IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v46y2025i5p2876-2894.html

Market Reaction to Corporate Governance Reform: Evidence From China

Author

Listed:
  • Haitian Wei
  • Rasidah Mohd‐Rashid
  • Agung Masyad Fawzi
  • Chai‐Aun Ooi
  • Haixuan Wei

Abstract

Considering the market's different opinions on ESG, this study examines the market reaction to corporate governance reform within the context of ESG disclosure. By employing the event study methodology, it is demonstrated that the Chinese market exhibited an adverse reaction to the announcement of corporate governance reform. Furthermore, this study uses the ordinary least squares (OLS) model to demonstrate that ESG performance has a negative impact on cumulative abnormal return. It finds that the Chinese market had negative views about ESG disclosure. The findings have significant implications for the understanding of investor behavior and ESG‐related policies in emerging markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Haitian Wei & Rasidah Mohd‐Rashid & Agung Masyad Fawzi & Chai‐Aun Ooi & Haixuan Wei, 2025. "Market Reaction to Corporate Governance Reform: Evidence From China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(5), pages 2876-2894, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:46:y:2025:i:5:p:2876-2894
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.4498
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.4498
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.4498?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. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Li, Qiong & Du, Kerui, 2020. "How does environmental regulation promote technological innovations in the industrial sector? Evidence from Chinese provincial panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Grossman, Sanford J, 1976. "On the Efficiency of Competitive Stock Markets Where Trades Have Diverse Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 573-585, May.
    3. Lei Ruan & Heng Liu, 2021. "Environmental, Social, Governance Activities and Firm Performance: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Fatemi, Ali & Glaum, Martin & Kaiser, Stefanie, 2018. "ESG performance and firm value: The moderating role of disclosure," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-64.
    5. Nicole Darnall & Hyunjung Ji & Kazuyuki Iwata & Toshi H. Arimura, 2022. "Do ESG reporting guidelines and verifications enhance firms' information disclosure?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1214-1230, September.
    6. Fama, Eugene F, 1970. "Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 25(2), pages 383-417, May.
    7. Song Cao & Ziran Li & Kees G. Koedijk & Xiang Gao, 2022. "The emotional cost-of-carry: Chinese investor sentiment and equity index futures basis," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(3), pages 451-476, January.
    8. An, Yahui & Liu, Xiukun, 2023. "Local attention to employees’ rights and firm value: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 382-394.
    9. Dongyi Zhou & Rui Zhou, 2021. "ESG Performance and Stock Price Volatility in Public Health Crisis: Evidence from COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15, December.
    10. Yong Du & Xin Sui & Wei Wei & Jun Du, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty and stock price crash risk," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 667-689, May.
    11. Fenghua Wen & Longhao Xu & Bin Chen & Xiaohua Xia & Jinyi Li, 2020. "Heterogeneous Institutional Investors, Short Selling and Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2812-2825, September.
    12. Xu, Fan, 2024. "Gambling preferences and fund company ownership: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    13. Zhang, Jian & Jin, Songqing & Li, Tao & Wang, Haigang, 2021. "Gender discrimination in China: Experimental evidence from the job market for college graduates," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 819-835.
    14. Benson, Karen L. & Humphrey, Jacquelyn E., 2008. "Socially responsible investment funds: Investor reaction to current and past returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1850-1859, September.
    15. Mario La Torre & Fabiomassimo Mango & Arturo Cafaro & Sabrina Leo, 2020. "Does the ESG Index Affect Stock Return? Evidence from the Eurostoxx50," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-12, August.
    16. Yaohua Qin & He Xiao, 2023. "Market-based Financing Reforms and Shareholder Valuations: event Study Evidence from the Chinese Sci-Technology Innovation Board," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 172-195, January.
    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. Rio Murata & Shigeyuki Hamori, 2021. "ESG Disclosures and Stock Price Crash Risk," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-20, February.
    19. Guo, Mengmeng & Kuai, Yicheng & Liu, Xiaoyan, 2020. "Stock market response to environmental policies: Evidence from heavily polluting firms in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 306-316.
    20. Wang, Chang’an & Liu, Xiaoqian & Li, Han & Yang, Cunyi, 2023. "Analyzing the impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on enterprises' labor demand: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    21. Jin, Li & Myers, Stewart C., 2006. "R2 around the world: New theory and new tests," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 257-292, February.
    22. Fan Yang & Jingyi Ge & Xiaomin Wang, 2023. "Policy Uncertainties, Water Technology and Economic Growth," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(04), pages 1-25, December.
    23. Chen, Yi-Chun & Hung, Mingyi & Wang, Yongxiang, 2018. "The effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on firm profitability and social externalities: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 169-190.
    24. Nektarios Gavrilakis & Christos Floros, 2023. "ESG performance, herding behavior and stock market returns: evidence from Europe," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-21, March.
    25. Maobin Wang & Chun Qiu & Dongmin Kong, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Investor Behaviors, and Stock Market Returns: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 127-141, June.
    26. Gu, Xin & Zhang, Weiqiang & Cheng, Sang, 2021. "How do investors in Chinese stock market react to external uncertainty? An event study to the Sino-US disputes," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    27. Hariom Manchiraju & Shivaram Rajgopal, 2017. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Create Shareholder Value? Evidence from the Indian Companies Act 2013," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 55(5), pages 1257-1300, December.
    28. Fenghua Wen & Longhao Xu & Bin Chen & Xiaohua Xia & Jinyi Li, 2020. "Heterogeneous Institutional Investors, Short Selling and Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2812-2825, September.
    29. Xin Jin & Xue Lei, 2023. "A Study on the Mechanism of ESG’s Impact on Corporate Value under the Concept of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, May.
    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. Wenbing Luo & Ziyan Tian & Xusheng Fang & Mingjun Deng, 2024. "Can good ESG performance reduce stock price crash risk? Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1469-1492, May.
    2. Dongheun Lee & Sejoong Lee & Na-Eun Cho, 2019. "Voluntary Disclosure and Market Valuation of Sustainability Reports in Korea: The Case of Chaebols," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-20, June.
    3. 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).
    4. Xin, Zhuoyao & Zhang, Zongyi & Xiang, Cheng, 2024. "Do suppliers value clients’ ESG profiles? Evidence from Chinese firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 241-258.
    5. Sonia Boukattaya & Zyed Achour & Zeineb Hlioui, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Financial Performance: An Empirical Literature Review," Post-Print hal-03472433, HAL.
    6. Lai, Xiaobing & Zhang, Fan, 2022. "Can ESG certification help company get out of over-indebtedness? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Wei Liu & Han Yan, 2025. "The evaluation of ESG strategy implementation effect based on performance prism: evidence from the industrial and commercial bank of China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Cheng, Feiyang & Wang, Chunfeng & Chiao, Chaoshin & Yao, Shouyu & Fang, Zhenming, 2021. "Retail attention, retail trades, and stock price crash risk," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    9. Hou, Canran & Liu, Huan, 2023. "Institutional cross-ownership and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. Fu, Fanjie & Fang, Jing & Yang, Mei & Yao, Shujie, 2024. "Institutional investor horizons and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(PA).
    11. Wang, Kai & Li, Tingting & San, Ziyao & Gao, Hao, 2023. "How does corporate ESG performance affect stock liquidity? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    12. He, Feng & Feng, Yaqian & Hao, Jing, 2023. "Corporate ESG rating and stock market liquidity: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    13. Muhammad Shahid Rasheed & Shahzad Kouser & Zhang Ling, 2025. "Corporate Governance and Stock Price Crash Risk: Insights from an Emerging Market," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 32(2), pages 691-709, June.
    14. Li, Wei-An & Du, Hanyu & He, Feng, 2025. "Mandatory corporate ESG disclosure and default risk – Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Zhu, Qinghua & Yang, Jinyu & Chen, Yuan, 2026. "Mitigating financial loss from global supply chain ESG regulations: Can ESG performance help?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    16. Se‐Hee Jeong & Jeong‐Ji Han & Soyoung Jun & Shawn Kim & Jong Woo Kim, 2025. "Investor Responses to ESG News Sentiment: Exploring Differential Effects and Industry Moderation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 3944-3964, May.
    17. Bassen, Alexander & Kordsachia, Othar & Lopatta, Kerstin & Tan, Weiqiang, 2025. "Revenue alignment with the EU taxonomy regulation in developed markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    18. Fonseka, Mohan & Richardson, Grant, 2023. "The effect of mandatory corporate social responsibility disclosure and performance on firms’ dividend decisions: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    19. Liu, Lian & Nemoto, Naoko & Lu, Changrong, 2023. "The Effect of ESG performance on the stock market during the COVID-19 Pandemic — Evidence from Japan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 702-712.
    20. Xue, Shuyu & Wu, Huilin & Ling, Yishu & Lu, Ye, 2024. "Mandatory CSR disclosure and stock liquidity: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(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:wly:mgtdec:v:46:y:2025:i:5:p:2876-2894. 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: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    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.