Li Wei, Zhu Jian, Liu Changqing
School of Business, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan City, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Nov 14;10(22):e40401. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40401. eCollection 2024 Nov 30.
This study explores the connection between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, financing constraints, and corporate investment efficiency. The hypotheses in this study are formulated based on the principles of stakeholder and agency theories. We used secondary data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2021 to conduct an empirical analysis using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Fixed Effect (FE) estimators. The results indicate that good ESG performance can enhance corporate investment efficiency. Compared to over-investment, ESG performance has a more pronounced effect on mitigating under-investment. Using a mediating analysis model, we also find that ESG performance exerts an inhibitory influence on both under- and over-investments by mitigating corporate financing constraints. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the enhancing effect of ESG performance on corporate investment efficiency is more significant in non-state-owned corporations, low-pollution corporations, and corporations with a higher proportion of institutional investors. This study provides insights for listed companies to improve ESG performance to enhance capital allocation efficiency and promote sustainable development.
本研究探讨环境、社会和治理（ESG）绩效、融资约束与企业投资效率之间的联系。本研究中的假设是基于利益相关者理论和代理理论的原则制定的。我们使用2010年至2021年中国A股上市公司的二手数据，采用普通最小二乘法（OLS）和固定效应（FE）估计器进行实证分析。结果表明，良好的ESG绩效可以提高企业投资效率。与过度投资相比，ESG绩效对缓解投资不足的影响更为显著。通过中介分析模型，我们还发现，ESG绩效通过缓解企业融资约束，对投资不足和过度投资均产生抑制作用。异质性分析表明，ESG绩效对企业投资效率的增强作用在非国有企业、低污染企业和机构投资者比例较高的企业中更为显著。本研究为上市公司提高ESG绩效以提高资本配置效率和促进可持续发展提供了见解。
