Two-Stage Game-Based Pricing Strategy for the Duopoly Online Freight Platform

Table 1

Definitions of paramaters.

Parameter	Implication
	The number of carriers that are solely attributed to
	The number of carriers that are solely attributed
	The number of consignors that are solely attributed to
	The number of consignors that are solely attributed to
	The number of consignors belonging to and
	unit service costs for
	unit service costs for ,
	The unit conversion cost of the consignor that is solely attributable to the platform
	The unit conversion cost of the carrier that is solely attributable to the platform
	The positive externality benefits of the consignor
	The positive externality benefits of the carrier
	The expected vehicle rewards paid by to the carrier
	The expected vehicle rewards paid by to the carrier
,	The opportunity benefits (government subsidies) received by and , respectively
	The platform’s charge of commission rate to the carrier
	The probability of successful two-sided user transactions
,	The basic utility of carrier and consignor, respectively
,	Habitual correction costs paid by and to the carrier, respectively
,	Habitual correction costs paid by and to the consignor, respectively
,	The registration fees paid by the carrier to and , respectively
,	The registration fees paid by the consignor to and , respectively
	The final freight between carrier and consignor
,	The utility obtained by the carrier from and
,	The utility obtained by the consignor that are solely attributed to and respectively
	The utility obtained by the consignor belonging to and
,	The profit functions of and respectively
	The consignor
	The carrier
	The quotation ranges of carrier
	The quotation ranges of consignor
	The highest freight rate of the corresponding transportation mileage and service time for each model
	The final negotiation interval for two-sided users
,	The discount rates represent changes in value
	The static discount rate under no pressure
	The psychological pressure on the carrier
	The psychological pressure on the consignor
	The freight rate determined by the consignor and the alternative carrier
	The lowest matching satisfaction that the consignor is willing to continue trading
	The psychological freight rate of the consignor