Research on the Behavior Evolution of Interest Groups in Book Reverse Logistics

Area of Science:

• Supply Chain Management
• Operations Research

Background:

• The expanding book market and increased publications lead to a rise in book returns and exchanges.
• This surge in reverse logistics exacerbates inventory backlog issues for book companies, particularly publishers and retailers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the strategic participation of book publishers and retailers in reverse logistics optimization.
• To identify the conditions under which both parties are incentivized to engage in optimizing book returns and exchanges.

Main Methods:

• Construction of a two-party game model involving book publishers and book retailers.
• Theoretical analysis of the evolution of participation strategies.
• Numerical simulation to assess the influence of parameter changes on stable strategies.

Main Results:

• Participation in book reverse logistics optimization is contingent upon the perceived benefits and costs for both publishers and retailers.
• The decision to participate is interdependent, with each party's choice influenced by the other's involvement.

Conclusions:

• Both book publishers and retailers must weigh their respective benefits and costs when deciding to participate in reverse logistics optimization.
• A specific cost threshold for reverse logistics participation maximizes the likelihood of both publishers and retailers engaging in optimization efforts.