Decision-Making for Quality Visibility in Green Supply Chain Based on Blockchain Technology

The enduring uncertainty in product quality within the supply chain significantly impacts the decision-making and performance of green supply chain participants. Blockchain traceability technology creates conditions for the popularity of building quality visibility systems in green supply chains. This paper aims to investigate the quality visibility system mode selection method under different information cost structures. The study identifies a principle stating that a “high expectation of quality does not require high information, while high fluctuation of quality requires high information” in the context of the interplay between two quality dimensions of green products and quality visibility decisions. Furthermore, this study observes a substantial “threshold” effect associated with the rental fee, which means that equilibrium quality visibility rises with increasing rental fees. However, the misalignment between changes in quality visibility and supplier profits, driven by parameter variations, may lead to suboptimal system mode choices by suppliers. In such cases, retailers can play a pivotal role by using unilateral payment mechanisms to incentivize suppliers to adopt choices that enhance overall supply chain visibility and profitability. This study reveals the mechanism by which quality visibility can help improve pricing decisions and enhance firm performance under the influence of information and cost structures of different system modes, and solves the challenges of mode selection and input decision-making when creating green supply chain quality visibility. By scientifically and reasonably applying the quality visibility system, green enterprises can effectively reduce quality risks and promote the stable and efficient operation of the green supply chain.