The evolution mechanism of the multi-value chain network ecosystem supported by the third-party platform

Abstract

This paper aims to study the evolution mechanism of the third-party platform ecosystem. A multi-value chain network ecosystem composed of multiple manufacturers, multiple suppliers, several logistics providers and a third-party platform for manufacturing is considered. The system dynamics method is used to build the model, and this paper collects relevant industry and platform data to simulate the evolution of user scale and participants revenues. Furthermore, the influence of platform subsidy and matching service level on the evolution is studied. The results show that the platform s evolution can be divided into four stages: emergence, growth, maturity and upgrade. This paper also finds that, at the emergence stage and the growth stage, the augmentation of the subsidies to manufacturers makes the manufacturers scale expand but let their revenues decline. Meanwhile, the platform s revenues reduce at the emergence stage while increase at the growth stage. When the subsidy amount is high and continues to augment, its positive effect on the user scale is weakened while its negative effect on manufacturers revenues is enhanced. Besides, improving the matching service level is not conducive to the platform s revenues at the emergence stage, but after entering the growth stage, it can increase user scale and the platform s revenues simultaneously.