Digital-driven green: Does supply chain digitalization accelerate corporate green transition?

Amid the synergistic evolution of the digital economy and green development, the extent to which supply chain digitalization (SCD) empowers corporate green transition (CGT) in the manufacturing sector remains unexplored. As such, this study constructs firm-level indices of SCD and CGT through textual analysis of annual reports of Chinese A-share manufacturing enterprises, and then empirically examines the actual impact of SCD on CGT and their influence mechanisms. The results show that: (1) SCD has a significantly positive effect on CGT, and this conclusion has been reinforced by a series of robust tests. (2) Mechanism analysis demonstrates green continuous innovation, supply chain stability and financing constraints mediates the SCD-CGT nexus. (3) Mechanism analysis reveals the positive effect of SCD on CGT is particularly pronounced in regions with low climate policy uncertainty and in green finance reform and innovation polit zones, as well as among state-owned enterprises. These findings offer new insights into the role of SCD in facilitating CGT and provide practical implications for firms seeking to advance sustainable and green development strategies.