Abstract

Under the accelerated development of the digital economy, examining the impact of supply chain digitalization (SCD) on corporate governance quality (CGQ) is of critical importance for identifying pathways to optimize governance structures amid technological change. The existing literature primarily focuses on the effects of corporate digital investment on governance quality, while insufficient attention has been paid to the role of collaborative digitalization across upstream and downstream supply chain segments. Using panel data for Chinese A-share listed corporates from 2010 to 2024, this paper investigates the impact of SCD on CGQ and its underlying mechanisms. The results indicate that SCD significantly enhances CGQ, with more pronounced effects observed in regions with higher levels of digital infrastructure, in high-technology industries, and among state-owned corporates. Mechanism analysis further reveals that improvements in information transparency, reductions in principle-agent costs, and enhancements in internal control quality constitute the primary channels through which SCD strengthens corporate governance. From the perspective of supply chain management, this study provides novel empirical evidence and managerial implications for emerging economies seeking to leverage digital technologies to improve CGQ.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.