Evaluating the Impact of ESG Ratings on Financial Performance: The Role of Corporate Youthfulness and Green Innovation in Chinese A-share Markets

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-702-1_25How to use a DOI?

Keywords

ESG Rating; Corporate Financial Performance; Green Innovation; Moderating Effect

Abstract

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating framework serves as a crucial tool for assessing a corporation’s commitment to sustainable development. It encourages organizations to incorporate environmental, social, and governance considerations into their operations, thereby advancing responsible and sustainable growth strategies. ESG ratings have gained prominence as key indicators in evaluating corporate performance within the global investment arena, particularly amid the heightened global focus on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. This study employs the ESG rating data of Huazheng Securities to systematically analyze the impact of ESG performance on financial outcomes, utilizing a dataset comprising non-financial enterprises listed on the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing A-share markets from 2012 to 2022. Furthermore, the research investigates the moderating effects of corporate age and green innovation on this relationship. Findings indicate a positive correlation between elevated ESG scores and improved financial performance. Additionally, the analysis reveals that the relative youth of an enterprise positively moderates the ESG-performance nexus, whereas green innovation exhibits a negative moderating influence. This research offers insightful guidance for developing countries striving to foster sustainable economic growth and enhance the global competitiveness of their enterprises.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Fengwen Zhang
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/05
TI  - Evaluating the Impact of ESG Ratings on Financial Performance: The Role of Corporate Youthfulness and Green Innovation in Chinese A-share Markets
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 10th International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development (ICFIED 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 232
EP  - 242
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-702-1_25
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-702-1_25
ID  - Zhang2025
ER  -