Supply chain digitalization and proactive green innovation in agri-food enterprises: evidence from source-reduction patent bias

Abstract

Supply chain digitalization has emerged as a critical mechanism for advancing sustainable agriculture amidst intensifying climate and resource constraints. Utilizing panel data from A-share listed agri-food enterprises in China spanning 2013 to 2024, this study examines the impact of supply chain digitalization on corporate green innovation and its underlying transmission pathways. Our findings indicate that digital empowerment significantly enhances overall green innovation, with a pronounced structural preference for proactive source-reduction patents over reactive, end-of-pipe compliance technologies. This positive effect remains robust after addressing endogeneity concerns through instrumental variable (IV) analysis, Difference-in-Differences (DID) models, and double machine learning (DML) approaches. Mechanism tests reveal that digitalization fosters green innovation through three primary channels: enhancing supply chain synergies, strengthening R&D absorptive capacity, and elevating corporate risk-taking thresholds. Notably, this effect is amplified in environments characterized by high customer concentration and concentrated market structures. Furthermore, causal forest analysis underscores heterogeneous treatment effects, demonstrating that digital empowerment yields greater benefits for non-state-owned enterprises, firms with dominant market positions, and those deeply embedded in supply networks. These insights clarify the distributional implications of digital transformation and provide targeted policy guidance for accelerating the adoption of source-reduction technologies across the agri-food supply chain.