IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v85y2025icp1012-1030.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of business environment uncertainty on ESG performance from the perspective of resource supply and demand based on ESG performance

Author

Listed:
  • Jiang, Lisha
  • Zhou, Wei
  • Hualiang, Wu
  • Deng, Wei

Abstract

The performance of enterprises in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) reflects the capacity for sustainable development, and the capacity for sustainable development is affected by the operating environment they face. Based on the supply and demand of ESG responsibility fulfillment resources, this study explores the impact of business environment uncertainty (including objective environmental uncertainty and environmental uncertainty perceived by enterprise management) on ESG performance and reveals the impact path of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2009 to 2022. Results show that the objective environmental uncertainty and the environmental uncertainty perceived by enterprise management can considerably inhibit the ESG performance of enterprises. Compared with the environmental uncertainty perceived by the management, the objective environmental uncertainty has a more remarkable inhibitory effect on the ESG performance of enterprises. The mechanism analysis shows that uncertainty avoidance of financial intermediaries is the main path through which objective environmental uncertainty affects the ESG performance of enterprises, while uncertainty avoidance of enterprises is the main path through which environmental uncertainty perceived by management affects the ESG performance of enterprises. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the issuance of government environmental protection subsidies and the improvement of enterprise operating efficiency can considerably alleviate the inhibitory effect of objective environmental uncertainty on enterprise ESG performance, while government tax incentives, the improvement of enterprises' financial flexibility, and the improvement of strategic risk bearing ability can considerably alleviate the inhibitory effect of management's perceived environmental uncertainty on enterprise ESG performance. Optimizing the regional business environment can simultaneously alleviate the inhibition of the two environmental uncertainties on the ESG performance of enterprises. Based on the research findings, this study proposes policy suggestions and coping strategies to improve ESG performance under business environment uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiang, Lisha & Zhou, Wei & Hualiang, Wu & Deng, Wei, 2025. "Impact of business environment uncertainty on ESG performance from the perspective of resource supply and demand based on ESG performance," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1012-1030.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:85:y:2025:i:c:p:1012-1030
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2025.01.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592625000104
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2025.01.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yu, Zhen & Xiao, Yao & Li, Jinpo, 2021. "Firm-level perception of uncertainty and innovation activity: Textual evidence from China's A-share market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Bernanke, Ben S. & Gertler, Mark & Gilchrist, Simon, 1999. "The financial accelerator in a quantitative business cycle framework," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 21, pages 1341-1393, Elsevier.
    3. Paul Beaudry & David A. Green & Ben M. Sand, 2018. "In Search of Labor Demand," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(9), pages 2714-2757, September.
    4. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.
    5. Kopecky, Kenneth J. & VanHoose, David, 2006. "Capital regulation, heterogeneous monitoring costs, and aggregate loan quality," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(8), pages 2235-2255, August.
    6. Yang, Xiangyang & Li, Zijun & Qiu, Zhaoxuan & Wang, Jinmin & Liu, Bei, 2024. "ESG performance and corporate technology innovation: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    7. Lensink, Robert & Sterken, Elmer, 2000. "Capital Market Imperfections, Uncertainty and Corporate Investment in the Czech Republic," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 33(1-2), pages 53-70.
    8. Gray, Wayne B. & Shadbegian, Ronald J., 2003. "Plant vintage, technology, and environmental regulation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 384-402, November.
    9. Eduardo Duque-Grisales & Javier Aguilera-Caracuel, 2021. "Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scores and Financial Performance of Multilatinas: Moderating Effects of Geographic International Diversification and Financial Slack," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 315-334, January.
    10. Eun-Hee Kim & Thomas P. Lyon, 2015. "Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 705-723, June.
    11. Ghosh, Dipankar & Olsen, Lori, 2009. "Environmental uncertainty and managers' use of discretionary accruals," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 188-205, February.
    12. Gunnar Friede & Timo Busch & Alexander Bassen, 2015. "ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(4), pages 210-233, October.
    13. Brennan, Michael J & Schwartz, Eduardo S, 1985. "Evaluating Natural Resource Investments," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(2), pages 135-157, April.
    14. Wadhaah Ibrahim Almubarak & Kaouther Chebbi & Mohammed Abdullah Ammer, 2023. "Unveiling the Connection among ESG, Earnings Management, and Financial Distress: Insights from an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-23, August.
    15. Francesco Testa & Olivier Boiral & Fabio Iraldo, 2018. "Internalization of Environmental Practices and Institutional Complexity: Can Stakeholders Pressures Encourage Greenwashing?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 287-307, January.
    16. DasGupta, Ranjan, 2022. "Financial performance shortfall, ESG controversies, and ESG performance: Evidence from firms around the world," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    17. Ben S. Bernanke, 1983. "Irreversibility, Uncertainty, and Cyclical Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(1), pages 85-106.
    18. Wang, Yanan & Liang, Shangkun & Kong, Dongmin & Wang, Qin, 2019. "High-speed rail, small city, and cost of debt: Firm-level evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    19. Simon Commander & Jan Svejnar, 2011. "Business Environment, Exports, Ownership, and Firm Performance," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(1), pages 309-337, February.
    20. Robert McDonald & Daniel Siegel, 1986. "The Value of Waiting to Invest," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(4), pages 707-727.
    21. Qiang Cheng & Beng Wee Goh & Jae B. Kim, 2018. "Internal Control and Operational Efficiency," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(2), pages 1102-1139, June.
    22. Benguria, Felipe & Choi, Jaerim & Swenson, Deborah L. & Xu, Mingzhi (Jimmy), 2022. "Anxiety or pain? The impact of tariffs and uncertainty on Chinese firms in the trade war," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    23. Li Wang & Hongyu Yang, 2024. "Digital technology innovation and corporate ESG performance: evidence from China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 1-32, December.
    24. Florian Berg & Julian F Kölbel & Roberto Rigobon, 2022. "Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings [Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1315-1344.
    25. Barros, Victor & Verga Matos, Pedro & Miranda Sarmento, Joaquim & Rino Vieira, Pedro, 2022. "M&A activity as a driver for better ESG performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    26. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    27. Bilyay-Erdogan, Seda & Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Demir, Ender, 2024. "ESG performance and investment efficiency: The impact of information asymmetry," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    28. Timothy B. Palmer & Robert M. Wiseman, 1999. "Decoupling risk taking from income stream uncertainty: a holistic model of risk," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(11), pages 1037-1062, November.
    29. Po-Hsuan Hsu & Hao Liang & Pedro Matos, 2023. "Leviathan Inc. and Corporate Environmental Engagement," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(12), pages 7719-7758, December.
    30. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    31. Andrea Gamba & Alexander Triantis, 2008. "The Value of Financial Flexibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(5), pages 2263-2296, October.
    32. Jeremy Galbreath, 2013. "ESG in Focus: The Australian Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 529-541, December.
    33. Hyunseob Kim & Howard Kung, 2017. "The Asset Redeployability Channel: How Uncertainty Affects Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 245-280.
    34. Chowdhury, Reza H. & Maung, Min, 2012. "Financial market development and the effectiveness of R&D investment: Evidence from developed and emerging countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 258-272.
    35. Kose John & Lubomir Litov & Bernard Yeung, 2008. "Corporate Governance and Risk‐Taking," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1679-1728, August.
    36. Lin, Ouwen & Guan, Jianbo, 2024. "The impact of media attention, board independence on CEO power, and ESG in state-owned enterprises," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PA).
    37. Jean Tirole, 2006. "The Theory of Corporate Finance," Post-Print hal-00173191, HAL.
    38. Bagh, Tanveer & Zhou, Bingjun & Alawi, Suha Mahmoud & Azam, Rauf I, 2024. "ESG resilience: Exploring the non-linear effects of ESG performance on firms sustainable growth," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    39. Moses Acquaah, 2007. "Managerial social capital, strategic orientation, and organizational performance in an emerging economy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(12), pages 1235-1255, December.
    40. Joel F Houston & Hongyu Shan, 2022. "Corporate ESG Profiles and Banking Relationships," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(7), pages 3373-3417.
    41. Huseyin Gulen & Mihai Ion, 2016. "Editor's Choice Policy Uncertainty and Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 523-564.
    42. Cai, Ye & Pan, Carrie H. & Statman, Meir, 2016. "Why do countries matter so much in corporate social performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 591-609.
    43. Ge Ge & Xiang Xiao & Zhenzhu Li & Qinghui Dai, 2022. "Does ESG Performance Promote High-Quality Development of Enterprises in China? The Mediating Role of Innovation Input," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-24, March.
    44. Roger H. Gordon, 1998. "Can High Personal Tax Rates Encourage Entrepreneurial Activity?," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 45(1), pages 49-80, March.
    45. Walter Y. Oi, 1962. "Labor as a Quasi-Fixed Factor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(6), pages 538-538.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aiping Zhang & Pei Zhang & Wei Li & Wangli Zhu, 2025. "The Mechanism of Digital Business Environment Affecting the Sustainable Development of Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Zhongshuai Wang & Baocheng Bian & Jun Wang, 2025. "Influence of Green Credit Policy on Corporate Risk-Taking: The Mediating Effect of Debt Maturity Mismatch and the Moderating Effect of Executive Compensation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-30, March.
    3. Huan Shu & Yanye Zhu, 2025. "The Exploration of a Causal Mechanism for Corporate Environmental Performance in Hydropower Engineering Enterprises: Evidence from China and the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-32, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mao, Fengfu & Yuan, Yue & Zhang, Fan, 2025. "Firm-level perception of uncertainty, risk aversion, and corporate real estate investment: Evidence from China's listed firms," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1428-1441.
    2. Mingqiang, Xing & Lili, Qi & Dan, Hu & Mingwei, Gao, 2024. "Management short-sighted behavior and enterprise ESG performance — Evidence from listed companies in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Marie, Mohamed & Qi, Baolei & Elgammal, Mohammed & Elnahass, Marwa, 2024. "A more sustainable future: Can politically connected CEOs spur the nexus between ESG performance and firm financial performance?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Zhang, Hailiang & Li, Yao & Wang, Haijun & Yin, Lei, 2025. "Expansion or retrenchment: Corporate investment reactions to external security risks," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    5. Tang, Wenjin & Ding, Saijie & Chen, Hao, 2021. "Economic uncertainty and its spillover networks: Evidence from the Asia-Pacific countries," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    6. Li, Kaifeng & Xia, Bobo & Chen, Yun & Ding, Ning & Wang, Jie, 2021. "Environmental uncertainty, financing constraints and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Buu Kiem Dang & Duc Toan Vo & Nguyen Tuyet Minh Ha, 2025. "The impact of economic uncertainty and institutional quality on bank profitability: global evidence," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1-29, July.
    8. Pruthiranjan Dwibedi & Debasis Pahi & Antarjyami Sahu, 2024. "Mapping the landscape of environmental, social and governance research: A bibliometric analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 3745-3767, September.
    9. Nguyen, Minh Hong & Trinh, Vu Quang, 2023. "U.K. economic policy uncertainty and innovation activities: A firm-level analysis," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    10. Long, Shaobo & Pei, Hongxia & Tian, Hao & Li, Fangfang, 2021. "Asymmetric impacts of economic policy uncertainty, capital cost, and raw material cost on China’s investment," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 129-144.
    11. Huang, Ying Sophie & Wu, Jiajia & Guo, Feng, 2022. "Venture capital staging under economic policy uncertainty," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 572-596.
    12. Yung, Kenneth & Cai, Qiuye & Li, Deqing Diane, 2023. "Greasing the wheels of irreversible investment: International evidence on the economic effects of corruption," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    13. Kim, Youngju & Lee, Seohyun & Lim, Hyunjoon, 2023. "Uncertainty, credit and investment: Evidence from firm-bank matched data," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. Azimli, Asil, 2022. "The impact of policy, political and economic uncertainty on corporate capital investment in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and Turkey," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(2).
    15. Long, Houyin & Huang, Xiang & Wang, Jiaxin, 2023. "How does energy finance promote energy transition? Evidence from Shanghai crude oil futures," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    16. Barros, Victor & Verga Matos, Pedro & Miranda Sarmento, Joaquim & Rino Vieira, Pedro, 2024. "ESG performance and firms’ business and geographical diversification: An empirical approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    17. Xu, Zhaoxia, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty, cost of capital, and corporate innovation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    18. Liang, Yuchao & Tan, Qi & Pang, Jun, 2024. "Bless or curse, how does extreme temperature shape heavy pollution companies' ESG performance?-Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    19. Liu, Guanchun & Zhang, Chengsi, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and firms' investment and financing decisions in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Janzen, Malte, 2018. "Policy uncertainty, investment, and the cost of capital," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 28-45.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:85:y:2025:i:c:p:1012-1030. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.