Using data on Chinese listed firms from 2007 to 2022, this study examines how CSR report information content influences corporate default risk in the Chinese market. Higher CSR information significantly lowers default risk by mitigating agency conflicts and information asymmetry, particularly among firms disclosing richer governance information and operating in emerging markets. The effect is stronger in regions with low market fairness, high pollution, and among growth-oriented or highly financialized firms. Moreover, higher CSR information is associated with improved overall economic outcomes. This study enriches research on default risk by introducing a non-financial disclosure perspective and extends work on the economic effects of CSR textual similarity.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) greenwashing undermines sustainable development, yet the influence of regulatory proximity on oversight is understudied. By introducing the "distance decay effect" from geoeconomics into ESG misconduct research and using a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2022, this study reveals a counterintuitive finding: Proximity to the regional offices of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is positively associated with ESG greenwashing. Mechanism analysis reveals that firms neighboring regional offices are more likely to engage in rent-seeking to achieve regulatory capture for ESG greenwashing, and the triple-difference (DDD) estimation further confirms this finding. Further analyses show that the positive effect is more pronounced among firms without political connections and located in regions with poor intercity transportation, weaker Confucian cultural influence, and higher levels of corruption. Meanwhile, anti-corruption efforts and exposure of corporate negative events significantly weaken the positive impact. Our study offers crucial policy implications for regulators and stakeholders.

As firms increasingly employ greenwashing as a strategic tool, an important question arises regarding the mechanisms that can effectively constrain such practices. Challenging the conventional view that busy directors are overcommitted and ineffective, we find a negative relationship between director busyness and greenwashing by using a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2022. Mechanism analysis reveals that busy directors mitigate greenwashing by alleviating corporate financial constraints and heightening environmental awareness. Furthermore, reputational pressure faced by busy directors strengthens their governance role and they are more likely to participate in board meetings and promote eco-actions. Textual analysis of ESG reports further indicates that busy directors mitigate peer imitation and overly positive tones while enhancing disclosure comprehensiveness and forward-looking perspectives. Our findings offer important policy implications, highlighting the role of busy directors in promoting genuine environmental accountability.

Intelligent production has changed the traditional mode of production. However, how to achieve an improvement in carbon emission efficiency via intelligent production needs to be further explored. This study focuses on the mechanism of how production intelligence affects the equipment manufacturing sector’s carbon emission efficiency. Using data from 247 businesses in the equipment manufacturing sector between 2015 and 2021, this study applies fixed-effects models and statistical analysis methods to explore the correlation between production intelligence and the equipment manufacturing sector’s carbon emission efficiency. The results indicate that intelligent production can effectively improve the carbon emission efficiency of equipment manufacturing businesses and improve the carbon emission efficiency by enhancing the energy utilization rate of enterprises. Environmental regulation has a regulating function in the connection between the production intelligence and carbon emission efficiency of equipment manufacturing enterprises. There are also regional and industrial differences in the effect of intelligent production on carbon emission efficiency. Based on these findings, our study proposes three policy suggestions for policymakers.

The factors influencing corporate greenwashing have attracted growing scholarly attention owing to their theoretical and practical relevance. However, the role of informal institutions in shaping greenwashing behavior remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study empirically investigates the effect of regional dialect diversity on greenwashing among heavily polluting firms, drawing on social cognitive theory and data from 13,035 firm-year observations of Chinese A-share listed companies in the heavy pollution industry from 2012 to 2022. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between regional dialect diversity and greenwashing. Regional environmental regulatory intensity and education level negatively moderate this relationship. Moreover, the influence of dialect diversity operates primarily through cultural cognition rather than information transmission. This paper not only further expands and enriches the research framework of macro-institutional environment and micro-firms' behaviors, but also clarifies the reasons for the existence of geographic differences in corporate greenwashing from the perspective of informal institutions, providing theoretical and practical guidance for the construction of a more comprehensive corporate greenwashing governance system.

China’s equipment-manufacturing industry accounts for a significant portion of its total carbon emissions. While intelligent equipment optimization has been found to be an effective way of reducing carbon emissions, understanding of its mechanisms remains limited. This paper takes the equipment-manufacturing industry as an example to explore the mechanisms and pathways for enhancing carbon emissions efficiency through intelligent equipment optimization. Using panel data from 243 equipment-manufacturing firms, the analysis identified a nonlinear, U-shaped relationship between intelligent equipment upgrades and carbon emissions efficiency. At the initial stage of intelligent upgrading of equipment, efficiency declines due to the high capital expenditures required for upgrading and integrating advanced systems. However, as these technologies become more integrated into production processes, carbon emissions efficiency improves significantly. This study also examines the mediating role of cost-saving effects and the moderating influence of energy intensity in this relationship. The effect of intelligent transformation on improving carbon emissions efficiency is more significant in high-energy-intensity enterprises. The findings suggest that intelligent equipment optimization not only enhances resource-utilization efficiency but also supports green and low-carbon transitions in equipment-manufacturing enterprises. These insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers and industry leaders aiming to further integrate intelligent manufacturing with carbon reduction strategies.

Using 2010–2021 listed A-share companies as the research sample, we explore the influence of corporate ESG performance on sustainable development performance and the mechanism by which this influence occurs. The results indicate that ESG performance effectively enhances sustainable development performance. Mechanism analyses reveal that ESG performance promotes sustainable development performance through the “reputation effect” and “supervision effect”. Further analyses reveal that among the three dimensions of ESG, the social governance dimension (“S”) plays the most significant role. When environmental regulations are more stringent, green credit guidelines are stronger, internal controls are more effective, and the firm is in a growth or decline phase in its life cycle, the enhancing effect of ESG performance on sustainable development performance becomes more pronounced. Additionally, ESG performance can further enhance a company’s ability to obtain commercial credit and its overall performance. This paper enriches related research on the value effect of ESG and provides insights for listed companies, participants in the capital market, and government departments to emphasize ESG performance and improve ESG incentive policies.

Developing a more innovative industrial and supply chain is crucial for enhancing national selfreliance in innovation capabilities. This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate ESG performance and innovation within supply chain enterprises, revealing the transmission mechanism of ESG along the supply chain. Utilizing data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2022, this research employs a fixed-effects model to analyze the impact of corporate ESG ratings on the innovation quality of both upstream and downstream firms in the supply chain. To address potential endogeneity concerns, the instrumental variables approach is applied. Mechanism tests are conducted to identify potential mediating channels, followed by heterogeneity analysis to explore the boundary conditions of the ESG impact. The findings indicate that a higher corporate ESG rating is significantly associated with improved innovation quality in customer firms. However, this positive effect is not observed in supplier firms. Mechanism tests suggest that firms primarily enhance their customers’ innovation through pathways such as ESG spillovers, innovation knowledge spillovers, improved supply chain efficiency, alleviated financing constraints, and reduced agency costs. These results imply an asymmetry in the influence of corporate ESG performance, likely shaped by the power structure and direction of knowledge flow within the supply chain. Overall, this study provides a novel perspective for understanding corporate innovation and supply chain collaboration. It offers valuable policy iplications for China’s efforts to enhance supply chain integration and innovation, suggesting that encouraging and supporting stronger corporate ESG practices can help activate innovation vitality across the entire supply network.

Amidst pressing global needs for environmental protection and sustainable development, the international community expects corporations to play a vital role, balancing profit pursuits with environmental responsibility. As the world's second-largest economy and a manufacturing giant, China's environmental governance and corporate models become a research centerpiece. Using the panel data of Chinese A-share heavy polluting industry listed companies from 2013 to 2020, and adopting the Linear-In-Means Model, this paper proposes for the first time that the corporate environmental financial integration is significantly influenced by the peer enterprises. Further research finds that: 1) Peer effect is more significant in private enterprises than state-owned enterprises. 2)The peer effect of environmental pollution integration of heavily polluting enterprises is sticky, mainly reflected in the effect of focus enterprises following peer enterprises to reduce their own environmental financial integration is stronger than the effect of following peer enterprises to upgrade synchronously. And this kind of stickiness is more significant in private enterprises. 3) The institutional pressure has a role in promoting the peer effect of enterprise environmental financial integration, and more significant in state-owned enterprises. Delving into the dynamics of Chinese enterprises in environmental management and financial strategies serves not only to excavate lessons from China's experience but also contributes to the global reservoir of wisdom on environmental protection and green development.

China’s “carbon peak and neutrality” policy has thrust the convergence of corporate ecological conservation and economic progress to the forefront of sustainable development. This study, aiming to tackle the “sustainability challenge”, delves into the driving forces and operative mechanisms that intertwine corporate environmental performance with financial outcomes from 2015 to 2020. Focusing on A-share listed companies in heavily polluting sectors across Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, it categorizes formal institutional pressure into two types: command-oriented and market-driven, revealing a significantly stronger positive effect of market-based pressure compared to command-based pressure. Additionally, this research examines the distinct impacts of these institutional pressures under different conditions such as ownership structure, regional location, and executive education levels. The findings indicate that state-owned enterprises, eastern region firms, and those led by highly educated executives are more responsive to command-based pressure. Conversely, privately-owned businesses, entities in central–western regions, and those with lower executive education primarily respond to market-based pressure. Moreover, this study underscores the interplay between informal and formal institutions, observing that the influence of market-based pressure on corporate environmental–financial integration is notably amplified when public awareness of environmental protection increases, thereby highlighting social factors’ pivotal role in business decision-making. In essence, this paper accentuates the significance of aligning corporate environmental and financial goals for sustainable development, offering fresh insights to academia and fostering sustainable practices and research within the corporate realm.

This paper examines the impact of firms' ESG competitive disadvantages on debt financing costs using data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2021. It reveals that (1) ESG competitive disadvantages heighten debt financing costs; (2) local environmental concerns and industry competition strengthen this relationship; (3) ESG competitive disadvantages increase financing costs through heightened financial risk and information asymmetry; and (4) this relationship is significant particularly for mature, declining, and privately-owned firms. This paper, for the first time, explores the penalisation mechanism of corporate negative ESG performance, providing new evidence to advocate for proactive ESG governance.

This study delves into the intricate relationship between economic growth and its ecological repercussions, employing a comprehensive assessment of ecological footprint across 131 nations. The time period considered for the research spans from 2009 to 2019. Utilizing the CS-ARDL methodology, the results indicate a correlation between reducing ecological footprint and bolstering private sector domestic credit. Additionally, a relationship between diminishing private sector domestic credit of banks and augmenting private sector domestic credit within the financial sector has been identified. In conjunction with other indicators of financial advancement, the significance of domestic lending to the private sector has been underscored. The study reveals a notable reduction in human population's adverse impact on the environment. However, increased levels of energy consumption, foreign direct investment and per capita GDP are associated with an improvement in global quality of life. Particularly noteworthy is the validation of the ''pollution haven hypothesis'' in the global economic context. The implications of this research are substantial; suggesting that global economic dynamics may support efforts towards environmental conservation. However, outcomes may vary across regions or countries, particularly regarding the emphasis placed by the financial sector on environmental preservation. This study comprehensively examines the complex nexus between economic progress and its ecological consequences, keeping in consideration factors such as financial growth, urbanization, energy consumption and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

We examine the impact of the information content of a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) report on stock mispricing using a sample of Chinese firms from 2007 to 2021. By leveraging the recent advances in textual analysis, we apply the Word2Vec technique to detect the information content of a focal firm's CSR report. Our findings suggest that the degree of a focal firm's stock mispricing decreases with increased information content of its CSR report. The results remain robust after considering a variety of sensitivity tests. Mechanism analyses reveal that the information content of a CSR report mitigates stock mispricing by reducing information asymmetry and alleviating investor irrational behavior. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect is more salient when firms face higher degree of uncertainty, both at the macroeconomic and industrial levels. Additionally, we document that a higher degree of information content of a CSR report contributes to a higher firm value.

囿于数据的可获得性,以往有关环境规制的研究主要立足企业外部视角采用地区或行业层面指标进行分析,对企业个体差异及主观能动性考虑不足,这制约了相关研究在微观层面上的深入开展.文章计算出企业年报的环保消极语调,以其作为企业环境规制压力的代理变量.在此基础上,围绕重污染企业环境规制压力与避税行为之间的关系展开研究,发现企业压力越大,避税程度越轻.进一步的,机制分析发现企业之所以选择以减轻避税来应对规制压力,是因为企业试图通过多缴税获取监管上的放松或政府的环保支持.异质性分析表明环境规制压力对避税行为的影响受到地区绿色金融发展程度、市场竞争强度以及地方政府财政盈余度的影响.文章为测度企业个体层面上的环境规制提供了思路,深化了环境规制和避税领域的研究,并进一步发掘了年报信息的价值.

党的二十大明确提出建设现代化产业体系要坚持把发展经济的着力点放在实体经济上.近年随着经济下行压力加大和实体产能过剩,我国实体企业逐渐呈现出"金融化"特征.文章基于合法性理论,采用 2015-2020 年A股重污染行业上市公司数据进行实证分析,探究实体企业金融化对漂绿行为的影响.结果表明:(1)企业金融化导致漂绿加剧,对环保投资产生挤出效应;(2)融资约束和同构压力强化了企业金融化对漂绿的正向影响;(3)企业金融化与漂绿的交互作用导致企业承担更高的风险;(4)高管薪酬粘性和政府监管能够弱化企业金融化对漂绿的正向影响.研究结论丰富了企业漂绿的影响因素,也为提升企业环境信息披露质量提供了理论依据.

复杂的年报文本不利于阅读理解,能够被管理层用于隐藏坏消息.文章采用文本分析方法测度公司年报文本的复杂性,研究了会计可比性与年报文本复杂性之间的关系,发现可比性高使得信息使用者易于通过对比发现企业的真实情况,进而减弱了文本复杂性在隐藏坏消息方面的效果,最终导致年报文本复杂性的降低.同时,异质性检验结果表明当行业集中度高、跟踪分析师较多时,会计可比性对文本复杂性的负向影响会减弱.研究揭示了会计信息与文本信息之间的联系及作用机制,同时表明可以通过管控会计信息质量实现对文本信息质量的约束.

ESG的价值产出能否满足企业可持续发展的需求构成了企业ESG决策的关键.本文以2015-2020年A股上市公司为样本,探讨了企业ESG表现对系统性风险和特质性风险的差异性影响及其在一定时期内的动态演进规律.结果显示:企业ESG表现的风险抵御效应呈现出"由外及内"的动态演进规律.当期来看,其风险抵御效应主要通过缓和外生的系统性风险冲击发挥效应,对特质性风险无显著影响,但当期之后,ESG表现对系统性风险冲击不再发挥作用,转而通过抑制企业内生的特质性风险发挥作用.进一步发现,企业ESG表现主要通过获取利益相关者支持缓和系统性风险的冲击,通过提高信息透明度和抑制噪音交易抑制特质性风险.本文从动态性视角拓展了企业ESG经济后果的相关研究.

Identifying firms' responses to the imposition of penalties for environmental violations in the context of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) is important to understand the impact of environmental penalties (EPs) and improve their design. Using a research sample consisting of Chinese listed firms in heavy polluting sectors from 2014 to 2020, we investigate whether and how penalties for environmental violations can affect subsequent CER engagement. The empirical results show that imposing one or more EPs on a firm has positive effects on the firm's subsequent CER practises. Our results remain robust after a series of tests. We also find that the role of EPs in promoting CER is more pronounced in firms that receive more media coverage, have weak political connections, and operate in less competitive industries. Further analysis shows that the dynamic effect of EPs on CER engagement persists at least 2 years after the imposition of the penalty and that EPs can stimulate CER practises through both symbolic and substantive actions.

In recent years, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) have been extensive concerned. However, few studies have focused on the impact of situational factors on corporate ESG practice decisions. Based on this, using 9428 observations of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2019, this paper attempts to explore the impact of local official turnover on corporate ESG practices, and analyzes the boundary effects of this impact from three aspects: region, industry, and corporate. Our results suggest that (1) official turnover can lead to changes in economic policies and redistribution of political resources, which can stimulate companies' "risk aversion motivation" and "development motivation" and thus promote their ESG practices; (2) this effect is more significant in the high degree of government intervention, the high level of industry competition and private corporates. (3) Further test finds that only when the official turnover abnormally and the regional economic development well, official turnover can significantly contribute to corporate ESG. This paper enriches the relevant research on the decision-making scenarios of corporate ESG practices from the macro-institutional perspective.