In the context of global sustainable development, ESG has gradually become an indispensable and important factor in corporate development and an important comprehensive indicator of corporate development. Therefore, more and more stakeholders start to re-evaluate listed firms from the perspective of ESG, which avoids firm risks and enhances firm value to a certain extent. Therefore, this paper takes Chinese A-share listed firms as the research object to explore the influence of ESG on firm value and firm risk, which has certain theoretical and practical significance.
This paper investigates the impact of ESG on firm value and firm risk. A total of 2,707 A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2020 were selected as the research sample, and the Bloomberg ESG composite rating score was used as the ESG measure. Four calculation methods of Tobin's Q and principal component analysis were used to calculate the composite index of Tobin's Q to measure firm value. The Atlman (1968) Z-value model and the Chinese three-factor model were used to estimate firm risk, and multiple linear regression models were constructed by selecting multiple control variables. In addition, the nature, regional factors and characteristics of Chinese firms are objectively different from those of firms in other countries. In order to be closer to the Chinese context, this paper classifies firm nature, regional factors and firm characteristics, and adds an analysis of the manufacturing industry to compare the empirical results. Finally, based on the above research, the mediating role of ESG on firm value and firm risk is tested; as well as the relationship between ESG and stock market is analyzed considering the special characteristics of ESG and stock market, which enriches the theoretical research related to ESG and firms.
The empirical results show that, firstly, active implementation of ESG has a positive contribution to firm value. Secondly, the lower the risk of actively implementing ESG. Third, the results of the study based on the classification of firm nature, regional factors, and firm characteristics show that active implementation of ESG by non-state-owned firms, eastern firms, and firms in the second category can increase firm value faster and reduce firm risk more significantly than by state-owned firms, western firms, and firms in the first category. Fourth, ESG is closely related to the development of firms, both from the perspective of the industry as a whole and just from the perspective of manufacturing. Fifth, firms that actively implement ESG can positively influence institutional investors. Sixth, there is a positive correlation between ESG and the stock market, the greater the investment in ESG in the stock market, the better the stock market returns. Finally, based on the above conclusions, this paper respectively puts forward practical suggestions and regulatory suggestions to the government and firms, which has a high reference and reference significance.