Global Supply Chain Management and Sustainability in E-Commerce

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Guest Editor
Department of Supply Chain and Information Management, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China
Interests: supply chain management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Interests: ports and terminals; commercial shipping; transport risk; low carbon logistics; transport research; transport policy studies; spatial analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cross-border e-commerce businesses are facing unprecedented operational challenges in their supply chains, driven by global trade dynamics and evolving sustainability-related regulatory frameworks. Changes such as the removal of duty-free allowances for low-value imports, the enforcement of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements for packaging, and mandatory Scope 3 emissions reporting present both threats and opportunities.

This Special Issue seeks contributions that critically examine how e-commerce firms operating in international markets adapt their supply chain strategies and operations in response to these changes. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, global regulatory impacts on supply chain design, sustainable supply chain and operations practices, cross-border compliance strategies, digitalization and traceability for environmental reporting, and risk management under changing trade policies. The aim is to advance scholarly understanding of the interplay between global supply chain management and sustainability within the e-commerce context, offering insights that will inform theory, practice, and policy.

We invite original research, conceptual papers, and case studies that align with the journal’s scope and contribute to this timely discourse.

Dr. Danny C.K. Ho
Dr. Tsz Leung Yip
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • global supply chain management
  • sustainability
  • trade policy
  • environmental policy

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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43 pages, 3535 KB  
Article
Mitigating Supply Uncertainty in Agricultural Supply Chains: A Trust-Based Punishment Mechanism to Reduce the Bullwhip Effect
by Xiao Fu and Hao Tan
J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2026, 21(6), 182; https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21060182 - 9 Jun 2026
Viewed by 379
Abstract
This study addresses supply uncertainty in the transportation and production of agricultural products within e-commerce-driven supply chains by developing a stochastic supply chain framework. By embedding an endogenous trust-based punishment mechanism, we characterize the strategic interplay between relational governance and operational decisions. In [...] Read more.
This study addresses supply uncertainty in the transportation and production of agricultural products within e-commerce-driven supply chains by developing a stochastic supply chain framework. By embedding an endogenous trust-based punishment mechanism, we characterize the strategic interplay between relational governance and operational decisions. In the single-period setting, higher retailer trust leads to larger order quantities while reducing the supplier’s optimal supply effort. This occurs because increased trust lowers the minimum delivery commitment ratio, allowing the retailer to voluntarily share more supply risk in exchange for lower-cost products. This creates a mutually beneficial risk-sharing arrangement between the retailer and supplier. When extending the framework to a dual-channel setting with a reliable backup option, the retailer consistently leverages trust and risk-sharing to lower sourcing costs. Concurrently, fluctuations in trust prompt the retailer to strategically shift order allocations between channels based on the primary supplier’s maximum effort capacity. Multi-period analysis shows a positive relationship between trust and the supplier’s expected profit, with optimal maximum supply effort stabilizing under repeated cooperation. Numerical experiments demonstrate that dual-channel decentralized decision-making achieves bullwhip effect mitigation quantitatively comparable to the centralized benchmark, while also alleviating moral hazard issues and benefiting retailers. These results indicate that the proposed mechanism effectively curbs opportunistic behavior and promotes sustainable, mutually advantageous supply chain collaboration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Supply Chain Management and Sustainability in E-Commerce)
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27 pages, 4579 KB  
Systematic Review
Digital Transformations and the Changing Business-to-Business (B2B) Transactions in the Global Value Chains: A Systematic Literature Review
by Muhammad Mohiuddin, Meryem Ourhalouch, Slimane Ed-Dafali and Md. Samim Al-Azad
J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res. 2026, 21(6), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21060177 - 3 Jun 2026
Viewed by 583
Abstract
Digital transformation is contributing to changes in how both production processes and transactions take place among firms within global value chains (GVCs). Firms navigate rapid advancements in digital technologies, such as Industry 4.0-embodied technologies that are translating into the reconfiguration of their value [...] Read more.
Digital transformation is contributing to changes in how both production processes and transactions take place among firms within global value chains (GVCs). Firms navigate rapid advancements in digital technologies, such as Industry 4.0-embodied technologies that are translating into the reconfiguration of their value chains. In an era of rapid growth in digital technologies, firms are in a position to reconsider their responsibilities within GVCs and reevaluate the strategic opportunities that come with digital transformation in the global market. Advanced technologies help firms in the GVC to streamline their cross-border production networks and enable real-time transactions between the firms. However, the impact of digitalization on the GVC has not been given much attention in earlier studies. This article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) based on the analysis of 43 articles on GVCs published between 2018 and 2024 and retrieved from the Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest databases. The study contributes in two ways: first, to elucidate the association between digital transformation and business-to-business (B2B) transactions within GVCs, and second, to propose future research directions aimed at enriching the literature on GVCs and suggesting theoretical and managerial implications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Supply Chain Management and Sustainability in E-Commerce)
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