Building a more resilient supply chain system is an imperative choice for China to withstand external risk shocks and uncertainties. Given the intricate input-output relationships among global economies, any risk shock or uncertainty could potentially disrupt China’s supply chains. Particularly notable is the fact that Chinese enterprises have long faced significant challenges, including a lack of key core technologies and interruptions in external technology supply. Meanwhile, as an important institutional arrangement for promoting the optimization and upgrading of industrial and supply chains, the specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative (SRDI) “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy plays a crucial role in continuously identifying and nurturing supply chain node enterprises with outstanding capabilities across various dimensions. However, existing studies have largely overlooked the close causal relationship between the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy and supply chain resilience.
This study first constructs a theoretical framework based on supply chain resilience theory, the resource-based view, and dynamic capability theory to analyze how the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy influences supply chain resilience. Then, using panel data from A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2015 to 2023, this study treats the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy as a quasi-natural experiment and employs a multi-period difference-in-differences model to evaluate its impact on supply chain resilience. The results demonstrate that: First, the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy significantly enhances supply chain resilience. Second, driving cross-regional investment expansion, promoting a competitive position leap, and facilitating technological path expansion are key mechanisms through which the policy influences supply chain resilience. Third, the positive effects of this policy are only evident in non-state-owned enterprises, advanced manufacturing cluster enterprises, high-tech industry enterprises, and high-growth enterprises. Fourth, the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy has an inhibitory effect on inter-firm technology spillovers, but its supply chain resilience-enhancing effect not only promotes inter-firm technology spillovers but also offsets the inhibitory effect.
Compared with existing literature, this paper makes three marginal contributions. First, it integrates the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy and supply chain resilience into a unified analytical framework, validating and expanding the scope of research on the microeconomic effects of the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy. Second, in terms of theoretical logic, this paper analyzes the underlying mechanisms through which the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy influences supply chain resilience from three dimensions: cross-regional investment expansion, competitive position leap, and technological path expansion, thereby deepening the theoretical understanding of the relationship between the policy and supply chain resilience. Finally, this paper highlights the technology spillover-suppression effect of the SRDI “small giant” enterprise cultivation policy, providing new empirical evidence for government policy regulation and optimization.
This study provides decision-making reference for policymakers to accelerate the cultivation of SRDI enterprises and continuously and steadily enhance supply chain resilience. Specifically, governments should timely adjust enterprise selection criteria and provide essential market-oriented services for enterprises; enterprises must strengthen collaboration across the upstream and downstream of the supply chain, and foster a collaborative symbiotic ecosystem through measures such as building industrial alliances and promoting industry-academia-research cooperation.
ZHAOJ, SUNZ J, CHENGQ Y, et al. How do SMEs supplement and strengthen the industrial chain through the “specialized and sophisticated” development: a longitudinal case study based on CAXA[J]. China Industrial Economics,2023,41(7):180-200.
CHENJ, YANGZ, YINX M. China’s science and technology innovation strategy under the new development pattern of “dual circulation”[J]. Modern Economic Science,2021,43(1):1-9.
ZHANY, MAC W. Study on the impact of the cultivation of SRDI “small giant” enterprises on break through innovation[J]. Chinese Journal of Management,2024,21(4):560-567.
CHENJ Y, WANGX C, CHANGH D, et al. “Specialized, refined, characteristic and innovative” qualification accreditation policies and technological innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises[J].Science Research Management,2024,45(3):20-30.
SUNJ, WUX M. The micro-impact mechanism of specialized and sophisticated development policies on enterprise performance based on the dual effects of financial support and innovation incentives[J]. Forum on Science and Technology in China,2024,40(2):71-81.
HANH L, PENGY, LIUQ. Technological progress and job creation: evidence from “little giants” identification policy[J]. Studies in Science of Science,2024,42(10):2055-2066.
JIAOH, LIW R. Qualification accreditation and the number of corporate supply chain partners: a quasi-natural experiment on specialized and sophisticated “little giant” enterprises[J].Economic Perspectives,2023,64(12):109-125.
[15]
RICEJ B, CANIATOF. Building a secure and resilient supply network[J]. Supply Chain Management Review, 2003,7(5):22-30.
[16]
CHRISTOPHERM, PECKH. Building the resilient supply chain[J]. The International Journal of Logistics Management,2004,15(2):1-13.
[17]
PONOMAROVY S, HOLCOMBC M. Understanding the concept of supply chain resilience[J]. The International Journal of Logistics Management,2009,20(1):124-143.
GUOC, LUOJ B. Major customers-suppliers duality and enterprise supply chain resilience[J]. Contemporary Finance & Economics,2024,45(3):139-152.
[20]
张树山,谷城.供应链数字化与供应链韧性[J].财经研究,2024,50(7):21-34.
[21]
ZHANGS S, GUC. Supply chain digitization and supply chain resilience[J]. Journal of Finance and Economics,2024,50(7):21-34.
[22]
CHOWDHURYH M M, QUADDUSM. Supply chain resilience: conceptualization and scale development using dynamic capability theory[J]. International Journal of Production Economics,2017,188:185-204.
[23]
BARNEYJ. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage[J]. Journal of Management,1991,17(1):99-120.
YANGY B, LIB Y, LIS W. A review of embeddedness theory research: a perspective based on universal connections[J]. Shandong Social Sciences,2014,28(3):172-176.
[29]
BAK O, SHAWS, COLICCHIAC, et al. A systematic literature review of supply chain resilience in small-medium enterprises (SMEs): a call for further research[J]. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management,2020,70(1):328-341.
PANGR Z, WANGH M. How does supply chain innovation affect enterprise ESG performance: a quasi-natural experiment from supply chain innovation and application pilot work[J]. Journal of Xi’an Jiaotong University(Social Sciences),2025,45(1):13-26.
WANGH Y, CHENY, XIEJ P. Mechanism of digital empowerment on manufacturing supply chain resilience in China[J]. Soft Science,2024,38(3):8-13.
[36]
CALLAWAYB, SANT’ANNAP H C. Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods[J]. Journal of Econometrics,2020,225(2):200-230.
[37]
DE CHAISEMARTINC, D’HAULTFOEUILLEX. Two-way fixed effects estimators with heterogeneous treatment effects[J]. American Economic Review,2020,110(9):2964-2996.
[38]
CHERNOZHUKOVV, CHETVERIKOVD, DEMIRERM, et al. Double/debiased machine learning for treatment and structural parameters[J]. The Econometrics Journal,2018,21(1):C1-C68.
[39]
HAUSMANNR, HWANGJ, RODRIKD. What you export matters[J]. Journal of Economic Growth,2007,12(1):1-25.
YUJ J, YUD S. Government subsidies, industrial competition and enterprises’ export technology complexity[J]. Journal of Finance and Economics,2018,44(3):112-124.
SHENK R, LINJ W, FUY H. Network infrastructure construction, information accessibility and the innovation boundaries of enterprises[J]. China Industrial Economics,2023,41(1):57-75.
MAX X. Judicial protection of property rights and the cultivation of “specialized,refined,differential and innovative” private small and medium-sized enterprises[J]. Modern Economic Science,2025,47(5):98-112.