Promoting Corporate Sustainable Development via Supply Chain Finance—An Empirical Study Against the Background of Digital Transition

In the era of the rapidly expanding digital economy, supply chain finance (SCF) has emerged as a pivotal force in fortifying supply chain relationships and optimizing resource allocation. More importantly, it serves as a catalyst for corporate sustainable development (SD). However, a pressing question remains unanswered: Can corporates effectively align the resources, capabilities, and competitive advantages of SCF with SD, especially when bolstered by digital transition (DT)? Drawing on information asymmetry and synergy theory, this study reveals the intricate mechanisms through which SCF influences corporate SD and highlights the financial and supply chain effects, as well as the moderating role of DT. Leveraging the generalized method of moments, we conduct a rigorous empirical analysis using data from A-share listed companies spanning 2010–2021. Our findings robustly affirm that SCF significantly propels corporate SD, and this conclusion is reinforced by extensive robustness checks and endogeneity analyses. Delving deeper, we establish that SCF not only alleviates financing constraints but also enhances relationship embedding, thereby driving SD. Notably, these pathways exhibit marked variations across different types of enterprises. Intriguingly, our research further reveals that advancements in corporate DT amplify the positive impact of SCF on SD, while also augmenting the financial and supply chain effects of SCF. These insights not only offer a novel lens for evaluating the economic ramifications of SCF but also provide compelling empirical evidence that SCF, when synergized with DT, becomes a powerful enabler of corporate SD. Our findings are of considerable significance for sustainable business practices in the digital age.