After-Sales Services Cost Allocation and Profit Distribution Strategy in Live Streaming E-Commerce with Fairness Concerns

Abstract

The rapid rise of live streaming e-commerce has transformed retail dynamics; however, the allocation of after-sales service costs between live streaming salespeople and manufacturers remains a critical, unresolved issue, exacerbated by fairness concerns among stakeholders. Utilizing a Stackelberg game model where manufacturers act as leaders and live streaming salespeople as followers, this study examines the impact of cost allocation on profit distribution and supply chain efficiency. The framework incorporates a coefficient for fairness concerns and an after-sales effort to develop nine decision-making scenarios. Analysis demonstrates that perceptions of fairness significantly reshape cost-sharing strategies: when manufacturers assume after-sales responsibilities, their scale effects reduce marginal costs, maximizing overall supply chain profit. Conversely, when a live streaming salesperson bears costs, excessive focus on fairness reduces total supply chain efficiency, even if short-term profits are gained through premium pricing. These results validate that the Stackelberg game model combined with fairness concerns and after-sales efforts balances efficiency–profit dual objectives, providing a sustainable governance framework for live streaming e-commerce ecosystems.