Welcome to Francis Academic Press

Academic Journal of Business & Management, 2025, 7(5); doi: 10.25236/AJBM.2025.070507.

Research on the Impact of ESG Performance on Corporate Investment Efficiency

Author(s)

Sun Ting, Fang Ziyi

Corresponding Author:
Sun Ting
Affiliation(s)

Nanjing University of Science and Technology Zijin College, Nanjing, 210023, China

Abstract

Under the background of "dual carbon", achieving sustainable development is a long-term goal for enterprises. At the same time, ESG is based on the development concepts of green environment, social, and corporate governance, and its disclosure information is crucial for the long-term operation of enterprises as a focus of stakeholders' attention. Investment efficiency plays a key role in the stable development of enterprises, so this paper takes the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011-2021 as the research sample, adopts two-way fixed effects through panel data, and conducts regression analysis on ESG performance and enterprise investment efficiency. The results show that good ESG performance can effectively alleviate enterprises' over investment and under investment, and effectively improve enterprise investment efficiency. Further analysis reveals that for enterprises with different lifecycles and industries, mature and heavily polluting industries have a greater investment efficiency improvement effect on ESG performance. This study has enlightening significance for enterprises to systematically manage ESG, improve the quality of ESG information data, and promote sustainable development of enterprises.

Keywords

ESG; Investment efficiency; Bidirectional fixed effects model

Cite This Paper

Sun Ting, Fang Ziyi. Research on the Impact of ESG Performance on Corporate Investment Efficiency. Academic Journal of Business & Management (2025), Vol. 7, Issue 5: 46-63. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJBM.2025.070507.

References

[1] Zhou B, Liang B, Bie L.The impact of macroeconomic policy uncertainty on micro-enterprise investment efficiency-Empirical evidence from China[J].PLoS ONE (v.1;2006), 2024, 19(6):16.DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0304667.

[2] Wu F, Zhu B, Tao S.Can good ESG performance of listed companies reduce abnormal stock price volatility? Mediation effects based on investor attention[J].PLoS ONE (v.1;2006), 2024, 19(9):21.DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0307535.

[3] Tang Y, Zhao Y, Manzoor A. Analysis of the Influence of ESG on the Investment Efficiency of Enterprises [C]// International Conference on Management Science and Engineering Management. Springer, Singapore, 2024. DOI:10.1007/978-981-97-5098-6_61.

[4] Li F, Xue R, Wang S, et al. Does the Expansion of Local Government Debt Affect the ESG Performance of Enterprises? Evidence From China[J].SAGE Open, 2024, 14(4).DOI:10.1177/21582440241291307.

[5] Mu L, Zhang C, Liu H. The Impact of the River Chief System on Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from China[J].Water, 2025, 17.DOI:10.3390/w17020265.

[6] Lin L, Zheng Y, Tu Y. The new environmental protection law, ESG investment, and corporate innovation performance[J].International Review of Economics and Finance, 2025, 98.DOI:10.1016/j.iref.2025.103916.

[7] Chen S, Gao Z, Chen X,et al.Assessing the impact of corporate environmental performance on efficiency improvement in labor investment[J].Business Strategy and the Environment, 2023, 32(7):5008-5024.DOI:10.1002/bse.3405.

[8] Al-Hiyari A, Ismail A I, Kolsi M C,et al.Environmental, social and governance performance (ESG) and firm investment efficiency in emerging markets: the interaction effect of board cultural diversity [J]. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 2023, 23(3):650-673.DOI:10.1108/CG-03-2022-0133.

[9] Daugaard D, Ding A.Global Drivers for ESG Performance: The Body of Knowledge [J]. Sustainability, 2022, 14.

[10] Ji L, Sun Y, Liu Y H.Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and market efficiency of China's commercial banks under market competition[J].Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2023, 30(9):24533-24552.DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-23742-x.

[11] Ngoc H T, Nguyen T T H.Factors Impacting on Social and Corporate Governance and Corporate Financial Performance: Evidence from Listed Vietnamese Enterprises[J]. 2021. DOI:10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no6.0041.

[12] Ruijuan S, Business S O, University T N.Research on Application of ESG Responsible Investment in China's Capital Market[J].Journal of Tianshui Normal University, 2018.

[13] Xue R, Wang H,Yuhao YangMartina K. LinnenlueckeKaifang JinCynthia Weiyi Cai.The adverse impact of corporate ESG controversies on sustainable investment[J].Journal of cleaner production, 2023, 427(Nov.15):139237.1-139237.10.DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139237.

[14] Masongweni V V, Nel S.The impact of sustainable investment on firm performance in South Africa[J].South African Journal of Accounting Research, 2024.DOI:10.1080/10291954.2024.2306701.

[15] Ikuta T, Fujii H.Research Perspectives on Non-Financial Information Disclosure and ESG Management[J].Review of Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 2020, 13(2):44-56.DOI:10.14927/reeps.13.2_44.

[16] Nazir M, Akbar M, Akbar A,et al.The nexus between corporate environment, social, and governance performance and cost of capital: evidence from top global tech leaders[J].Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2022(15):29.DOI:10.1007/s11356-021-17362-0.

[17] Chen C, Yan Y, Jia X,et al.The impact of executives' green experience on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance: Evidence from China[J].Journal of Environmental Management, 2024, 366(000):22. DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121819.

[18] Ren L, Cheng Y. The Impact and Mechanism of ESG Performance on Corporate Continuous Innovation: Evidence from China[J].Sustainability, 2024, 16.DOI:10.3390/su16177562.

[19] Mu L, Zhang C, Liu H. The Impact of the River Chief System on Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from China[J]. Research in International Business and Finance, 2025.

[20] Shen W. A Study on the Dual Benefits of ESG Practices on Corporate Sustainability and Investment Returns Based on Big Data Analytics[J]. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences, 2024, 9(1).

[21] Zhang L. Does ESG Performance Help Corporate Deleveraging? Based on an Analysis of Excessive Corporate Debt[J]. Sustainability, 2025, 17.DOI:10.3390/su17031274.

[22] Gao D, Li S, Zhou Y. Investment efficiency, ESG performance and corporate performance: evidence from Chinese listed enterprises[J]. Chinese Management Studies, 2025, 19(2). DOI:10.1108/CMS-06-2022-0210.

[23] Teng S, Ibrahim H, Chen M, et al. The Impact of ESG Performance on Corporate Financial Performance: The Moderating Effect of Digital Level[J]. Business Strategy and the Environment, 2024.

[24] Mu L, Zhang C, Liu H. The Impact of the River Chief System on Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from China[J]. Water (20734441), 2025, 17(2). DOI:10.3390/w17020265.

[25] Duong T Q, Huang Y C. Extending the impact of ESG on firm performance: the moderation effects of ESG controversies and R&D investment[J].International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2025, 19(2):224-241.DOI:10.1504/IJISD.2025.144831.

[26] Song J.Corporate ESG performance and human capital investment efficiency[J].Finance Research Letters, 2024, 62.DOI:10.1016/j.frl.2024.105239.

[27] Gao D, Zhou X, Wan J.Unlocking sustainability potential: The impact of green finance reform on corporate ESG performance[J].Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management, 2024, 31(5).DOI:10.1002/csr.2801.

[28] Ma L, Yuan X, Lu J,et al.The ESG performance influence mechanism analysis-based on empirical analysis[J].PLoS ONE (v.1;2006), 2024, 19(5):21.DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0295548.

[29] Nie C, Luo W, Chen Z,et al.Intellectual property protection and corporate ESG performance: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China[J].Business Process Management Journal, 2025, 31(1).DOI:10.1108/BPMJ-01-2024-0041.

[30] Xiao D, Chen S.Does Executive Environmental Cognition Promote Corporate ESG Performance? Evidence from China[J].Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2025:1-29.DOI:10.1007/s13132-024-02474-y.

[31] Ellili N O D.Impact of ESG disclosure and financial reporting quality on investment efficiency[J].Corporate governance, 2022.DOI:10.1108/CG-06-2021-0209.

[32] Adambekov N T, Adambekova Z A, Filipowska A.IMPACT OF ESG ON THE INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS OF BUSINESS [J]. Central Asian Economic Review, 2023, 2(149).DOI:10.52821/2789-4401-2023-2-105-117.

[33] Ko B H, Lee K, Yoon Y,et al.Impact of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) on the Performance of Electric Utilities[J]. New & Renewable Energy, 2022.DOI:10.7849/ksnre.2022.0010.

[34] Landi G, Sciarelli M, Crowther D. Towards a more ethical market: the impact of ESG rating on corporate financial performance[J].Social Responsibility Journal, 2019, 15(1):11-27.DOI:10.1108/SRJ-11-2017-0254.

[35] Erol I, Unal U, Coskun Y.ESG investing and the financial performance: a panel data analysis of developed REIT markets.[J].Environmental science and pollution research international, 2023.DOI:10.1007/s11356-023-28376-1.

[36] Kang H, Kim B, Yu S.An Empirical Analysis on ESG Performance Information and Short Selling[J].Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia services convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology, 2018, 8:197-205.DOI:10.35873/AJMAHS.2018.8.4.018.

[37] Billio M, Costola M, Hristova I, et al. Inside the ESG ratings: (Dis)agreement and performance[J].Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2021.DOI:10.1002/csr.2177.

[38] Ji L, Sun Y, Liu J,et al.Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and market efficiency of China's commercial banks under market competition[J]. 2022.DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-23742-x.

[39] Triyani A, Setyahuni S W, Kiryanto K.The Effect Of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosure on Firm Performance: The Role of Ceo Tenure[J].Jurnal Reviu Akuntansi dan Keuangan, 2020, 10(2):261.DOI:10.22219/jrak.v10i2.11820.

[40] Ma R, Pan X, Suardi S.Shareholder value maximization via corporate ESG performance: evidence from mergers and acquisitions in China[J].Applied Economics, 2024, 56.