In the presence of agency selling in emerging retail platforms, suppliers are motivated to select purely traditional reselling, agency selling or a hybrid distribution channel strategy. In this paper, considering a capacity‐constrained supplier facing a retail platform, we examine the equilibrium pricing and ordering decisions in the hybrid channel, and further analyze the impact of limited capacity on the supplier's distribution channel selection as well as equilibrium outcomes. Results show that the hybrid channel always dominates pure agency selling. In comparison to the unlimited capacity setting, we find that limited capacity motivates the supplier to select pure reselling under a low commission rate. However, under a moderate commission rate, moderate capacity motivates the supplier to select the hybrid channel. We also show that, under moderate capacity in the hybrid channel, the retail platform may order all the supplier's capacity and strategically withhold some to avoid downstream competition, and that the impact of commission rate on the capacity thresholds of withholding behavior may be nonmonotonic. Interestingly, we find that moderate capacity may benefit the supplier, the retail platform, and consumers at the same time, creating a win–win–win outcome.
Purpose
Threats from the informal sector have become an important concern among formal firms. As a response to these threats, formal firms can adopt product innovation (PI) and marketing innovation (MI) strategies to differentiate themselves. The purpose of this paper is to examine how firm-level technical capability and external institutional quality affect firms’ reactions to the threats from informal firms by adopting innovative activities.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on attention-based view (ABV), an empirical study is conducted by using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey in 2013.
Findings
The findings indicate that when faced with competition from informal firms, formal firms will intensify their innovation activities in both MI and PI, and their technical capability mitigates the competitive threats from informal sectors and thus weakens the impact of informal competitors on the level of product and marketing innovations. Moreover, it is found that the improvement of institutional quality reduces formal firms’ urgency to introduce new products when facing informal competitors. However, this improvement strengthens the impact of informal rivalry on formal firms’ innovation in marketing methods.
Originality/value
Previous studies that investigate the influence of informal threats are focused on technological innovation (e.g., PI and process innovation) strategies, but little knowledge is provided on non-technological innovative strategies, such as marketing strategies (e.g., MI and organizational innovation). This study contributes to the innovation literature by delving into the circumstances under which PI and/or MI is adopted to counter informal rivals. The findings enrich ABV by investigating how inter-firm resource similarity and marketing commonality strengthen top managers' attention to competition from informal firms.
PurposeWhile the theory and practice of open innovation networks are flourishing, green innovation in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is stagnant. This study explores the mechanism driving green innovation in manufacturing SMEs under open innovation networks based on the role of innovation platforms' relational governance.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative study was conducted using questionnaires to collect data from 270 manufacturing SMEs in Zhejiang Province and employing a structural equation model to test the developed hypotheses.FindingsThe results revealed that innovation platforms' relational governance positively affects green innovation in manufacturing SMEs. Furthermore, the collaborative innovation atmosphere and risk perception mediate this relationship through a respective mediating role and a chain-mediating role.Originality/valueThis study is the first to empirically investigate the mechanism of the influence of innovation platforms' relational governance on green innovation in manufacturing SMEs, provide a new perspective for understanding the antecedents of green innovation under open innovation networks, and expand the theoretical research on open innovation management.
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