IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0309559.html

Impact of corporate environmental uncertainty on environmental, social, and governance performance: The role of government, investors, and geopolitical risk

Author

Listed:
  • Xiao Guo
  • Pengfei Cheng
  • Baekryul Choi

Abstract

Corporations face multifaceted environmental uncertainties (EU) in today’s dynamic global economic environment. Such uncertainties profoundly affect corporate operations and pose significant challenges to their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Therefore, using data from Chinese A-share listed corporations from 2009 to 2021, we empirically analyze the impact of the EU on ESG performance. The results demonstrate that the EU significantly negatively impacts ESG performance, indicating that corporations frequently find it difficult to implement and maintain high-standard ESG policies and practices effectively. Additionally, they reveal that the EU inhibits the improvement of ESG performance by increasing corporate financing constraints (KZ). Lastly, this study explores the role of government subsidies (GOV), investor attention (IA), and geopolitical risks (GPR) as moderating variables. We discover that GOV can mitigate the negative impact of the EU on KZ because they provide additional resources that help corporations maintain their ESG in uncertain environments. Furthermore, IA can reduce the adverse impact of KZ on ESG. Positive moderating effects result from ESG issues; the capital they provide effectively reduces corporate KZ, thus enabling corporations to maintain good ESG performance despite operating in highly uncertain environments. However, due to the increased asymmetry of information in economic markets caused by geopolitical tensions, GPR exacerbates the negative impact of the EU on ESG performance, thus leading to an increase in KZ. These findings offer new perspectives on understanding how these moderating effects affect corporate ESG strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao Guo & Pengfei Cheng & Baekryul Choi, 2024. "Impact of corporate environmental uncertainty on environmental, social, and governance performance: The role of government, investors, and geopolitical risk," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(8), pages 1-19, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0309559
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309559
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0309559
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0309559&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0309559?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
    ---><---

    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. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    3. Keith D. Brouthers & George Nakos, 2004. "SME Entry Mode Choice and Performance: A Transaction Cost Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(3), pages 229-247, May.
    4. Barraza, Santiago & Civelli, Andrea, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and the supply of business loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    5. Yang, Miao & Jiang, Zhi-Qiang, 2016. "The dynamic correlation between policy uncertainty and stock market returns in China," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 461(C), pages 92-100.
    6. Stephen J Kobrin, 1979. "Political Risk: A Review and Reconsideration," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 10(1), pages 67-80, March.
    7. Wang, Hu & Shen, Hong & Li, Shouwei, 2023. "ESG performance and stock price fragility," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    8. Ruth V. Aguilera & Cynthia A. Williams & John M. Conley & Deborah E. Rupp, 2006. "Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility: a comparative analysis of the UK and the US," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 147-158, May.
    9. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Tran, Vuong Thao & Ming, Tee Chwee & Le, Anh, 2022. "Carbon risk and corporate investment: A cross-country evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    10. Cui, Yu & Khan, Sufyan Ullah & Li, Zhixue & Zhao, Minjuan, 2021. "Environmental effect, price subsidy and financial performance: Evidence from Chinese new energy enterprises," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    11. Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2012. "What drives corporate social performance? The role of nation-level institutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(9), pages 834-864, December.
    12. Abbas, Jawad & Wang, Lisu & Ben Belgacem, Samira & Pawar, Puja Sunil & Najam, Hina & Abbas, Jaffar, 2023. "Investment in renewable energy and electricity output: Role of green finance, environmental tax, and geopolitical risk: Empirical evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    13. Wong, Chee Yew & Boon-itt, Sakun, 2008. "The influence of institutional norms and environmental uncertainty on supply chain integration in the Thai automotive industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 400-410, October.
    14. Susanne Arvidsson & John Dumay, 2022. "Corporate ESG reporting quantity, quality and performance: Where to now for environmental policy and practice?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1091-1110, March.
    15. Danny Miller, 1992. "Environmental Fit Versus Internal Fit," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 159-178, May.
    16. Julia Hartmann & Stephan Vachon, 2018. "Linking Environmental Management to Environmental Performance: The Interactive Role of Industry Context," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 359-374, March.
    17. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    18. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    19. Cedric Mbanga & Ali F. Darrat & Jung Chul Park, 2019. "Investor sentiment and aggregate stock returns: the role of investor attention," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 397-428, August.
    20. Lamont, Owen & Polk, Christopher & Saa-Requejo, Jesus, 2001. "Financial Constraints and Stock Returns," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(2), pages 529-554.
    21. Mingjun Deng & Xusheng Fang & Ziyan Tian & Wenbing Luo, 2022. "The Impact of Environmental Uncertainty on Corporate Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    22. Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2020. "Does external uncertainty matter in corporate sustainability performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    23. Michael L. Barnett & Robert M. Salomon, 2012. "Does it pay to be really good? addressing the shape of the relationship between social and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(11), pages 1304-1320, November.
    24. Alan M. Rugman & Alain Verbeke, 2005. "Multinational Enterprises and Public Policy," Chapters, in: Analysis of Multinational Strategic Management, chapter 24, pages 413-434, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    25. Chunyan Du & Qiang Zhang & Dekai Huang, 2023. "Environmental protection subsidies, green technology innovation and environmental performance: Evidence from China’s heavy-polluting listed firms," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(2), pages 1-17, February.
    26. Feng, Chaonan & Han, Liyan & Vigne, Samuel & Xu, Yang, 2023. "Geopolitical risk and the dynamics of international capital flows," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    27. Mehmet Huseyin Bilgin & Giray Gozgor & Gokhan Karabulut, 2020. "How Do Geopolitical Risks Affect Government Investment? An Empirical Investigation," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(5), pages 550-564, July.
    28. Guido Abate & Ignazio Basile & Pierpaolo Ferrari, 2021. "The level of sustainability and mutual fund performance in Europe: An empirical analysis using ESG ratings," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1446-1455, September.
    29. Nguyen, Thanh Cong & Thuy, Tien Ho, 2023. "Geopolitical risk and the cost of bank loans," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(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. Yuan Li & Yongchun Huang & Yupeng Zhao & Zi Ye, 2025. "The Impact of Corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance on Total Factor Productivity: An Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Environmental Uncertainty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-24, September.

    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. Cumming, Douglas J. & Javakhadze, David & Rajkovic, Tijana, 2024. "Unlocking Dividends: The impact of managerial social capital on international corporate payouts," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    2. Haifeng Zhang & Zhuo Zhang & Ekaterina Steklova, 2020. "Do Companies Need Financial Flexibility for Sustainable Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Gangi, Francesco & Meles, Antonio & Monferrà, Stefano & Mustilli, Mario, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility help the survivorship of SMEs and large firms?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    4. Pengfei Cheng & Mengzhen Wang & Kanyong Li & Baekryul Choi & Wenliang Chen, 2025. "The impact mechanism of geopolitical risks on ESG performance: The moderating effects of investor attention and government subsidies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(1), pages 1-23, January.
    5. Shu-Chen Hsu & Kun-Tsung Wu & Qing Wang & Yuan Chang, 2023. "Is capital structure associated with corporate social responsibility?," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-20, December.
    6. Carney, Richard W. & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He (Helen), 2024. "Geopolitical risk and the cost of capital in emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    7. Liu, Haiming & Chiang, Yao-Min, 2024. "Employment protection and environmental corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. James J. Cordeiro & Ambra Galeazzo & Tara Shankar Shaw & Rajaram Veliyath & M. K. Nandakumar, 2018. "Ownership influences on corporate social responsibility in the Indian context," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 1107-1136, December.
    9. Arian, Adam & Bose, Sudipta & Karoui, Lotfi & Shams, Syed, 2025. "From crisis to Stability: How CSR shielded firms during Covid-19 pandemic," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Boumparis, Periklis & Florackis, Chris & Guedhami, Omrane & Sainani, Sushil, 2025. "Backing away from ESG? The effect of sovereign rating downgrades on corporate sustainability," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. 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).
    12. Samuel Jebaraj Benjamin, 2019. "The Effect of Financial Constraints on Audit Fees," Capital Markets Review, Malaysian Finance Association, vol. 27(2), pages 59-87.
    13. Wang, Yolanda Yulong, 2023. "Corporate diversification, investment efficiency and the business cycle11This work is supported by Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    14. Lijuan Xiao & Min Bai & Yafeng Qin & Lingyun Xiong & Lijuan Yang, 2021. "Financial Slack and Inefficient Investment Decisions in China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 920-941, June.
    15. Liu, Xianda & Hou, Wenxuan & Main, Brian G.M., 2022. "Anti-market sentiment and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from anti-Jewish pogroms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Qaiser Rafique Yasser & Abdullah Al Mamun & Irfan Ahmed, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity: Insights from Asia Pacific," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 210-221, May.
    17. Nazari, Jamal A. & Poursoleyman, Ehsan, 2025. "Beyond the tipping point: The nonlinear impact of material sustainability on investment efficiency," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    18. Frank J. Fabozzi & Peck Wah Ng & Diana E. Tunaru, 2021. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance and credit ratings in Japan," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(2), pages 79-95, March.
    19. Nguyen, Xuan Thang & Nguyen, Thanh Cong & Hoang, Huy Viet, 2025. "Geopolitical risk and corporate investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    20. Guo, Chenhao & Zhong, Rui, 2025. "Is green revenue vanity or sanity? Evidence from corporate cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0309559. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.