Political environmental accountability may shape the institutional and informational foundations of sustainable finance by influencing firms’ substantive ESG behavior. This study examines China’s Departure Audit of Natural Resource Assets for Leading Cadres, a top-down accountability institution that links local officials’ career incentives to environmental stewardship. Using a staggered difference-in-differences design and a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2011 to 2021, we find that the implementation of the audits is associated with higher corporate ESG performance, with the strongest estimated association in the environmental dimension. Additional analyses suggest that the result is not driven solely by symbolic environmental disclosure. Mechanism tests provide evidence consistent with one partial internal pathway: the audits are associated with greater environmental attention among top management teams, which is in turn associated with subsequent green investment and future ESG performance. The indirect effects are statistically significant but economically modest, indicating that most of the estimated policy effect operates outside the measured mediation framework. The ESG response is stronger when executives have political connections or environment-related expertise. Overall, the findings suggest that political environmental accountability is associated with substantive organizational responses and may strengthen the credibility of ESG-related information used in sustainable investment and risk assessment. The study therefore positions environmental accountability as an upstream institutional foundation of sustainable finance, while treating the TMT environmental attention-green investment pathway as one complementary transmission channel.

Much of the established literature focuses on the impact of digital supply chain innovation on cost reduction, efficiency, and supply chain security but generally ignores whether digital supply chain innovation affects firm ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance. This paper constructs a quasi-natural experiment with the supply chain innovation and application pilot in China to explore the impact of digital supply chain innovation on firm ESG performance. The study analyzes data from China's A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2022, utilizing the PSM-DID method to conclude. The findings reveal that digital supply chain innovation enhances firm ESG performance by improving organizational synergy, green innovation, and firm governance. The study also indicates that the effect is more significant in samples with poorer supply chain operating environments, higher supply chain relationship tightness, and better firm management ability. Furthermore, the ESG governance effect of digital supply chain innovation increases the firm value and promotes sustainable development. However, it only significantly contributes to firm environmental (E) and governance (G) performance. The article provides preliminary micro-evidence from China on the ESG governance effects of digital supply chain innovation and provides important policy insights for further unleashing the construction effects of digital supply chain innovation to promote high-quality development.

This paper examines the impact of green factory accreditation on environmental investments. Green factory accreditation is a voluntary regulatory tool for green transformation and building a green manufacturing system in China. Using Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2023 as a sample and estimating a staggered difference-in-differences model, we find that green factory accreditation significantly promotes the environmental investments of accredited firms. We also find that this promoting effect is more pronounced among firms with more financing incentives and disciplinary constraints. These results support that green factory accreditation enhances environmental investment through incentive and disciplinary effects. Further analyses show that green factory accreditation also exhibits intra-industry spillover effects. Our main result holds to a series of sensitivity tests. This study provides direct empirical evidence for the effectiveness of green factory accreditation and offers insights into green industrial policy-making and environmental governance.

This study analyzes data from Chinese A-share market-listed manufacturing companies between 2009 and 2021. Our results underscore the effectiveness of green finance in mitigating corporate carbon risk, supported by robustness tests. Risk reduction is particularly pronounced for firms under stringent environmental regulations and those receiving greater media attention. Our findings indicate that green finance alleviates financial constraints, reduces carbon risk, and boosts firm value. This study deepens the understanding of the interplay between green finance and corporate carbon risk, offering valuable insights for companies aiming to reduce emissions, sustain economic performance, and manage carbon-related risks effectively.

The extant corporate investment literature documented that agency conflicts of managers from making optimal investment decisions. This study aims to investigate the influence of managerial power on the efficiency of investment strategy. The analysis, we obtained an unbalanced panel comprising 35 conglomerates (206 companies), conducted in the period 2005 to 2014. The empirical find that managers in good subsidiaries tend to be more conservative and are apt to underinvest. However, in bad subsidiaries, managers having stronger power are more likely to overinvest. Due to the contingency perspective of corporation targets in good subsidiaries, managers may increase their investments to expand firm size and control more resources. On the contrary, low-power managers tend to underinvest their businesses since they lack complete decision-making power.

This study investigates the effects of bankruptcy system innovation on firm investment behavior. Taking the establishment of bankruptcy courts in China as a quasi-natural experiment and using the difference-in-differences method, we show a significant positive relationship between the bankruptcy system and firm investment in financial assets. Improving creditor protection, increasing firms' financing constraints and costs, and increasing the bankruptcy reorganization rate are the main mechanisms through which the establishment of bankruptcy courts promotes firm investment in financial assets. Moreover, the effects of bankruptcy court establishment on firm investment in financial assets are more significant for non-state-owned firms, firms with CEOs who do not have a financial background, and firms in regions with better institutional environments. Finally, we find that the increased investment in financial assets by firms after the establishment of the bankruptcy court balances the efficiency of investment in financial assets at the same time. The findings of this study can provide a reference for optimizing the allocation of market resources and improving the financial rules of the legal system.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is a prominent strategic region in China, and technological innovation, being a core development driver, playing critical support role to facilitate YREB’s green development. This article evaluates green development level of YREB according to Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, and explores influences of technological innovation on the regional green development employing spatial econometric model. Research results manifest that green development reveals a continuous rising tendency, and it is generally better in lower reaches. Meanwhile, local green development plays positive spatial spillover effects on neighboring areas. Secondly, technological innovation plays an obvious driving function on local green development in the whole YREB, while only upper and middle reaches witness significantly positive spatial spillover effects. Thirdly, mechanism analysis result implies that the technological innovation could facilitate the regional green development through three paths: improving technological efficiency, decreasing pollution emission, and upgrading industrial structure. Furthermore, discussions with panel threshold models show that different impacts of technological innovation on green development depend on economic and technological factors. An increased level of technological and economic level will multiply influence that technological innovation on green development.

In recent years, the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm performance has received increasing attention, with academic research deepening in this field. This study introduces national culture as a moderating variable and explores the relationship between national culture, CSR, and firm performance to determine the role of national culture in the impact of CSR on firm performance. Data of listed companies from 15 different countries, between 2011 and 2020, were collected for empirical analysis. Comprehensive environmental, social and governance (ESG) score was used to measure the degree of CSR fulfillment. The results reveal that CSR hinders firm performance. In terms of national culture, power distance index, and uncertainty avoidance have a negative relationship with firm performance, while individualism has a positive impact. Conversely, power distance index can enhance the negative correlation between CSR and firm performance. This study suggests that governments should appropriately intervene in the implementation of CSR and take the initiative to foster a national cultural climate of individualism and democracy.

由于市场的不确定性和信息的不完备,企业劳动投资决策偏差导致劳动投资非效率的现象普遍存在.数字化转型带来的信息优化和管理改善可以显著降低企业劳动投资决策失误,且技术水平和人力资源管理水平的提高还可以对劳动投资决策失误进行弥补,但这种弥补作用对劳动投资不足更为有效.以2009-2020 年沪深两市A股上市公司为样本的分析发现:数字化转型显著促进了企业劳动投资效率提升,并主要表现为对劳动投资不足的缓解,而对劳动投资过度的影响不显著;数字化转型可以通过优化人力资本结构和提升内部控制水平来促进企业劳动投资效率提升;数字化转型对企业劳动投资效率提升的促进作用,在实施低成本战略的企业、融资约束较强的企业、非国有企业以及资本密集型企业中显著存在,而在实施差异化战略的企业、融资约束较弱的企业、国有企业以及劳动密集型企业中不显著.企业应积极推进数字化转型,充分利用数字经济的各种红利来优化劳动投资决策,不断提高劳动投资效率;政府应营造良好的数字环境,赋能企业数字化转型.

企业数字化转型具有信息环境改善效应、公司治理完善效应以及融资约束缓解效应,从而能够优化企业的投资决策,促进企业资本配置效率提升.以2007—2020年沪深A股上市公司为样本,采用调节效应模型检验数字化转型对企业资本配置效率的影响,分析发现:数字化转型会增强企业投资水平与投资机会的正相关性,表明数字化转型促进了企业资本配置效率提升;数字化转型对信息不对称程度较高、代理问题较大、融资约束较强企业具有更为显著的资本配置效率提升作用,表明数字化转型能够通过缓解企业的信息不对称、代理问题和融资约束等提升资本配置效率;对于研发强度较高、金融化程度较高、银企关联程度较低、成长期、规模较小的企业,数字化转型具有更为显著的资本配置效率提升作用;数字化转型还可以显著促进企业的会计业绩提升.因此,企业应持续推进数字化转型,并积极改善信息环境、完善公司治理、缓解融资约束,以更好地把握投资机会,提高投资决策质量和资本配置效率.

As an important measure of reform of the central environmental supervision, the National Specially Monitored Firms program has a significant impact on enterprise pollution control. However, there are few studies that have systematically studied the mechanism of this system on enterprise environmental performance. Based on the quasi natural experiment of the National Specially Monitored Firms program, this article uses the emission data of industrial enterprises from 2001 to 2009 to investigate the impact of the central environmental supervision on on corporate environmental performance by using the DID method. It is found that the National Specially Monitored Firms program has significantly improved the corporate environmental performance of the monitored enterprises. Heterogeneity analysis finds that when compared with enterprises with a higher degree of financing constraints, export enterprises, and enterprises with a lower level of economic development in the region, the implementation of the National Specially Monitored Firms program has a more significant effect on improving the environmental performance of enterprises with a lower degree of financing constraints, domestic enterprises, and enterprises with a higher level of economic development in the region. The mechanism test shows that improving the enterprise environmental protection equipment investment is not the only intermediary mechanism for the National Specially Monitored Firms program to improve corporate environmental performance. The conclusions of this article are not only conducive in optimizing the environmental governance methods but also inspirational for monitoring practices in other fields.

文章基于2008-2019年上市公司绿色专利申请数据,分析了环境垂直监管对绿色技术创新的影响.研究发现:环境垂直监管能够显著促进绿色技术创新的发展,且相较于自发性创新,企业更倾向于采取策略性迎合.进一步研究表明,环境垂直改革显著促进了环境规制强度较弱地区企业和小规模企业的绿色技术策略性创新,而处于环境规制强度较强地区的企业则更倾向于实施绿色技术实质性创新;并且,环境垂直监管主要是通过缓解环境信息不对称和促进企业环保投资两种机制来促使企业实施绿色技术创新行为.此外,环境垂直监管具有"创新补偿效应",被监管企业实施绿色技术创新能够显著促进其企业价值的提升.

本文以2002～2017年我国沪深A股上市公司为研究样本,从理论和实证两方面考察期望绩效反馈对企业盈余质量特征的影响.研究发现:当企业未达到期望绩效时,较大的绩效差距会降低企业盈余持续性和盈余反应系数、加大企业盈余波动性以及分析师盈余预测误差.进一步研究表明,消极的期望绩效反馈会对企业未来的盈余持续性、盈余波动性产生长期的负面影响.

随着我国"双碳"战略的推行,碳风险已成为约束企业高质量发展的重要因素.作为国家重要监督和治理方式,国家审计能否助力企业降低碳风险?研究发现,国家审计介入后,被审计企业的碳风险水平下降,媒体关注和行业竞争分别起互补作用和替代作用;机制检验表明,国家审计能够通过促进企业绿色技术创新和环境责任履行,从而降低碳风险;异质性分析表明,在环境规制强、制度环境好和政府财政资金充足地区的样本,以及非重污染和非重点监控单位企业中,上述影响更加显著;进一步研究发现,国家审计对企业碳风险的抑制作用具有溢出效应,且有利于改善企业长期绩效.本文对于强化国家审计的碳排放治理效应,缓解企业碳风险,促进企业绿色转型具有一定启示意义.

以中国2003—2019年持有A股上市公司股票为样本,基于投资组合视角研究机构投资者异质性对股价崩盘风险的影响.研究发现:机构投资者参与公司治理意愿受到投资组合影响,监督型机构投资者不会显著增加企业股价崩盘风险;相反,非监督型机构投资者会显著增加企业股价崩盘风险.影响机制检验显示,非监督型机构投资者通过增加信息不对称程度加剧了股价崩盘风险;进一步研究发现,相比于其他企业,非国有和公司治理水平低的企业中非监督型机构投资者对股价崩盘风险的加剧作用更为显著.以投资组合为研究起点,探讨机构投资者异质性对股价崩盘风险的非对称影响,为证监会引导机构投资者积极参与治理、降低股价崩盘风险提供理论依据.

This study conducted an empirical analysis of a manually collected sample of chief executive officer (CEO) facial structure measurements (facial width-to-height ratio [FWHR]) to examine the relationship between FWHR and stock price crash risk. The samples were collected for the period 2008-2019 from Chinese A-share listed firms. The results revealed a positive impact of FWHR on stock price crash risk. The positive impact is more pronounced for firms in which CEOs are entrusted with greater powers, firms that appoint a higher number of independent directors, or which function in a more competitive product market. Various robustness and endogeneity tests confirm our main conclusions.

对混合式学习满意度影响机理的研判有助于促进优质混合式教学质量的形成.该研究聚焦混合式学习满意度的影响因素,提出会计信息化类课程混合式学习满意度理论模型,基于会计信息化类课程混合式学习调研数据,借助SPSS进行多元回归分析,探讨混合式学习满意度影响因素和影响机理.研究发现:教师课堂教学、课程网络环境、线上线下学习和课程感知态度正向影响学生混合式学习满意度;学生的学习基础素养、课程感知态度对课程网络环境、线上线下学习、教师课堂教学具有显著正向影响作用;课程网络环境、线上线下学习、教师课堂教学在学习基础素养、课程感知态度和混合式学习满意度之间发挥中介效应作用.基于研究结论的启示如下:作为混合式学习活动的设计者、组织者和参与者,教师的课堂教学能力、信息化应用能力、混合式教学设计和组织能力的提高尤为重要;良好的课程网络学习环境能提供丰富的学习资源的同时,也为老师与学生、学生与学生、人与计算机之间交互学习提供了支撑平台,更为学生提供了知识拓展学习途径;积极调动学生线上线下学习参与度,既能直接提升学习满意度,还有助于提升学生学习基础素养和课程感知态度等对混合式学习满意度.

基于2011-2019年中国A股上市公司数据,研究数字普惠金融对绿色技术创新的影响及其作用机制,研究发现,数字普惠金融能够显著促进企业绿色技术创新.细分绿色创新类别后,数字普惠金融仅能显著促进实质性绿色技术创新,而对策略性绿色技术创新无显著作用.机制检验表明,数字普惠金融能够通过缓解融资约束和提升城市财富,促进企业绿色技术创新.异质性分析表明,在高环境规制强度地区、内陆地区以及CEO无银行金融背景的企业,数字普惠金融对绿色技术创新的促进效应更显著.进一步分析表明,当前金融监管与数字普惠金融发展存在一定程度的不匹配,但随时间推移开始逐渐释放政策监管红利.

随着绿色发展理念的深入人心和碳规制的不断加强,广大企业纷纷探索减少碳排放、降低碳风险的有效路径.那么,在数字经济与实体经济深度融合的背景下,数字化转型能否帮助企业实现减排降碳?基于上市公司数据的实证分析结果显示,数字化转型能够通过发挥减排增效效应、供应链优化效应以及绿色技术创新效应而降低企业的碳风险水平,且这种作用在环境规制强、行业竞争激烈以及侧重于对生产端进行数字化转型的企业中更为明显.为此,应将碳减排作为企业数字化转型的重要目标方向,制定差异性扶持政策,构建数字化转型的支撑体系,引导企业结合自身需求进行有针对性的数字化转型,建立数字技术交流平台,放大绿色技术创新的溢出效应.

作为负责任的发展中大国,中国的高质量发展需要构建完善的现代环境治理体系.分权治理是现代环境治理体系的重要特征,但分权产生的委托代理关系使信息不对称成为环境治理有效的主要障碍之一.2007年启动的国控重点污染源自动监控能力建设项目是针对环境分权治理中信息不对称的一项改革举措,可以有效缓解企业与政府、地方政府与中央政府之间的信息不对称问题,进而提高环境政策的有效性,并促进企业的节能减排.然而,现有文献较少对"重点污染源监控"通过信息沟通促进企业节能减排的机制进行深入探讨,更缺乏相关经验分析."重点污染源监控"使被监控企业无法瞒报虚报排污数据,倒逼企业改进生产方式和技术,同时也通过释放威慑信号促进企业技术进步,进而在提升企业生产绩效的同时实现节能减排;不同企业的资源禀赋、技术水平、发展模式等具有明显差异,因而"重点污染源监控"的节能减排效应可能表现出多样化的异质性.本文采用中国工业企业数据库和中国工业企业污染排放数据库的数据,运用双重差分法实证检验"重点污染源监控"的节能减排效应及其机制和异质性,分析发现:"重点污染源监控"显著促进了被监控企业的节能减排,且技术进步在其中发挥了部分中介效应;"重点污染源监控"对被监控民营企业具有显著的节能效应和减排效应,而对被监控国有企业仅具有显著的减排效应(节能效应不显著);"重点污染源监控"对东部、中部地区和高能耗行业的被监控企业产生了显著的节能减排效应,但对西部地区和非高能耗行业的被监控企业没有显著的节能减排效应.相比现有文献,本文从缓解信息不对称角度探讨了优化环境分权治理的信息沟通路径,并对"重点污染源监控"的节能减排效应及其技术进步路径和异质性表现进行了实证检验,丰富和拓展了外部政策影响企业节能减排行为的经验分析,并为"双碳"目标下健全现代环境治理体系提供了经验借鉴.本文研究表明,"重点污染源监控"在维护地方政府环境执法权的同时强化了中央政府对企业排污信息的收集功效,改善了环境分权治理中的排污信息沟通机制,从而促进企业的技术进步和节能减排.因此,应进一步优化环境分权治理体系,建立健全有效的信息沟通机制,并结合地区实际、行业属性以及企业特征等进行差异化的政策设计,激励企业通过技术进步路径实现节能减排.