IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v85y2024ics0927538x2400129x.html

Data assets and corporate sustainable development: evidence from ESG in China

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Yuetong
  • Wang, Xinyi
  • Zheng, Xiaojia

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of data assets generated inside firms on their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. Using a sample of listed firms in China from 2010 to 2020, we find that firms that use data assets have better ESG performance. Further analyses show that data assets improve ESG performance by enhancing operational capacity and improving monitoring. Furthermore, the impact of data assets on ESG performance is more pronounced for firms with lower asset turnover rates, weaker market power, and higher agency costs, and in scenarios where mandatory ESG disclosure is absent and CEOs have IT-related backgrounds. This paper enriches the literature by shedding light on the role of data assets in sustainable development and corporate social value creation and has practical implications for data governance in the digital era.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Yuetong & Wang, Xinyi & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2024. "Data assets and corporate sustainable development: evidence from ESG in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:85:y:2024:i:c:s0927538x2400129x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X2400129X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102378?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. Sandra A. Waddock & Samuel B. Graves, 1997. "The Corporate Social Performance–Financial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 303-319, April.
    2. Christina Zhu, 2019. "Big Data as a Governance Mechanism," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 2021-2061.
    3. Cai, Yongbin & Luo, Na & Xie, Xuejing & Gong, Yukai, 2024. "Chairman's IT background and enterprise digital transformation: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Hegde, Shantaram P. & Mishra, Dev R., 2019. "Married CEOs and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 226-246.
    5. Hao Liang & Luc Renneboog, 2017. "On the Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 853-910, April.
    6. Jan Bebbington & Carlos Larrinaga & Jose M. Moneva, 2008. "Corporate social reporting and reputation risk management," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 337-361, March.
    7. Choi, Hyoung-Yong & Park, Junyoung, 2022. "Do data-driven CSR initiatives improve CSR performance? The importance of big data analytics capability," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    8. Ghasemaghaei, Maryam & Calic, Goran, 2020. "Assessing the impact of big data on firm innovation performance: Big data is not always better data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 147-162.
    9. Borghesi, Richard & Houston, Joel F. & Naranjo, Andy, 2014. "Corporate socially responsible investments: CEO altruism, reputation, and shareholder interests," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 164-181.
    10. Tsang, Albert & Frost, Tracie & Cao, Huijuan, 2023. "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure: A literature review," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    11. Wang, Jianda & Wang, Bo & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng, 2022. "How does the digital economy improve high-quality energy development? The case of China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    12. 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.
    13. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 2008. "Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 48(2), April.
    14. Abeysekera, Amal P. & Fernando, Chitru S., 2020. "Corporate social responsibility versus corporate shareholder responsibility: A family firm perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    15. Behl, Abhishek & Gaur, Jighyasu & Pereira, Vijay & Yadav, Rambalak & Laker, Benjamin, 2022. "Role of big data analytics capabilities to improve sustainable competitive advantage of MSME service firms during COVID-19 – A multi-theoretical approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 378-389.
    16. Li, Lei & Lin, Jiabao & Ouyang, Ye & Luo, Xin (Robert), 2022. "Evaluating the impact of big data analytics usage on the decision-making quality of organizations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    17. Bohyun Yoon & Jeong Hwan Lee & Ryan Byun, 2018. "Does ESG Performance Enhance Firm Value? Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
    18. 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.
    19. Sprinkle, Geoffrey B. & Maines, Laureen A., 2010. "The benefits and costs of corporate social responsibility," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 445-453, September.
    20. He, Feng & Du, Hanyu & Yu, Bo, 2022. "Corporate ESG performance and manager misconduct: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    21. 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).
    22. Sun, Xian & Gunia, Brian C., 2018. "Economic resources and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 332-351.
    23. Martin Beraja & David Y Yang & Noam Yuchtman, 2023. "Data-intensive Innovation and the State: Evidence from AI Firms in China," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(4), pages 1701-1723.
    24. Maryam Farboodi & Roxana Mihet & Thomas Philippon & Laura Veldkamp, 2019. "Big Data and Firm Dynamics," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 38-42, May.
    25. McCarthy, Scott & Oliver, Barry & Song, Sizhe, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and CEO confidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 280-291.
    26. Jian, Ming & Lee, Kin-Wai, 2015. "CEO compensation and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 46-65.
    27. Ma-Lin Song & Ron Fisher & Jian-Lin Wang & Lian-Biao Cui, 2018. "Environmental performance evaluation with big data: theories and methods," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 270(1), pages 459-472, November.
    28. Calic, Goran & Ghasemaghaei, Maryam, 2021. "Big data for social benefits: Innovation as a mediator of the relationship between big data and corporate social performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 391-401.
    29. Chen, Yi-Chun & Hung, Mingyi & Wang, Yongxiang, 2018. "The effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on firm profitability and social externalities: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 169-190.
    30. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjö Koskinen & Chendi Zhang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(10), pages 4451-4469, October.
    31. Zyglidopoulos, Stelios C. & Georgiadis, Andreas P. & Carroll, Craig E. & Siegel, Donald S., 2012. "Does media attention drive corporate social responsibility?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 1622-1627.
    32. Murray, Keith B. & Vogel, Christine M., 1997. "Using a hierarchy-of-effects approach to gauge the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility to generate goodwill toward the firm: Financial versus nonfinancial impacts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 141-159, February.
    33. El-Kassar, Abdul-Nasser & Singh, Sanjay Kumar, 2019. "Green innovation and organizational performance: The influence of big data and the moderating role of management commitment and HR practices," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 483-498.
    34. Wamba, Samuel Fosso & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Akter, Shahriar & Ren, Steven Ji-fan & Dubey, Rameshwar & Childe, Stephen J., 2017. "Big data analytics and firm performance: Effects of dynamic capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 356-365.
    35. Fang, Mingyue & Nie, Huihua & Shen, Xinyi, 2023. "Can enterprise digitization improve ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    36. Cristina Chueca Vergara & Luis Ferruz Agudo, 2021. "Fintech and Sustainability: Do They Affect Each Other?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, June.
    37. Awan, Usama & Shamim, Saqib & Khan, Zaheer & Zia, Najam Ul & Shariq, Syed Muhammad & Khan, Muhammad Naveed, 2021. "Big data analytics capability and decision-making: The role of data-driven insight on circular economy performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    38. 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).
    39. Mary E. Barth & Ron Kasznik & Maureen F. McNichols, 2001. "Analyst Coverage and Intangible Assets," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 1-34, June.
    40. 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.
    41. Erwin Eding & Bert Scholtens, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Proposals," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 648-660, November.
    42. Patrick Bajari & Victor Chernozhukov & Ali Hortaçsu & Junichi Suzuki, 2019. "The Impact of Big Data on Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 33-37, May.
    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. Liu, Ling, 2024. "Private climate investment, coal transition and digitalization in the major coal-consuming countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Ni, Yunsong, 2025. "Data assets and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PF).
    3. 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.
    4. Xiao, Shengpeng & Wu, Kedong & Xiao, Xiao & Lin, Changqing, 2025. "How do data assets affect firm investment?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    5. Wu, Haoyue & Yin, Yingkai, 2025. "Data trading platforms and total factor productivity: Insights from biased technical progress," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 377-398.
    6. Gao, Boren & Tang, Haibin & Luo, Yibin, 2026. "Establishment of big data comprehensive experimental zones, financial resource allocation, and enterprise innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    7. Shan, Zidan & Wang, Yaqi, 2025. "Bilateral data asset matching in digital innovation ecosystems: A regret theory approach," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. Yang, Liguo & Li, Jingjing & Liu, Xintong, 2026. "Can corporate data assets gain preference? Evidence from supply chain financing," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. Caishi Zhang & Fangyi Lin & Yichuan Shi, 2026. "Data Elements Marketization and Corporate ESG Performance: A Quasi‐Natural Experiment Based on China's Data Trading Platforms Pilot Policies," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 287-305, March.
    10. Huang, Lingyu & Zhang, Yuxuan & Xian, Rui & Chen, Xinxian, 2026. "Data asset disclosure and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    11. Xinyi Tu & Tingting Li & Linlin Ding & Heguang Liu & Jinkai Li, 2025. "The Promotion of Sustainable Energy: How Does Digital Economy Attention Enhance Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Soufiene Assidi & Giuseppe Festa & Monica Fait & Bianca Costanzo & Matteo Rossi, 2026. "The impact of digitalization capabilities on ESG performance – A European study," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-26, March.
    13. Nie, Song & Wang, Shihao & Ji, Qiang, 2025. "Break down data silos: Does public data openness improve corporate ESG performance?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    14. Yuetong Li & Xiaojia Zheng & Yiqian Cai, 2026. "Data Assets in Governance: Evidence From Real Earnings Management," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 66(2), pages 1869-1888, June.
    15. Shi, Huiyi & Xia, Yufei & Li, Yawen & Hua, Yifan & Fu, Yating, 2025. "Data asset information disclosure divergence and green innovation: causal evidence from double-debiased machine learning," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    16. Vittorio Laus & Enrico Battisti & Samuel Ribeiro-Navarrete, 2026. "Merging innovation and responsibility: the role of digital M&A in shaping ESG performance," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 1-29, June.
    17. Chen, Rongda & Tao, Kerun & Jin, Chenglu & Zhang, Jiacheng & Zhang, Shuonan, 2025. "Navigating uncertainty: The impact of economic policy on corporate data asset allocation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

    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. 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).
    2. Ni, Yunsong, 2025. "Data assets and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PF).
    3. Huang, Wei & Luo, Yan & Wang, Xiaohuan & Xiao, Lifu, 2022. "Controlling shareholder pledging and corporate ESG behavior," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    4. Ge, Shilong & Tu, Zhenyu & Chen, Yalin & Chong, Heap-Yih, 2025. "Data driven-sustainability: The impact of data trading platforms on corporate ESG performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Ling, Aifan & You, Xin, 2026. "The value of targeted poverty alleviation to stock performance during the COVID-19 period," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    6. Fang, Mingyue & Nie, Huihua & Shen, Xinyi, 2023. "Can enterprise digitization improve ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    7. Yang Liu & Han Zhang & Fukang Zhang, 2024. "The power of CEO growing up in poverty: Enabling better corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1610-1633, May.
    8. Zhu, Minghao & Yeung, Andy C.L. & Zhou, Honggeng, 2021. "Diversify or concentrate: The impact of customer concentration on corporate social responsibility," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    9. Chen, Ying & Wang, Zhitao & Ye, Fan, 2025. "How do prestigious CEOs change corporate ESG initiatives?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    10. Bhaskar, Ratikant & Bansal, Shashank & Abbassi, Wajih & Pandey, Dharen Kumar, 2023. "CEO compensation and CSR: Economic implications and policy recommendations," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 232-256.
    11. Tang, Jinghua & Wang, Xiaoming & Liu, Qigui, 2023. "The spillover effect of customers' ESG to suppliers," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    12. Hyejin Park & Jiyoon Lee & Jewon Shin, 2024. "How Does Taxation Affect Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from a Korean Tax Reform," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(4), pages 745-774, July.
    13. Zhang, Jian & Wang, Ningzhi & Wu, Wenruo & Zhu, Xinyu, 2025. "Tax information and corporate environmental investment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    14. Chen, Gaocai & Zou, Mengqi, 2025. "Industry-specific information disclosure regulation and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    15. Bai, Caiquan & Wang, Huimin & Xue, Qihang & Zhao, Yaping, 2025. "Financial crime and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    16. 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.
    17. Xiangjun Hong & Xian Lin & Laitan Fang & Yuchen Gao & Ruipeng Li, 2022. "Application of Machine Learning Models for Predictions on Cross-Border Merger and Acquisition Decisions with ESG Characteristics from an Ecosystem and Sustainable Development Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-27, February.
    18. Al-Shaer, Habiba & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Do shareholders punish or reward excessive CSR engagement? Moderating effect of cash flow and firm growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    19. Liu, Frank Hong & Wu, Qiang & Zhou, Yue, 2024. "Bank deregulation and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    20. Feifei Li & Ruile Xue & Songying Wang & Mingyue Du, 2024. "Does the Expansion of Local Government Debt Affect the ESG Performance of Enterprises? Evidence From China," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M10 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - General
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

    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:pacfin:v:85:y:2024:i:c:s0927538x2400129x. 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.