Dynamic decision-making of the e-commerce supply chain considering greenwashing and sales format

Abstract

With the rapid growth of e-commerce, reselling and agency selling have emerged as two prominent sales formats within the e-commerce supply chain (ECSC), alongside which the phenomenon of greenwashing has also become prevalent. How to choose the optimal combination of greenwashing and sales format to achieve long-term sustainable development of the ECSC has become a pressing issue. Considering greenwashing and sales formats, this paper constructs differential game models of the manufacturer and the e-commerce platform under four scenarios. Then the feedback dynamic equilibrium strategies are obtained, the impacts of greenwashing and sales formats on ECSC decision are analyzed and the optimal combination of greenwashing and sales format is thoroughly discussed. Results show that when the exposure probability of greenwashing is low, the manufacturer tends to adopt greenwashing behavior, but this move will harm the interest of the e-commerce platform. There exists a weakening effect of greenwashing, and this effect is more extensive in agency selling format. Commission rate determines the sales format selection. When the commission rate is in a specific interval, both the manufacturer and the e-commerce platform will prefer agency selling format, otherwise, they may not reach an agreement on sales format. For the e-commerce platform, the point where profit peak is called the optimal commission rate, which will increase as the exposure probability of greenwashing goes up. Last, consumer trust has a significant impact on both greenwashing and sales format selection. The increase in consumer trust can enhance manufacturer's greenwashing profit and create more opportunities for greenwashing. As consumer trust increases, the commission rate threshold range for both the manufacturer and the e-commerce platform to agree on agency selling format will move towards the left.