Can Registration System Reform Promote Corporate Sustainability? Evidence from China’s ESG Practices

Jie Han, Runchang Liu, Yao Xu () and Yaoyao Liu ()
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Jie Han: School of Business, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Runchang Liu: School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Yao Xu: School of Business, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Yaoyao Liu: School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-26

Abstract: The registration system reform (RSR) represents a landmark innovation in China’s IPO system, aiming to promote a more transparent, competitive, and sustainable market. Exploiting the staggered implementation of RSR as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ a difference-in-differences (DID) model using a sample of Chinese A-share IPO firms from 2016 to 2022 to investigate its impact on corporate sustainability, as proxied by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Our findings indicate that RSR significantly enhances corporate ESG performance, especially the governance (G) performance. Mechanism analysis suggests that market competition, investor rationality, and sponsor reputation are potential channels through which the reform facilitates corporate sustainability. Furthermore, the above relationship is more pronounced in regions with a higher degree of marketization, among non-state-owned enterprises, and those with weaker profitability. Moreover, the reform not only exhibits long-term effects but also demonstrates positive spillover effects on peer firms originally listed under the approval-based system. Overall, our study extends the understanding of how capital market institutional reforms promote corporate sustainability in the era of the digital economy and provides valuable insights for regulators to standardize and enhance RSR, thereby establishing a resilient and sustainable financial ecosystem.

Keywords: corporate sustainability; ESG performance; registration system reform (RSR); approval-based system; digital transformation; corporate competitiveness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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