Supplier digital technology-oriented open innovation and buyer social sustainability in supply chains: the role of director network structure
基于社会交换和网络理论，研究了供应商数字技术导向的开放式创新如何影响买方企业的社会可持续性（社会和劳动力两个维度），并发现买方董事网络结构（度中心性、中介中心性和结构洞）会增强这种正向关系。
Grounded in social exchange and social network theories, we study whether and how buyer firms’ social sustainability draws on their suppliers’ digital technology-oriented open innovation (DTOI). We focus on two dimensions of buyer social sustainability, namely societal and workforce sustainability, and examine the moderating role of buyers’ director network structure. Using panel data on Chinese listed firms from 2014 to 2024, we find that both dimensions are positively associated with supplier DTOI. These relationships are stronger for buyers whose director networks feature higher degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and structural holes, but not closeness centrality. We further explore how these relationships vary across relational, ownership, and industry contexts. Our findings extend digital innovation research to supply chains and clarify when supplier spillovers reach buyers.