This study explores how vertical common ownership in the supply chain affects the cost of loans by mitigating supply chain risks. The results show that vertical common ownership can strengthen supply chain cooperation and supervision, effectively reduce information asymmetry and moral hazard, alleviate creditors’ concerns about corporate default, and thereby lower loan spreads. Further analysis indicates that this effect is more pronounced in enterprises with higher relationship specific investments, weaker bargaining power, higher levels of information asymmetry, and long term common ownership. The research findings are further verified through robustness tests such as the quasi natural experiment of financial institution mergers and acquisitions, as well as supplier customer paired analysis. This paper enriches the literature on common ownership, discusses its impact on creditors’ decision making from the supply chain perspective for the first time, and provides new theoretical foundations and practical implications for supply chain risk management and financial decision making.

Tian Haowen is an Associate Professor and Master’s Supervisor in the Department of Accounting, School of Management, and also a Certified Public Accountant of China. His research interests include institutional investors, information disclosure, corporate/supply chain governance, ESG/CSR, etc. He has published nearly 20 academic papers in SSCI/CSSCI journals such as the Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, and Accounting Research. Among these papers, 14 are authored by him as the first author or corresponding author, and 11 are published in ABS 3/4 star journals. He presides over one Youth Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, one Youth Project of the Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of the Ministry of Education, and one General Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province. In addition, he participates in a number of national and provincial ministerial level projects.