Spillover effects of enterprise digital transformation on supply chain carbon emissions: Evidence from China

Drawing on the NEBIC framework, this study constructs a supply chain network using data on China’s A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2021. It examines how the digital transformation of focal firms affects the supply chain carbon emissions. IV-2SLS, DID and System-GMM are used to deal with endogeneity. The analysis reveals that digital transformation significantly reduces supply chain carbon emissions through environmental information spillovers and green innovation spillovers. Moreover, the effects are strengthened by greater environmental regulatory intensity and executives’ environmental awareness. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the reduction impact of digital transformation is more pronounced in the eastern and western regions, and is stronger among high-tech and low-pollution industries. Furthermore, the effect is greater for upstream suppliers than for downstream customers. These findings underscore the broader environmental benefits of digital transformation from a network perspective and offer theoretical support for both government policy design and corporate supply chain decarbonization strategies.