Effects of disruption risk on a supply chain with a risk-averse retailer

Abstract

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>This paper studies a supply chain consisting of two unreliable suppliers and a retailer, where the two suppliers' default risks are correlated. We use a mean-variance function to characterize the retailer's risk aversion. In the case of exogenous wholesale prices, we find that the retailer's risk aversion has a non-monotonic effect on its total ordering quantity. We also show that when the suppliers' default correlation increases, the retailer's total ordering quantity is non-increasing. In the case of endogenous wholesale prices, we find that the profits of the suppliers and the retailer are non-monotonic in retailer's risk aversion level or suppliers' default correlation. As risk aversion level increases, the retailer becomes less sensitive to wholesale prices. Finally, the numerical results indicate that when the suppliers' delivery rates are different, the supplier with a low delivery rate can benefit from the retailer's risk aversion under certain conditions.</p>