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Traceability and reputation in supply chains

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  • Saak, Alexander E.
Abstract
The paper studies the questions of why and when a supply chain should invest in a traceability system that allows the identification of which supplier is responsible for quality defects due to insufficient non-contractible effort. We consider an environment with complementarity in upstream and downstream efforts to provide quality, imperfect, lagged signals of intermediate and final quality, and repeated interaction. It is demonstrated that in deciding whether to maintain information about product origin, firms face a trade-off. On one hand, the downstream firm is tempted to condone limited upstream shirking when products are not traceable to their firm of origin. On the other hand, the downstream firm is tempted to vertically coordinate shirking in the provision of quality when products are traceable. Perfect traceability is not optimal if (1) the ratio of the cost savings from upstream and downstream shirking is neither too high nor too low or (2) the downstream firm sufficiently infrequently detects input defects or (3) the consumer experience is a sufficiently noisy signal of quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Saak, Alexander E., 2016. "Traceability and reputation in supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 149-162.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:177:y:2016:i:c:p:149-162
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.04.008
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    2. Shengnan Sun & Xinping Wang & Yan Zhang, 2017. "Sustainable Traceability in the Food Supply Chain: The Impact of Consumer Willingness to Pay," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Lingxiu Dong & Puping (Phil) Jiang & Fasheng Xu, 2023. "Impact of Traceability Technology Adoption in Food Supply Chain Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 1518-1535, March.
    4. Shuai Zhao & Xiaoning Cao, 2024. "Sustainable Suppliers-to-Consumers’ Sales Mode Selection for Perishable Goods Considering the Blockchain-Based Tracking System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-32, April.
    5. Tan, Yiheng & Huang, Xiying & Li, Wei, 2023. "Does blockchain-based traceability system guarantee information authenticity? An evolutionary game approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    6. Herrera, Milton M. & Orjuela-Castro, Javier, 2021. "Blockchain; Food Traceability; Food Safety; Supply Chain Management," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 12(01), January.
    7. Yao, Shiqing & Zhu, Kaijie, 2020. "Combating product label misconduct: The role of traceability and market inspection," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 282(2), pages 559-568.
    8. Dai, Bin & Nu, Yu & Xie, Xia & Li, Jianbin, 2021. "Interactions of traceability and reliability optimization in a competitive supply chain with product recall," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 290(1), pages 116-131.
    9. Zhou, Xiongyong & Zhu, Qinghua & Xu, Zhiduan, 2023. "The role of contractual and relational governance for the success of digital traceability: Evidence from Chinese food producers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    10. Weixia Xue & Zhiduan Xu, 2022. "The Impacts of Government Subsidies and Consumer Preferences on Food Supply Chain Traceability under Different Power Structures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Zhi-Ping Fan & Xue-Yan Wu & Bing-Bing Cao, 2022. "Considering the traceability awareness of consumers: should the supply chain adopt the blockchain technology?," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 309(2), pages 837-860, February.
    12. Xiongyong Zhou & Madeleine Pullman & Zhiduan Xu, 2022. "The impact of food supply chain traceability on sustainability performance," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 93-115, June.
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    14. Biswas, Debajyoti & Jalali, Hamed & Ansaripoor, Amir H. & De Giovanni, Pietro, 2023. "Traceability vs. sustainability in supply chains: The implications of blockchain," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 305(1), pages 128-147.
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