Pricing decisions with different time sequences in a cross-border dual-channel supply chain

This paper investigates pricing decisions with different time sequences in a cross-border dual-channel supply chain, in which the manufacturer produces products in country A and sells them to country B via a retail channel and an online channel. Meanwhile, we design three scenarios, the manufacturer-led earlier scenario, the manufacturer-led later scenario, and the retailer-led scenario, to analyze the effects of time sequences when the manufacturer is risk neutral or risk averse. Through modeling and analysis, it is concluded that whether the manufacturer is risk averse or not, the manufacturer prefers the manufacturer-led earlier scenario and the retailer's preference is the retailer-led scenario. That is, when considering the time sequences, the players are encouraged to make all decisions in the first stage. Moreover, this paper analyzes the effects of the exchange rate and delivery lead time on the players' pricing decisions. The theoretical and numerical analyses also show that the effects of an increasing exchange rate on the profits of the manufacturer and retailer are associated with the cost of the online channel. Additionally, while reducing the delivery lead time can attract customers, a moderate delivery lead time is more advantageous for the manufacturer. Finally, we further verify the robustness of the impacts of time sequences when the manufacturer is risk averse. Interestingly, if the cost of the online channel is higher, then the risk-averse behavior benefits the retailer.