IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/buseth/v34y2025i4p2210-2225.html

Environmental Ethics Unveiled: Navigating the Nexus Between Government Divestiture and Environmental Investment

Author

Listed:
  • Farman Ullah Khan
  • Sajid Ullah
  • Fawad Rauf
  • Junrui Zhang
  • Daniela Harangus

Abstract

This study examines the impact of government divestiture on corporate environmental investment (EI) and investigates how regional development moderates this relationship. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2012 to 2022, we employ a fixed‐effect model to analyze the data. Our findings reveal a negative effect of government divestiture on EI. Furthermore, we observe that regional development mitigates this negative impact, indicating that firms operating in developed environments are more inclined to prioritize environmental concerns, likely due to increased stakeholder monitoring. To address concerns regarding endogeneity, we utilize propensity score matching (PSM), Heckman tests, and the generalized method of moments (GMM). Overall, our results carry significant policy implications, particularly regarding the environmental consequences of privatization in emerging markets like China.

Suggested Citation

  • Farman Ullah Khan & Sajid Ullah & Fawad Rauf & Junrui Zhang & Daniela Harangus, 2025. "Environmental Ethics Unveiled: Navigating the Nexus Between Government Divestiture and Environmental Investment," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 2210-2225, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:2210-2225
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12763
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12763
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/beer.12763?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. Wenjing Li & Ran Zhang, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Political Interference: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 631-645, November.
    2. Wang, Kun & O, Sewon & Claiborne, M. Cathy, 2008. "Determinants and consequences of voluntary disclosure in an emerging market: Evidence from China," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 14-30.
    3. Wei Jiang & Aric Xu Wang & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Chuang Zhang, 2020. "Stakeholder Relationship Capability and Firm Innovation: A Contingent Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 111-125, November.
    4. Sihai Li & Xianzhong Song & Huiying Wu, 2015. "Political Connection, Ownership Structure, and Corporate Philanthropy in China: A Strategic-Political Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 399-411, June.
    5. Farman Ullah Khan & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Alina Badulescu & Muhammad Safdar Sial, 2019. "Ownership Reduction in State-Owned Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspective from Secondary Privatization in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, February.
    6. López-de-Silanes, Florencio & Serra, Pablo & Gertler, Paul & Schargrodsky, Ernesto & Anuatti, Francisco & Galiani, Sebastián & Chong, Alberto E. & Pombo, Carlos & Sturzenegger, Federico & Torero, Máxi, 2005. "Privatization in Latin America: Myths and Reality," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 348, June.
    7. Shahid Ali & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Farman Ullah Khan & Amir Ikram & Bilal Anwar, 2019. "Sub-National Institutional Contingencies and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, October.
    8. Zhangkai Huang & Lixing Li & Guangrong Ma & Lixin Colin Xu, 2017. "Hayek, Local Information, and Commanding Heights: Decentralizing State-Owned Enterprises in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2455-2478, August.
    9. Alberto Chong & Florencio López-de-Silanes, 2005. "Privatization in Latin America : Myths and Reality," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 7461, September.
      • Florencio López-de-Silanes & Pablo Serra & Paul Gertler & Ernesto Schargrodsky & Francisco Anuatti & Sebastián Galiani & Alberto E. Chong & Carlos Pombo & Federico Sturzenegger & Máximo Torero & Carlo, 2005. "Privatization in Latin America: Myths and Reality," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 59618 edited by Florencio López-de-Silanes & Alberto E. Chong, February.
    10. Yves Fassin & Andrea Werner & Annick van Rossem & Silvana Signori & Elisabeth Garriga & Heidi von Weltzien Hoivik & Hans-Jörg Schlierer, 2015. "CSR and Related Terms in SME Owner–Managers' Mental Models in Six European Countries : National Context Matters," Post-Print hal-02313143, HAL.
    11. Nandini Gupta, 2005. "Partial Privatization and Firm Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 987-1015, April.
    12. Brian Schaefer, 2008. "Shareholders and Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(2), pages 297-312, August.
    13. Chen, Ruiyuan (Ryan) & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Nash, Robert, 2018. "State Ownership and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(5), pages 2293-2334, October.
    14. Xinfeng Jiang & Ahsan Akbar, 2018. "Does Increased Representation of Female Executives Improve Corporate Environmental Investment? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, December.
    15. Jianhua Zhang & Xiaoqing Li & Hung‐Gay Fung & Penghua Qiao, 2019. "Do Political Connections Promote Innovation in Environmentally Polluting Enterprises?," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 27(3), pages 76-101, May.
    16. Jeffry M. Netter & William L. Megginson, 2001. "From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 321-389, June.
    17. Wenfeng Wu & Sofia A. Johan & Oliver M. Rui, 2016. "Institutional Investors, Political Connections, and the Incidence of Regulatory Enforcement Against Corporate Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 709-726, April.
    18. Chong-En Bai & Jiangyong Lu & Zhigang Tao, 2006. "The Multitask Theory of State Enterprise Reform: Empirical Evidence from China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 353-357, May.
    19. Elisabeth Albertini, 2017. "What We Know About The Environmental Policy: An Inductive Typology Of The Research," Post-Print hal-02148591, HAL.
    20. Tan, Yongxian & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Xinde & Zhao, Hailong, 2020. "The real effect of partial privatization on corporate innovation: Evidence from China's split share structure reform," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    21. Gu, Yan & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Yan, Cheng & Gozgor, Giray, 2021. "Public environmental concern, CEO turnover, and green investment: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    22. James Heckman, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    23. Seung-Leul Kim & Sang-Ho Lee & Toshihiro Matsumura, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and privatization policy in a mixed oligopoly," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 67-89, September.
    24. Elisabeth Albertini, 2017. "What We Know About Environmental Policy: An Inductive Typology of the Research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 277-287, March.
    25. Faccio, Mara & Lang, Larry H. P., 2002. "The ultimate ownership of Western European corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 365-395, September.
    26. Christopher Marquis & Cuili Qian, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 127-148, February.
    27. Li Chang & Wenjing Li & Xiaoyan Lu, 2015. "Government Engagement, Environmental Policy, and Environmental Performance: Evidence from the Most Polluting Chinese Listed Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 1-19, January.
    28. repec:idb:brikps:59618 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Shoji Haruna & Rajeev K. Goel, 2019. "Optimal pollution control in a mixed oligopoly with research spillovers," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 21-40, March.
    30. Zhang, Cui, 2017. "Political connections and corporate environmental responsibility: Adopting or escaping?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 539-547.
    31. Tang, Pengcheng & Yang, Shuxiang & Yang, Shuwang, 2020. "How to design corporate governance structures to enhance corporate social responsibility in China's mining state-owned enterprises?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    32. Jie Gan & Yan Guo & Chenggang Xu, 2018. "Decentralized Privatization and Change of Control Rights in China," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(10), pages 3854-3894.
    33. Boubakri, Narjess & Cosset, Jean-Claude & Guedhami, Omrane, 2009. "From state to private ownership: Issues from strategic industries," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 367-379, February.
    34. Martin J. Conyon & Lerong He, 2014. "CEO turnover in China: the role of market-based and accounting performance measures," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7-9), pages 657-680, September.
    35. Boubakri, Narjess & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Wang, He (Helen), 2019. "Is privatization a socially responsible reform?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 129-151.
    36. Elisabeth Albertini, 2017. "What We Know About Environmental Policy: An Inductive Typology of the Research," Post-Print hal-01654658, HAL.
    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. Farman Ullah Khan & Junrui Zhang & Nanyan Dong & Muhammad Usman & Sajid Ullah & Shahid Ali, 2021. "Does privatization matter for corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(3), pages 497-515, September.
    2. Zhang, Yufei & Liu, Deqiang, 2024. "China's mixed-ownership reform and SOE profitability," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 496-520.
    3. Zhang, Yufei & Wang, Li, 2025. "Is mixed-ownership a profitable ownership structure?—Empirical evidence from China," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    4. Wu, Yeyu & Xie, Sujuan & Xu, Yang, 2025. "Labor outcomes of partial privatization in state-owned enterprises: Evidence on employment and compensation under mixed ownership," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Liu, Xutang & Boubaker, Sabri & Liao, Jing & Yao, Shouyu, 2025. "The rise of common state ownership and corporate environmental performance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    6. Boubakri, Narjess & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Wang, He (Helen), 2019. "Is privatization a socially responsible reform?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 129-151.
    7. Sharon Poczter, 2017. "Rethinking the government as innovator: Evidence from Asian firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 367-397, June.
    8. Zhang, Yufei & Wang, Li & Wang, Qing, 2026. "Can nationalization improve firm profitability? Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    9. Shahid Ali & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Farman Ullah Khan & Amir Ikram & Bilal Anwar, 2019. "Sub-National Institutional Contingencies and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, October.
    10. Farman Ullah Khan & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Alina Badulescu & Muhammad Safdar Sial, 2019. "Ownership Reduction in State-Owned Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspective from Secondary Privatization in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, February.
    11. Li, Zhaohua & Yamada, Takeshi, 2015. "Political and economic incentives of government in partial privatization," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 169-189.
    12. Mou, Saiya & Wang, Xinquan & Hu, Feng, 2025. "Does privatization hurt ESG? The role of state-owned imprinting," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Yusen Dong & Pengcheng Ma & Lanzhu Sun & Daniel Han Ming Chng, 2024. "Goodwill Hunting: Why and When Ultimate Controlling Owners Affect Their Firms’ Corporate Social Responsibility Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 535-553, September.
    14. Yuxuan Li & Xin Miao & Dequan Zheng & Yanhong Tang, 2019. "Corporate Public Transparency on Financial Performance: The Moderating Role of Political Embeddedness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, October.
    15. Borisova, Ginka & Fotak, Veljko & Holland, Kateryna & Megginson, William L., 2015. "Government ownership and the cost of debt: Evidence from government investments in publicly traded firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 168-191.
    16. Chen, Shihua & Chen, Yulin & Jebran, Khalil, 2021. "Trust and corporate social responsibility: From expected utility and social normative perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 518-530.
    17. Chen, Shu & Ying, Sammy Xiaoyan & Wu, Huiying & You, Jiaxing, 2021. "Carrying on the family's legacy: Male heirs and firm innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    18. Wang, Chang & Guo, Yue & Yang, Yu & Chen, Shiyi, 2022. "The environmental benefits of electricity industry restructuring in China: Ownership mixing vs. vertical unbundling," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    19. Bai, Tao & Xu, Youzong & Pan, Xiao, 2026. "Political connection formation and firm performance: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 626-640.
    20. Tan, Weijie & Zhang, Zihan & Chu, Zhongzhu & Chen, Pengyu, 2024. "Unlocking green potential: The digital government-driven revolution in corporate green innovation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 60-79.

    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:wly:buseth:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:2210-2225. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26946424 .

    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.