How customer digital orientation drives supplier green and low-carbon efforts: The roles of supplier dependence and common ownership

Abstract

Amid escalating climate change threats and the global imperative to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, supply chain decarbonization has emerged as a pivotal mitigation strategy. This study examines how customer digital orientation drives supplier green and low-carbon efforts, leveraging spillover effects within buyer-supplier relationships. Using a 2010-2022 panel dataset from multiple sources, we find that customer digital orientation significantly enhances supplier green and low-carbon efforts through normative pressures and empowerment effects. From a supplier-customer relationship view, we further identify that this effect is amplified when suppliers are highly dependent on their customers, as dependence strengthens compliance pressures and enhances technology and resource empowerment. Furthermore, vertical common ownership between suppliers and customers acts as a relational governance mechanism, aligning interests and enhancing collaboration, thereby intensifying the positive spillover effects of customer digital orientation. Finally, heterogeneity tests reveal that the positive spillover effects is more pronounced when suppliers operate in highly competitive industries or face a narrower digital divide with their customers. Our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms of digital-enabled decarbonization across supply chains, offering actionable pathways for policymakers and firms to accelerate the transition toward net-zero emissions.