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Comparative study of enterprise efficiency and environmental, social and governance performance before and after COVID‐19 epidemic—A study of China's A‐share listed Fintech companies

Author

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  • Tao Xie
  • Ying Li
  • Yung‐Ho Chiu
  • Shiyou Ao

Abstract

Since the outbreak of COVID‐19, it is worth noting how the enterprise efficiency and ESG performance of Chinese fintech enterprises are affected by pandemic. However, researches using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to explore this issue are still very scarce. Therefore, this paper selects 45 A‐share listed fintech enterprises to construct A two‐stage RDM‐DDF efficiency analysis model, and evaluates the efficiency of different stages and different input–output indexes by using the window efficiency analysis method. At the same time, target enterprises were grouped according to their registered locations, so as to explore the regional differences in efficiencies and changes in the efficiency before and after the outbreak of COVID‐19. The analysis results show that: (1) Regional differences in corporate efficiency are quite pronounced. (2) There is no obvious positive correlation between ESG performance and traditional financial performance of target enterprises. (3) Following the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic, the efficiency changes in target companies have been complex.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao Xie & Ying Li & Yung‐Ho Chiu & Shiyou Ao, 2025. "Comparative study of enterprise efficiency and environmental, social and governance performance before and after COVID‐19 epidemic—A study of China's A‐share listed Fintech companies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 1491-1525, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:1:p:1491-1525
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3187
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