State-owned shareholders' participation and environmental, social, and governance performance of private firms: evidence from China

Yang, Xingquan, Zhang, Kexin, Gao, Pengfei ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7818-1231 and Yang, Zheng 2025. State-owned shareholders' participation and environmental, social, and governance performance of private firms: evidence from China. Applied Economics 57 (26) , pp. 3503-3524. 10.1080/00036846.2024.2337797

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Abstract

We investigate the relationship between state-owned shareholders’ participation and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of private firms. Based on a sample of Chinese private firms between 2009 and 2022, we find that state-owned shareholders’ participation can significantly improve the ESG performance of private firms. Our mechanism tests suggest that state-owned shareholders play a role in improving the ESG performance of private firms through resource support and governance supervision. Moreover, the positive effect of state-owned shareholders’ participation on ESG performance is more significant if private firms have lower carbon emission intensity and in industries with a higher degree of competition. We also find that state-owned shareholders’ participation effectively increases firm value while improving the ESG performance of private firms. Our results are robust after a series of endogenous and robustness tests. The findings of our study enrich the existing research on the economic consequences of state-owned shareholders’ participation in private firms and the factors influencing corporate ESG performance.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	0003-6846
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	15 April 2024
Date of Acceptance:	12 March 2024
Last Modified:	02 Oct 2025 01:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/167666

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