IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v82y2025ics154461232500889x.html

How entrepreneurship drives ESG performance: The roles of data assetization and financing constraints

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, AnChao
  • Saqib, Abdul

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurship on corporate ESG performance, emphasizing the roles of financing constraints and data assetization. Using panel data from Chinese listed firms (2010–2022) and addressing endogeneity using multiple estimation techniques, we find that entrepreneurship enhances ESG performance by alleviating financing constraints, enabling sustainable investments. Data assetization further strengthens this relationship by optimizing resource utilization and fostering innovation. This paper highlights the pivotal role of entrepreneurship and, based on the resource-based view, provides a novel analysis to inform the future advancement of corporate ESG initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, AnChao & Saqib, Abdul, 2025. "How entrepreneurship drives ESG performance: The roles of data assetization and financing constraints," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s154461232500889x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107630
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S154461232500889X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107630?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liang, Jian & Jain, Ameeta & Newman, Alexander & Mount, Matthew P. & Kim, Jooyoung, 2024. "Motivated to be socially responsible? CEO regulatory focus, firm performance, and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Iftekhar Hasan & Nada Kobeissi & Liuling Liu & Haizhi Wang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Productivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 671-688, May.
    3. Lars Kaiser & Jan Welters, 2019. "Risk-mitigating effect of ESG on momentum portfolios," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(5), pages 542-555, October.
    4. 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.
    5. Donald F. Kuratko & David B. Audretsch, 2009. "Strategic Entrepreneurship: Exploring Different Perspectives of an Emerging Concept," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(1), pages 1-17, January.
    6. Zoltan Acs, 2008. "How is Entrepreneurship Good for Economic Growth?," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 21, pages 291-301, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. He, Feng & Wei, Chunyang & Lucey, Brian & Hao, Jing, 2025. "Beyond greenwashing: How does firm-level biodiversity disclosure affect corporate sustainability strategy?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Changyu Hu & Yuetong Li & Xiaojia Zheng, 2022. "Data assets, information uses, and operational efficiency," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(60), pages 6887-6900, December.
    9. Philippe Aghion & Christopher Harris & Peter Howitt & John Vickers, 2001. "Competition, Imitation and Growth with Step-by-Step Innovation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 68(3), pages 467-492.
    10. Chang-Jing Ji & Xiao-Yi Li & Yu-Jie Hu & Xiang-Yu Wang & Bao-Jun Tang, 2019. "Research on carbon price in emissions trading scheme: a bibliometric analysis," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 99(3), pages 1381-1396, December.
    11. Samuel Drempetic & Christian Klein & Bernhard Zwergel, 2020. "The Influence of Firm Size on the ESG Score: Corporate Sustainability Ratings Under Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 333-360, November.
    12. repec:eme:mfppss:mf-12-2021-0593 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Hu, Xinwen & Hua, Renhai & Liu, Qingfu & Wang, Chuanjie, 2023. "The green fog: Environmental rating disagreement and corporate greenwashing," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    14. Du, Jiayu & Zhu, Rui & Ye, Qiang, 2025. "Managers' overconfidence, institutional investors' shareholding, and corporate ESG performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    15. Kong, Dongmin & Liu, Chenhao, 2024. "Centralization and regulatory enforcement: Evidence from personnel authority reform in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    16. Gregory, Richard Paul, 2022. "ESG activities and firm cash flow," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    17. Garrett A. McBrayer, 2018. "Does persistence explain ESG disclosure decisions?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1074-1086, November.
    18. Tian, Tian & Chen, Ning, 2024. "How does entrepreneurship promote corporate ESG performance?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    19. Dollinger, Marc J. & Li, Xueling & Mooney, Christine H., 2010. "Extending the Resource-based View to the Mega-event: Entrepreneurial Rents and Innovation," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 195-218, July.
    20. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2011. "Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 222-237, May.
    21. Beck, Thorsten & Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 2008. "Financing patterns around the world: Are small firms different?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 467-487, September.
    22. Finja Lena Kind & Jennifer Zeppenfeld & Rainer Lueg, 2023. "The impact of chief executive officer narcissism on environmental, social, and governance reporting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4448-4466, November.
    23. Li, Hao & Zhang, Xuan & Zhao, Yang, 2022. "ESG and Firm's Default Risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    24. Steven M. Fazzari & R. Glenn Hubbard & Bruce C. Petersen, 1988. "Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(1), pages 141-206.
    25. Xiaojun Yang & Xianyu Yang, 2023. "External parachuting and innovation investment: mediating effect of entrepreneurial spirit," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1643-1671, December.
    26. Jeffrey G. Covin, 1991. "Entrepreneurial Versus Conservative Firms: A Comparison of Strategies and Performance," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 439-462, September.
    27. Guangyou Zhou & Lian Liu & Sumei Luo, 2022. "Sustainable development, ESG performance and company market value: Mediating effect of financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3371-3387, November.
    28. Ute Stephan & Lorraine M Uhlaner, 2010. "Performance-based vs socially supportive culture: A cross-national study of descriptive norms and entrepreneurship," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1347-1364, October.
    29. Nikolov, Boris & Schmid, Lukas & Steri, Roberto, 2021. "The Sources of Financing Constraints," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(2), pages 478-501.
    30. Chitra Sriyani De Silva Lokuwaduge & Kumudini Heenetigala, 2017. "Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosure for a Sustainable Development: An Australian Study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 438-450, May.
    31. C. Edward Fee & Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2009. "Investment, Financing Constraints, and Internal Capital Markets: Evidence from the Advertising Expenditures of Multinational Firms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2361-2392, June.
    32. Marc J. Dollinger & Xueling Li & Christine H. Mooney, 2010. "Extending the Resource-based View to the Mega-event: Entrepreneurial Rents and Innovation," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 6(2), pages 195-218, July.
    33. Goretti Cabaleiro-Cerviño & Pedro Mendi, 2024. "ESG-driven innovation strategy and firm performance," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 14(1), pages 137-185, March.
    34. Sun, Qian & Tong, Wilson H.S. & Yan, Yuxing, 2009. "Market liberalization within a country," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 18-41, January.
    35. Paul Shum & Grier Lin, 2010. "A resource-based view on entrepreneurship and innovation," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 11(3), pages 264-281.
    36. Xiangan Ding & Zhonglin Sheng & Andrea Appolloni & Mohsin Shahzad & Shaojie Han, 2024. "Digital transformation, ESG practice, and total factor productivity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4547-4561, July.
    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. Jie Han & Runchang Liu & Yao Xu & Yaoyao Liu, 2025. "Can Registration System Reform Promote Corporate Sustainability? Evidence from China’s ESG Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-26, August.

    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. Junjie Wang & Yan Chen & Sanfa Wang, 2024. "Exploring the relationship between corporate ESG performance and corporate violation: Based on the fraud triangle theory," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(6), pages 5606-5626, November.
    2. Zhang-Hangjian, Chen & Mengqing, Xu & Fei, Ren & Xiong, Xiong, 2025. "SDG performance and stock returns: Fresh insights from China," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Peng, Shengnan & Liu, Chan & Wang, Ze & Ye, Zihan & Sun, Xialing & Tan, Zhanglu, 2024. "The impact of the carbon reduction policy effectiveness on energy companies' ESG performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    4. Chen, Zhixiong & Sugiyama, Kohei & Tasaka, Kazuyuki & Kito, Tomomi & Yasuda, Yukihiro, 2024. "Impact of environmental, social and governance initiatives on firm value: Analysis using AI-based ESG scores for Japanese listed firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    5. Ji, Ruibing & Zhang, Shengling & Cao, Wenxuan & Hao, Yu & Wang, Nuo, 2025. "Data assets, supply chain spillovers, and corporate ESG development — Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 880-894.
    6. Roymon Panjaitan & Naili Farida & Farida Indriani, 2025. "Entrepreneurial Creativity and Business Innovation Performance: The Role of Competitivenes Mechanism Protection and Competitive Intensity," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 4, pages 59-79.
    7. Fuxiu Jiang & Jia Ma & Xiaojia Zheng, 2025. "Multiple large shareholders and ESG performance: Evidence from the cost‐sharing and resource‐provision view," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 65(2), pages 1309-1346, June.
    8. Khan, Muhammad Arif, 2022. "ESG disclosure and Firm performance: A bibliometric and meta analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. Mathias Payer & Martin Schüder & Tanja Gemünden & Henning Zülch, 2025. "Aligning ESG ratings with cultural values: a framework for the German-speaking region," Sustainability Nexus Forum, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 1-19, December.
    10. Chang Liu & Zihao Xin, 2024. "Does environmental, social, and governance practice boost corporate human capital inflow in China? From the perspective of stakeholder response," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3251-3273, July.
    11. Heying Liu & Chan Lyu, 2022. "Can ESG Ratings Stimulate Corporate Green Innovation? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-20, September.
    12. Hanjin Xie & Zilong Qin & Jun Li, 2024. "Entrepreneurship and Corporate ESG Performance—A Case Study of China’s A-Share Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-19, September.
    13. Nerine Mary George & Vinit Parida & Tom Lahti & Joakim Wincent, 2016. "A systematic literature review of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition: insights on influencing factors," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 309-350, June.
    14. Li, Mangmang & Tang, Jinghua & Wu, Dingwen, 2025. "Beyond borders and industries: How cross-ownership drives ESG performance in China’ low-polluting firms after environmental regulation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    15. Wang, Zi & Zheng, Dechang, 2025. "Media heterogeneity and corporate ESG performance: evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    16. Ma, Yonghong & Zhu, Enjia, 2025. "Supply chain finance and enterprise dual innovation: The perspective of breakthrough and incremental innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    17. Eijaz Ahmed Khan & Lynne Harris & Mohammed Quaddus, 2021. "The mediating role of personality traits on the entrepreneurial orientation–firm performance relationship: informal entrepreneurship context," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 11(1), pages 41-52, December.
    18. Amir Gholami & Peter A. Murray & John Sands, 2022. "Environmental, Social, Governance & Financial Performance Disclosure for Large Firms: Is This Different for SME Firms?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    19. Rajesh, R. & Rajeev, A. & Rajendran, Chandrasekharan, 2022. "Corporate social performances of firms in select developed economies: A comparative study," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Oluwole Nurudeen Omonijo & Yunsheng Zhang, 2025. "Examining the relationship between technological innovation, environmental social governance and corporate sustainability: the moderating role of green operational innovation," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:finlet:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s154461232500889x. 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.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    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.