IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v79y2023ics0927538x23000859.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital finance and corporate ESG performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China

Author

Listed:
  • Ren, Xiaohang
  • Zeng, Gudian
  • Zhao, Yang

Abstract

With the continuous development of digital technology, the digital economy has gradually become a vital driver of global economic growth. We investigate the impact of digital finance on corporate ESG performance using panel data of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2020. First, we find that digital finance can significantly promote corporate ESG performance, especially environmental and social performance. Second, we empirically identify that digital finance affects corporate ESG performance through green innovation and external supervision. Third, our heterogeneity analysis shows that digital finance has a more pronounced impact on firms with low digitalization and low profitability, and firms in regulated industries and high carbon emission industries. The positive effect of digital finance is more pronounced for firms in central and western regions and non-low carbon pilot cities. Finally, our results remain robust after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting a series of robustness checks.

Suggested Citation

  • Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Zhao, Yang, 2023. "Digital finance and corporate ESG performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:79:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x23000859
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X23000859
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102019?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. Mu, Weiwei & Liu, Kefu & Tao, Yunqing & Ye, Yongwei, 2023. "Digital finance and corporate ESG," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Qinhe Shi & Wenfeng Qiu & Yuling Fan, 2020. "Economic Policy Uncertainty and the Distribution of Business Operations between Parent Companies and Their Subsidiaries," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(2), pages 427-456, January.
    4. Donghua Chen & Xuerui Wei & Huimin Wang, 2022. "Controlling shareholder’s ownership, control rights and related-party transactions – analysis of regulatory effects based on board characteristics," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1577-1604, December.
    5. repec:eme:jbsed0:jbsed-07-2021-0094 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. 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.
    7. Hamzeh Al Amosh & Saleh F.A. Khatib, 2021. "Ownership structure and environmental, social and governance performance disclosure: the moderating role of the board independence," Journal of Business and Socio-economic Development, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 2(1), pages 49-66, August.
    8. Peter Gomber & Jascha-Alexander Koch & Michael Siering, 2017. "Digital Finance and FinTech: current research and future research directions," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(5), pages 537-580, July.
    9. Jun Xie & Wataru Nozawa & Michiyuki Yagi & Hidemichi Fujii & Shunsuke Managi, 2019. "Do environmental, social, and governance activities improve corporate financial performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 286-300, February.
    10. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    11. Wang, Zongrun & Fu, Haiqin & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "Political connections and corporate carbon emission: New evidence from Chinese industrial firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    12. Nambisan, Satish & Wright, Mike & Feldman, Maryann, 2019. "The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    13. Sutherland, Will & Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein, 2018. "The sharing economy and digital platforms: A review and research agenda," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 328-341.
    14. Daron Acemoglu, 2010. "When Does Labor Scarcity Encourage Innovation?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(6), pages 1037-1078.
    15. Wang, Xiong & Li, Jingyao & Ren, Xiaohang & Bu, Ruijun & Jawadi, Fredj, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty and dynamic correlations in energy markets: Assessment and solutions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    16. Broadstock, David C. & Chan, Kalok & Cheng, Louis T.W. & Wang, Xiaowei, 2021. "The role of ESG performance during times of financial crisis: Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    17. He, Feng & Ma, Yaming & Zhang, Xiaojie, 2020. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate Innovation?–Evidence from China listed companies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 225-239.
    18. Wong, Woei Chyuan & Batten, Jonathan A. & Ahmad, Abd Halim & Mohamed-Arshad, Shamsul Bahrain & Nordin, Sabariah & Adzis, Azira Abdul, 2021. "Does ESG certification add firm value?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    19. Ren, Xiaohang & Tong, Ziwei & Sun, Xianming & Yan, Cheng, 2022. "Dynamic impacts of energy consumption on economic growth in China: Evidence from a non-parametric panel data model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    20. Pedersen, Lasse Heje & Fitzgibbons, Shaun & Pomorski, Lukasz, 2021. "Responsible investing: The ESG-efficient frontier," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 572-597.
    21. Baker, Edward D. & Boulton, Thomas J. & Braga-Alves, Marcus V. & Morey, Matthew R., 2021. "ESG government risk and international IPO underpricing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    22. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    23. Ikechukwu Kelikume, 2021. "Digital financial inclusion, informal economy and poverty reduction in Africa," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 626-640, February.
    24. Nirino, Niccolò & Santoro, Gabriele & Miglietta, Nicola & Quaglia, Roberto, 2021. "Corporate controversies and company's financial performance: Exploring the moderating role of ESG practices," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    25. Ren, Xiaohang & Li, Jingyao & He, Feng & Lucey, Brian, 2023. "Impact of climate policy uncertainty on traditional energy and green markets: Evidence from time-varying granger tests," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    26. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Dong, Kangyin & Wang, Kun, 2023. "How does high-speed rail affect tourism development? The case of the Sichuan-Chongqing Economic Circle," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    27. Nicola Cucari & Salvatore Esposito De Falco & Beatrice Orlando, 2018. "Diversity of Board of Directors and Environmental Social Governance: Evidence from Italian Listed Companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(3), pages 250-266, May.
    28. Joel F Houston & Hongyu Shan, 2022. "Corporate ESG Profiles and Banking Relationships," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(7), pages 3373-3417.
    29. Huang, Qiping & Li, Yongjia & Lin, Meimei & McBrayer, Garrett A., 2022. "Natural disasters, risk salience, and corporate ESG disclosure," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    30. Peterson K. Ozili, 2018. "Impact of digital finance on financial inclusion and stability," Borsa Istanbul Review, Research and Business Development Department, Borsa Istanbul, vol. 18(4), pages 329-340, December.
    31. Papadopoulos, Thanos & Baltas, Konstantinos N. & Balta, Maria Elisavet, 2020. "The use of digital technologies by small and medium enterprises during COVID-19: Implications for theory and practice," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    32. Tang, Dragon Yongjun & Zhang, Yupu, 2020. "Do shareholders benefit from green bonds?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    33. Siti Nurazira Mohd Daud & Abd Halim Ahmad & Wan Azman Saini Wan Ngah, 2021. "Financialization, digital technology and income inequality," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(16), pages 1339-1343, September.
    34. Wong, Jin Boon & Zhang, Qin, 2022. "Stock market reactions to adverse ESG disclosure via media channels," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    35. Apergis, Nicholas & Poufinas, Thomas & Antonopoulos, Alexandros, 2022. "ESG scores and cost of debt," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    36. Li, Wenfei & Li, Donghui & Yang, Shijie, 2022. "The impact of internet penetration on venture capital investments: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    37. Yang Liu & Yanlin Yang & Huihui Li & Kaiyang Zhong, 2022. "Digital Economy Development, Industrial Structure Upgrading and Green Total Factor Productivity: Empirical Evidence from China’s Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-23, February.
    38. Ma, Qiang & Tariq, Muhammad & Mahmood, Haider & Khan, Zeeshan, 2022. "The nexus between digital economy and carbon dioxide emissions in China: The moderating role of investments in research and development," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    39. Feng, Jingwen & Goodell, John W. & Shen, Dehua, 2022. "ESG rating and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    40. Fahad Khalid & Juncheng Sun & Guanhua Huang & Chih-Yi Su, 2021. "Environmental, Social and Governance Performance of Chinese Multinationals: A Comparison of State- and Non-State-Owned Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-21, April.
    41. Philipp Krueger & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks, 2020. "The Importance of Climate Risks for Institutional Investors," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1067-1111.
    42. Edwards, Franklin R, 1977. "Managerial Objectives in Regulated Industries: Expense-Preference Behavior in Banking," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(1), pages 147-162, February.
    43. Ozili, Peterson Kitakogelu, 2018. "Impact of Digital Finance on Financial Inclusion and Stability," MPRA Paper 84771, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    44. Li, Jie & Wu, Yu & Xiao, Jing Jian, 2020. "The impact of digital finance on household consumption: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 317-326.
    45. Wang, Xiong & Wang, Xiao & Ren, Xiaohang & Wen, Fenghua, 2022. "Can digital financial inclusion affect CO2 emissions of China at the prefecture level? Evidence from a spatial econometric approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    46. MANTA, Otilia Elena, 2017. "Innovations In Digital Finance," Journal of Financial and Monetary Economics, Centre of Financial and Monetary Research "Victor Slavescu", vol. 4(1), pages 275-279.
    47. Husted, Bryan W. & Sousa-Filho, José Milton de, 2019. "Board structure and environmental, social, and governance disclosure in Latin America," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 220-227.
    48. Eliwa, Yasser & Aboud, Ahmed & Saleh, Ahmed, 2021. "ESG practices and the cost of debt: Evidence from EU countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    49. Ahluwalia, Saurabh & Mahto, Raj V. & Guerrero, Maribel, 2020. "Blockchain technology and startup financing: A transaction cost economics perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    50. Dong, Kangyin & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Zhao, Jun, 2022. "How inclusive financial development eradicates energy poverty in China? The role of technological innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    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. Leogrande, Angelo & Leogrande, Domenico & Costantiello, Alberto, 2023. "The Impact of Patent Applications in the Context of the ESG Model at World Level," EconStor Preprints 273495, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Chen, Jinyu & Luo, Qian & Tu, Yan & Ren, Xiaohang & Naderi, Niki, 2023. "Renewable energy transition and metal consumption: Dynamic evolution analysis based on transnational data," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    3. Qu, Xueping & Xu, Aidi, 2023. "Ways to promote investments in sustainable energy utilities in the central Asian regional economic cooperation program region," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Dong, Kangyin & Jia, Rongwen & Zhao, Congyu & Wang, Kun, 2023. "Can smart transportation inhibit carbon lock-in? The case of China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 59-69.
    5. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Sun, Xianming, 2023. "The peer effect of digital transformation and corporate environmental performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Wang, Bo & Yang, Haoting & Tian, Wenjuan & Bi, Chunyu, 2023. "Determinants of trade of mineral resources between China and ASEAN," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    7. Fengxiao Gong & Hui Chen, 2023. "Ways to bring private investment to the tourism industry for green growth," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    8. Liu, Yang & Zhao, Xiaomeng & Dong, Kangyin & Jiang, Qingzhe, 2023. "Assessing the role of green finance in sustainable energy investments by power utilities: Evidence from China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    9. Giulia Ulpiani & Enrique Rebolledo & Nadja Vetters & Pietro Florio & Paolo Bertoldi, 2023. "Funding and financing the zero emissions journey: urban visions from the 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.

    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. Chen, Zhongfei & Xie, Guanxia, 2022. "ESG disclosure and financial performance: Moderating role of ESG investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella & Santilli, Gianluca, 2023. "Environmental engagement and stock price crash risk: Evidence from the European banking industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Qian, Kun & Shi, Bingjie & Song, Yunling & Wu, Hao, 2023. "ESG performance and loan contracting in an emerging market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Heying Liu & Chan Lyu, 2022. "Can ESG Ratings Stimulate Corporate Green Innovation? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-20, September.
    5. Lai, Xiaobing & Zhang, Fan, 2022. "Can ESG certification help company get out of over-indebtedness? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Ling, Aifan & Li, Jinlong & Zhang, Yugui, 2023. "Can firms with higher ESG ratings bear higher bank systemic tail risk spillover?—Evidence from Chinese A-share market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    7. Gallucci, Carmen & Santulli, Rosalia & Lagasio, Valentina, 2022. "The conceptualization of environmental, social and governance risks in portfolio studies A systematic literature review," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Wang, Kai & Chen, Xi & Wang, Chenye, 2023. "The impact of sustainable development planning in resource-based cities on corporate ESG–Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    9. 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).
    10. Deng, Xiang & Li, Weihao & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "More sustainable, more productive: Evidence from ESG ratings and total factor productivity among listed Chinese firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    11. Yunyan Jiang & Feng Deng, 2022. "Multi-Dimensional Threshold Effects of the Digital Economy on Green Economic Growth?—New Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, October.
    12. Khan, Muhammad Arif, 2022. "ESG disclosure and Firm performance: A bibliometric and meta analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    13. Deli Wang & Ke Peng & Kaiye Tang & Yewei Wu, 2022. "Does Fintech Development Enhance Corporate ESG Performance? Evidence from an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-21, December.
    14. Wang, Liang & Qi, Jiahan & Zhuang, Hongyu, 2023. "Monitoring or Collusion? Multiple Large Shareholders and Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    15. Li, Xin & Shao, Xuefeng & Chang, Tsangyao & Albu, Lucian Liviu, 2022. "Does digital finance promote the green innovation of China's listed companies?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    16. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Sun, Xianming, 2023. "The peer effect of digital transformation and corporate environmental performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    17. Bolognesi, Enrica & Burchi, Alberto, 2023. "The impact of the ESG disclosure on sell-side analysts’ target prices: The new era post Paris agreements," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Lee Seltzer & Laura Starks & Qifei Zhu, 2022. "Climate Regulatory Risks and Corporate Bonds," Staff Reports 1014, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    19. Minli Yu & Fu-Sheng Tsai & Hui Jin & Hejie Zhang, 2022. "Digital finance and renewable energy consumption: evidence from China," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-19, December.
    20. Raymond Kwong & Man Lung Jonathan Kwok & Helen S. M. Wong, 2023. "Green FinTech Innovation as a Future Research Direction: A Bibliometric Analysis on Green Finance and FinTech," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-27, October.

    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:pacfin:v:79:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x23000859. 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/pacfin .

    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.