Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are key drivers for resource integration and the operational efficiency of enterprises. Companies that hold central positions within supply chains may leverage their strategic location to reduce information asymmetry, enhancing their ability to engage in sustainable activities. However, research on the role of supply chain network centrality in M&A decisions remains underexplored. This study aims to empirically examine whether and how centrality in supply chain networks enhances the likelihood and success of M&A activities, contributing to both theory and practice in corporate strategy. In particular, we construct a novel measure of firm centrality within the supply chain and utilize panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning 2008 to 2021. Our findings reveal that the central position of supply chain networks promotes the probability and frequency of mergers and acquisitions. Mechanism analysis reveals that gaining information advantages and relieving financial constraints are two key channels through which the supply chain network promotes mergers and acquisitions. Furthermore, the effects are more pronounced for firms with non-state ownership, with closer proximity to customers or suppliers, with higher operational risk, and with growth and decline phases. A series of robustness tests support these results, including alternative measures, alternative estimating methods, and sub-sample tests. Moreover, central supply chain companies exhibit better long-term financial performance following mergers and acquisitions. This paper enriches our understanding of the roles of supply chain networks in firms’ mergers and acquisitions and holds important practical implications for companies seeking to achieve sustainable and long-term development.

Supply chain information disclosure is a vital factor for corporate investment efficiency and can signal a corporation’s long-term sustainable development. However, little attention has been paid to its significance. In this paper, we investigate how supply chain information disclosure affects corporate investment decisions. Using a sample of Chinese-listed firms, we find that firms that disclose nonfinancial information are more likely to have a high level of investment efficiency. We also identify the mechanism underlying the effect by examining the mediating effect of financial constraints and agency costs. Increasing a firm’s supply chain information disclosure can improve its investment efficiency by reducing its financial constraints and agency costs. We further find that this positive impact is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) and firms located in regions with a high degree of marketization. Our findings imply that supply chain information disclosure plays an important role in corporate investment efficiency and sustainable development. Our study emphasizes the importance of nonfinancial information disclosure, contributing to the literature investigating the role of supply chain management in corporate decision-making on sustainable development.

In the operation and management of the company, major customers may affect a supplier firm’s level of governance. The goal of our study is investigating whether a major customer acts as an important role in corporate governance in emerging markets and exposing the mechanism that how major customers affect corporate decision-making. There is a growing body of literature involving studies about the effect of customer concentration on firm performance of western countries. Few studies have recognized to what degree does customer concentration satisfy the sustainable development of supplier firm. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms, we found a nonlinear relationship between customer concentration and risk-taking, corporate policies and firm performance. Evidence shows that the effect of customer concentration in China resembles an inverted U-shaped curve and major customers are crucial in financial and investment policies. Our results help to provide a broader perspective on the role of major customers, giving a deep explanation about the role of customer concentration in corporate governance.

With the rapid development of economic globalization, keeping the global supply chains sustainable is becoming increasingly important in improving supply chain performance and firm value. To fully understand the role of the supply chain relationship, it is necessary to comprehensively assess different characteristics of supply chain partnership in achieving sustainability goals. This study explores the implication of concentrated supply-chain partnership on loan features. Using a sample of Chinese-listed firms, we find that concentrated customer or supplier bases positively influence loan features, including loan size, loan maturity, and loan cost. We propose that concentrated customer and supplier bases influence the loan features through different mediators. Through mediating analysis, concentrated customer bases affect loan features through better corporate governance and lower operational risk, and concentrated supplier bases through lower operational cost and longer accounts payable cycle. The benefit of a concentrated chain partnership is more pronounced when customers or suppliers have a greater certification role, less uncertainty, and stronger geographical advantage. The results are robust to instrumental variable analysis, propensity-matched analysis, and alternative measures of chain partnership concentration. Findings in this study have important implications for understanding the sustainable supply-chain partnership management and loan decisions of banks in an emerging market.