When buyer transparency really stimulates supplier innovation: A motivation-opportunity-ability perspective

While the importance of buyer transparency in supplier innovation has been recognized, its underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. Drawing on the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) framework, this study examines the mechanism through which buyer transparency—conceptualized as operations and strategy transparency—affects supplier innovation. The overall measurement model, including a newly developed multidimensional scale of buyer transparency, was validated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Finally, survey data from 334 Chinese manufacturing suppliers were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The results reveal that buyer transparency (opportunity) does not directly enhance supplier innovation. Rather, it does so conditionally through suppliers’ absorptive capacity (ability), customer orientation, and digital trust (motivation). By refining the conceptualization and measurement of buyer transparency, integrating digital trust into the open innovation framework, and empirically examining the contingent role of supplier-side factors, this study advances the literature on supply chain management and open innovation.