IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v98y2025ics1059056025001297.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethical leadership, organizational learning, and corporate ESG performance: A moderated mediation model

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Jin
  • Zhi, Wenyuan
  • Fang, Yuanhan

Abstract

Based on social learning theory and stakeholder theory, this study investigates how ethical leadership influences ESG performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China. Using survey data from 205 SME leaders, the findings reveal that ethical leadership positively impacts ESG performance, with organizational learning acting as a partial mediator. Internal social capital further enhances this relationship by moderating the direct link between ethical leadership and organizational learning and the indirect effect on ESG performance. These results underscore the importance of ethical leadership and organizational factors in advancing ESG practices, providing valuable insights for corporate leaders and policymakers aiming to promote sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Jin & Zhi, Wenyuan & Fang, Yuanhan, 2025. "Ethical leadership, organizational learning, and corporate ESG performance: A moderated mediation model," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:98:y:2025:i:c:s1059056025001297
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2025.103966
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056025001297
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2025.103966?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. Patrick Velte, 2022. "Meta-analyses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): a literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 627-675, September.
    2. Zhen Wang & Lu Xing & Haoying Xu & Sean T. Hannah, 2021. "Not All Followers Socially Learn from Ethical Leaders: The Roles of Followers’ Moral Identity and Leader Identification in the Ethical Leadership Process," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 449-469, May.
    3. Jin Zhu & Fei Huang, 2023. "Transformational Leadership, Organizational Innovation, and ESG Performance: Evidence from SMEs in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, March.
    4. Seok-young Oh & Hyeong-seok Han, 2020. "Facilitating organisational learning activities: Types of organisational culture and their influence on organisational learning and performance," Knowledge Management Research & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-15, January.
    5. Mirna Kordab & Jurgita Raudeliūnienė & Ieva Meidutė-Kavaliauskienė, 2020. "Mediating Role of Knowledge Management in the Relationship between Organizational Learning and Sustainable Organizational Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, December.
    6. Jingwen Xia, 2022. "A Systematic Review: How Does Organisational Learning Enable ESG Performance (from 2001 to 2021)?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-22, December.
    7. Nils Engelhardt & Jens Ekkenga & Peter Posch, 2021. "ESG Ratings and Stock Performance during the COVID-19 Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-15, June.
    8. Wang, Tianyu & Yang, Bo, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility, stakeholders’ governance and idiosyncratic risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    9. Edward Freeman, R. & Evan, William M., 1990. "Corporate governance: A stakeholder interpretation," Journal of Behavioral Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 337-359.
    10. Mohammad Alghababsheh & David Gallear, 2021. "Socially Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Suppliers’ Social Performance: The Role of Social Capital," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(4), pages 855-875, November.
    11. Lian, Yonghui & Ye, Tao & Zhang, Yiyang & Zhang, Lin, 2023. "How does corporate ESG performance affect bond credit spreads: Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 352-371.
    12. Sergiy D. Dmytriyev & R. Edward Freeman & Jacob Hörisch, 2021. "The Relationship between Stakeholder Theory and Corporate Social Responsibility: Differences, Similarities, and Implications for Social Issues in Management," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(6), pages 1441-1470, September.
    13. Valeria Naciti & Fabrizio Cesaroni & Luisa Pulejo, 2022. "Corporate governance and sustainability: a review of the existing literature," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(1), pages 55-74, March.
    14. Hasan, Iftekhar & (Stan) Hoi, Chun-Keung & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2020. "Is social capital associated with corporate innovation? Evidence from publicly listed firms in the U.S," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. 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).
    16. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. Milton Friedman, 2007. "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits," Springer Books, in: Walther Ch Zimmerli & Markus Holzinger & Klaus Richter (ed.), Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance, pages 173-178, Springer.
    20. Linda Argote & Sunkee Lee & Jisoo Park, 2021. "Organizational Learning Processes and Outcomes: Major Findings and Future Research Directions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5399-5429, September.
    21. Andreas G F Hoepner & Ioannis Oikonomou & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks & Xiao Y Zhou, 2024. "ESG shareholder engagement and downside risk," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 28(2), pages 483-510.
    22. Raiswa Saha & Shashi & Roberto Cerchione & Rajwinder Singh & Richa Dahiya, 2020. "Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 409-429, March.
    23. Mayer, David M. & Kuenzi, Maribeth & Greenbaum, Rebecca & Bardes, Mary & Salvador, Rommel (Bombie), 2009. "How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-13, January.
    24. Liming Zhao & Miles M. Yang & Zhenyuan Wang & Grant Michelson, 2023. "Trends in the Dynamic Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility and Leadership: A Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 135-157, January.
    25. Sophie Bacq & Ruth V. Aguilera, 2022. "Stakeholder Governance for Responsible Innovation: A Theory of Value Creation, Appropriation, and Distribution," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 29-60, January.
    26. Chen, Zhongfei & Xie, Guanxia, 2022. "ESG disclosure and financial performance: Moderating role of ESG investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    27. Brown, Michael E. & Trevino, Linda K. & Harrison, David A., 2005. "Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 117-134, July.
    28. Sun, Ui Young & Xu, Haoying & Kluemper, Donald H. & McLarty, Benjamin D. & Yun, Seokhwa, 2024. "Ethical leadership and knowledge sharing: A social cognitive approach investigating the role of self-efficacy as a key mechanism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    29. Shuang Ren & Guiyao Tang & Susan E. Jackson, 2020. "Effects of Green HRM and CEO ethical leadership on organizations' environmental performance," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(6), pages 961-983, April.
    30. Singh, Sanjay Kumar & Mazzucchelli, Alice & Vessal, Saeedeh Rezaee & Solidoro, Adriano, 2021. "Knowledge-based HRM practices and innovation performance: Role of social capital and knowledge sharing," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    31. Allan Lee & Gary Schwarz & Alexander Newman & Alison Legood, 2019. "Investigating When and Why Psychological Entitlement Predicts Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 109-126, January.
    32. Devos, Erik & Feng, Zifeng & Thompson, Linh & Wei, Zuobao, 2024. "Founder CEOs and ESG," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    33. Brenda Gannon & Jennifer Roberts, 2020. "Social capital: exploring the theory and empirical divide," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 899-919, March.
    34. Kalra, Ashish & Briggs, Elten & Schrock, Wyatt, 2023. "Exploring the synergistic role of ethical leadership and sales control systems on salesperson social media use and sales performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Wang, Xiaoteng & Zhou, Bole & Li, Xiaoling, 2025. "Qualified foreign institutional investors and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    2. Pi, Tianlei & Jiao, Linke & Zhou, Yuhan & Shi, Jin, 2025. "Can biodiversity risk improve firm ESG performance? Empirical evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Huang, Jun & Li, Yun & Han, Feifei, 2024. "Walk well and talk well: Impact of the consistency of ESG performance and disclosure on firms’ stock price crash risk," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 1154-1174.
    4. Wu, Shilei & Zhou, Fu-You & Si, Deng-Kui & Hao, Jiawei, 2025. "Does ESG rating policy reduce corporate risk-taking? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    5. Bissoondoyal-Bheenick, Emawtee & Brooks, Robert & Do, Hung Xuan, 2023. "ESG and firm performance: The role of size and media channels," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    6. Wang, Hong & Wang, Wei, 2024. "Chairperson gender, policy compliance and ESG performance of family firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PC).
    7. Cheng, Ken & Wei, Feng & Lin, Yinghui, 2019. "The trickle-down effect of responsible leadership on unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating role of leader-follower value congruence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 34-43.
    8. Zhang, Yue, 2025. "Debt distribution and ESG performance: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    9. Qian, Simeng, 2024. "The effect of ESG on enterprise value under the dual carbon goals: From the perspectives of financing constraints and green innovation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 318-331.
    10. Du, Puliang & Gu, Runsheng & Luo, Ling & Xie, Fei & Zhang, Chenyang, 2025. "The enhanced gain effects of ESG's non-linearity on portfolios: An asset pricing tree model perspective," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Mai T. Said & Mona A. ElBannan, 2025. "Stock market reaction to COVID-19 outbreak: evidence from ESG firms in emerging economies," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(2), pages 136-158, March.
    12. Andrea Jacob & Martin Nerlinger, 2021. "Investors’ Delight? Climate Risk in Stock Valuation during COVID-19 and Beyond," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.
    13. Jinyu Hu & Yu Rong & Frances M. McKee-Ryan, 2022. "Fifty Shades of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Conceptual Synthesis via a Decision Frame Lens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
    14. Buchetti, Bruno & Arduino, Francesca Romana & Perdichizzi, Salvatore, 2025. "A literature review on corporate governance and ESG research: Emerging trends and future directions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    15. Tian, Zengrui & Zhu, Bingsheng & Lu, Yuzhong, 2023. "The governance of non-state shareholders and corporate ESG: Empirical evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    16. Khurram, Muhammad Usman & Chen, Lifeng & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul & Adu, Douglas A. & Lucey, Brian, 2024. "ESG disclosure and internal pay gap: Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 228-244.
    17. Samridhi Kapoor & Manoj Govind Kharat & Shreyanshu Parhi & Mukesh Govind Kharat & Shatrudhan Pandey, 2024. "Striving for Business Sustainability: Understanding the Interplay and Impact of Sustainable Finance, Environmental Social Governance Strategy, and Information Technology Integration on Sustainable Ent," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 2749-2774, December.
    18. Tiantian Meng & Dan Lu & Danni Yu & M. H. Yahya & Mohd Ashhari Zariyawati, 2024. "Is executive compensation aligned with the company’s ESG objectives? Evidence from Chinese listed companies based on the PSM-DID approach," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    19. 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).
    20. Lu, Xiaomeng & Zhang, Xianjun & Guo, Fusen & Li, Feng, 2024. "Evaluating ESG Investment Profitability: From the Perspective of Sophistication in Investment Decision-Making," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).

    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:reveco:v:98:y:2025:i:c:s1059056025001297. 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/inca/620165 .

    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.