To be raised up or kicked out? Insights for the recycler in closed-loop supply chain with the regulation of government

Department of Economic Management, North China Electric Power University, 071100 Baoding, P.R. China.

^* Corresponding author: 1767896589@qq.com

Received: 25 September 2020
Accepted: 20 April 2021

Abstract

In order to improve the recovery rate of waste products and maximize the social welfare, this paper investigates the problem of government setting a recovery rate threshold for the recycler in the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) with the information asymmetry. By establishing the government incentive regulation model, the government can disclose the true recovery cost of the recycler and guide the recycler to make an reasonable effort. In this study, our model obtains the best recovery rate threshold for the recycler from the perspective of maximizing social welfare. Then, we conduct some sensitivity analyses and explore the impacts of related factors on the strategies-making of government and supply chain players. The results of the study indicates that the recovery rate threshold set not only depends on the operation efficiency of the recycler, it also affected by the consumers behavior and the production efficiency of manufacturer. The government should not pursue a high recovery rate blindly, more attention should be paid to control the cost of effort made by the recycler. With the increasing of the negative utility for the recycler to make effort, the government will improve the recovery threshold, otherwise, the threshold will decrease. The results facilitate scientific incentive mechanism development, and provide a reference for promoting CLSC operations.