Information Sharing and Investment Performance in the Venture Capital Network Community: An Empirical Study of Environmental-Social-Governance Start-Ups

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.