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This paper aims to investigate the response behavior of the surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor under the loading of micro-particles and to evaluate the feasibility of using the SAW sensor to study the micro-contact of the particle–plane interface.

An analytical perturbation theory of the coupled system of particle and SAW is presented. It shows that in the weak-coupling regime, the SAW sensor detects the coupling stiffness rather than the additional mass of the particle at the interface. The frequency perturbation formula expressed in parameters of the geometry and mechanical properties of the contact is further derived. The frequency shift of a 262-MHz Rayleigh-type SAW in the oscillation configuration under the loading of multiple starch particles of different sizes has been measured.

The experiment results of a linear relationship between the frequency increase and the sum of the radius of particles to the power of 2/3 verified the validity of the theory of linking the SAW response to the geometry and mechanical properties of the contact.

The SAW sensor could serve as a new candidate for studying the details of mechanical properties of the micro-contact of the interface.

Marketing is a hot topic, and the purpose of this study is to investigate how shareholding strategies can be applied to achieve strategic synergy between firms in vertical supply chains to improve retailers’ marketing efforts from a long-term perspective.

This study constructs Stackelberg models to analyze the operating mechanisms of shareholding supply chains under forward, backward and cross-shareholding strategies. The authors analyze the effects of shareholding on prices, marketing efforts and profits, and explore the strategic preferences and outcomes of different supply chain members.

Forward/backward shareholding plays the same role as cross/nonshareholding in supply chains because the effect of the retailer’s shareholding is offset by the power status of the manufacturer, and the retailer can still profit when wholesale prices are higher than selling prices in certain cases. A manufacturer’s shareholding in a retailer can benefit consumers and improve marketing efforts by reducing retailers’ marketing costs, while a retailer’s shareholding in a manufacturer has no such effect. None of all shareholding strategies can coordinate the interests of all members; however, an effective rebate policy can resolve this problem.

The results reveal the operational mechanism of shareholding supply chains and provide reference values for managers who want to improve marketing efforts and economic performance using a shareholding strategy.