Small and medium-sized enterprises play a crucial role in sustaining economic development in both developed economies and developing economies, however, many of them suffer from chronic and structural difficulties in accessing external financing. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework to illustrate how information structures work in the strategic interactions between banks and firms in a supply chain, and why the transaction information in a supply chain may serve to reduce information asymmetry and improve SMEs’ access to external financing. We find that under incomplete information, the transactions between SMEs and suppliers can serve as signals for banks, which may help banks access the private information of SMEs, thus reducing information asymmetry between them. To maximize profit, banks should dynamically adjust both their interest rate policies and risk management strategies when providing financing services to SMEs, according to the structure of the financial market. The improvement of the external financial environment for SMEs may benefit the entire supply chain, thus facilitating its sustainable development and the growth of SMEs. Our framework sheds light on how SMEs in a supply chain may enhance their survivability and facilitate their development through appropriate strategies to improve business performances and manage credit risks.

Information sharing plays a significant role in improving investment performance in the venture capital network community, which serves as an important requirement for the venture capital network to expand to the meso-level and promote its healthy development. Given the important role of Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) start-ups in promoting sustainable development, this paper selects a sample of ESG start-ups in China to explore the relationship between venture capital network community information sharing and investment performance. We also examine the intermediary role of investment capability in this relationship. Empirical results show that venture capital network community information sharing, from both the prospective of breadth and depth, has a significant positive impact on investment performance of ESG start-ups. We also find that the investment capability, such as scouting and coaching, plays a partial intermediary role in affecting investment performance by community information sharing. This research helps to reveal the relationship between venture capital network community information sharing and investment performance. The results provide a theoretical basis and managerial insights for improving investment performance of ESG start-ups.