Recycling channel choice in closed-loop supply chains considering retailer competitive preference.

The competitive preference of a retailer is an important factor for closed-loop supply chains (CLSCs), which have not been explicitly investigated by existing studies. This paper specifically considers the retailer's competitive preference and examines decisions with regard to three CLSC channel structures—the manufacturer recycling channel (M-channel), the retailer recycling channel (R-channel), and the third-party recycling channel (T-channel). To mitigate the negative impact of the retailer's competitive preference, revenue-cost sharing (RCS) contracts can be developed. An interesting result is that the manufacturer will choose the T-channel when the degree of the retailer's competitive preference is higher than a specified threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]