Cross-border Supply Chains Research Articles

Complex Characteristics and Control of Output Game in Cross-Border Supply Chains: A Perspective of Inter-Chain Competition

In this paper, an output dynamic game model of intertwined supply chains operating in two different countries is established. The Nash equilibrium point of the model and its stable region are obtained using nonlinear dynamic principles. The complex properties of the system, such as stability, period-doubling bifurcations, and chaos, are investigated using numerical simulations. Our results suggest that the level of output and the system’s profits undergo bifurcation and chaos with an increase in the output adjustment speed. An interesting phenomenon occurs in that higher tariffs lead to the expansion of the stable range of the supply chain in the product-exporting country. The chaotic behavior of the system is sensitive to the value of the initial level of output. In supply chain competition, each supply chain firm should make suitable adjustments to the speed of output. To maintain the stability of domestic markets, excessive tariffs should be avoided. It is essential that each supply chain firm evaluates the potential impacts of different initial output values when making initial decisions. Using the method of delayed feedback control, the chaotic behavior of the system can effectively be controlled. These findings offer valuable and novel insight into inter-chain competition in supply chain networks.

LOGISTICS CLUSTERS AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Supply chain resilience in the face of shocks has arisen as a policy issue due to the multilateral trading system lowering trade barriers. Innovations in transportation technology created intelligent transport systems and production fragmentation of global supply chains. However, climate shocks and the COVID-19 pandemic restructured supplies in the global markets. At the same time, geopolitical conflict and tensions emerged with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increased China’s military activity, introduced additional tension, and created difficulties for the supply chains. On the other hand, the current industrial policy, aiming at national economic growth, is motivated by objectives different from increasing company-level productivity or spillovers between sectors. The concern primarily revolves around supply chain resilience, the fear of weaponizing exports, supporting technological advancement, and the need for policymakers to introduce greater control over economic activity in anticipation of potential shocks. In cross-border supply chains, some governments seek to coordinate their industrial policies with the most significant partners without implementing measures at the national level (Bown, 2023). Overlaying other considerations is the existential threat of climate change, a significant driver behind many modern industrial policy initiatives. That is leading to the rebirth of the idea of logistic clusters uniting different partners in size with foreign trade-oriented activities, aiming at efficiency as well as resiliency of the logistics chains. Based mainly on deep secondary research, this paper addresses the rebirth of cluster ideas in international transport and logistic activities.

Вплив ТНК на сільськогосподарський експорт країн, що розвиваються

The article examines the impact of transnational corporations (TNCs) on agricultural exports of developing countries, with a special emphasis on their role in the formation and processing of agri-food products. In the context of globalization and technological change, agriculture has become an important sector of the economy of developing countries, providing economic development and job creation. TNCs, with their financial resources and technological know-how, have a significant impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of agricultural exports, although their impact is often indirect. The article analyzes the transformation of agri-food exports in the context of TNCs’ participation, as well as changes in the structure and volumes of agricultural exports in developing countries. Various forms of TNC participation are considered, including foreign direct investment, contract farming and control of cross-border supply chains. The author emphasizes the role of TNCs in providing the necessary resources for export activities, such as market information, technology and access to international markets. The article also notes that although TNCs significantly contribute to improving the efficiency of agricultural exports, their activities do not always meet the interests of long-term sustainable development of recipient countries. Particular attention is paid to the imbalance of benefits between TNCs and agricultural producers, which leads to significant economic and social challenges for developing countries. The conclusions of the article underline the importance of understanding the role of TNCs in shaping current trends in agricultural exports and the need for further research on their impact in the context of the post-COVID and security crisis.

An analysis of blockchain versus relational databases for digitalising information flows in global supply chains using the analytic network process

Global trade is plagued by slow and inefficient manual processes associated with physical documents. Firms are constantly looking for new ways to improve transparency and increase the resilience of their supply chains. This can be solved by the digitalisation of supply chains and the automation of document- and information-sharing processes. Blockchain is touted as a solution to these issues due to its unique combination of features, such as immutability, decentralisation and transparency. A lack of business cases that quantify the costs and benefits causes uncertainty regarding the truth of these claims. This paper explores how the costs and benefits of a blockchain-based solution for digitalising and automating documentation flows in cross-border supply chains compare to a conventional centralised relational database solution. The research described in this paper uses primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with industry experts, as well as secondary data from literature. Two models based on existing services were developed and the costs and benefits compared and then analysed using the Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method (ATAM) and the Analytic Network Process (ANP). Findings from the analysis show that a consortium blockchain solution like TradeLens is the favourable solution for digitalising and automating information flows in cross-border supply chains.

Supply Chains in International Business Practices: Legal Characteristics

Over two thirds of world trade and production is carried out by multinational corporations and takes place in cross-border supply chains (global value chains). This figure reflects the scale and vastness of the geography of distribution of such systems. Global (cross-border) supply chains have attracted close attention from business and political circles, academic economists and sociologists. However, legal scholars have remained aloof from such debates. The paper is the first to integrate the concept of cross-border supply chains (global value chains) into domestic legal science. From a legal point of view, the supply chain is a multi-level (modular) system of contracts subordinated to a single goal and designed to centralize, organize and coordinate the management of the flow of production, supplies and services in the international business environment. An important feature of such contractual systems is their role as an intermediary in the dissemination of foreign legal norms, norms of non-state regulation, private standards and in the legitimization of socially significant attitudes.

The WTO and Vaccine Supply Chain Resilience during a Pandemic

ABSTRACT Cross-border supply chains and international trade enabled the manufacturing and delivery of billions of vaccine doses to inoculate the world against the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). At the same time, the pandemic revealed how the World Trade Organization (WTO) must change to become more useful in the face of a public health emergency. This paper describes the market failures—especially on the supply side—justifying the domestic subsidies and contracting arrangements used to accelerate vaccine research and development and to increase the scale of vaccine production to save lives, livelihoods, and economic activity during a pandemic. It highlights the trade-offs associated with the US subsidies and the priority-rated contracts written for vaccines through the Defense Production Act under Operation Warp Speed. This case study reveals a rich environment in which cross-border supply chains exacerbate input shortages in ways that constrain vaccine production, highlighting the need for the WTO to embrace new forms of international policy coordination for pandemic preparedness and response. As part of a pandemic treaty, the paper proposes a plurilateral agreement on vaccine supply chain resilience that would include novel and enforceable disciplines for export restrictions, provisions to trigger coordinated subsidies across countries to jointly scale up vaccine output and input production capacity, and market surveillance initiatives on supply chain transparency.

Adopting blockchain technology to block less sustainable products’ entry in global trade

In this study, we examine how the use of blockchain technology deters less sustainable products’ entry (LSPE) in the cross-border supply chains in which the entrant produces less sustainable products and enters into the incumbent’s market. We identify that when the blockchain adoption cost exceeds a threshold, the entry can be blocked by mandatory blockchain adoption and the incumbent enjoys the monopoly position; when the blockchain adoption cost falls into an intermediate range, deterrence needs not only the use of blockchain technology but also price distortion by the incumbent; when the blockchain adoption cost is sufficiently low, the incumbent must compete with the entrant because blockchain technology is no longer effective for deterrence. Moreover, we examine how government intervention (tariff or subsidy) affects LSPE and find that both tariff and subsidy schemes can enhance the value of adopting blockchain technology to prevent LSPE. If the blockchain adoption cost is moderate, then levying tariffs on LSPE can achieve an economic and environment-dominating outcome, but the subsidy scheme cannot. Our findings provide managerial insights for cross-border supply chain managers and offer guidance to policy makers who design trade policies.

Cross-Border Supply Chain System Constructed by Complex Computer Blockchain for International Cooperation.

The rapid development of China's local e-commerce and the continuous improvement of its business model have not only pushed the country to the forefront of the globe but also opened up the unprecedented potential for China's cross-border e-commerce. Therefore, it is imperative to build a balanced and sustainable cross-border e-commerce system, and cross-border e-commerce on the Silk Road has become a new highlight of China's e-commerce development. This study proposes a cross-border supply chain model based on the complex computer blockchain for international cooperation scenarios, contrasts and analyzes decision making in two cross-border supply chain scenarios with and without blockchain implementation, and investigates the sufficient conditions for blockchain implementation in the cross-border supply chain from the perspective of various value objectives. The analysis reveals that the cross-border supply chain has sufficient incentive to implement blockchain when the value gain generated by implementing blockchain is high or the value gain is low but the potential market size weakening factor of cross-border products is greater than a certain degree. It demonstrates that the link between cross-border product price elasticity, manufacturer cross-border effort cost, and customer cross-border preference degree would impact the circumstances for adopting blockchain in cross-border supply chains. The model also lays out a plan for the government to improve cross-border e-commerce logistics, strengthen oversight, and create a regional financial service network system to reduce credit risk.4

Oil prices, manufacturing goods, and nontradeable services

This paper studies the ability of manufacturing-specific shocks to explain oil prices. In an estimated three-region model (US, OPEC, rest of world) incorporating two sectors (manufacturing and services) in the oil-importing economies and featuring cross-border supply chains, such shocks rationalize the observed pattern of a positive comovement between oil prices and the global cyclical gap between manufacturing output and services provision. In the event of manufacturing technology shocks, oil demand, intermediate manufactured goods demand, and global trade move in tandem. Similarly important are shocks to final manufactured goods demand that are amplified by input-output linkages and trade. In the US, foreign shocks that cause higher oil prices – including oil supply disruptions – lead to rising manufacturing relative to services, and higher core inflation and policy rates. This rationalizes, to a large extent, the pattern during major oil price hikes, and, with opposite signs, during important low oil price episodes.

Humanitarian Customs: Lessons Learned Regarding Cusoms Response and Role in Supply Chain Continuity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper, presented at the World Customs Organization (WCO) PICARD Web Conference 2020, analyses the challenges faced by Customs and the key stakeholders in the cross-border supply chain due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It documents the role of Customs in supply chain continuity by recording policy responses, innovative practices and technological solutions to highlight the initiatives taken for faster release of cargo including emergency relief cargo, hasslefree movement of international passengers and reduction in time and cost for the stakeholders in cross-border supply chains. For disseminating the lessons learned as a way of sharing best practices, the paper discusses how Indian Customs has facilitated the movement of goods while applying appropriate risk management; how Customs has enhanced communication, collaboration and cooperation with their Participating Government Agencies and the private sector; and what measures are being taken by Customs to protect their frontline officers. An analysis by the authors of dwell time data across major customs formations in India proved that the policy responses by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) yielded positive results through reduction in dwell time from May 2020 onwards. The authors have also analysed in detail the importance and effective role of the WCO in supply chain continuity across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Free shipping in cross-border supply chains considering tax disparity and carrier’s pricing decisions

Different from local sales, offering free shipping can be a strategic decision for the retailers/brands who sell products to overseas customers. This also significantly influences the carrier’s pricing decisions because of tax policies in different countries/regions. In this paper, we consider customers’ preference for free shipping and investigate two competing retailers’ free shipping decisions when they rely on a common carrier for cross-border logistics services. We focus on the impact of retail price competition and the carrier’s tax cost, which shows uniqueness in the shipping industry. We derive the supply chain parties’ optimal decisions by the general equilibrium theory and analyze their free shipping incentives based on game-theoretical models. We find that, if the carrier is non-resident, given one retailer’s free shipping, the other one would follow the step when the retail price competition is mild and the carrier faces small tax disparity. Interestingly, the carrier will benefit from the two retailers’ free shipping when the retail price competition is fierce and the tax disparity is small. If the carrier is resident and both retailers offer free shipping, we find that all supply chain parties will be beneficial, resulting in a win–win–win situation.

The effects of inter- and intraorganizational factors on the adoption of electronic booking systems in the maritime supply chain

Digitalization is currently reshaping business models and providing more opportunities for cross-border supply chains. Maritime transportation occupies a crucial position in the global supply chain and information systems are playing an increasingly important role in the industry. In contrast with information systems used in other industries, interorganizational information systems in the maritime industry may involve a greater number of organizational users, including manufacturers, customers, shipping lines and customs and port authorities from different countries. Therefore, the adoption of container e-booking systems in the maritime supply chain is complex and with limited scrutiny in academia. This study explored the use of e-booking systems in the maritime supply chain and, in particular, the factors influencing the adoption of such systems at the organizational level. The study aimed to close the gap between the general understanding of the adoption of information systems and the adoption of e-booking systems in a specific context, namely the maritime supply chain. We conducted an exploratory multi-case study of eight firms across multiple tiers of the maritime supply chain. We employed a qualitative approach to investigate this issue at the maritime supply chain level, rather than the firm level. The study focused on inter- and intraorganizational factors. The results suggest that adoption is influenced by several factors, including pressure from trade partners, pressure from leading organizations, as well as organizational compatibility, and so forth. Furthermore, the identified factors have different levels of impact across organizational tiers in the shipping chain. This study offers insights that are relevant to both researchers and practitioners in the maritime transportation industry and may help to accelerate the digitalization of the industry.

Chinese whispers: COVID-19, global supply chains in essential goods, and public policy

If taken at their word, senior policymakers in the major economic powers have drawn adverse conclusions concerning the performance of cross-border supply chains during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. That such supply chains often implicate China, the origin of the pandemic, has also led to claims that trading partners have become too dependent on Chinese supplies. This in turn has led to policy interventions designed to reconfigure supply chains, which if adopted broadly could revise the terms upon which international business operates. A critical evaluation of this policymaker assessment is presented, based on near-time monitoring of medical and food trade disruption induced by government policy, on fine-grained trade data on the pre-pandemic international sourcing patterns of medical goods and medicines by France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, on statements from U.S. government health experts before and during the pandemic on the frequency and sources of medicine shortages, and on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s latest evidence on the causes of medicine shortages in 2020. Such evidence vitiates the adverse conclusions mentioned above, but raises important questions about the factors that determine policy towards international business during a time of intensifying geopolitical rivalry.

Brexit and the Future of UK Capitalism

Brexit and the Future of <scp>UK</scp> Capitalism

Adjusting the North-South Balance: Southern Judicial Boldness and its Implications for the Regulation of Global Supply Chains

Modern regulators have long grappled with the challenges of regulating multinational corporations and their cross-border supply chains. There is a tendency, in this context, to view the problem as one where the most serious or common abuses are to be found in the Global South, but the effective remedies mostly need to be found in the Global North. This article discusses recent examples of expansive, creative judicial activity from India, Colombia and the African regional judicial system to challenge this assumption. Some of today’s Southern judicial activity can break the stereotype in interesting and important ways, and our thinking about regulation in this context needs adjustment accordingly.

'No Deal' Fear-checker: UK Ports

It is often claimed that a no-deal Brexit would cause chaos at UK ports, with long delays at critical bottlenecks such as Dover, and motorways turned into vast lorry parks. This would be especially damaging for businesses that rely on complicated cross-border supply chains, notably in high-value manufacturing, or which are otherwise particularly time-sensitive, such as those transporting fresh foods or medicines.

Trade Policy Toward Supply Chains After the Great Recession

How does trade policy treat intermediate inputs relative to other imported products? Slow economic and trade growth during the recovery from the Great Recession, as well as recent political developments in the UK and USA, pose a threat to cross-border supply chains and have thus brought this question to the forefront of policy circles. This note investigates by examining new and detailed data on Group of 20 (G20) trade policy use through 2016, with a special emphasis on changes in policymaking behavior since 2010. First, there is no evidence that the G20 economies made significant changes to their applied import tariffs during this period. However, there has been a modest increase in import protection arising through other policy instruments of note such as the temporary trade barriers (TTBs) of antidumping, countervailing duties and safeguards. More importantly, there is evidence of changes in how countries have applied their TTBs. TTBs were increasingly imposed on imports not only from China, but also on imports from other countries, reversing a post-2001 trend. Furthermore, TTB protection has moved away from imports of final goods and toward imports of intermediate inputs. These shifts in policy have several potential contributing causes as well as economic consequences, including for cross-border supply chains.

Retailer’s Optimal Inventory Policies for Cross-Border E-Commerce

This study considers a supply chain formed by multiple suppliers and a cross-border retailer facing a non- stationary demand process. We build a multi-period inventory model with (s, S)-type inventory policy and (s, Q)-type inventory policy. Using this model, demands can be forecasted on the basis of two demand processes, i.e., ARIMA and average demand process. Performances of the two inventory policies, (s, S)-type and (s, Q)-type, are assessed and compared in terms of average delivery time, stock-out frequency, and cost of selling. Through the analysis of 6489 purchase orders of an online shop in Taiwan, covering a period from January 2012 to July 2017, the results present a near-optimal (s, S)-type inventory policy for a cross-border distribution network with multiple suppliers. The model is a synthesis of two components: (i) the inventory policy analysis at a retailer, and (ii) order demand forecasting. We use action research to analyze the performances of inventory models in a cross-border retailer. The results indicate that the semiannual average method using (s, S)-type inventory policy best suits the case company for demand forecasting, as it can decrease the order delivery time from 7.08 days to 0.63 days, and decrease the stock-out frequency from 100.00% to 9.49%. The key contribution of the findings is the seamless integration of the two components to analyze order history data for cross-border supply chains between retailer and suppliers. We anticipate that the research findings may enhance our understanding of inventory control and provide insights into cross-border retailers’ future inventory policies decision.

Trade Policy toward Supply Chains after the Great Recession

How does trade policy treat intermediate inputs relative to other imported products? Slow economic and trade growth during the recovery from the Great Recession, as well as recent political developments in the United Kingdom and the United States, pose a threat to cross-border supply chains and have thus brought this question to the forefront of policy circles. By examining new and detailed data on the Group of 20 (G-20) countries, this paper investigates trade policy use through 2016, with special emphasis on changes in policymaking behavior since 2010. First, there is no evidence that the G-20 economies made significant changes to their applied import tariffs during this period. However, there has been a modest increase in import protection arising through other policy instruments of note such as the temporary trade barriers (TTBs) of antidumping, countervailing duties, and safeguards. More importantly, there is evidence of changes in how countries have applied their TTBs. TTBs were increasingly imposed on imports not only from China but also from other countries, reversing a post-2001 trend. Furthermore, TTB protection has moved away from imports of final goods and toward imports of intermediate inputs. These shifts in policy have several potential contributing causes as well as economic consequences, including for cross-border supply chains.

International supply chains and trade agreements

ABSTRACTThere is a growing literature that examines the role of trade agreements on the formation of international supply chains. The evidence indicates that in general countries that share trade agreements are more likely to develope cross-border supply chains. In this analysis, we argue that in order to examine the effects of trade agreements on the formation of supply chains between two countries, it is not enough to analyse the impact of the trade agreements that the two countries share but it is also important to assess the impact of the trade agreements that they share with third countries. Using data on trade in value added for 129 countries, we show empirically that about 40% of the potential increase in trade in value added induced by a trade agreement between an importing country and a sourcing partner is wiped out by each additional trade agreement signed by the importing country with third nations in which the sourcing partner is not a member. The result has important implications for regions seeking to develop international supply chains but in which the process of integration is highly fragmented.