Concentration Breeds Divergence: Mechanisms and Empirical Evidence on the Effect of Supply Chain Concentration on Accounting Information Comparability

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explore the impact of enterprise supply chain concentration on accounting information comparability and its underlying mechanism, providing a new perspective for understanding the relationship between supply chain governance and accounting information quality. Methods: Selecting A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2014 to 2023 as the research sample, a multiple regression model was constructed to empirically test the impact of supply chain concentration on accounting information comparability, and the mediating effect test procedure was adopted to examine the mediating role of enterprise operational risk. Results: The empirical results show that the higher the enterprise supply chain concentration, the lower the accounting information comparability; the higher the information transparency, the more pronounced the inhibitory effect of supply chain concentration on accounting information comparability. Mechanism testing reveals that enterprise operational risk plays a partial mediating role between supply chain concentration and accounting information comparability. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the aforementioned negative effects are more significant in non-state-owned enterprises, non-high-tech enterprises, and enterprises in the eastern region. Conclusion: Reducing supply chain concentration helps to diversify enterprise operational risk, thereby enhancing accounting information comparability.