ESG Performance Drives Enterprise High-Quality Development Through Financing Constraints: Based on the Background of China’s Digital Transformation

Xiaoyan Sun (), Yuanyuan Shao and Jie Han
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Xiaoyan Sun: School of Economics and Management, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
Yuanyuan Shao: School of Economics and Management, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
Jie Han: School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: Under the current digital transformation landscape, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and financing constraints exert non-negligible impacts on corporate high-quality development. Building on this foundation, the present study seeks to elucidate these critical relationships. The methodology involves constructing an evaluation system for firms’ high-quality development, followed by revealing the impact of firms’ ESG performance on their high-quality development and the mediating effect of financing constraints in the process of digital transformation. The study finds that corporate ESG performance significantly mitigates financing constraints, and that higher ESG levels help to promote corporate high-quality development. In addition, digital transformation significantly moderates the mediating effect of financing constraints on the ESG performance and high-quality development of enterprises. The findings suggest that enterprises are actively committed to practicing ESG principles and optimize financing constraints to promote high-quality development with the help of digital transformation. Accordingly, we calls on the government to motivate enterprises to pay comprehensive attention to improving ESG and digitalization levels to promote the sustainability of the national economy.

Keywords: ESG performance; high-quality development; financing constraints; digital transformation (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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