Decisions and coordination in the live streaming e-commerce supply chain of agricultural products considering poverty alleviation preferences

Due to the need to maintain the freshness of agricultural products, farmers must use cold chain logistics, which increases the cost of preservation. Live streaming e-commerce (LSEC) platforms may offer poverty alleviation support and share part of these costs. This study examines an agricultural product supply chain that includes a farmer and an LSEC platform. Using the Stackelberg game approach, four decision-making models are developed to analyze the strategic choices and optimal profits of the supply chain participants. Since the decentralized model without poverty alleviation support cannot reach an equilibrium solution, the study proposes a cost-revenue sharing coordination contract that includes poverty alleviation preferences. The results indicate that poverty alleviation preferences improve the profits of the farmer and the overall supply chain, although they reduce the profit of the LSEC platform. The profit outcomes for each participant depend on factors such as the sales price, the level of freshness-keeping effort, and the cost of that effort. Through contract coordination, the supply chain can achieve full efficiency. This study offers insights for promoting cooperation among participants in the agricultural product LSEC supply chain.