Information Sharing Game and Value Analysis for the Following Enterprise Applications of Blockchain Technology

Abstract

To address the question of whether small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should follow benchmark companies in establishing a blockchain-based information sharing platform, a two-tier supply chain decision-making problem dominated by retailers and containing two manufacturers of unequal status is analyzed, including the impact on the utility and social welfare of different game players in the supply chain and the supply chain as a whole, taking into account the fact that consumers are sensitive to both price and quality. For this purpose, traditional cooperation models, short-term and long-term models based on blockchain technology for information sharing were constructed and solved, respectively. The findings suggest that in the short term, the establishment of a blockchain technology-based information sharing platform will widen the status gap between manufacturers, making the strong stronger and the weak weaker, with retailers’ profits and social welfare suffering and no change in consumer surplus. In the long term, the quality improvement effect of information sharing will narrow the gap between manufacturers and increase members’ profits, with retailers and the entire supply chain experiencing a significant increase in profits after a short period of time, as well as an increase in consumer surplus and social welfare. In addition, when consumer price sensitivity and quality sensitivity are high, the establishment of a blockchain technology-based information sharing platform is beneficial for the stronger manufacturers, detrimental to the weaker manufacturers, and beneficial for the supply chain in the long term; otherwise, the absence of a blockchain technology-based information sharing platform is beneficial for the weaker manufacturers and the supply chain.