{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T02:12:36Z","timestamp":1783390356921,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]],"date-time":"2025-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756080000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Information Network Security, Ministry of Public Security","award":["C23600-05"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["C23600-05"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Systems"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Against the backdrop of the growing popularity of blockchain technology, this study investigates blockchain adoption strategies for the fresh food supply chain (FFSC) under a carbon cap-and-trade (CAT) policy. Taking a two-echelon supply chain consisting of a supplier and a retailer as an example, we designed four blockchain adoption modes based on the supplier\u2019s strategy (adopt or not) and the retailer\u2019s strategy (adopt or not). Combining influencing factors such as consumers\u2019 low-carbon preference, consumers\u2019 freshness preference, and carbon trading price (CTP), we established four game-theoretic models. Using backward induction, we derived the equilibrium strategies for the supplier and retailer under different modes and analyzed the impact of key factors on these equilibrium strategies. The analysis yielded four key findings: (1) BB mode (both adopt blockchain) is the optimal adoption strategy for both FFSC parties when carbon prices are high, and consumers exhibit strong dual preferences. It most effectively mitigates the negative price impact of rising carbon prices by synergistically enhancing emission reduction efforts and freshness preservation efforts, thereby increasing overall profits and achieving a Pareto improvement in the benefits for both parties. (2) Consumers\u2019 low-carbon preference and freshness preference exhibit an interaction effect. These two preferences mutually reinforce each other\u2019s incentive effect on FFSC efforts (emission reduction\/freshness preservation). Blockchain\u2019s information transparency makes these efforts more perceptible to consumers, forming a synergistic \u201cemission reduction-freshness preservation\u201d cycle that further drives sales and profit growth. (3) The adoption of blockchain by either the supplier or the retailer significantly lowers the cost threshold for the other party to adopt blockchain, thereby increasing their willingness to adopt. (4) CAT and consumer preferences jointly influence the adoption strategies of suppliers and retailers. Additionally, the adoption strategies of FFSC participants are also affected by the other party\u2019s blockchain adoption status. Drawing on the above conclusions, this study provides actionable guidance for suppliers and retailers in selecting optimal blockchain adoption strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/systems13090737","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,26]],"date-time":"2025-08-26T06:26:31Z","timestamp":1756189591000},"page":"737","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Application of Blockchain Technology in Fresh Food Supply Chains: A Game-Theoretical Analysis Under Carbon Cap-and-Trade Policy and Consumer Dual Preferences"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Zheng","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-1526-6676","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tianchen","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bin","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lihua","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104577","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tifs.2024.104577","article-title":"Carbon pricing and the food system: Implications for sustainability and equity","volume":"150","author":"Habib","year":"2024","journal-title":"Trends Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107663","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cie.2021.107663","article-title":"Route optimization for cold chain logistics of front warehouses based on traffic congestion and carbon emission","volume":"161","author":"Chen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Comput. Ind. Eng."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140943","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2024.140943","article-title":"A green path towards sustainable development: The impact of carbon emissions trading system on urban green transformation development","volume":"442","author":"Bian","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100163","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clscn.2024.100163","article-title":"An integrated planning approach for perishable goods with stochastic lifespan: Production, inventory, and routing","volume":"12","author":"Komijani","year":"2024","journal-title":"Clean. Logist. Supply Chain"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103508","DOI":"10.1016\/j.im.2021.103508","article-title":"Blockchain technology for bridging trust, traceability and transparency in circular supply chain","volume":"59","author":"Centobelli","year":"2022","journal-title":"Inf. Manag."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1007\/s12393-024-09392-4","article-title":"Enhanced Food Quality by Digital Traceability in Food Processing Industry","volume":"17","author":"Verna","year":"2025","journal-title":"Food Eng. Rev."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1007\/s11518-023-5587-3","article-title":"Fresh-Keeping Decision and Coordination of Fresh Agricultural Product Supply Chain Considering Carbon Cap-and-Trade under Different Dominance","volume":"33","author":"Yang","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Syst. Sci. Syst. Eng."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"561","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejor.2019.03.004","article-title":"Joint replenishment and carbon trading in FFSCs","volume":"277","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur. J. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2477","DOI":"10.1108\/BFJ-12-2023-1089","article-title":"An optimal decision for fresh products\u2019 cold chain considering freshness and carbon emission reduction","volume":"126","author":"Liu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Br. Food J."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpe.2017.02.012","article-title":"Revenue and promotional cost-sharing contract versus two-part tariff contract in coordinating sustainable supply chain systems with deteriorating items","volume":"187","author":"Bai","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Econ."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107457","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpe.2019.07.030","article-title":"Optimization of a three-echelon cold chain considering freshness-keeping efforts under cap-and-trade regulation in Industry 4.0","volume":"220","author":"Ma","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Econ."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114893","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chaos.2024.114893","article-title":"The complexity analysis of decision-making for horizontal fresh supply chains under a trade-off between fresh-keeping and carbon emission reduction","volume":"183","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chaos Solitons Fractals"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dhanda, A., Aggarwal, D., Jain, L., Tyagi, P., Mittal, M., and Bansal, A. (2024, January 12\u201314). Optimizing Fresh Food Supply Chains: Leveraging 3PL for Carbon Reduction and Profit Maximization\u2014A Game-Theoretic Analysis. Proceedings of the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Computing and Communication Technologies (CONECCT), Bangalore, India.","DOI":"10.1109\/CONECCT62155.2024.10677286"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145089","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2025.145089","article-title":"Sustainability and crisis: Shifting consumer preferences for food products under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany","volume":"496","author":"Richartz","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Xu, J., Xiong, S., Cui, T., Zhang, D., and Li, Z. (2023). Incorporating Consumers\u2019 Low-Carbon and Freshness Preferences in Dual-Channel Agri-Foods Supply Chains: An Analysis of Decision-Making Behavior. Agriculture, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/agriculture13091647"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101403","DOI":"10.1016\/j.retrec.2023.101403","article-title":"Gender and generational differences in omnichannel shopping travel decisions: What drives consumer choices to pick up in-store or ship direct?","volume":"103","author":"Joshi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Res. Transp. Econ."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3753","DOI":"10.1080\/00207543.2014.988888","article-title":"Game-theoretical analysis for supply chain with consumer preference to low carbon","volume":"53","author":"Du","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Res."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1021","DOI":"10.1016\/j.spc.2021.01.012","article-title":"Pricing policies of dual-channel green supply chain: Considering government subsidies and consumers\u2019 dual preferences","volume":"26","author":"Meng","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sustain. Prod. Consum."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19969","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-020-09608-0","article-title":"Supply chain carbon emission reductions and coordination when consumers have a strong preference for low-carbon products","volume":"28","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121460","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physa.2019.121460","article-title":"Study of game models and the complex dynamics of a low-carbon supply chain with an altruistic retailer under consumers\u2019 low-carbon preference","volume":"528","author":"Fan","year":"2019","journal-title":"Phys. A Stat. Mech. Its Appl."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123883","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2020.123883","article-title":"Coordinating joint greening efforts in an agri-food supply chain with environmentally sensitive demand","volume":"277","author":"Cao","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123348","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eswa.2024.123348","article-title":"Impact of consumer preferences on pricing and strategic decisions in a triopoly with heterogeneous smart sustainable supply chains","volume":"247","author":"Bera","year":"2024","journal-title":"Expert Syst. Appl."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, X., Shang, J., Zada, M., Zada, S., Ji, X., Han, H., Ariza-Montes, A., and Ram\u00edrez-Sobrino, J. (2021). Health Is Wealth: Study on Consumer Preferences and the Willingness to Pay for Ecological Agricultural Product Traceability Technology: Evidence from Jiangxi Province China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph182211761"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1186\/s40100-023-00270-x","article-title":"Can blockchain technology strengthen consumer preferences for credence attributes?","volume":"11","author":"Contini","year":"2023","journal-title":"Agric. Econ."},{"key":"ref_25","first-page":"103","article-title":"The adoption strategy of blockchain technology for new and remanufactured products considering price and consumer preference","volume":"42","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Ind. Prod. Eng."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.1016\/j.procs.2022.12.034","article-title":"Blockchain in Food Supply Chain","volume":"215","author":"Patel","year":"2022","journal-title":"Procedia Comput. Sci."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107730","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cie.2021.107730","article-title":"Sales mode selection of FFSC based on blockchain technology under different channel competition","volume":"162","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Comput. Ind. Eng."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119494","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eswa.2022.119494","article-title":"Dynamic blockchain adoption for freshness-keeping in the fresh agricultural product supply chain","volume":"217","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Expert Syst. Appl."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3565","DOI":"10.1111\/itor.13266","article-title":"Interaction between joining platform blockchain technology and channel encroachment for fresh agricultural product firms","volume":"31","author":"Xu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. Trans. Oper. Res."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"841","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apm.2022.06.011","article-title":"Blockchain-Enabled supply chains: An application in fresh-cut flowers","volume":"110","author":"Elhedhli","year":"2022","journal-title":"Appl. Math. Model."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1350","DOI":"10.1108\/BFJ-03-2021-0227","article-title":"Factors affecting the diffusion of traceability practices in an imported fresh produce supply chain in China","volume":"124","author":"Yi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Br. Food J."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6666","DOI":"10.1287\/mnsc.2021.02949","article-title":"The Blockchain Newsvendor: Value of Freshness Transparency and Smart Contracts","volume":"71","author":"Keskin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Manag. Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125127","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eswa.2024.125127","article-title":"Optimizing traceability scheme in a fresh product supply chain considering product competition in blockchain era","volume":"258","author":"Yuan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Expert Syst. Appl."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119945","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apenergy.2022.119945","article-title":"Precooling energy and carbon emission reduction technology investment model in a fresh food cold chain based on a differential game","volume":"326","author":"Liu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Appl. Energy"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103455","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jretconser.2023.103455","article-title":"Visualization service investment strategies for a self-operated fresh agricultural product e-tailer","volume":"75","author":"Du","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Retail. Consum. Serv."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103254","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tre.2023.103254","article-title":"Implications of information sharing on blockchain adoption in reducing carbon emissions: A mean\u2013variance analysis","volume":"178","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Transp. Res. Part E Logist. Transp. Rev."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103788","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tre.2024.103788","article-title":"Blockchain technology adoption in a supply chain: Channel leaderships and environmental implications","volume":"192","author":"Dou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Transp. Res. Part E Logist. Transp. Rev."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103506","DOI":"10.1016\/j.im.2021.103506","article-title":"Information disclosure and blockchain technology adoption strategy for competing platforms","volume":"59","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Inf. Manag."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpe.2018.11.008","article-title":"Effects of carbon emission reduction on supply chain coordination with vendor-managed deteriorating product inventory","volume":"208","author":"Bai","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Econ."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141210","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2024.141210","article-title":"Impact of CO2 emissions embodied in the agricultural sector on carbon sequestration in South Africa: The role of environmental taxes and technological innovation","volume":"444","author":"Takon","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131274","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclepro.2022.131274","article-title":"A permissioned blockchain enabled trustworthy and incentivized emission trading system","volume":"349","author":"Muzumdar","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Clean. Prod."}],"container-title":["Systems"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-8954\/13\/9\/737\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T18:32:34Z","timestamp":1760034754000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-8954\/13\/9\/737"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]]},"references-count":41,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]}},"alternative-id":["systems13090737"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/systems13090737","relation":{},"ISSN":["2079-8954"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2079-8954","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,25]]}}}