Effectively enhancing supply chain resilience is not only an important foundation for ensuring the stable operation of firms, but also an inherent requirement for accelerating the development of a modern industrial system. However, some local governments still impose various barriers that hinder the deepening of the unified domestic market, which in turn undermines the security and stability of supply chains. Therefore, building a unified domestic market and stabilizing upstream–downstream supply chain cooperation are key entry points for strengthening supply chain resilience.

Using FactSet Revere firm-level supply chain relationship data from 2015 to 2022, this paper identifies supply chain disruption and empirically examines the impact of market segmentation on supply chain disruption among Chinese firms. The results show that market segmentation significantly raises the net-separation rate, thereby reducing supply chain resilience. Mechanism testing indicates that market segmentation exacerbates the net-separation rate by intensifying the misallocation of intermediate goods and information asymmetry. Further analysis reveals that: First, the supply chain disruption effect induced by market segmentation exhibits a typical asymmetric pattern. It has a significant impact only on suppliers but not on customers. Second, the supply chain disruption effect leads to further welfare losses, as reflected in the fact that an increase in the net-separation rate can reduce supply chain efficiency and heighten operational risks. Third, unified fundamental institutions of the market and development of the digital economy can effectively mitigate the adverse effect of market segmentation.

This paper makes the following marginal contributions: First, it empirically examines the mechanisms of market segmentation affecting supply chain disruption, extending the literature on the determinants of supply chain disruption. Second, it innovatively establishes the net-separation rate based on actual inter-firm supply chain relationships, enabling a more precise identification of supply chain disruption. Third, it incorporates the dynamic process of supply chains from disruption to new formation into the analytical framework and examines the internal mechanisms of market segmentation affecting supply chain disruption. It also finds that the impact of market segmentation on supply chains is asymmetric between upstream and downstream relationships, providing empirical evidence for a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of market segmentation on supply chains.