The Impact of Supply Chain Network Position on Corporate Green Technology Innovation

As a critical form of social network in which firms are embedded, supply chain networks profoundly shape firms’ strategic choices and the diversification of their innovation pathways. Drawing on a social network analysis framework, this study constructs firm-level supply chain networks using data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2023 and examines the impact of supply chain network position on corporate green technological innovation and its underlying mechanisms. The results show that both network centrality and structural hole advantages in supply chain networks significantly promote firms’ green technological innovation. Mechanism tests further indicate that advantageous supply chain network positions foster green technological innovation through three channels: enhancing firms’ absorptive capacity, increasing green investor attention, and strengthening supply chain stability. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the promoting effect of supply chain network position is more pronounced in heavily polluting and highly competitive industries, as well as among state-owned enterprises and firms with higher asset specificity, stronger managerial green cognition, and lower financing constraints. Further analyses show that supply chain network position advantages significantly improve both environmental and economic performance by promoting green technological innovation, suggesting that such network advantages can be transformed into sustainable competitive advantages for firms.