the theoretical models constructed in this work.This paper can provide theoretical reference and practical guidance for the optimal pricing and financing decisions of the capital-constrained low-carbon supply chain members.