IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jknowl/v15y2024i4d10.1007_s13132-023-01701-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Navigating the Knowledge Economy: Unraveling the Impact of Executive Policy Cognition on ESG Performance in China’s A-Share Listed Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Zhi Chen

    (Shandong Technology and Business University)

  • Jinfeng Yang

    (Shandong Jianzhu University)

  • Peigong Li

    (Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance)

  • Stavros Sindakis

    (Hellenic Open University)

Abstract

In the ever-evolving landscape of the knowledge-based economy, the assessment of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance has emerged as a crucial metric for gauging companies’ sustainability and responsible conduct worldwide. This study focuses on A-share listed companies in China, spanning 2011 to 2020, to unravel the interplay between executive policy cognition and corporate ESG performance. Leveraging an analysis of keyword frequency within the “Management Discussion and Analysis” (MD&A) section of annual reports, we investigate how executive policy cognition shapes the ESG trajectory of these companies. Our findings unequivocally demonstrate that a heightened level of executive policy cognition catalyzes enhanced ESG performance, underscoring the pivotal role of top-level decision-makers in steering organizations toward sustainable practices. Moreover, our study reveals that the influence of executive policy cognition on ESG performance is further magnified in the face of environmental uncertainty and heightened executive authority. Beyond establishing this foundational connection, our research delves deeper, uncovering the multifaceted mechanisms through which executive policy cognition exerts influence. From spurring environmental engineering initiatives to fostering green innovation, initiating charitable endeavors, and engaging in other relevant channels, executive policy cognition emerges as a dynamic force in shaping comprehensive ESG performance. In a world where the knowledge economy reigns supreme, this study illuminates the transformative potential of executive policy cognition in driving corporate commitment to ESG principles. As we navigate the complexities of modern business, this research serves as a valuable compass, guiding organizations toward sustainable and responsible practices that transcend traditional profit maximization.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhi Chen & Jinfeng Yang & Peigong Li & Stavros Sindakis, 2024. "Navigating the Knowledge Economy: Unraveling the Impact of Executive Policy Cognition on ESG Performance in China’s A-Share Listed Companies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 15788-15832, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:15:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s13132-023-01701-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-023-01701-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13132-023-01701-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13132-023-01701-2?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. Ming-Hua Liu & Dimitris Margaritis & Yang Zhang, 2019. "The Global Financial Crisis and the Export-Led Economic Growth in China," Chinese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 232-248, May.
    2. Catherine Willan & Kathryn B. Janda & David Kenington, 2021. "Seeking the Pressure Points: Catalysing Low Carbon Changes from the Middle-Out in Offices and Schools," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Simon Alder & Lin Shao & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2016. "Economic reforms and industrial policy in a panel of Chinese cities," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 305-349, December.
    4. Elisabeth Albertini & Fabienne Berger-Remy, 2019. "Intellectual Capital and Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis and Research Agenda," Post-Print hal-02139763, HAL.
    5. Dingzu Zhang & Luqi Liu, 2022. "Does ESG Performance Enhance Financial Flexibility? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-22, September.
    6. 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.
    7. Hartwell, Christopher A. & Devinney, Timothy, 2021. "Populism, political risk, and pandemics: The challenges of political leadership for business in a post-COVID world," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(4).
    8. Wong Wai-Khuen & Teh Boon-Heng & Tan Siow-Hooi, 2023. "The Influence of External Stakeholders on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting: Toward a Conceptual Framework for ESG Disclosure," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 17(2), pages 9-20.
    9. Kathleen Weiss Hanley, 2010. "The Information Content of IPO Prospectuses," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(7), pages 2821-2864, July.
    10. Fabián Blanes & Cristina De Fuentes & Rubén Porcuna, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Managerial Compensation: Further Evidence from Spanish Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-21, June.
    11. Chen Liu & Lily Chen & Robert M. Vanderbeck & Gill Valentine & Mei Zhang & Kristina Diprose & Katie McQuaid, 2018. "A Chinese route to sustainability: Postsocialist transitions and the construction of ecological civilization," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 741-748, November.
    12. Zeineb Ouni & Jamal Ben Mansour & Sana Arfaoui, 2022. "Corporate Governance and Financial Performance: The Interplay of Board Gender Diversity and Intellectual Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-22, November.
    13. Kevin Levillain & Blanche Segrestin, 2019. "From primacy to purpose commitment: How emerging profit-with-purpose corporations open new corporate governance avenues," Post-Print hal-02290622, HAL.
    14. Douglas A. Adu & Antoinette Flynn & Colette Grey, 2022. "Executive compensation and sustainable business practices: The moderating role of sustainability‐based compensation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 698-736, March.
    15. Levillain, Kevin & Segrestin, Blanche, 2019. "From primacy to purpose commitment: How emerging profit-with-purpose corporations open new corporate governance avenues," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 637-647.
    16. Mark B. Taylor, 2021. "Counter Corporate Litigation: Remedy, Regulation, and Repression in the Struggle for a Just Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-24, September.
    17. Monica Singhania & Neha Saini, 2023. "Institutional framework of ESG disclosures: comparative analysis of developed and developing countries," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 516-559, January.
    18. Oren Mooneeapen & Subhash Abhayawansa & Naushad Mamode Khan, 2022. "The influence of the country governance environment on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 953-985, May.
    19. White, Joshua V. & Harms, P.D. & Borgholthaus, Cameron J. & Tuggle, Christopher S., 2023. "I’m not the executive that I used to be: Understanding causes and consequences of personality change in the upper echelons," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    20. Hegde, Shantaram P. & Mishra, Dev R., 2019. "Married CEOs and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 226-246.
    21. Defeng Yang & Wei Jiang & Weihong Zhao, 2019. "Proactive environmental strategy, innovation capability, and stakeholder integration capability: A mediation analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1534-1547, December.
    22. Xinyue Zhang & Dian Li & Xintong Guo, 2022. "Antecedents of Responsible Leadership: Proactive and Passive Responsible Leadership Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    23. Haarhaus, Tim & Liening, Andreas, 2020. "Building dynamic capabilities to cope with environmental uncertainty: The role of strategic foresight," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    24. Usman Khizar, Hafiz Muhammad & Iqbal, Muhammad Jawad & Khalid, Junaid & Adomako, Samuel, 2022. "Addressing the conceptualization and measurement challenges of sustainability orientation: A systematic review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 718-743.
    25. Dan Daugaard & Ashley Ding, 2022. "Global Drivers for ESG Performance: The Body of Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    26. Jan Oliver Schwarz & René Rohrbeck & Bernhard Wach, 2020. "Corporate foresight as a microfoundation of dynamic capabilities," Futures & Foresight Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(2), June.
    27. Mahmoud Hijjawi & Chyi Lin Lee & Jufri Marzuki, 2021. "CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Governance in Affecting Australian Listed Construction and Property Firms’ Trading Activity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, September.
    28. Martin Kyere & Marcel Ausloos, 2021. "Corporate governance and firms financial performance in the United Kingdom," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1871-1885, April.
    29. Gibson Burrell & Michael R. Hyman & Christopher Michaelson & Julie A. Nelson & Scott Taylor & Andrew West, 2022. "The Ethics and Politics of Academic Knowledge Production: Thoughts on the Future of Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 917-940, October.
    30. Torres de Oliveira, Rui & Rottig, Daniel, 2018. "Chinese acquisitions of developed market firms: Home semi-formal institutions and a supportive partnering approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 230-241.
    31. 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).
    32. 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).
    33. Jia, Yingya & Tsui, Anne S. & Yu, Xiaoyu, 2021. "Beyond Bounded Rationality: CEO Reflective Capacity and Firm Sustainability Performance," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 777-814, October.
    34. P. Raghavendra Rau & Ting Yu, 2023. "A survey on ESG: investors, institutions and firms," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(1), pages 3-33, January.
    35. Xiaofang Chen & Yilei Li & Yu Hu & Guangyu Yu, 2023. "The Impact of General Manager’s Responsible Leadership and Executive Compensation Incentive on Enterprise ESG Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    36. Guangfan Sun & Changwei Guo & Junchen Ye & Chaoran Ji & Nuo Xu & Hanqi Li, 2022. "How ESG Contribute to the High-Quality Development of State-Owned Enterprise in China: A Multi-Stage fsQCA Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    37. Yu, Ellen Pei-yi & Luu, Bac Van, 2021. "International variations in ESG disclosure – Do cross-listed companies care more?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    38. Mike Bourne & Monica Franco-Santos & Pietro Micheli & Andrey Pavlov, 2018. "Performance measurement and management: a system of systems perspective," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 2788-2799, April.
    39. Abdulateif A. Almulhim & Abdullah A. Aljughaiman, 2023. "Corporate Sustainability and Financial Performance: The Moderating Effect of CEO Characteristics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    40. Mahfoudh Hussein Mgammal, 2022. "Appraisal study on board diversity: Review and agenda for future research," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 2121241-212, December.
    41. Rekha Pillai & Husam-Aldin N. Al-Malkawi & M. Ishaq Bhatti, 2021. "Assessing Institutional Dynamics of Governance Compliance in Emerging Markets: The GCC Real Estate Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, October.
    42. Chunhua Luo & Dianlong Wei & Wunhong Su & Jinjing Lu, 2023. "Association between Regional Digitalization and High-Quality Economic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    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. 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).
    2. Bigelli, Marco & Mengoli, Stefano & Sandri, Sandro, 2023. "ESG score, board structure and the impact of the non-financial reporting directive on European firms," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    3. Feng, Ruonan & Ma, Lu & Wu, Dan, 2025. "ESG performance and corporate innovation under the moderating effect of firm size," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. 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).
    5. Malik, Mahfuja & Mamun, Khawaja & Osman, Syed Muhammad Ishraque, 2025. "Does corruption control enhance ESG-induced firm value? Insights from machine learning analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Barros, Victor & Verga Matos, Pedro & Miranda Sarmento, Joaquim & Rino Vieira, Pedro, 2024. "ESG performance and firms’ business and geographical diversification: An empirical approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    7. Tang, Jinghua & Wang, Xiaoming & Liu, Qigui, 2023. "The spillover effect of customers' ESG to suppliers," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Thomas Covington & Steve Swidler & Keven Yost, 2025. "Hunting and Fishing CEOs: Environmental Plunderers or Saviors?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 197(2), pages 423-444, March.
    9. Zhao, Panting & Yao, Xin & Shen, Rui, 2024. "Capital market internationalization and firms' ESG performance: Evidence from the inclusion of China A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Market Index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    10. Devos, Erik & Feng, Zifeng & Thompson, Linh & Wei, Zuobao, 2024. "Founder CEOs and ESG," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. Huarng, Kun-Huang & Yu, Tiffany Hui-Kuang, 2024. "Causal complexity analysis of ESG performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    12. Jin Wang & Zihan Hong & Hai Long, 2023. "Digital Transformation Empowers ESG Performance in the Manufacturing Industry: From ESG to DESG," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    13. 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).
    14. Nitya Singh & Paul Hong, 2023. "CSR, Risk Management Practices, and Performance Outcomes: An Empirical Investigation of Firms in Different Industries," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-20, January.
    15. Yiqing Tan, 2024. "Local Tournament Incentives and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(1), pages 211-228, September.
    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. Fang, Mingyue & Nie, Huihua & Shen, Xinyi, 2023. "Can enterprise digitization improve ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    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. Lina Mao & Guangfan Sun & Yining He & Huixia Chen & Changwei Guo, 2024. "Culture and Sustainability: Evidence from Tea Culture and Corporate Social Responsibility in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-17, May.
    20. Fan, Kwok Yuen & Shen, Jianfu & Hui, Eddie C.M. & Cheng, Louis T.W., 2024. "ESG components and equity returns: Evidence from real estate investment trusts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).

    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:spr:jknowl:v:15:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s13132-023-01701-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.