Abstract: Supply chain innovation introduces new information technologies into the existing supply chain management framework, which helps to break through organizational boundaries, drive the rational allocation of resources, and identify customer needs accurately. In firms, diversification is an important transformation strategy, which reflects the rationality of resource allocation, the amount of transaction costs, and the outward extension of the production chain. These features are consistent with the connotation of supply chain management. Therefore, this study attempts to relate supply chain innovation to corporate diversification from perspectives of information mechanism and contract mechanism based on the transaction costs theory.
Empirically, a difference-in-difference model is constructed based on the natural event of the pilot of supply chain innovation and application to do the empirical test with A-share listed firms from 2013 to 2020 as samples. The results show that supply chain innovation inhibits corporate diversification. This inhibitory effect of supply chain innovation is exerted mainly through the channels of reducing income uncertainty, increasing special assets investments, and promoting the provision of trade credit. Cross-sectional analysis reveals that the effect of supply chain innovation on corporate diversification is more significant for firms in more competitive industries and firms with higher internal management efficiency. In addition, supply chain innovation helps to improve the allocation efficiency of capital and inventory holding.
This study introduces supply chain innovation into the framework of corporate resource allocation and analyzes how supply chain innovation influences corporate diversification by affecting the collaboration between technology and organizations based on the transaction cost theory. It not only enriches the theoretical cognition of the practices of supply chain reform which is characterized by both digitalization and integration but also provides evidence for understanding capital expansion and firms' long-term competitiveness enhancement in China from the angle of the supply chain. Besides, this study builds a difference-in-difference model with the event of supply chain innovation and application pilot, which scientifically avoids the potential endogenous bias and provides a referential causal identification strategy for future research on supply chain innovation. In practice, these conclusions help the government to continue to improve institutions for promoting the integration of supply chain innovation and corporate strategic transformation and provide empirical enlightenment for corporate supply chain transformation with the opportunities created by supply chain innovation policies.

Key words: Supply Chain Innovation, Corporate Diversification, Transaction Cost Theory, Difference-in-Difference

摘要： 本文从交易成本切入,理论分析供应链创新如何通过信息机制和契约机制影响企业多元化经营,利用供应链创新与应用试点准自然实验构建双重差分模型,以2013—2020年A股上市公司为样本开展实证研究。结果显示,供应链创新抑制了企业多元化经营,其作用路径包括降低收入不确定性、加大专用性资产投资、促进商业信用。异质性分析表明,企业所在行业竞争越激烈、内部管理效率越高,供应链创新对多元化经营的抑制作用越明显。此外,供应链创新显著提升了企业资本和存货的资源配置效率。本文研究结论不仅丰富了对兼具数字化与集成化的供应链变革实践的理论认知,为理解中国当前资本扩张提供了来自供应链视角的证据,同时为供应链创新与应用的全面推广提供了现实启示。

关键词: 供应链创新, 多元化经营, 交易成本理论, 双重差分