1. Introduction
In recent years, two types of SC systems have emerged in the field of SSC management, namely service-only supply chains (SOSC) and product–service supply chains (PSSC) [
1], with PSSC receiving increasing attention. The SC system serving product sales enhances the service level of products, and Stank et al., argues that the collaboration with external SC entities will improve the service performance [
2]. SSC collaboration refers to the process of information sharing and mutual collaboration among SC entities to improve service efficiency. The agricultural SSC is one of the PSSC, which consists of producers, processors, wholesalers, service intermediaries, and retailers. Agricultural SSC collaboration connects all subjects through information sharing and mutual cooperation to achieve service delivery and SC operation efficiency improvement. Under the background of “Internet+”, the operation model of agricultural SSC is facing transformation, and the way of product information transmission, online and offline operation channels has contributed to the collaboration of agricultural SSC. Especially in the OC model, with the assistance of modern information technology, SSC collaboration brings information sharing and confidence in order to improve service performance.
Since 2017, western China has implemented a rural revitalization policy, which has accelerated the development of e-commerce and logistics for agricultural products and improved operational efficiency by promoting the integration of online and offline channels. In the OC model, the agricultural PSSC is very important. In terms of research on the relationship between agricultural products and SSC, Chamhuri and Batt studied the store-selection behavior of customers when purchasing agricultural products and found that customers who purchased in modern retail stores placed more importance on services such as convenience and entertainment [
3]. Bandinelli et al. [
4] examined the acceptance of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology by clients in the wine sector and concluded that Perceived security (PS) and Perceived compatibility (PC) were the keys to the choice. DAN (2018) analyzed the integration of agricultural products and life-type services in terms of response time, perceived quality, service process, and SC member collaboration from the perspective of Internet + fresh agricultural products and proposed a SC relationship between agricultural products and services [
5]. Because of the perishability and the short transportation cycle of agricultural products, a number of researchers have conducted relevant researches to promote cold-chain transportation, logistical distribution and supply chain synergy.
In the survey of agricultural product service supply chain collaboration, service supply chain entities such as agricultural product manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and logistics providers need to trust and cooperate, and partnerships affect the performance of agricultural product service supply chain. Agribusinesses are gradually introducing the SSC management model [
6] and are focusing on synergistic optimization. Unlike industrial products, the success of agricultural marketing requires not only the guarantee of production, but also the joint efforts of other parts, such as logistics and sales, to form a pattern of coexistence and co-prosperity, therefore, Matopoulos et al. [
7] confirmed that SC collaboration is of great significance to the agri-food industry. The core issue of agricultural SSC collaboration is to integrate service resources and create customer value together, and to closely integrate customer value management, service process and capacity management through interaction and coordination among multiple participating subjects such as service integrators, service providers and customers. In the study of the impact of OC model on the agricultural SSC, Chiang et al. [
8] proposed that the introduction of direct sales by manufacturers increases the overall profitability, thus analyzing the impact on the SC. Chen et al. [
9] further analyzed the problem of manufacturers managing their direct online sales channels and independently owned physical retail channels when the channels compete on services problem. Dual-channel and OC become key influences in analyzing the SC structure. Wang and Tong take the agricultural PSSC to meet consumer demand through OC standardization and modernization of operations in the context of Internet development [
10]. The OC model becomes an important direction to promote service innovation in the agricultural PSSC.
Many authors have conducted numerous empirical studies on SSC collaboration, but it is difficult to draw consistent conclusions because of differences among the studies and their collected sample data. It is generally believed that the purpose of SC collaboration is to reduce costs to enhance firm performance [
11,
12]. As a result, firms introduce the OC model [
13,
14,
15]. In the era of digital economy transformation, factors affecting SC collaboration include information sharing [
16,
17], SC partnership and trust [
11,
18]. Thus, in-depth analysis of SC relationship quality is critical to improve performance. Meanwhile, the convergence of offline channels and new digital channels (e.g., mobile channels and social media) has facilitated the development of OC model, which places higher demands on SC collaboration. Niranjan et al. [
19] analyzed the impact of the dynamics of customer choice on the green SC structure in the OC model through a study of the SC in the Indian market. Qi [
20] analyzed the relationship between SC collaboration and performance from an OC perspective. OC retailers integrate digital and physical channels, providing offline and online information to deliver a superior shopping experience to customers. This model is fundamentally changing the way retailing is done and is triggering more and more manufacturers to reconsider their SC distribution strategies [
13]. Therefore, it is important to explore the impact of the OC model on SSC collaboration.
At present, the overall slow development of agricultural products in western China is mainly limited by the SSC collaboration relationship and Internet technology. In the context of Big Data and A.I. Technology, production and services are becoming highly digitalized, networked and computerized. It increases the trust and the perceived quality between producers and consumers.
Thus, the research objectives of this paper are to (1) study the influence of OC model on PSSC collaboration; (2) study the influence of OC model on service innovation; (3) study the problem of intermediary effect of SSC collaboration in the process of service innovation; and (4) study the influence of interrelationship between SSC subjects on service innovation.
To this end, this paper constructs a novel model to explore the impact of the OC model on service innovation and the intermediary effect of SSC collaboration. The model will explain the role of SSC collaboration in the process of adopting the OC model to achieve service innovation. Another contribution of this paper is the introduction of relationship quality. The moderating effect of partnership on SSC collaboration is analyzed using the relationship quality measures of trust, commitment, adaptation, common and collaboration. The model will provide important ideas for agricultural service innovation in western China.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows:
Section 2 is the literature review.
Section 3 presents the methodology, including sample selection and data sources, data reliability and validity analysis and correlation analysis of variables.
Section 4 presents the results and discussions, including analysis of model fitting effect, analysis of hypothesis results and discussion of study results. Our last section summarizes the main conclusions and discusses the implications of our research.
5. Conclusions
In the process of China’s economy turning to high-quality development, consumer demand has changed from focusing on product quality to the quality of SC services. Thus, building a stable quality, collaborative and efficient SSC has become a strategic choice for the marketing of agricultural products in Western China. This paper showed that the agricultural SSC collaboration under the OC model is the key to promote the agricultural development and showed a significant positive impact on SSC collaboration. Enterprises should build an OC business platform and strengthen the information communication ability of online and offline channels actively to promote agricultural SSC collaboration. Moreover, the OC model can effectively promote service innovation. The OC model based on the modern Internet, Internet of things, big data and related leading technologies will enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and full experience service innovation with needs of online and offline groups of consumers. Agricultural SSC collaboration reflects the mutual collaboration and information sharing among the main bodies of the SC, which together have a significant positive impact on service innovation. Enterprises can promote service innovation to enhance marketing competitiveness through strategic collaboration, cultural collaboration, business collaboration, information collaboration and other ways. In addition, the quality of SC relationship can regulate the OC mode and SSC coordination. Thus, enterprises should build a good relationship with SC members and improve the relationship quality with trust and commitment.
The management implications of this study include: Firstly, this study finds the important value of OC model for agricultural products sales and service innovation. Therefore, the relevant personnel of enterprises should actively study its operating mechanism and path, realize the unified management of information on commodities, orders, payments and customers through online and offline integration, in order to achieve the integration of information flow, capital flow and logistics, and provide necessary conditions for realizing enterprise service innovation. Secondly, the SSC collaboration of agricultural products has an important impact on service innovation. Enterprises should enhance the innovation of organizational structure, reform management mechanism, establish the connection of SSC subjects by sharing information, establishing synergistic relationships actively, and promote the efficiency of internal organizational integration and external organizational coordination. Thirdly, the positive impact of relationship quality on service innovation provides impetus to enhance the relationship of agricultural SSC. Enterprises should develop the ability of communication and coordination ability among agricultural SSC subjects, establish trust relationship, improve relationship quality, and promote product sales and service innovation actively.
Although the findings of the study have value, there are still limitations. Chinese wolfberry is one of the special agricultural products in western China, with a relatively significant planting area and market sales. The research of this product is representative. Chinese Wolfberry products are not only sold offline, but also sold online, with huge OC sales. The main relationship of Wolfberry’s and SSC’s is clear, which can reflect the synergistic relationship within each other. However, this paper selects only one Wolfberry agricultural product for research and investigates the cross-sectional data of enterprises. More products can be involved in future research to reveal the synergistic relationship of the SSC of agricultural products in western China, and jointly promote service innovation. Secondly, this study measured the relationship quality of SSC subjects in agricultural products enterprises to reveal the influence of relationship quality on agricultural products SSC collaboration. However, the study did not give a further discussion about how to improve the relationship quality, how to lead to a better SSC operation efficiency, and how to enhance the competitiveness of agricultural products market in western China.