Equilibrium Searching in Supply Chains by Biform Games

Supply chain management is a discipline that has met with great interest in both practical applications and theoretical development. The supply chain consists of independent units that cooperate and compete in different situations. Finding balance in supply chains is a difficult task. The paper proposes a model framework that captures the existence of multiple units with different interests and preferences, which are evaluated by multiple evaluation criteria. The procedure is based on biform games that incorporate cooperative and non-cooperative procedures. The authors' contribution is the division of biform games into sequential and simultaneous forms. Sequential biform games gradually apply cooperative and subsequently non-cooperative techniques. Simultaneous shape contemplates the simultaneous use of cooperative and non-cooperative techniques. The search for equilibrium is based on negotiating the aspiration values of the evaluation criteria. A supply chain equilibrium is when non-empty intersection of these values is achieved.