AI technology sharing strategies for e-commerce platforms with private label introduction
研究电商平台在引入自有品牌时，如何策略性地采用和共享AI技术以优化销售绩效，发现中等成本下AI采用可能导致双输，而低成本共享可实现双赢。
As the online retail market expands and brand competition intensifies, e-commerce platforms and retailers are facing increasing service and operational costs. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has transformed the consumer shopping experience while simultaneously reducing retailers' operational costs. However, platforms must judiciously balance the operational efficiency improvements enabled by AI technology with the potential risks stemming from intensified competition and rising technology adoption costs. This study constructs a two-stage supply chain model involving a retailer and a platform, who are selling national brand products and substitutable private label brand, respectively. The platform strategically adopts and shares AI technology with retailer to optimise sales performance. We systematically analyze the viability of AI adoption and its impact on brand competition. The findings suggest that under moderate cost conditions, the platform's AI adoption may result in a lose–lose situation for both firms. When AI R&D costs are low, sharing AI technology, despite potentially weakening the platform's private-label competitiveness and reducing overall market demand, can still lead to a win-win situation for both parties. Additionally, extended analysis indicates that changes in consumer preferences have a limited effect on AI investment decisions, although different AI applications may introduce more complex supply chain dynamics.