In this study, we leverage a comprehensive dataset of over 3.8 million bid entries from institutional investors participating in China’s capital market to investigate the determinants of heterogeneous bidding behavior among these investors and the subsequent economic outcomes. We evaluate the sustainability of initial public offering (IPO) performance through three interrelated metrics: post-IPO stock price performance, financial accounting performance, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Our analysis reveals a pronounced positive association between the quality of firms’ pre-IPO and the recent reforms to the bookbuilding mechanism in China’s capital market, as well as the level of diversity in institutional investors’ bidding opinions. After accounting for these factors, we focus on the nexus between the diversity of bidding opinions and the sustainability of IPO performance. The empirical evidence indicates that a higher degree of diversity in bidding opinions is inversely related to firms’ post-IPO stock price performance, financial accounting performance, and ESG performance. Further mechanism tests suggest that this diversity leads to a depletion of medium- to long-term share price performance by intensifying market sentiment; impedes the enhancement of financial accounting performance by reducing the capital raised during the IPO; and negatively impacts ESG performance by constraining the firm’s ability to fulfill its corporate social responsibilities. These findings challenge the assumption that diversity of opinion is always beneficial. The insights gained from this research have significant implications for the sustainable growth strategies of listed companies in emerging markets.

Land property rights reform has been a key driver of agricultural productivity growth in post-reform China. Clearly defined land tenure arrangements also play a crucial role in maintaining rural social stability. This study assesses the impact of enhanced land tenure security on rural social stability, focusing on both the overall effects and the underlying mechanisms. Leveraging the new round of agricultural land rights confirmation initiated in 2013 as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ a staggered difference-in-difference model using panel data from the National Fixed-Point Survey for 2013–2021 to examine how enhanced land tenure security affects rural conflicts and disputes, which are important indicators of rural social stability. The empirical results indicate that the new round of land titling has significantly reduced the incidence of rural disputes. Mechanism analysis suggests that increased household income, strengthened bargaining power of farmers, and reduced infringements on property rights are the primary channels through which land titling mitigates rural conflicts. Furthermore, the effects are more pronounced in villages characterized by balanced clan power, larger income disparities, and non-suburban locations. These findings highlight the importance of consolidating land property rights and integrating them with local governance to sustain rural social stability.