Governance Path Selection for Emission Reduction in E-Commerce Supply Chains Under a Hybrid Carbon-Pricing Mechanism

This study examines governance path selection and emission reduction in e-commerce supply chains under a hybrid carbon-pricing mechanism. A tripartite evolutionary game is developed in which the government chooses Collaborative or Direct Governance, the platform chooses Green Empowerment or Routine Operation, and manufacturers choose Low-Carbon or Conventional Production. Carbon taxes enter government revenue, while manufacturers sell surplus allowances or purchase shortfalls at effective prices that reflect trading frictions. The analysis derives strategy thresholds and local stability conditions, followed by simulations of initial strategies, platform incentives, accountability fines, and aggregate carbon-pricing intensity. The results show that a stable Collaborative Governance–Green Empowerment–Low-Carbon Production equilibrium requires compatible incentives among the three participants. At the benchmark policy share, the manufacturers’ basic payoff difference becomes positive above the normalized aggregate carbon-pricing threshold κ* ≈ 0.4823; trading frictions have a modest effect on policy composition. Platform performance rewards encourage Green Empowerment, while rewards above S2∗=3.2 shift the government’s locally stable choice toward Direct Governance under the benchmark conditions. Accountability fines mainly accelerate platform adjustment when Conventional Production remains prevalent. These findings inform the coordination of carbon pricing and platform governance during supply chain decarbonization.