Regeneration and Supply Chain Complexity: Insights From the Forest Sector

ABSTRACT The literature on regenerative supply chains remains in its early stages and offers limited insight into the relationship between regeneration and supply chain structure. This study adopts a question‐driven exploratory approach to examine potential changes in supply chain structure for firms integrating regenerative practices at the raw material sourcing stage. Using a dataset of 838 firm‐year observations in regulated markets, this research leverages Forest Stewardship Council certification data, complemented by secondary data from other sources, to assess supplier and customer base network structures. The findings reveal distinct patterns: compared with their counterparts in non‐regenerative supply chains, manufacturers in regenerative supply chains maintain larger, more geographically dispersed supplier bases with lower interconnectedness, while origin suppliers—directly engaging in regenerative practices—develop broader customer networks spanning multiple industries. Drawing on the systems perspective, this study provides descriptive evidence that regenerative practices may necessitate the retrofitting of existing supply chains, potentially triggering network‐wide structural changes. These findings illustrate how supply chain architecture may evolve to harmonize with surrounding ecosystems.