## 6 Conclusions  
CBEC is experiencing robust growth globally. The integration of advanced IT significantly enhances the operational efficiency and service levels of enterprises, thereby strengthening their competitiveness and driving sustainable development within the supply chain. IT-enabled process automation leads to cost reductions and enhances financial performance, while also contributing to the environmental pillar of supply chains by increasing visibility for the proactive identification of environmental risks and opportunities for improvement. Nevertheless, the increased costs associated with technology adoption present a dilemma for enterprises. Therefore, a comprehensive balance is required when making decisions. In terms of theoretical implications, first of all, this study investigates the role of advanced IT in enhancing service differentiation and sustainability within CBEC supply chains by integrating the RBV and game-theoretic models. The results demonstrate that service differentiation (\(\Delta s\)) is a double-edged sword. While it enhances profitability when aligned with consumer service sensitivity (\(\beta\)) and low service cost coefficients (\(\eta\)), excessive differentiation (\(\Delta s>\Delta s^{*}\)) leads to diminishing returns (Theorem 6), which confirms IT as a VRIN resource but emphasizes the necessity of cost-benefit calibration. Secondly, centralized decision making (CD) consistently outperforms decentralized models (DD), achieving higher profits (\(\pi^{c}>\pi^{d}\)) through coordinated pricing and service strategies (Theorem 4). This extends prior work on supply chain collaboration, highlighting the critical role of centralized governance in balancing IT investments with market demands. The existing literature predominantly focuses on the static benefits of IT but lacks dynamic metrics to assess the trade-offs between service differentiation and costs. Thus, the Service Elasticity Index (SEI) is proposed, which quantifies the sensitivity of profit to variations in service levels (see Section 5.2.3). In terms of practical implications, especially for SMEs, incremental IT solutions targeting operational bottlenecks (e.g., smart inventory systems) should be adopted rather than full-scale digital transformation. Cost-benefit analysis should guide IT adoption, prioritizing technologies that directly address inefficiencies while avoiding overinvestment. The focus should be on scalable IT tools (e.g., AI-driven demand forecasting) to address specific challenges like inventory management or logistics optimization. The solution results under the centralized strategy confirm the strategic value of integrated IT infrastructure in sustaining a competitive advantage. Practically, this suggests that industry consortia or public-private partnerships could play a pivotal role in developing shared IT platforms, particularly for SMEs. Governments could subsidize cloud platforms (e.g., logistics optimization SaaS) to reduce and lower entry barriers for SMEs. Large enterprises should lead consortia to standardize IT interfaces (e.g., IoT protocols for smart warehouses), enabling SMEs to plug into agile supply networks. This paper represents the initial step in investigating the operational strategies of CBEC supply chains in the context of modern IT development. Since CBEC encompassesboth international and domestic supply chains, the operational strategies are complex and extensive. In future research, in order to refine competitive strategies, decision-making mechanisms under incomplete information will be considered, and contracts will be introduced to obtain optimal strategies. Some findings could extend to the environmental dimension of the Technology Organization Environment (TOE). For example, policymakers can optimize the sustainable development path of the supply chain by subsidizing to reduce costs (environmental intervention) or promoting industry standards to increase quality (such as carbon label certification). Conceptualization, F.D. ; methodology, F.D. and J.H. ; software, F.D.