Research on Green Supply Chain Financing Decisions Based on Inter-Chain Competition and Implicit Equity Consideration

This paper addresses green supply chain financing decisions based on inter-chain competition and implicit equity considerations. First, considering the different situations of green supply chain members when facing green investment costs, it separately establishes green supply chain revenue Cournot competition models under the three models of no-financing, manufacturer financing, and retailer financing, as well as two implicit equity holding models. Second, it calculates the optimal order quantity and product greenness of the green supply chain under different scenarios. Finally, mathematical derivation and numerical simulation explore the effects of consumers’ green preference, capital opportunity costs, and other factors on product greenness, optimal order quantity, and supply chain members’ revenue. The results of this paper show that regardless of the financing model or who owns the implicit equity, there are optimal order quantities and optimal product greenness in the green supply chain. Furthermore, under inter-chain competition and implicit equity considerations, the manufacturer in the green supply chain always has financing motivations, but it prefers to be financed by the well-funded retailer. However, the retailer will consider financing only when consumer preference for green products in the green supply chain is below a specific threshold. Moreover, compared to the manufacturer financing model, the product greenness under the retailer financing model is high. It performs better in terms of environmental protection, which contributes to improving the entire supply chain and environmental performance.