Supply chain network, digital transformation, and investment efficiency

In the modern digital era, firms’ position in the supply chain networks significantly impacts their investment decision-making. As businesses undergo digital transformation to enhance collaboration and supply chain efficiency, a research gap exists in understanding their combined influence on investment efficiency. Using Chinese public firms from 2008 to 2021 as a sample, we construct a supply chain network and analyse how supply chain network structures affect investment efficiency. Our results show that both supply chain network centrality and structural holes enhance firms’ investment efficiency. Mechanism analysis shows that corporate digital transformation moderates this relationship by mitigating financing constraints and agency costs. In addition, further results reveal that the effect of supply chain networks is stronger for non-state-owned firms, firms in low-marketization region, and firms in closer geographic proximity to their customer base. This study contributes to understanding the roles of supply chain networks and digital transformation in firms’ investment efficiency.