Managerial climate change attention and supply chain innovation effect: evidence from China

Abstract This study examines the impact of customers’ managerial climate change attention on suppliers’ green innovation. The findings indicate a positive relationship between customers’ managerial climate change attention and suppliers’ green innovation. This relationship is further reinforced when customers possess comparatively stronger bargaining power. Customers’ managerial climate change attention promotes suppliers’ green innovation by redirecting suppliers’ managerial attention toward climate issues and by inducing greater R&D investment in response to anticipated demand. Further, the attention paid to climate change-related opportunity and physical shock have superior supply chain spillover effects over the attention paid to regulatory shock. Customers’ managerial climate change attention has positive effects on both the application and grant of green patents. This paper suggests a new green innovation effect rooted in managerial climate change attention.