Supply chain digitalization and innovation spillovers among peer enterprises

Abstract

With the rapid advancement of information technology, the digital transformation of supply chains has emerged as a pivotal pathway for enhancing enterprise innovation capabilities and market competitiveness. This study examines whether a city-level supply chain innovation and application pilot creates innovation spillovers among peer enterprises. Using Chinese A-share listed firms’ data and a difference-in-differences design, we find that policy exposure is associated with higher invention-patent innovation among industry peers and lower non-invention-patent innovation, a pattern that is also observed for regional peers. Mechanism analysis is consistent with three complementary channels: technology diffusion, enterprise digital transformation, and changes in supply chain concentration. The results suggest that digital supply chain reforms can redirect peer firms’ innovation portfolios toward more technology-intensive activities. Because non-invention patents may generate genuine economic value in some industries, we interpret their decline cautiously as a shift away from relatively strategic patenting rather than as evidence that all such patents are low quality. The study extends research on supply chain digitalization from focal-firm outcomes to industry and regional spillovers and offers implications for governments, industry platforms, and enterprise managers.