Grounded in institutional theory, this study uses a sample of A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2023 to empirically examine the effects of coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures on corporate ESG responsibility. The results indicate that coercive and mimetic pressures significantly promote ESG responsibility fulfilment, while normative pressures have a negative impact. This research expands the application of institutional theory to ESG practices, offering valuable insights for policymakers, regulators, and corporate managers. By strengthening supervision, promoting industry best practices, and fostering social responsibility awareness, corporate ESG fulfilment can be further advanced, driving sustainable development.

Rapid economic growth puts the natural environment under tremendous pressure. As a traditional chemical company, it is important to reconsider outdated business development models, develop innovative green initiatives for long-term growth, and choose approaches to address environmental issues. Determining how to encourage employees’ green performance while balancing environmental issues is crucial for chemical companies in the current social and economic environment. This study investigates the green transformational leadership style to enhance green performance of chemical company employees. It expands the field of environmental protection by employing two novel constructs: creative process engagement and green creativity. We collected 623 valid questionnaires from 98 teams (98 leaders and 525 employees) and used SPSS 26.0, HLM 6.0, and MPlus 8.3 to test the hypothesis. The findings revealed that (1) green transformational leadership positively influences individual green performance, (2) creative process engagement and green creativity mediate the relationship between green transformational leadership and individual green performance, and (3) individual environmental awareness positively moderates the relationship between green transformational leadership and green creativity. These novel findings contribute to the environmental literature and help chemical company managers in enhancing employee innovation and performance.

Company boards play a critical role in ESG leadership by shaping strategy, ensuring accountability, and driving sustainability practices. However, ineffective board structures can hinder ESG goals, making the identification of board attributes that enhance ESG outcomes essential. Using data from 1931 A-share listed companies between 2009 and 2022, this study investigates how board characteristics, such as independence, independent directors’ overseas experience, board size, and gender diversity, affect environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. The analysis reveals that the combined influence of board characteristics positively impacts ESG outcomes. Among individual attributes, board independence and independent directors with overseas education backgrounds significantly enhance ESG ratings, emphasizing the value of independent oversight and global perspectives. In contrast, board size and gender diversity show no significant impact, suggesting that simply increasing board size or representation does not necessarily improve ESG performance. Unlike prior studies focusing on isolated board characteristics, this research comprehensively analyzes how various attributes influence ESG outcomes. This study fills a critical gap in the ESG literature by addressing these complex dynamics. It offers actionable insights for policymakers and corporate governance reformers to improve business practices’ accountability, transparency, and sustainability.

In recent years, “environment, society and governance” (ESG) has attracted widespread attention. As an investment philosophy focused on long-term value creation and non-financial performance indicators, ESG addresses internal governance challenges and fosters high-quality economic and social development. This study uses panel data analysis of 9125 observations from 1305 eligible companies to examine the relationship between ESG ratings, financing constraints, corporate research and development (R&D), and total factor productivity (TFP). It focuses on heavily polluting enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2012 to 2022. The findings show that (1) ESG ratings significantly impact TFP for the better, and (2) financial limitations act as a go-between for the ESG ratings and TFP connection, and (3) corporate R&D also serves as a mediator between ESG ratings and TFP. These findings offer valuable insights for shaping corporate ESG strategies, driving green transformation, enhancing productivity, advancing sustainable development, and supporting high-level environmental protection.

In recent years, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) has emerged as a critical investment concept. Its goal is to create value for both shareholders and society, encouraging companies to optimize social value. However, the exploration and research into “the proportion of firms exporting and the pathways through which the environmental, social, and governance activities of carbon-intensive firms influence firms’ financial performance” remains largely unexplored. This study establishes a research framework within this context, utilizing listed Chinese manufacturing companies as the research subjects. Taking agency theory rationale and signaling theory as the theoretical framework, this study thoroughly investigates the relationship between ESG ratings, corporate export ratios, and corporate financial performance through panel regression models using fixed-time, fixed-industry, and bi-directional fixed-effects models. The results of this study show that (1) ESG ratings have a positive impact on corporate financial performance; (2) firms’ export ratios play a mediating role in the relationship between ESG ratings and corporate financial performance; and (3) carbon-intensive firms have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between ESG ratings and corporate financial performance. Based on these findings, we propose policy recommendations at the firm and government levels to increase the importance of ESG, strengthen corporate governance, and promote continuous progress in ESG. This study provides micro evidence of the interactions between ESG ratings, export ratios, carbon-intensive firms, and firm performance to enable investors to make informed decisions.

This study investigates how ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance influences the corporate value of publicly listed sports companies in China, with a focus on the mediating role of intangible assets and the moderating effect of the policy environment. Analyzing panel data from 41 A-share sports firms over 2009–2023 using a two-way fixed-effects model, the findings reveal that a robust ESG performance significantly enhances corporate value by strengthening brand equity and optimizing resource allocation. Intangible assets, particularly brand value, serve as pivotal mediators in translating ESG efforts into market value. Furthermore, the policy environment plays a critical moderating role: state-owned enterprises (SOEs) exhibit amplified ESG-driven value creation due to stronger policy support and resource advantages. Robustness checks, including an instrumental variable analysis, reinforce the reliability of these conclusions, highlighting the interplay of ESG, intangible assets, and policy in driving long-term competitiveness within the sports sector. By addressing the unique dynamics of ESG in the sports industry, this research bridges a gap in the sector-specific literature and underscores ESG’s strategic importance in fostering sustainable business growth. The results provide actionable insights for corporate managers to align ESG strategies with brand development and for policymakers to design targeted frameworks that incentivize sustainable practices.