Realization Mechanism for Sustainable Operation of Platform‐Driven Fresh Supply Chain: A Longitudinal Case Study From China

ABSTRACT Over the past decade, the platform‐driven fresh supply chain, a new business model, has been changing consumer lifestyles and the agricultural industry. Platforms are the leading force in this process of change. However, sustainable operation has become a major challenge for platforms. Focusing on JD, an extreme and revelatory case from China, this paper explores how the platform can drive the sustainable operation of the fresh supply chain from a process‐oriented perspective, with a proposed logical chain comprising “driving logic–adaptation mechanism–performance outcome.” Driving logic guides the platform in selecting intra‐chain mechanisms to yield constructive outcomes that can precipitate inter‐stage transitions, while intertemporal mechanisms enable inter‐stage transitions. Through a longitudinal case study, a process model for the sustainable operation of the platform‐driven fresh supply chain is developed. The model addresses dynamics in platform sustainability emerging through three stages from open legitimation to cautious expansion and then to principled enhancement, undergoing switches in driving logics. Adaptation mechanisms include three intrachain mechanisms (shaping, sorting, shifting, i.e., 3S) within stages and two intertemporal mechanisms between stages, for example, developing consumption proximity and advocating industrial interconnection. Legitimate identity, growth momentum, and organizational brand are performance outcomes in the process. This paper makes theoretical contributions to operations management in fresh produce businesses from a process‐oriented perspective and provides practical implications for the platform to operate the fresh supply chain.