Fang Lanlin, Guo Xuemeng
School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 23;20(4):e0322018. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0322018. eCollection 2025.
Although a large body of literature has explored the relationship between ESG and firm value, the findings are inconsistent and most studies have focused on mature Western markets, with relatively little research on ESG practices and value creation effects in emerging markets, especially in transition economies such as China. This paper analyzes the correlation between ESG performance and firms' long-term value using data from 4,185 listed companies in China's A-share market from 2017-2022. We find that good ESG practices can significantly enhance firms' future cash flows, long-term value and market competitiveness. The results suggest that ESG increases long-term firm value by reducing weighted average cost and increasing return on invested capital. The effects of firms' HHI index, nature of property rights and ISO 9001 system certification on the relationship are further investigated and it is found that Lerner's index acts as a mediating variable to enable ESG performance to affect firms' long-term value by enhancing their market pricing power and competitiveness. This paper serves as an important reference for corporate managers to integrate ESG concepts into strategic planning for sustainable development and long-term value growth, helping enterprises implement ESG strategies for long-term corporate success and sustainable development.
尽管大量文献探讨了企业社会责任与企业价值之间的关系，但研究结果并不一致，且大多数研究集中在成熟的西方市场，对新兴市场尤其是中国等转型经济体的企业社会责任实践和价值创造效应的研究相对较少。本文利用2017年至2022年中国A股市场4185家上市公司的数据，分析了企业社会责任表现与企业长期价值之间的相关性。我们发现，良好的企业社会责任实践能够显著提升企业未来现金流、长期价值和市场竞争力。结果表明，企业社会责任通过降低加权平均成本和提高投资资本回报率来增加企业长期价值。进一步研究了企业的赫芬达尔指数、产权性质和ISO 9001体系认证对这种关系的影响，发现勒纳指数作为一个中介变量，使企业社会责任表现能够通过增强企业的市场定价能力和竞争力来影响企业的长期价值。本文为企业管理者将企业社会责任概念纳入可持续发展和长期价值增长的战略规划提供了重要参考，有助于企业实施企业社会责任战略以实现长期企业成功和可持续发展。
