Research on the Impact of Patient Capital on Enterprise Supply Chain Resilience

Amid growing external uncertainty, strengthening supply chain resilience has become vital for the long-term survival and development of enterprises. Drawing on the Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities Theory, this study develops a “capital–capability–resilience” research framework using panel data of China’s A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2024, and examines the influence of patient capital on corporate supply chain resilience. The results indicate that patient capital is positively correlated with enterprise supply chain resilience, and this conclusion remains stable after a series of endogeneity tests and robustness checks. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that patient capital can enhance supply chain resilience by upgrading firms’ dynamic capabilities, which specifically include absorptive capacity, innovation capacity and adaptive capacity. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effect of patient capital on supply chain resilience is more significant among non-state-owned enterprises, firms facing high financing constraints, and enterprises in high-tech industries. Patient capital is identified as a distinctive strategic resource that underpins supply chain resilience; its three core attributes—long-term orientation, strong risk-bearing capacity, and strategic nature—differentiate it from traditional long-term capital forms. This study adds to the existing literature by clarifying the unique properties of patient capital and empirically verifying its function in building supply chain resilience, and further provides practicable managerial insights for cultivating patient capital and improving supply chain stability.