讲座题目：Small Lending Big: StrategicDual-channel Pricing Games with E-retailer Finance

讲座时间：2019年9月12日（星期四）上午10：00-12：00

讲座地点：主教615会议室

演讲人：柳阳

摘要：Small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) often face obstacles in reaching consumers and obtainingsufficient capital for their production and operations processes. Owningchannel advantages and rich transaction data regarding suppliers’ sales,inventory, and credits, e-commerce platforms (henceforth, e-retailers) canoffer online distribution channels and online financing service for SMEs tofacilitate their distribution and alleviate their capital constraints. Thisstudy analyzes the pricing competition in a dual-channel supply chainconsisting of one capital-constrained supplier and one e-retailer providing finance.The supplier can sell her products either through the e-retailer using theonline channel or through her direct offline channel. The e-retailer offersfinance to the supplier if she is capital-constrained. We examine theequilibrium price and the associated optimal quantity and profits in dualchannels when supplier may face capital constraint and compete with e-retailerhorizontally or vertically. We find that e-retailer finance is a value-addedservice for e-retailer and that the increased profits generated from financingofferings can offset the lowered revenue in the online distribution channel.E-retailer finance can increase market share, which benefits the supplier.Participating in the vertical competition through announcing pricing decisions earlierthan does the supplier can help the e-retailer seize the first-mover advantage.Further, we present the value of e-retailer finance and examine the impact ofvarious financing, operational, and consumer-related factors on pricing andchannel structure. We also provide guidelines for e-retailers andfinancing-constrained suppliers to utilize e-retailer finance to optimize theirdual-channel structure and to make optimal pricing decisions.