Values of blockchain for risk-averse high-tech manufacturers under government’s carbon target environmental taxation policies

AbstractToday, high-tech industries such as consumer electronics commonly face government rules on carbon emissions. Among the rules, carbon emission tax as well as extended producer responsibility (EPR) tax are two important measures. Using blockchain, the policy makers can better determine the carbon target environmental taxation (CTET) policy with accurate information. In this paper, based on the mean-variance framework, we study the values of blockchain for risk-averse high-tech manufacturers who are under the government’s CTET policy. To be specific, the government first determines the optimal CTET policy. The high-tech manufacturer then reacts and determines its optimal production quantity. We analytically prove that the CTET policy simply relies on the setting of the optimal EPR tax. Then, in the absence of blockchain, we consider the case in which the government does not know the manufacturer’s degree of risk aversion for sure and then derive the expected value of using blockchain for the high-tech manufacturers. We study when it is wise for the high-tech manufacturer and the government to implement blockchain. To check for robustness, we consider in two extended models respectively the situations in which blockchain incurs non-trivial costs as well as having an alternative risk measure. We analytically show that most of the qualitative findings remain valid.</jats:p

Dinner at Your Doorstep: Service Innovation via the Gig Economy on Food Delivery Platforms

Boosted by greater demand for convenience and then turbocharged by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, online food delivery (OFD) has witnessed rapid growth over the past several years. Despite such growth, however, it is still unclear how incentives and payoffs of various parties are affected by the three-sidedness of the OFD market, which involves consumers, restaurants, and gig drivers—beyond the traditional two-sided setting. In this paper, we study the OFD platforms’ optimal choices in a competitive setting where the platforms compete on both prices and service quality. Our analysis shows that conventional insights from two-sided platforms do not completely carry over to OFD markets. Specifically, we find that the three-sidedness may either soften or intensify the price competition in the buyer-seller market, consequently altering the subsidizing conditions of OFD platforms. Although two-sided platforms generally get hurt by network effects because of the pressure to induce participation, OFD platforms are able to mitigate such negative impact by flexibly adjusting their service strategies. Yet, OFD platforms may not always be better off by introducing gig labor because additional leverage for competing platforms could lead to a prisoner’s dilemma situation. We show further how the platforms’ pricing and service strategies critically depend on the strength of network effects. With the rising of the gig economy, the question of employment status for gig workers has become an increasingly controversial issue in the United States and elsewhere. We address this by showing that the introduction of minimum wage regulation, although benefiting the gig drivers, may be welfare diminishing to society at large. Our results can thus provide guidance to policy makers seeking a compromise between the interests of gig workers and society as a whole

Exploring the current status and future opportunities of blockchain technology adoption and application in supply chain management

This study comprises a systematic literature review that offers a thorough analysis of the present state-of-the-art knowledge regarding the adoption and application of blockchain technology within the context of supply chain management. Based on an extensive review of 133 articles from highly-regarded journals, we developed a framework where we highlight the integration of the transition from blockchain technology adoption to its application. This transition process is explained by two theories: the Technology Acceptance Model and the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. In the adoption phase, we identified nine internal drivers and seven external drivers, together with comprehensive barriers. Our framework also integrates and examines the blockchain technology application stage, focusing not only the current development of benefits of blockchain technology implementation but also the challenges that impede the successful implementation of blockchain technology in supply chain management. The future development prospects are also highlighted which include standardization, platform development, regulation system development, cost reduction, and talent cultivation. These future developments were critical yet were missing in the current academic literature. By providing an in-depth analysis of these challenges, our study can assist supply chain practitioners in making informed decisions about blockchain-enabled supply chain management initiatives

Purchase or rent? Optimal pricing for 3D printing capacity sharing platforms

Online sharing platforms have attracted considerable research and management attention across a number of industries, including travel, real estate, and cloud computing. They also have great potential for the 3D printing (3DP) industry, offering users the choice between owning or renting 3DP capacity. For matching supply and demand, capacity pricing is crucial. In this paper we consider two fundamental questions concerning pricing: (i) What is the optimal pricing strategy for a 3DP capacity sharing platform? (ii) How do usage level and printer heterogeneity affect consumers’ choice between in-house printing (owning) and outsourcing (renting)? Using queuing analysis, we derive the structural properties of the solutions to the problems. Furthermore, we conduct numerical studies using real-world data to generate managerial insights from the analytical findings. A key finding is that governments should focus on encouraging technological progress to lower the printers’ prices in order to improve the well-being of the industry. When considering two types of printers, we find that it is more beneficial for the platform if the high capacity printer dominates the market, as the platform then retains the prominent role in “redistributing” the 3DP capacity.</p

Application of blockchain and smart contracts in autonomous vehicle supply chains:An experimental design

With the rise of digital sustainable business models in the Autonomous Vehicles (AV) industry, the traditional automakers are undergoing a major restructuring in their key performance areas and associated supply chains processes. Focusing on an innovative AV design (AD) concept, this paper investigates how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain-based Smart Contracts can enhance sustainable supply chain operations. A novel design element, Margin Indicator (MI), is developed to obtain reliable predictive analytics results from the mainstream machine learning algorithms. The proposed approach supports a robust control of costs and energy, while maintaining a high level of transparency in managing decentralized AV supply chain processes, monetary impacts, and environmental sustainability. Testing the developed concept through a preliminary case study, we observed a reduction in energy wastage and hidden financial transactions by 12.48% and 11.58%, respectively. Supported by the rapid advancement in the blockchain and AI technologies, the developed framework is expected to improve product traceability, transaction transparency, and sustainable economic growth for the AV supply chains

Blockchain for supply chain traceability and anticounterfeiting: the oracles’ enabling role

Blockchain and physical oracles in the Collectible Industry. Supply chain fairness and bargaining power in agriculture supply chain: the blockchain effect. Unlocking the Blockchain Potentials through Oracles: Empirical Evidences on Supply Chain Challenges and Performance

Cybersecurity of Digital Service Chains

This open access book presents the main scientific results from the H2020 GUARD project. The GUARD project aims at filling the current technological gap between software management paradigms and cybersecurity models, the latter still lacking orchestration and agility to effectively address the dynamicity of the former. This book provides a comprehensive review of the main concepts, architectures, algorithms, and non-technical aspects developed during three years of investigation; the description of the Smart Mobility use case developed at the end of the project gives a practical example of how the GUARD platform and related technologies can be deployed in practical scenarios. We expect the book to be interesting for the broad group of researchers, engineers, and professionals daily experiencing the inadequacy of outdated cybersecurity models for modern computing environments and cyber-physical systems

Cybersecurity of Digital Service Chains

This open access book presents the main scientific results from the H2020 GUARD project. The GUARD project aims at filling the current technological gap between software management paradigms and cybersecurity models, the latter still lacking orchestration and agility to effectively address the dynamicity of the former. This book provides a comprehensive review of the main concepts, architectures, algorithms, and non-technical aspects developed during three years of investigation; the description of the Smart Mobility use case developed at the end of the project gives a practical example of how the GUARD platform and related technologies can be deployed in practical scenarios. We expect the book to be interesting for the broad group of researchers, engineers, and professionals daily experiencing the inadequacy of outdated cybersecurity models for modern computing environments and cyber-physical systems