Customer digital transformation and enterprise risk-taking: Evidence from Chinese supply chains

IF 5.2 1区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

中国经济评论 Pub Date : 2025-04-14 DOI:10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102418

Yibing Ding, Yining Sun, Xiaoou Zhang

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Abstract

The rapid emergence and widespread adoption of digital technology have profoundly reshaped supply chain vertical integration. This study investigates how customer firms' digital transformation influences supplier firms' risk-taking decisions through digital spillovers in supply chains. Utilizing data from Chinese A-share listed companies and their customers from 2009 to 2022, we find that customer digitization significantly enhances suppliers' risk-taking propensity. The impact is asymmetric and stronger when the digitization level of customer exceeds that of supplier. Mechanism tests reveal that the increase in supplier firms' risk-taking ability, due to customer firms' digitization, is achieved through structural synergy (raising the level of supply chain synergy) and resource integration (alleviating suppliers' factor constraints). Heterogeneity analysis shows that the supply chain spillover effects of customer digital transformation are more pronounced when suppliers are non-state-owned enterprises, supply chains span larger geographic distances, the customer concentration is lower, and the digital gap between partners is narrower. Additionally, moderating effect analysis indicates that higher economic policy uncertainty and stronger corporate governance amplify the positive relationship between customer digital transformation and enterprise risk-taking. Further, customer-driven digitization improves suppliers' productivity and innovation. This research advances understanding of supply chain risk governance and offers insights for fostering digital economy and supply chain cooperation.

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客户数字化转型与企业风险承担：来自中国供应链的证据

数字技术的迅速出现和广泛采用深刻地重塑了供应链垂直整合。本研究探讨了客户企业的数字化转型如何通过供应链中的数字溢出效应影响供应商企业的风险承担决策。利用2009 - 2022年中国a股上市公司及其客户的数据，我们发现客户数字化显著提高了供应商的风险承担倾向。当客户的数字化水平超过供应商的数字化水平时，这种影响是不对称的，且更强。机制检验表明，客户企业数字化对供应商企业风险承担能力的提升是通过结构协同（提升供应链协同水平）和资源整合（缓解供应商要素约束）实现的。异质性分析表明，当供应商为非国有企业、供应链跨越的地理距离较大、客户集中度较低、合作伙伴之间的数字化差距较窄时，客户数字化转型的供应链溢出效应更为明显。此外，调节效应分析表明，较高的经济政策不确定性和较强的公司治理放大了客户数字化转型与企业风险承担之间的正相关关系。此外，客户驱动的数字化提高了供应商的生产力和创新能力。本研究促进了对供应链风险治理的理解，并为促进数字经济和供应链合作提供了见解。

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来源期刊

中国经济评论 ECONOMICS-

CiteScore

10.60

自引率

4.40%

发文量

380

期刊介绍： The China Economic Review publishes original works of scholarship which add to the knowledge of the economy of China and to economies as a discipline. We seek, in particular, papers dealing with policy, performance and institutional change. Empirical papers normally use a formal model, a data set, and standard statistical techniques. Submissions are subjected to double-blind peer review.