The Impact of Industrial Internet Application on Corporate Supply Chain Resilience: A Quasi-natural Experiment Based on Industrial Internet Pilot Demonstration Projects

Zhong Juan; Geng Qingbo; Ding Yifan; Wei Yanjie

doi:doi:10.16538/j.cnki.jsufe.2026.04.008

Summary

Promoting the deep integration of the industrial Internet with supply chains is a new approach to enhancing supply chain resilience, which is of great significance for ensuring industrial security and maintaining stable economic operations. Taking the Industrial Internet Pilot Demonstration Projects launched by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper constructs a time-varying DID model to empirically examine the impact of industrial Internet application on corporate supply chain resilience and its underlying mechanisms. The results show that industrial Internet application significantly enhances corporate supply chain resilience. Mechanism testing reveals that industrial Internet empowers supply chain resilience primarily by strengthening corporate quality advantages, boosting marketing capabilities, and reducing transaction costs. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this promoting effect is more pronounced among firms with deeper digital adoption, more diversified supplier configurations, and better reputation, suggesting that the full realization of such empowerment requires supporting conditions. Additionally, the effect is more salient for firms operating in less concentrated industries, positioned closer to the downstream end of the industrial chain, and facing severe disruptions from uncontrollable supply chain shocks, reflecting a distinct crisis-mitigation feature. Further analysis demonstrates that the effect is contingent on firms’ redundant inventory design, which elevates inventory levels and imposes pressure on inventory management. Nevertheless, the increased capital investment and inventory costs stemming from redundant design do not reduce TFP. Instead, enhanced supply chain resilience contributes to higher TFP, indicating that industrial Internet application delivers dual benefits of improved supply chain resilience and operational efficiency. This paper enriches the research on the economic consequences of industrial Internet application and the determinants of supply chain resilience, providing empirical evidence for further promoting industrial Internet application and optimizing corporate supply chain management.