Green supply chain management demonstration enterprises (GSCMs) have incentives to leverage their comparative advantages in resource allocation to offer trade credit to upstream and downstream partners, thereby influencing the specialization level and innovation quality of the supply chain. Using micro-level data from listed firms in China between 2015 and 2024, we systematically examine the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) on GSCMs’ trade credit. The results indicate that GSCM reduces the appropriation of trade credit from upstream suppliers, and correspondingly increases the provision of trade credit to them, a finding that remains robust under a series of tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that GSCM not only enhances the financing capacity of GSCMs through the “capital chain” pathway but also optimizes their supply chain operations via the “product chain” pathway, thereby providing trade credit support to upstream partners. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that factors such as asset specificity, specificity of intermediate inputs, digital technology, and transportation infrastructure further influence the trade credit allocation behavior of GSCMs. Further analysis demonstrates that increased trade credit support provided by GSCMs to their upstream partners improves the specialization level of the GSCMs themselves, ultimately enabling them to concentrate resources on high-quality technological innovation. This research provides important insights for building an environmentally friendly supply chain collaboration mechanism and establishing a green competitiveness system aligned with sustainable development goals. • The staggered DID method is used to evaluate the effect of the impact of China’s green supply chain management (GSCM) on trade credit. • China’s GSCM policy increases the scale of trade credit financing extended to upstream suppliers, a finding robust under a series of tests. • The policy exerts its impact by enhancing financing capacity through the "capital chain" and optimizing inventory management through the "product chain", thereby promoting trade credit spillover across the supply chain. • The effects vary with factors such as asset specificity, specificity of intermediate inputs, digital technology, and transportation infrastructure.
Tian et al. (Wed,) studied this question.