Sustainability under fire: How China-US tensions impact corporate ESG performance?

IF 6.9 2区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Finance Research Letters Pub Date : 2025-07-05 DOI:10.1016/j.frl.2025.107882

Feiyun Sha , Jiawei Meng , Xiaoyu Zheng , Yaqi Jiang

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Abstract

This study examines how China–United States geopolitical tensions affect corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, investigating two moderating mechanisms: data assets (DTAs) and government digital incentives (GDIs). Using 17,846 firm–year observations of Chinese listed companies spanning 2010–2022, we find that escalating bilateral tensions significantly deteriorate corporate sustainability performance. This correlation remains robust across instrumental variable estimation, Heckman correction, and propensity score matching approaches. However, firms’ DTAs and GDIs serve as protective mechanisms, mitigating the adverse effects of geopolitical volatility on ESG commitments. Disaggregated ESG factor analysis reveals differential impacts, showing that environmental performance improves during tensions while social and governance components deteriorate. Heterogeneity analyses demonstrate that state-owned enterprises are insulated from geopolitical effects, while private firms experience significant sustainability decline. These findings demonstrate how international political conflicts influence corporate sustainability frameworks and how digital capabilities function as strategic shields during geopolitical uncertainty. This study provides valuable insights into sustainability governance in volatile geopolitical times.

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可持续发展受到抨击：中美关系紧张如何影响企业的ESG绩效？

本研究探讨了中美地缘政治紧张局势如何影响企业的环境、社会和治理（ESG）绩效，探讨了两种调节机制：数据资产（dta）和政府数字激励（gdi）。通过对2010-2022年间17846家中国上市公司的年度观察，我们发现不断升级的双边紧张关系显著恶化了公司的可持续发展绩效。这种相关性在工具变量估计、Heckman校正和倾向评分匹配方法中仍然是稳健的。然而，企业的dta和gdi起到了保护机制的作用，减轻了地缘政治波动对ESG承诺的不利影响。分解的ESG因素分析揭示了不同的影响，表明环境绩效在紧张期间得到改善，而社会和治理成分则恶化。异质性分析表明，国有企业不受地缘政治影响，而私营企业的可持续性显著下降。这些发现证明了国际政治冲突如何影响企业可持续发展框架，以及数字能力如何在地缘政治不确定性中发挥战略盾牌的作用。这项研究为地缘政治动荡时期的可持续治理提供了有价值的见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Finance Research Letters BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

11.10

自引率

14.40%

发文量

863

期刊介绍： Finance Research Letters welcomes submissions across all areas of finance, aiming for rapid publication of significant new findings. The journal particularly encourages papers that provide insight into the replicability of established results, examine the cross-national applicability of previous findings, challenge existing methodologies, or demonstrate methodological contingencies. Papers are invited in the following areas: Actuarial studies Alternative investments Asset Pricing Bankruptcy and liquidation Banks and other Depository Institutions Behavioral and experimental finance Bibliometric and Scientometric studies of finance Capital budgeting and corporate investment Capital markets and accounting Capital structure and payout policy Commodities Contagion, crises and interdependence Corporate governance Credit and fixed income markets and instruments Derivatives Emerging markets Energy Finance and Energy Markets Financial Econometrics Financial History Financial intermediation and money markets Financial markets and marketplaces Financial Mathematics and Econophysics Financial Regulation and Law Forecasting Frontier market studies International Finance Market efficiency, event studies Mergers, acquisitions and the market for corporate control Micro Finance Institutions Microstructure Non-bank Financial Institutions Personal Finance Portfolio choice and investing Real estate finance and investing Risk SME, Family and Entrepreneurial Finance