Supply Chain Financing Strategies for Capital-Constrained Manufacturers with Blockchain Adoption

This study investigates the adoption of blockchain technology (BCT) and financing decisions for capital-constrained manufacturers in live streaming supply chains, where product quality information is asymmetric. Although BCT can improve information transparency and consumer trust, its high cost hinders widespread adoption. Based on supply chain financing theory, this research uses a game-theoretic model with linear demand to analyze manufacturers’ BCT adoption and financing strategies under different capital conditions, comparing four scenarios: non-adoption and non-financing (NN), adoption and non-financing (NB), adoption with loan financing from Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) (LB), and adoption with investment cost-sharing financing from MCNs (CB). Results show that BCT adoption increases market demand and manufacturer profits. The LB strategy is optimal when the manufacturer has sufficient capital and the MCN has a low-investment cost-sharing ratio. In contrast, CB is preferred when the MCN bears a higher share of investment costs, regardless of the manufacturer’s capital. The manufacturer’s financing choice also influences MCN cooperation: MCNs favor CB under high commission rates and low cost-sharing ratios but prefer NB if investment costs are high. These results suggest that manufacturers should select financing based on their capital and cost-sharing terms, while MCNs can adjust cooperation strategies according to commission rates and cost-sharing levels.