Strategic synergies in supply chains: the role of customers’ ESG performance in shaping suppliers’ digital transformation

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the impact of customers’ ESG performance on suppliers’ digital transformation, with relationship duration and organizational slack as moderating factors. Considering the competitive and cooperative relationships between upstream and downstream enterprises, the study aims to investigate the mediating roles of anti-driving effects and knowledge spillover effects. Design/methodology/approach Using panel data from Chinese listed companies, this study employs fixed-effects models and mediation analysis to investigate the relationship between customers’ ESG performance and suppliers’ digital transformation. Heterogeneity is examined through subgroup analyses, while moderating effects are tested by incorporating interaction terms. Findings This study reveals that customers’ ESG performance significantly enhances suppliers’ digital transformation, which is further strengthened by relationship duration and organizational slack. Additionally, customers’ supply chain discourse power and knowledge spillovers mediate this relationship. Notably, the strength of this relationship proves contingent upon suppliers’ strategic aggressiveness and knowledge diversification levels. Practical implications The research provides several insights for corporate managers and governments, which are of great significance for promoting the coordinated development of digitalization and greenization in the supply chain. Originality/value The study makes significant contributions to uncovering the mechanism underlying the relationship between customers’ ESG performance and suppliers’ digital transformation.