 The impact of ESG on firms’ export technology complexityYisen Ma and Caixia Song Finance Research Letters, 2025, vol. 72, issue C Abstract: This study investigates the impact of ESG on export technological complexity using data from Chinese A-share firms between 2009 and 2016 sourced from the CSMAR database, the China Customs Database, and the CEPII-BACI Trade Database and World Bank. The analysis demonstrates a positive correlation between ESG practices and sophisticated export products, even after series of robustness checks. Furthermore, the study identifies two key mechanisms through which ESG influences export technological complexity: the enhancement of green technological innovation and improvements in corporate management capabilities. The effect of ESG is found to be more pronounced in firms operating within stable economic environments, in non-state-owned enterprises, and in regions with higher levels of marketization. The findings suggest that while firms pursue better ESG performance, they simultaneously achieve other economic benefits, particularly in terms of enhanced export competitiveness. This enriches the existing literature on the economic effects of ESG practices. Keywords: ESG; Export technological complexity; China; A-share Firms (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:finlet:v:72:y:2025:i:c:s1544612324016428 DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2024.106613 Access Statistics for this article Finance Research Letters is currently edited by R. Gençay More articles in Finance Research Letters from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.