Environmental Regulatory Pressure and Supply Chain Resilience: Evidence from Chinese Listed Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

Manufacturing firms face tightening environmental requirements while seeking to maintain supply continuity under disruption. This study examines whether environmental regulatory pressure (ER) is associated with supply chain resilience (SCR) and whether informational, relational, and structural governance adjustments accompany this relationship. Using 22,638 firm-year observations from Chinese A-share listed manufacturers during 2013–2023, we construct a continuous exposure-based measure from province-year environmental-governance intensity and predetermined two-digit industry pollution exposure. Because ER varies continuously rather than reflecting staggered policy adoption, the analysis is not a staggered difference-in-differences design. Firm and year fixed-effects estimates show a positive ER–SCR association. The association remains positive across alternative exposure, timing, matching, clustering, first-difference, province-by-year fixed-effects, and province-specific-trend specifications. Pathway analyses are consistent with greater digital integration, lower supplier payment pressure, and lower supplier dependence, with the strongest formal evidence observed for supplier payment governance. The positive association is stronger among firms with higher lagged environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores and among non-state-owned firms, with suggestive evidence for light-asset firms. Overall, the results indicate that environmental regulatory pressure is systematically associated with resilience-relevant supply chain governance adjustment.