Assessing the Impact of Digital Infrastructure Construction on the Supply Chain Performance of China’s Energy Sector

Speeding up the development of digital infrastructure, including broadband network systems in China, acts as a critical driver for enhancing the digitalization and intelligent upgrading of enterprises, optimizing resource allocation efficiency, and boosting supply chain performance in the energy sector. Taking A-share listed enterprises in the energy sector over the 2011–2024 period as the research sample, we adopted a Difference-in-Differences model to empirically analyze the causal impact and intrinsic transmission mechanisms of digital infrastructure development on supply chain performance in the energy sector. The empirical results demonstrate that digital infrastructure significantly improves energy firms’ supply chain performance by enhancing technological innovation and alleviating financing constraints. Heterogeneity analysis reveals stronger promotional effects on labor-intensive firms and those in third/fourth-tier cities compared to tech/capital-intensive counterparts and first/second-tier city firms. This research enriches the micro-evaluation of digital infrastructure policy effects and further expands the academic understanding of the driving factors behind supply chain performance improvement in the energy sector.