Abstract Building on transaction cost economics theory and social network theory, we investigate the impact of dimensions of buyer-supplier network (BSN) complexity (horizontal, vertical, and spatial) on firms' environmental performance, specifically, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using secondary data from diverse sources on the supply networks of 319 firms, extending to the Tier-2 level, we present and test a robust empirical model that also accounts for potential endogeneity effects. To understand this key relationship between BSN complexity and environmental performance at a deeper level, we further test the moderating influence of BSN members' reach on this key relationship. We also test the moderating effects of a focal firm's control over its BSN on this key relationship. We find that both the vertical complexity dimension and the horizontal complexity dimension of BSNs had a U-shaped relationship with the participating firms' GHG emissions. In contrast, the spatial complexity dimension of BSNs had a positive impact on the participating firms' GHG emissions. With respect to the moderating effects, we found that firms' control over their BSN negatively influenced these relationships, whereas the reach of the BSN members positively influenced these relationships. Taken together, this set of mixed-pattern findings casts new light on the broad literature of multitier BSNs, environmental sustainability, and the effective management of supply chains. The managerial implications of our findings are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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买方-供应商网络复杂性对企业温室气体 (GHG) 排放的影响：一项实证调查

摘要 基于交易成本经济学理论和社会网络理论，我们研究了买方-供应商网络 (BSN) 复杂性维度（水平、垂直和空间）对企业环境绩效的影响，特别是温室气体 (GHG) 排放。使用来自 319 家公司供应网络的不同来源的二手数据，扩展到 Tier-2 级别，我们提出并测试了一个强大的经验模型，该模型也说明了潜在的内生性效应。为了在更深层次上了解 BSN 复杂性与环境绩效之间的这种关键关系，我们进一步测试了 BSN 成员的影响力对这一关键关系的调节影响。我们还测试了焦点公司对其 BSN 的控制对这一关键关系的调节作用。我们发现，BSNs 的纵向复杂性维度和横向复杂性维度都与参与企业的温室气体排放量呈 U 型关系。相比之下，BSN 的空间复杂性维度对参与企业的温室气体排放产生了积极影响。关于调节效应，我们发现公司对其 BSN 的控制对这些关系产生负面影响，而 BSN 成员的影响范围对这些关系产生积极影响。总之，这组混合模式的发现为多层 BSN、环境可持续性和供应链有效管理的广泛文献提供了新的视角。还讨论了我们的发现对管理的影响。