The spillover effect of environmental information disclosure on green technology innovation of supply chain enterprises: Moderating effect of digital transformation

Environmental information disclosure, a key corporate social responsibility indicator, is an important means of promoting green technology innovation and facilitating green low-carbon supply chains. Capital, technology, and information are highly interconnected among enterprises within supply chains; therefore, environmental information disclosure can generate green innovation spillover effects through industrial chain transmission. However, extant literature focuses on the direct impact of environmental information disclosure on enterprises’ green technology innovation, with insufficient research on the spillover effects on supply chain enterprises’ green technology innovation. This study empirically analyzes the spillover effects and influence mechanisms of environmental information disclosure on upstream supplier firms’ green technology innovation, moderated by digital transformation, using panel data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2023. The findings reveal that client firms’ environmental information disclosure significantly promotes suppliers’ green technology innovation at the 1 % level, with a 0.27 increase in green patent applications per unit increase in disclosure score. Mechanism analysis reveals that environmental information disclosure exerts a positive effect through two transmission pathways: alleviating suppliers’ financing constraints and increasing procurement from suppliers at the 1 % significance level. Digital transformation generates a positive effect that amplifies this relationship at the 5 % significance level. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the green innovation spillover effect of client firms’ environmental information disclosure is more pronounced when they maintain closer business ties with upstream suppliers or suppliers are state-owned enterprises. This study extends the research on environmental information disclosure spillover effects and offers insights into enhancing supply chain green innovation through digital transformation.