IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i24p11166-d1547931.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

ESG Ratings, Media Sentiment, and Corporate Innovation Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Kuntai Tu

    (National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    Postdoctoral Research Station of Agricultural Bank of China, Beijing 100005, China)

  • Zongrun Li

    (College of Business and Economics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia)

  • Qi Ban

    (School of Finance, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China)

  • Xiaoyun Fan

    (School of Finance, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China)

Abstract

This study employs a dataset comprising Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2021, with the objective of empirically examining the relationship between corporate ESG ratings, external media sentiment, and corporate innovation performance. The findings indicate that a favourable ESG rating can significantly enhance a company’s innovation performance, with external media sentiment exerting a supportive influence. Further analysis indicates that the optimistic media sentiment generated by a favourable ESG rating serves to reduce the financing threshold for companies, alleviate external financing constraints, and ultimately promote innovation performance. Heterogeneity analysis shows that in companies with higher financing constraints and lower levels of marketization in their location, the improvement of ESG ratings has a better effect on enhancing innovation performance. By examining the influence of external media sentiment on the relationship between ESG ratings and a company’s innovation performance, this study contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms through which media affects a company’s quality development. These findings have implications for the stimulation of a company’s innovation vitality and the guidance of their accelerated transformation.

Suggested Citation

  • Kuntai Tu & Zongrun Li & Qi Ban & Xiaoyun Fan, 2024. "ESG Ratings, Media Sentiment, and Corporate Innovation Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:24:p:11166-:d:1547931
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/24/11166/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/24/11166/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexandre Sanches Garcia & Renato J. Orsato, 2020. "Testing the institutional difference hypothesis: A study about environmental, social, governance, and financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3261-3272, December.
    2. Qi Ban & Huiting Zhu, 2023. "Quality of Mandatory Social Responsibility Disclosure and Total Factor Productivity of Enterprises: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Fraiberger, Samuel P. & Lee, Do & Puy, Damien & Ranciere, Romain, 2021. "Media sentiment and international asset prices," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Xue Wang & Feng Cao & Kangtao Ye, 2018. "Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 253-274, September.
    6. Baloria, Vishal P. & Heese, Jonas, 2018. "The effects of media slant on firm behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(1), pages 184-202.
    7. Liao, Rose & Wang, Xinjie & Wu, Ge, 2021. "The role of media in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Bonaime, Alice & Gulen, Huseyin & Ion, Mihai, 2018. "Does policy uncertainty affect mergers and acquisitions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 531-558.
    9. Tim Loughran & Bill Mcdonald, 2011. "When Is a Liability Not a Liability? Textual Analysis, Dictionaries, and 10‐Ks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(1), pages 35-65, February.
    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. Pan, Zhijie & Zheng, Yanting & Xu, Dandan & Wang, Ting, 2024. "How green screening influences risk transmission among stock-bond indices: Insight into the dependence structure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    2. Yu Sang & Kannan Loganathan & Priya Sukirthanandan, 2025. "A Study on the Impact of Corporate Digital Transformation on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance: Mechanism Analysis Based on Resource Allocation Efficiency and Technological Gap," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-31, April.
    3. Chen, Tianyu & Yin, Ding & Li, Xinghua & Xu, Xuegao, 2025. "Media attention, information asymmetry and agribusiness ESG rating divergence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Cuicui Huang, 2025. "Digital transformation and corporate ESG performance: Research based on a capability-motivation dual framework," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(6), pages 1-27, June.

    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. An, Suwei & Liu, Yi & Tan, Xiaofen & Wu, Kai, 2024. "Manager sentiment, deal characteristics, and takeover performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(6).
    2. Dim, Chukwuma & Koerner, Kevin & Wolski, Marcin & Zwart, Sanne, 2022. "Hot off the press: News-implied sovereign default risk," EIB Working Papers 2022/06, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    3. An, Suwei, 2023. "Essays on incentive contracts, M&As, and firm risk," Other publications TiSEM dd97d2f5-1c9d-47c5-ba62-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Xue, Xingnan & Hu, Nan, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty and imitation behaviors of corporate social responsibility practices: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Cookson, J. Anthony & Niessner, Marina & Schiller, Christoph M., 2022. "Can Social Media Inform Corporate Decisions? Evidence from Merger Withdrawals," SocArXiv 56yrj, Center for Open Science.
    6. John Berns & Patty Bick & Ryan Flugum & Reza Houston, 2022. "Do changes in MD&A section tone predict investment behavior?," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 129-153, February.
    7. Liu, Yi & Jin, Justin & Zhang, Zehua & Zhao, Ran, 2022. "Firm-level political sentiment and corporate tax avoidance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Xiaomei Guo & Changlan Yang & Qi Ban & Yang Xie, 2024. "The Impact of Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Enterprise Risk-Taking: Facilitative or Constraining?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-20, June.
    9. Kim, Jeong-Bon & Tseng, Kevin & Wang, Jundong (Jeff) & Xi, Yaoyi, 2024. "Policy uncertainty, bad news disclosure, and stock price crash risk," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    10. Röhrer, Fabio E.G. & Mateane, Lebogang & Proaño, Christian R., 2025. "The Perverse Valuation Effect on Mergers and Acquisitions in Europe," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    11. Chan, Kam Fong & Smales, Lee A., 2025. "U.S. Presidential news coverage: Risk, uncertainty and stocks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    12. Müller, Karsten, 2020. "German forecasters' narratives: How informative are German business cycle forecast reports?," Working Papers 23, German Research Foundation's Priority Programme 1859 "Experience and Expectation. Historical Foundations of Economic Behaviour", Humboldt University Berlin.
    13. Chan, Yue-Cheong & Saffar, Walid & Wei, K.C. John, 2021. "How economic policy uncertainty affects the cost of raising equity capital: Evidence from seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    14. Yoshito Funashima, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and unconventional monetary policy," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 90(3), pages 278-292, June.
    15. Bennani, Hamza, 2018. "Media coverage and ECB policy-making: Evidence from an augmented Taylor rule," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 26-38.
    16. Wang, Hao & Han, Yonghui & Fidrmuc, Jan & Wei, Dongming, 2021. "Confucius Institute, Belt and Road Initiative, and Internationalization," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 237-256.
    17. Kirtac, Kemal & Germano, Guido, 2024. "Sentiment trading with large language models," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    18. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Mansi, Sattar & Wang, He (Helen), 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, institutional environments, and corporate cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    19. Zhou, Xi & Xiao, Min & Wu, Huiying & You, Jiaxing, 2024. "Does policy uncertainty travel across borders? Evidence from MNC subsidiary investment decisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    20. Chris Florackis & Christodoulos Louca & Roni Michaely & Michael Weber, 2023. "Cybersecurity Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(1), pages 351-407.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:24:p:11166-:d:1547931. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.