The provision strategy of blockchain service under the supply chain with downstream competition

The business activity is inseparable from the support of documental information flow. In the past, the commercial documents needed a lot of time to get to the point-to-point, which could lead to problems, such as insecurity or the relatively long time. With the emergence of new technologies, it is possible to change this information transmission method to enable fast and accurate dissemination. For considering the possibility of technology adoption, this study investigates the role of blockchain service in term of market size and file circulation time. Specifically, we construct a game-theoretic model to find the equilibrium strategy from a manufacturer and two competing retailers. From the perspective of equilibrium, we investigate the results for market effects, economic effects, service effects, and service efficiency, respectively. Moreover, we also analyze the service strategy of retailers providing service by manufacturer, time sensitivity, and competitive intensity, respectively. Based on the above analysis, this study has obtained an equilibrium to support the commercial practice. In summary, this study has two contributions. On the one hand, we analyze the impact of the technological investment in blockchain service on asymmetric market scale competition. This result extends the application scope of blockchain service in the market. On the other hand, this study discusses the impact of time value on technology investment in blockchain service. Therefore, through the discussion of our study, the results show the value of blockchain service in information exchanges.