Unpacking the Spillover Effects of Customers’ AI Adoption: How It Curbs Suppliers’ Cost Stickiness

In the digital era, intelligent applications play an increasingly pivotal role in restructuring supply chain cost management. Using panel data from Chinese-listed firms between 2010 and 2024, this study examines the impact of customers’ Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption on the cost stickiness of their suppliers. The findings indicate that customers’ AI adoption mitigates suppliers’ cost stickiness. This effect is more pronounced for larger suppliers, those with shorter geographic distance to customers, and those in highly competitive industries. Furthermore, customers’ AI adoption alleviates suppliers’ cost stickiness by promoting flexible production modes, enhancing production information flexibility, and raising production efficiency. Moreover, a two-stage model suggests that this alleviation of cost stickiness enhances suppliers’ corporate resilience, offering directional insights for transmitting within supply chain systems. In summary, this paper expands the theoretical understanding of intelligent applications in supply chain systems, by substantiating cross-firm spillover effects and interactive behaviors among supply chain stakeholders.