Research

Professor Mao Qilin: Intelligent Manufacturing and Green Innovation Along the Supply Chain

(picture source: pixabay)

(Correspondent: Zhong Yiming) Recently, the paper titled “Intelligent Manufacturing and Green Innovation Along the Supply Chain” co-authored by Professor Mao Qilin and Ph. D. candidate Shi Buchao of our school has been published in Economic Modelling, a leading international economics journal.

This paper analyzes the effect of intelligent manufacturing on green innovation from the perspective of the supply chain. Combining the implementation of China's Intelligent Manufacturing Pilot Demonstration Projects and customer-supplier matching data for Chinese listed firms, we demonstrate that customer engagement in these projects significantly enhances supplier green innovation. This effect is primarily driven by accelerated green knowledge spillover, improved supply chain efficiency and environmental attention, rather than by stakeholder pressure or strategic alliances. By categorizing green innovation based on changes in production methods and levels of novelty, we find that customer engagement in IM Pilot Demonstration Projects primarily promotes cleaner production innovation and explorative innovation among suppliers. Moreover, this positive effect is more pronounced for suppliers who possess a forward-looking strategic orientation and greater absorptive capacity. These findings contribute to the existing literature by shedding light on the underexplored spillover effects of intelligent manufacturing on green innovation and provide policy inspirations for promoting sustainable and high-quality green development.

Economic Modelling is an internationally recognized journal dedicated to advancing theoretical and applied research in economic modelling. It primarily publishes policy-relevant theoretical and applied studies in macroeconomics and other fields of economics, including development economics, energy economics, environmental economics, financial economics, health economics, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics, microeconomics, public economics, and urban economics. The journal’s latest impact factor is 4.7, and it is classified as SSCI Q1 in the JCR rankings.