Supply chain network location and enterprise competitive position

As an important part of the social network, supply chain network have an important impact on the company's production and operation and strategic decision-making. This paper uses the information of the top five suppliers and customers disclosed by China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2019 to build a supply chain network, and uses degree centrality to measure the position of different companies in the supply network. The research finds that the listed companies in the center of the supply network have a higher competitive position. This conclusion is still valid after the robustness test methods such as instrumental variable method, PSM method, Heckman two-stage method and replacement variables. Heterogeneity analysis finds that the closer the average spatial distance between companies and customers or suppliers, or when companies have no contract disputes with customers or suppliers in the current year, the stronger the positive correlation between the central position of supply chain network and company competitive position. Mechanism test shows that the location centrality of supply chain network can help companies obtain more information and technology resources, improve company's investment level and investment efficiency, enhance innovation ability and reduce transaction cost, so as to promote the promotion of company' competitive position. The economic consequence test finds that when the company is in the center of the supply chain network, it can also weaken the operation uncertainty and restrain the management shortsightedness. This paper not only enriches the literature in the two fields of supply network location characteristic and company competitive position, but also has positive practical significance for companies to seek growth power and realize high-quality development from the location level of supply chain network. © 2022 Systems Engineering Society of China. All rights reserved.