Carbon neutrality policies and green brand performance in China's agricultural sector: the role of network embeddedness and value co-creation

Carbon neutrality policies are increasingly recognized as critical institutional drivers of the sustainable transformation of agriculture. However, how to translate these policies into green brand performance remains under-explored. This study uses value co-creation theory and network embedding theory for reference, constructs a multi-stakeholder value co-creation framework, and examines the impact mechanism of carbon neutrality policy on the performance of Chinese agricultural green brands. Using the survey data of agricultural enterprises, partial least-squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM), necessary condition analysis (NCA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were used to test the proposed relationship. This mixed-methods design combines symmetric net-effect estimation with asymmetric configurational analysis, compensating for the limitations of single-method studies in explaining causal complexity, and provides a more rigorous analytical paradigm for exploring how macro policies are transformed into micro enterprise outcomes. The results show that carbon neutrality policies have a significant overall impact on green brand performance, but this impact is completely mediated by the sequential mechanism of network embeddedness, green brand value co-creation and green brand recognition. Specifically, the carbon neutrality policy enhances the network embeddedness of enterprises and is facilitates to the joint creation of green brand value by multiple stakeholders. This co- creation behavior strengthens the awareness of green brands and ultimately leads to the improvement of green brand performance. Configuration analysis further shows that single factor itself is not enough. On the contrary, high green brand performance comes from the specific combination of policy pressure, relationship embeddedness, CO-creation behavior and brand recognition. The present study makes three targeted contributions to the existing literature. First, it integrates institutional theory, network embeddedness theory and value co-creation theory, breaking through the traditional direct linear “policy-performance” analysis paradigm. It constructs and validates a multi-stakeholder sequential transmission mechanism of “carbon neutrality policy → network embeddedness → green brand value co-creation → green brand recognition → green brand performance”, opening the black box of how macro institutional pressure is converted into enterprise-level market performance. Second, it reveals both the net effect laws and configurational generation paths of green brand performance, enriching the causal complexity explanation of agricultural green brand research. Third, it provides empirical evidence from specialty agricultural enterprises in northwest China, filling the research gap on the economic outcomes of carbon neutrality policies in underdeveloped agricultural regions of emerging economies. The research findings suggest that policy makers should go beyond the compliance-oriented approach, focus on stakeholder networks and co- creating brand practices, so as to effectively transform the carbon neutrality goal into market performance.